Kweli Journal publishes four issues a year.
We read general submissions from September 1 through May 30.
We welcome original, unpublished work from emerging and established writers of color. Please check the website for details.
http://kwelijournal.org
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as long as they are indicated as such. Authors must immediately notify the editors if said work has been selected for publication in another periodical, either in print or online.
Kweli does NOT accept previously published work.
Contact editors@kwelijournal.org
For prose submissions, submit one (1) short story or one (1) self-contained novel excerpt or creative non-fiction piece of no more than 5,000 words in one single file in doc., rtf, or .pdf format.
For poetry submissions, submit up to three poems totaling no more than 6 pages in one single file in doc., rtf, or .pdf format.
DéLana R.A. Dameron Prize for Fiction
To honor the brilliant life and art of poet, novelist and visionary DÉLANA R.A. DAMERON, we welcome submissions of 6,000 words or less that engage with Black Girlhood.
One new and emerging short story writer will be selected by LATOYA WATKINS. The writer will appear in a forthcoming issue of Kweli and will receive a cash prize of $2K.
Submissions open on March 2 and close on March 23.
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DéLana R.A. Dameron (January 30, 1985 - November 29, 2025) is a Black southern equestrian and an artist whose primary medium is storytelling. Her debut work of fiction Redwood Court was a NYT Editor's Choice and a Reese's Book Club Pick. She is the author of two books of poetry How God Ends Us and Weary Kingdom. Dameron’s second work of fiction Fairfield County is forthcoming from Dial Press in June 2026.
LaToya Watkins’ writing has appeared in A Public Space, The Sun, Kweli Journal, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Kenyon Review, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, and elsewhere. She is a Kimibilo fellow and has received support from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, MacDowell, OMI: Arts, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Camargo Foundation. She is the author of Perish and Holler, Child.