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Lampblack Lit

@lampblack_lit

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Lampblack is committed to the advancement of Black literature and our community through direct aid, various programming, and more.

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We are honored to present to our comrades and community our Black August 2026 Programming Calendar! This is the 47th month of Black August since it was first celebrated in 1979 in San Quentin Prison eight years after the uprising that would transform George Jackson and two of his comrades into martyrs for the people’s revolutionary movement 👊🏽⛓️‍💥

Almost half a century later, we’re excited to bring the principles of STUDY, TRAIN, FAST, FIGHT to the community of Central Brooklyn 🥷🏽

We have several political programs scheduled throughout the week that exemplify a variety of these principles and aim to uplift the revolutionary cultural expression of the Black liberation struggle within the Belly of the Beast 🖤

Join us for the Black Diaspora Potluck or a screening of the film The Spook Who Sat By The Door. Study with us at the Black Feminism 2026 Panel moderated by Black women comrades and learn about the revolutionary Herbalism that aided ancestor Harriett Tubman conduct the Underground Railroad 👼🏽

And definitely make sure you come by for the launch of our Black August edition of the People’s Torch! 📰

We look forward to seeing you all, and are excited for another month of pushing the struggle forward ✊🏽🕯️

Free The Land!
Let The Dragons Free!

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What a joyous time at the #bronxbookfestival yesterday! Readers were out in full force, the bookstore stayed rammed, delicious food and drinks were on offer, and attendees were treated to an enlightening series of author panels and conversations. Thanks so much to @thebronxisreading for putting together this wonderful event!

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In celebration of Juneteenth, we’re highlighting lit mags that amplify voices from the African Diaspora and showcase the richness, diversity, and creativity of Black writers and storytellers around the world. 🖤

@obsidianartsmag is an award-winning, peer-reviewed Black academic journal about literature and arts in the African Diaspora based at @illinoisstateu.

@lampblacklit is committed to the advancement of Black literature and community through direct aid, programming, and more.

@torchliteraryarts is a 501(c)(3) organization creating advancement opportunities for Black women writers.

#Juneteenth #literarymagazines #BlackLiterature #writingcommunity #publishing

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Hewes House is excited to introduce our new Substack column, Confession Album, borrowing from a Victorian parlor game said to cut to the depths of one’s personality and used by Marcel Proust for his “Questionnaire.”

Our first Confession Album features writer, filmmaker, and @lampblack_lit editor @zgraham19. We love his interview, and we’re pretty sure you will, too. 💥

Through this series, we aim to highlight writers who are making moves in the literary space through selfmade methods. We hope you’ll check out their work and take their practice as inspiration for your own.

Link in bio to read Zack’s interview, or head to heweshouse.substack.com.

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Deadline: April 15, 2026

Lampblack, a magazine dedicated to voices from the Black diaspora, is accepting submissions of previously unpublished poetry, prose and criticism for Volume VI.

Submit no more than 5 pages of poetry or 15 pages of prose. They will pay $300 for accepted submissions in any genre.

Please note, if your work is accepted, Lampblack will likely ask you to take part in promotional readings and events.

lampblacklit.com/submissions

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Hi Wabunifu, we’re back this week with more ✨

1. 🎨EAWA & The ACTS Pathway and Academy invite individuals, community groups and organisations across the continent to share powerful water stories through visual and audiovisual (fine art, graphic design, video and photos), audio and/or written formats.

2. 📝Lampblack lit invites works of prose and poetry from writers who are Black, members of the African Diaspora! Send over your favorite unpublished poetry, prose and criticisms and they will try to make space for you in our magazine. They will pay $300 for accepted submissions in any genre. Please submit no more than 5 pages of poetry or 15 pages of prose .

3. 👩🏽‍💻Archives Zetu is a founding collective building an independent Afrikan-centred platform that centers multiple voices in knowledge production. If you’re passionate about counter-colonial methodologies, decolonial research and collaborative intellectual work, they want to connect!

4. 🎨Tanzania Skate are looking for a passionate volunteer traditional artist to teach street children painting, drawing, and other art skills. This is a beautiful opportunity to share your talent, inspire creativity, and help young minds express themselves through art.

