Call for Entries
Check this page for more information about our future collections.
At Blueboy Publishing House, we intentionally prioritize the voices of systemically excluded cultures and identities: with special intention towards the stories of the underrepresented majority.
We welcome new and established writers to apply to our upcoming collections.
FAQs
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We prioritize voices that introduce refreshing new perspectives, offer a new space for dreaming and imagination, and provide platform to underrepresented communities within the global majority (i.e. people of color, descendants of the African diaspora, Indigenous writers, and folks who experience bias and prejudice due to cultural difference). We love reading works from writers that offer a new perspective on spaces of cultural transience and cultural intersection. We like stories that are personable, connect deeply and intentionally with the reader, and are well-planned. We seek new works that promote positive goals to enriching current and future generations through community care.
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During this season’s call for entries, we have two anthology collections that are open for submission. Our Anthology of Horror opens for submissions in January 2023 and closes for submissions in April. For this anthology, we are specifically looking for horror and science fiction stories from people who are Black/African-American and/or descendants of the African diaspora. This Fall, we are also opening submissions for our Anthology of Love, which is focusing poetry by Black folks about friendship, companionship, partnership, self-love, and community love.
In 2023, we will be opening submissions again for our future collections. While this year’s rounds of submissions specifically focus on Black/African-American authors, our future calls will be open to other topics and demographics. We are also seeking ongoing submissions for our Black Renaissance Journal, which is our online literary journal featuring writings and poetry by writers in our community.
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Thank you for considering us as your future publisher! Starting in Spring 2023, we will begin to accept submissions for hybrid publishing (also known as co-publishing or independent publishing). For these opportunities, we would work directly with authors to finalize, publish, and market their books for trade audiences. Our priority is to help authors maintain their creative rights throughout the publishing process, while connecting writers to professional opportunities that can further their career. For now, we look forward to getting acquainted with the works of creatives through our anthology submission process. To be updated on future openings for book proposals, be sure to join our email list!
Blueboy Publishing House
Your story holds power.
Submit to one of our upcoming publications.
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Summer 2023: The Anthology of Black Love
Co-edited by Dorian Blue and Chioma Sheri, this upcoming poetry collection centers themes around Black love. As we curate this anthology of work by Black poets, we are seeking poetry submissions that talk about healing through our connection to one another: we want to read your dreamy love poems, the odes to Black friendship, adventures in companionship, powerful moments that made you love yourself, poems about cultivating healthy Black partnership, and the times that helped you realize with clarity what love is not. Black LGBTQ+ stories are welcomed and encouraged! Submissions for our poetry anthology close June 10th, 2023.
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Fall 2024: Anthology of Horror
For this upcoming collection, we are seeking short stories in science fiction and horror that explores curiosity and terror from the perspective of diasporic identities. We want to read stories that trouble the line between fiction and reality, tease the limitations of imagination, and imagine new worlds — while understanding the complications of race and privilege. In the midst of a world racked by multiple pandemics, we seek stories that imagine a world much different from our current reality: with rich POVs that explore unknown terrors, curious plots, and spooky things that go bump in the night. Submissions for our African Diasporic Horror & Science Fiction anthology open October 2023 and will close in April 2024.
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Black Rennaissance Journal
The Black Renaissance Journal is an online journal that spotlights works authors and poets who represent the vision, drive, and intellectual power within this generation. We welcome work by Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer-identifying authors, and neurodivergent writers. We welcome new, unpublished work by authors who share a powerful perspective with a nuanced, intersectional lens.
We welcome new submissions to our online literary journal, which will be published in Fall/Winter 2023.
Media reviews
Poetry submissions
Literary reviews and critiques
Think pieces with a new critical lens
Terms of Publication
We are seeking new, original, unpublished work for our upcoming publications. Work that has been published online and via digital formats is not eligible for submission.
All submissions are directed through our submission form, where poems are hand-selected by our team of editors. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by email.
We share a modest honorarium with authors who are chosen for publication, as well as the rights to reprint the published after 1 year following the print of the original publication.
Additional details about submission guidelines, terms of publication, and future opportunities are forthcoming.
Meet Our Editors
Dorian Blue
Dorian Blue
Chioma Sheri
Chioma Sheri
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Founder | Creative Director | Lead Editor
Mx. Dorian Blue (they/them) is a Black non-binary author writing poetry and prose that unpacks themes of gender, social identities, and enigmatic ties. As a long-time resident to Washington, DC, Dorian Blue’s writing is rooted and influenced by the history and political climate of their city.
“When we founded BPH, it was my vision to create a culturally-aware publishing company that was curated for and by Black creatives. In a consumptive era that often overlooks the needs of our (QT)BIPOC communities, I was inspired to create a new path in publishing: one that celebrates and empowers authors who self-publish, while nurturing a vibrant global community of writers that embody a new era of change and critical thinking.”
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Collaborator | Poetry Editor, "The Anthology of (Black) Love"
Chioma Sheri is a Philly native of Nigerian and Jamaican descent. She holds a degree in African American Studies. Her poetry has been published in Brittle Paper, her work has been featured in Finding Paradise: A Black Mental Health Anthology, and she is a frequent feature on The African Father in American podcasts with Simon Okelo, where she shares her thoughts and poetry.
Chioma is a creative storyteller who believes in the power of storytelling and community record-keeping, specifically with regards to how we hold and support stories from Africa and the diaspora. Chioma is driven by the power of language, and is often fixated on the questions: “Who are we writing our stories for? Who has access to the pathways necessary for storytelling, and how can we assist our communities in having their stories heard?”
Follow Chioma Sheri on Instagram.
