The Hub City Press BIPOC Poetry Series

The Hub City Press BIPOC Poetry Series was created to spotlight poetry by writers working in the American South, writing about BIPOC communities. The initial manuscript reading period opens on February 1, 2024 and closes on March 15, 2024. There is no fee associated with submitting to this series. Two finalists will be selected by Editor-at-Large Ashley M. Jones, announced in summer 2024, and will be published by Hub City Press the spring and fall of following year. In addition to publication, each finalist will receive a prize of $3000.

The Hub City Press BIPOC Poetry Series is open to poets of all stages of their careers who reside in or are from the South. Submitters must live in or be from the following thirteen states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia or West Virginia.

This series is made possible with funding from the Poetry Foundation.

SUBMIT

Submissions: February 1 - March 15, 2024

Editor-at-Large: Ashley M. Jones

Ashley M. Jones is Poet Laureate of the state of Alabama (2022-2026) and the author of three poetry collections: REPARATIONS NOW!, longlisted for the 2022 PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry; dark // thing; and Magic City Gospel. She currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where she is Associate Director of the University Honors Program at UAB, founding director of the Magic City Poetry Festival, and co-director of PEN Birmingham. In 2021, Jones served as a guest editor for Poetry Magazine and she was a finalist for the Ruth Lily Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship in 2020. In 2022, she received a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets.

Eligibility

Submitters must be BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
Submitters must either currently reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia or West Virginia or have a strong tie to one or more of the listed states.
Submitters must not be affiliated with Hub City Press or Hub City Writers Project as a staff member or volunteer or as previously published Hub City author. Close friends and relatives of the final judge are not eligible.

Submission Requirements

The contest opens February 1 and closes March 15, 11:59PM EST. Two finalists will be announced in the summer.
The manuscript must be between 50 and 200 pages (12 point, Times New Roman or similar typeface). Works that have previously appeared in magazines or in anthologies may be included.
This contest is not read anonymously, so please include a bio with your manuscript. Manuscripts should include one title page with the manuscript’s title only. You may also include a table of contents. Manuscripts that do not adhere to this guideline will be immediately eliminated.
Simultaneous submissions of the same manuscript to other publishers or contests are acceptable but please notify us if your manuscript has been accepted elsewhere.
While translations and manuscripts in languages other than English are not accepted, manuscripts that occasionally use words from other languages are acceptable and welcome.
No revisions of submitted manuscripts will be allowed during the contest.
There is no fee associated with submitting to this series.

FAQs

I have never published a book before. Am I eligible?

Yes! The Hub City Press BIPOC Poetry Series is open to poets of all stages of their careers.

I have published several books before. Am I eligible?

Yes! The Hub City Press BIPOC Poetry Series is open to poets of all stages of their careers.

I have previously lived in one of the Southern states listed. Am I eligible?

Yes! As long as you have ties to the South (have been born/raised in the South; have previously lived in the South for 3+ years; or are a current resident), you’re eligible to apply.

Questions?

If your question isn't addressed above, please email kate@hubcity.org.