#Ubunifu #OpenCallArtists #AfricqnArtists

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2025 might be the year that’s tested me the most up until this point. Who I am as a person, what my principles are and what I’m willing to do to defend them, what it means to grieve, what it means to be there for my family, who I am as an artist and what I want it to mean, among so many more. I won’t lie it’s been rough. But through the smoke I’ve gotten moments of fresh air and clarity.
- I got back into illustrating, after a 2-3 year hiatus, having lost my drive.
- I had the honor of directing, scoring and illustrating my first directorial project with @pierangelopirak and @pomona.pictures under Al Jazeera. Followed with the opportunity to present it at this year’s MIA Festival in Rome.
- I was blessed with the chance to score and Art Direct “Protect the Cure’s” recent initiatives towards new solutions to Anti-Malarial resistance.
- @lampblack_lit trusted me with Creatively Directing their 5th year anniversary’s Magazine and speaking on the photography and illustration process.
- I sonically produced, directed, performed and edited 2 of my own music videos that I’m proud of.
- I got to meet new communities, organize with them and feel the growth of our Struggle collectively.
- Ans honestly, just made it through day by day to the end.
All I can say is Alhamdullilah. Genuinely. Many struggle with so much worse, on much larger, structural scales on a day to day. I can only be thankful that I’ve received the tests that I have. Thank you to all those who helped me through, supported me, and allowed me the space to grow with them. More new work on the way and #happynewyear 💙💙

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I have four poems in Lampblack’s 5th Anniversary Issue! These poems stitch together pieces from artists whose work I admire.
It’s so lovely to see these poems in print! Featuring a clip from my reading with @heatlightningreadings and composer and violist @cinerdy 💝 Issue linked in my bio!

Artworks listed in order of appearance:

Haste, (2021), Danielle Mckinney | Photo credit: Pierre Le Hors

Untitled (Maroon Over Red) (1968), Mark Rothko

From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried (1995-96), Carrie Mae Weems

The Red Sky (Detail) (2009), Louise Bourgeois

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Gratitude. The writing gets done alone, but the work would be impossible without Kat and a bunch of other people.

I opened the year at an artists residency reading my manuscript aloud and with my short story “Remember Jerry Springer” in Kweli Journal.

Jacqueline Woodson selected “Bagging Weight,” an excerpt of my novel-in-progress, for @guernicamag in February setting me up lovely. I continued working on the manuscript with Tony Tulathimutte @tonytula at the CRIT workshop @critworkshop w/ the CRIR crew.

In March, On the Tip of Your Mother’s Tongue—second edition—dropped. (Thirty West @thirtywestph ).

I’m grateful for Laura Pegram @kweli.journal and all she does for us; she brought us together in Sing the Truth: The Kweli Short Story Collection (Simon & Schuster), which includes my short story “Without a Big One.”

This summer I was invited to the Santo Domingo International Book Fair @filsantodomingo . While there, I published “La Kapital,” a personal essay, in @diariolibre , a Spanish-language newspaper.
 This week, my personal essay “On Screens” dropped in Mosaic Magazine issue 44 a tribute to James Baldwin, guest edited by the mastermind Roberto Carlos Garcia @robertoisoffworld . Shoutout to @ron.kavanaugh , who keeps putting us on, keeps us reading and loving books through the Literary Freedom Project.

Forthcoming “Before Anyone Else” in Sing Me a Story: Short Stories in Verse by Latine Authors (Penguin Random House @penguinrandomhouse ), edited by prolific Aida Salazar @aida_writes , scheduled for August 2026.

Finally, I’ll be starting next year outside New York City at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts @khncenter in Nebraska the same way I began this year at Baldwin for the Arts @baldwinforthearts .

I also busted my knee this year, which did a number on ego, but thank God I wasn’t alone.

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romare bearden coined the term ‘prevalence of ritual’, which mary schmidt campbell described as bearden’s commitment to “the continuity of a culture’s ceremonies, marking the traditions and values that connect one generation to another.”

1-7: @mocada_museum ✨
8-19: @studiomuseum
1: 📷 @domflicksz

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A brief look at the Lampblack Magazine 5th Anniversary celebration 🖤

We’re incredibly grateful to our readers Nyeda Stewart (@nyeda.s) and Dr. Mahogany L. Browne (@mobrowne). Explore even more of their work in the newest edition of our magazine. We were able to catch a glimpse of the artistic process behind the magazine’s cover by multimedia artist/filmmaker Midiaou Diallo (@mij.0uu). We were kept on our feet throughout the night by the majestic sounds of Felice Gee (@feegeeflow) with music that was as meditative as it was celebratory.

Most importantly, so much gratitude goes to @mocada_museum for consistently welcoming us into their beautiful space. Thank you to everyone in attendance who made this event as magical as it was! ✨

If you haven’t already, head over to our website to grab a copy of Lampblack Magazine today!

Photos by: @domflicksz

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