Unlikely Stories Mark V is enthusiastically accepting submissions for a special issue: #BlackArtMatters. We are accepting submissions through August 15, 2016.

#BlackArtMatters will be a celebration of the incredible continuing contributions of Black artists to the global dialogue. We’re looking for poetry, spoken word (videos and audio), fiction, creative non-fiction, other forms of literature, music, sound art, short movies, and any sort of visual art on the Black experience. We seek critical essays, reviews, and analyses of Black art. We want personal essays on the Black experience. Submissions can be in regards to recent events, but they don’t have to be. Systemic racism is a global problem, and we define Black art and the Black experience globally (we are an English-language magazine).

Regrettably, we are not publishing journalistic analyses of racism and the Black experience. Although such articles are invaluable, there are other sites which handle them better. We are looking for people who can tell their own experiences.

Submissions from people of any background are welcome (and essays about Black art by non-Black people are certainly welcome). However, we will be entirely focused on Black art, giving Black artists preference over submissions from non-Black persons. We make no apologies for this—this is a themed issue. Note that Unlikely Stories Mark V has a very frequent publication schedule of non-themed work, and our single most-represented demographic is white male poets. We encourage all demographic groups to send work on any subject once the submission period for #BlackArtMatters closes.

#BlackArtMatters will be guest-edited by Black educator and advocate Rosalyn Spencer, who will be the sole decision-maker regarding submissions. Our regular staff: Jonathan Penton, Justin Herrmann, and Felino A. Soriano, will be viewing submissions in an advisory capacity only. Submit work to #BlackArtMatters at UnlikelyStories.Submittable.com, and please join our mailing list at http://eepurl.com/bR9fFH.