We were thrilled to find Maya Angelou Book Award winner @taylorbyas.bsky.social's poem "The Black Girl Comes to Dinner" in the brand-new book THIS IS THE HONEY: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY BLACK POETS, edited by Kwame Alexander. Run out and pick this one up from a local library or bookstore today!
We're excited to announce the dates for @taylorbyas.bsky.social's tour, which begins next week! We hope you'll come out to hear Taylor read her poems, and if you haven't read her award-winning I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES, be sure to pick up a copy from your local library or bookstore!
There's less than one week left to submit to the Maya Angelou Book Award! This year we will be recognizing a work of fiction. Publishers: send us your novels and short story collections that engage with social justice. Link in bio for the submission portal and full eligibility guidelines!
Happy Birthday, Audre Lorde. ~~~ The smell of your neck in August a fine gold wire bejeweling war all the rest lies illusive as a farmhouse on the other side of a valley vanishing in the afternoon. —Audre Lorde from “Never to Dream of Spiders”
Thanks to all the folks who talked with us at AWP over the weekend. Picked up some great new books and mags! And just a reminder: we're still open for fiction submissions through April 1 (all entries must come directly from publishers). Link in bio for details and eligibility requirements.
Catch the great @taylorbyas.bsky.social at AWP next week here in Kansas City, at both official and offsite events! Taylor Byas's landmark poetry collection I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES won the 2023 Maya Angelou Book Award.
Calling all small presses: we want to hear from you! While we certainly welcome submissions from big-name publishers, we've made it a priority to also consider the incredible books put out by small and indie presses. Follow the link in our bio for the manuscript submission form!
We are now accepting submissions for the 2024 Maya Angelou Book Award in Fiction! Novelists and short story writers, have your publishers send us your work! Follow the link in our bio to check out the entry form and read our detailed guidelines. The portal will close on April 1, 2024.
As we gear up for next year's contest in fiction, we're taking a look back at our 2022 winner, Buki Papillon's AN ORDINARY WONDER, an extraordinary literary debut about a Nigerian boy's secret intersex identity and his desire to live as a girl. Check the link in our bio for more on past winners!
What does it mean to be a writer, to be from Chicago, and to *write* about Chicago? This year's Maya Angelou Book Award winner @taylorbyas.bsky.social is over at Literary Hub today, joining Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan on Fiction/Non/Fiction to discuss writing about Chicago. Link in bio!
