Instagram story viewer> @torchliteraryarts> Tagged

Torch Literary Arts

@torchliteraryarts

17.1K

followers

2055

following

We're a nonprofit amplifying Black women writers. HQ: Torch Center, ATX. Bookshop, Coworking, Library, Torch Magazine, programs, and events.🔥

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

@mamcookiemarcina @torchliteraryarts @redhatsociety The Men had a Haberdashery store in Downtown Youngstown; but the Women had #LANEBRYANTS and that's where I learned that to wear a "HAT" was the final Sunday accessory to being a Dignified Mother Sister. You see, it was one thing to wear the color coordinated Ladies suit with the shoes and handbag to match. It was a special affair to choose the appropriate hat to which it sometimes was quite a dramatic affair especially if the Lady was incapable on her own of choosing a face flattering style. Considering the shape of one's head; if you had a long face then a fascinator might be better suitable than a Derby hat?! Regardless, the lovely sales ladies were so genteel and quaint and new how to give constructive criticism that made the women beam with pride once they did chose the appropriate hat style to their liking. 💋👩🏾‍🍳 M.W.A. © OCTOBER 25th, 2026

1

2

Reading and Q & A with Shara McCallum

We are excited to share that this event will be held at Torch Literary Arts located at:

6406 N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd
Suite 1807
Austin, TX 78752

We will be there Thursday, November 5 from 7 - 8 p.m.

This event is OPEN & FREE TO THE PUBLIC.

We hope to see you there!!

5

0

JUST ANNOUNCED 📖 KNIFE: THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE screens at the State Theatre on Friday, November 20th presented by @torchliteraryarts and @texasbookfestival. ⁠
⁠
From Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney, this gripping documentary chronicles the 2022 attempt on Salman Rushdie’s life and his extraordinary recovery, exploring the power of art as an act of resistance.⁠
⁠
📚 Come early to browse Torch Literary Arts’ pop-up bookshop in the lobby, and stay after the film for a special Q&A with cinematographer and executive producer Rachel Eliza Griffiths.⁠
⁠
🎟️ Tickets on sale NOW at the link in bio!

3

3

28

0

✨The vibes are immaculate ✨, and the stories are just getting started!

@torchliteraryarts is keeping Austin’s literary flame burning, and this October, there are even more ways to be part of the story!

Executive Director @poetamandajohnston and Communications Associate Brittany Heckard joined @swaggonerrr on We Are Austin to share how @torchliteraryarts is amplifying Black women writers and creating a welcoming space for the entire community.

From their beautiful new Torch Center at The Linc, complete with a bookstore, library and coworking space, to virtual writing circles and powerful conversations with award-winning authors, there’s something for every book lover and creative!

- October 10: Saturday Open House, 10 AM–4 PM

- October 12: Virtual Torch Writing Circle, 7 PM

- October 13: The Sacred & the Secret: Writing the Women of the Black Church

As Amanda shared, “The most important thing is that you have a place where you know you belong.”

Learn more about upcoming events and ways to get involved at TorchLiteraryArts.org.

3

2

Happy 20 Years to @torchliteraryarts ❤️ @poetamandajohnston and Torch changed my life. I had been working as a writer + artist for years but in 2023, I was accepted as a Torch Retreat Fellow. I spent a week at the Colston Hotel in Austin with a cohort of Black women writers. I had no obligation other than to be present. I was allowed to write, sleep, walk, swim, eat. This was the first time in my writing career that an institution invited me somewhere with no expectation of my labor. Just a belief in my work and investment in it. It radicalized me. It shifted my process. I started the bones of a WIP that is almost finished here.

Gathering Flames, The celebration of 20 years of @torchliteraryarts was full of folks who have been impacted by what @poetamandajohnston has built and the way she has chosen to invest in us. It was a blessing to be in Austin to celebrate!!!

I am missing sooo many pics with so many dear hearts 😭 I thought we took more selfies together y’all!! ❤️ if you have one of us, send it my way!

239

30

Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate an organization, program, or person to be a The Joy of Poeting beneficiary for season 4. The entities selected are:

@herstryblg ‘s Babes Who Write
@torchliteraryarts
@ellibrofelizyyo
@krissykludt ‘s and @wildandincolor ‘s Writing the Wild
@arianathepoet ‘s Poets Garden
@wildroofjournal

Season 4 starts January 10. Registration is sliding scale and already open. Find the link in my bio.

27

8

Unreleased after its 1984 premiere, this KILLER OF SHEEP follow-up is the story of Pierce Mundy, who scrapes by in a dead-end job in South Central. But with his best friend released from prison and his brother set to marry a first-class snoot, he’s got some figuring out to do of his own. Re-edited and released to critical acclaim in 2007, MY BROTHER’S WEDDING is filled with “voices and memories, humor and rage; [Charles Burnett’s] vision of neighborhood life has an ample, passionate generosity” (The New Yorker).

The new 4K restoration of MY BROTHER'S WEDDING screens October 18 & 21. Tickets and more info via the link in our bio.

Thanks to our partners @baffestival @torchliteraryarts

423

1

a week since this life-changing weekend already! ✨✨✨

I had the honor of volunteering at @torchliteraryarts 20th anniversary celebration “A Gathering of Flames.” to say I’m grateful would be an understatement. what string of words can describe how it feels to bear witness to a vision made real? one sustained over 20 years that now burns brightly across the world — manifest in the art made by hundreds of intelligent, once-in-a-lifetime Black women visionary. and the DJ spinnin’ Choppa Style???? chile, we had a time! I’ll keep it cute and say I’ve never been more inspired to sit down and do the work. to bite Sharon Bridgfoth, I fear I’ll be growing up artistically in Austin, Texas 💛

I thank @poetamandajohnston for letting me be part of this historic moment in Black History. shoutout to my girllllll @liberatingself and all my fellow volunteers for doin’ the damn thing 💐💐💐💐

Torch Literary Arts is an literary institution homegrown here in ATX built and nurtured by dreamers and lovers who make changing the world look easy 💛✊🏿🖤 get involved! get you a magazine, attend the writing circles, visit the Torch Center, read a Black woman’s writing TODAY, and set up monthly donations! here’s to Torch 40 !!!!!!!!!! 💛💛💛💛💛

136

9

192

14

20

0

🎃 This October at AFS Cinema

282

3