Submit to Blackbird
Unsolicited emailed submissions will not be read.
Direct all inquiries to blackbird@vcu.edu
Submissions for Blackbird 2.0 are open under the direction of Editor, Jessica Hendry Nelson and Poetry Editor, Devon Walker-Figueroa. Blackbird now publishes four issues–short, thoughtfully curated collections we’re calling our Flights–every year, two in the fall and two in the spring.
Jessica Hendry Nelson is the author of Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief, winner of the AWP Sue William Silverman Prize in Creative Nonfiction, (UGA, 2023) and If Only You People Could Follow Directions (Counterpoint, 2014), finalist for the Vermont Book Award. She is also coauthor of the textbook and anthology Advanced Creative Nonfiction: A Writers’ Guide and Anthology (Bloomsbury, 2021). She is an Associate Professor in the MFA program and English Department at Virginia Commonwealth University and on faculty in the MFA program at the University of Nebraska in Omaha.
Devon Walker-Figueroa is the author of two poetry collections, Philomath (Milkweed Editions, 2021) and Lazarus Species (Milkweed Editions, 2025). Devon is the former poetry editor of The Iowa Review and has, over the years, worked in an editorial capacity with such publishers as Tin House Books; Four Way Books; Copper Canyon Press; Conduit Books and Ephemera; Narrative Magazine; and Killscreen, a journal of interactive arts.
Please read the following guidelines first. Then go to our Submittable page to submit!
Open Call: Starting in September 2025, Blackbird is actively seeking Video Essay and Sound-based Literature Submissions. See below for instructions!
General Guidelines
- Blackbird does not accept previously published work.
- Blackbird does not accept submissions from current VCU students, faculty, or staff.
- Simultaneous submissions are acceptable so long as they are indicated as such and we are immediately notified upon acceptance elsewhere. To withdraw individual poems from a submission, please send a message in Submittable notifying us of the poems that are no longer available.
- Translations are welcome so long as permissions have been obtained from the author.
- Please submit a cover letter in the Submittable box provided; if you have previously published with Blackbird or received encouragement on a previous submission, please include that information as well.
- We reserve the right to close submissions before our stated closure date, should we reach the maximum number of submissions that our fluctuating staff size can accommodate at that time.
- We pay all of our contributors. Payments are standard:
- Poetry: $40/poem
- Fiction, CNF, Book Reviews, Craft Essays, Interviews, Video Essays, and Sound-based Literature: $200 ea.
- Art: $200/feature
- Payment is rendered after publication.
- Note: We receive and review a high volume of submissions, as a result it may take six months or longer to respond to your submission. We take the work of prospective contributors seriously and appreciate the opportunity to read your pieces. We ask that you wait at least six months before querying about an active submission.
- All published work will be archived online.
- All accepted work will be considered for inclusion in the Blackbird Literary Podcast. At this time, we are not accepting podcast/audio submissions.
Genres
Creative Nonfiction: Double-space. We primarily look for essays in a variety of styles and forms, but book excerpts are acceptable if self-contained. We are also open to all styles and forms of “hybrid” work. Please indicate the nature of the submission’s hybridity in your cover letter.
Poetry: Send up to six poems at a time, but no fewer than two poems. Set your poem as you want it to appear on the printed page. Submit all poems as a single document.
Fiction: Double-space. We primarily look for short stories, but novel excerpts are acceptable if self-contained.
Art: We feature one visual artist per Flight.
- In a single PDF document, send up to ten images of a single body of work (or related series of works).
- At the beginning of your PDF, please include an artist’s statement of up to 500 words that addresses this particular body of work and your general artist’s practice; an image index detailing each work’s title, medium, dimensions and date of completion; and, if the work has been exhibited, when and where. Artists selected for publication should be prepared to submit individual jpeg images of their work and will be interviewed by Blackbird’s art editor for a written feature. Featured artists may also be asked to participate in a video or audio segment to accompany their work, but participation will be at the artist’s discretion.
Book Reviews, Craft Essays, and Interviews: We accept book reviews of up to 500 words or fewer. Books must have been published within a year. We only accept reviews of first or second books.
- Completed craft essays and interviews of up to 2,000 words.
Video Essays: Blackbird is actively seeking video essays at this time!
The writer and artist M. Freeman (whose own video essays are in a recent Blackbird Flight) describes video essays as “the mixed-breed love child of poetry, creative nonfiction, arthouse indies, documentary, and experimental media art.” We dig that! The video essays we admire most employ language, image, and sound with equal craftsmanship and collective vision. John Bresland’s “On the Origin of the Video Essay” shines a light on our video essay preferences. You can watch the video essays in that feature as examples, as well as our more recent video essay publications.
Some other video essays we admire are featured in TriQuarterly (like “Touch” by James J. Hodge) and Brink Literary. Check them out!
- Specifications:
Submit up to 5 at a time.
-Video essays can be 12 minutes max, but we think the sweet spot is usually between 2
and 8 minutes. We do not accept work that uses Generative AI in any form, especially work that
passes off AI-generated visuals, audio, and/or writing as one’s original creation. We
acknowledge that most modern video and audio software integrates artificial intelligence
to some extent, so we encourage submitters to contact our team should they have any
questions regarding this policy. - What to Submit:
-Send submissions as Vimeo or unlisted YouTube links.
– A transcript of the text (as a Word Doc)
– Artist statement: A short paragraph about the project, its intentions, and how image, sound, and text interact. This gives context for reviewers and can be brief.
– Author/artist bios: 50–100 words for publication and editorial purposes.
Sound-based Literature:
As Blackbird continues to develop our podcast and publish new media, like video essays, we are now seeking sound-based literary projects.
What is Sound-based Literature?
Writers and musicians have been pushing the boundaries between text/sound for decades. Sound-based literature is an original piece of writing that pairs a recorded voiceover with a musical composition or sound design score. We are seeking original, sound-based literature similar to JJJJJerome Ellis’ The Clearing or Katie Moulton’s Dead Dad Club: On Grief and Tom Petty. Sound-based literature submissions will be considered for publication in a future Flight and/or inclusion in an upcoming episode of the Blackbird Literary Podcast.
Be sure to listen to our first podcast episode here to best understand the kind of work we’re seeking.
- Specifications:
- Submit up to 5 at a time.
- Submissions can be 12 minutes max, but we think the sweet spot is usually between 2 and 8 minutes. We do not accept work that uses Generative AI in any form, especially work that passes off AI-generated visuals, audio, and/or writing as one’s original creation. We acknowledge that most modern video and audio software integrates artificial intelligence to some extent, so we encourage submitters to contact our team should they have any questions regarding this policy.
- What to Submit:
- The sound-based literature piece (ideally as a private SoundCloud or unlisted YouTube link or a WAV/MP3)
- A transcript of the literature (as a Word Doc)
- Artist statement: A short paragraph about the project, its intentions, and how sound and text interact. This gives context for reviewers and can be brief.
- Author/artist bios: 50–100 words for publication and editorial purposes.
