Newsletter Submissions

Spirituality in Black Artistry:

BIPOCRYPHA is now on Substack as BIPOCRYPHA Bulletin, a newsletter where we invite your contributions alongside our annual themed literary magazine, as we pursue our vision to challenge the Western Canon, enrich the Black Canon, and expand the Biblical Canon by highlighting new perspectives and aesthetics rooted in the experiences of African American religious traditions.

How has faith, ritual, ancestry, or the sacred shaped your creative life? Where does your artistic practice and spiritual journey meet? We welcome reflective, vulnerable, and thought-provoking personal essays that examine the many ways Black artists/writers encounter the divine, the mysterious, and the deeply human through creative expression.

We are seeking personal essays created by Black artists/writers that engage with the above motif.

Modern African American literature, though it’s typically narrated as being secular, is in fact fundamentally religious. – Josef Sorett

How to Submit:

Please send all solicited and unsolicited submissions to BIPOCRYPHA@gmail.com.

There is NO DEADLINE! Newsletter submissions are selected on a rolling basis.

All submissions should include the following information:

In the subject line: BIPOCRYPHA Bulletin Submission- (Title of Essay)

In the email body:

  1. Your name.
  2. Title of submission.
    • Attach 1 personal essay, 500-1500 words (7 pages max), in a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
  3. An artist’s statement of up to 150 words, addressing the theme(s) of the submitted piece.
  4. Bio of up to 150 words.
  5. If you have any, please include a link to your artist’s web-page or social media handles.

Attached:

For prose: Submit 1 personal essay inside a single .doc, .docx, or .pdf file (up to 7 pages total), using Times New Roman. Essays should be 500-1500 words.

If you have any questions, email us at BIPOCRYPHA@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram @BIPOCRYPHA. To share with Black faith-based artists you know who are interested in having their work published, please link them to this submission page.

At this time, all newsletter submissions are gratuitous, and we thank you deeply for your voluntary efforts as we endeavor to create a more rewarding framework, recognizing the importance of compensating Black creators.