Welcome to Britain: a Call for Poetry and Short Fiction

CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems and short fiction on the theme, Welcome to Britain.

We welcome submissions exploring but not limited to:

• images, issues, histories, lives, and demands that are currently in play in Britain today

• daily life in Britain

• reparations for slave trading, the use of slave labour and for benefiting from the slavery system (the extended global system involving plantation labour and slave-produced commodities etc)

• issues that made the Black Lives Matter movement relevant to Britain, the current state of the movement and its possible futures

• responses that engage with, contest and subvert the myths Britain tells about itself

• responses to British politicians' attitudes towards the use of nuclear weapons and their fixation with the idea of pushing 'the button'

• responses to Britain’s role in the current Ukraine-Russian War that go beyond, engage with or challenge the propaganda coming from both sides of the conflict

• responses to how Britain positions itself in the world

• migration, refugee and human rights issues in Britain,  and

• issues affecting racialised and minoritised groups in Britain.

We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. 

 

Please send the poems and/or short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 2pm on Thursday, 8 September 2022.

 

Submission Guidelines

 

● Poems should be 40 lines or less

● Short prose 100 words or less.

● The poems and short prose should be on the theme, Welcome to Britain. 

● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.

● If submitting a poem or short prose that has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.

● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment.

● Please include a short biography of 100 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem or short fiction is accepted. 

● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.

● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.

● Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 2pm on Thursday, 8 September 2022.

CivicLeicester is an indy publisher that uses poetry, video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations. Books we have published include Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology (2022), Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World (2020) and Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Friction (2019).

Africans in Ukraine: a Call for Poems, Short Stories and Creative Nonfiction

CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems, short stories and creative nonfiction (including memoir, diary entries, chronicles, biographical and autobiographical accounts, letters and other narratives) on the theme, Africans in Ukraine.

We welcome submissions exploring:

• the lived experience of being an African in Ukraine

• what brought Africans to Ukraine

• their lives in Ukraine before the current Ukraine-Russian War

• what happened when the war broke out

• experiences of and flight from the conflict

• the images, issues, histories, lives and demands that Africans in Ukraine are highlighting

• the reception Africans got in neighbouring countries or in their countries of origin, and

• what happens or what should happen next. 

We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. 

We particularly welcome submissions from people of African descent who were living and studying in Ukraine and those who witnessed or are witnessing what this group of people are going through.

 

Please send the poems, short prose and creative nonfiction to civicleicester@gmail.com

The call for submissions will stay open until we have enough material for an anthology.

 

Submission Guidelines

 

● Poems should be 40 lines or less

● Short stories and creative nonfiction 1,500 words or less.

● The poems, short stories and creative nonfiction should be on the theme, Africans in Ukraine.

● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.

● If submitting a poem, short story or creative nonfiction that has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.

● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment.

● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem, short story or creative nonfiction is accepted. 

● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short stories or three pieces of creative nonfiction or a combination of poems, short stories and creative nonfiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.

● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.

● We particularly welcome submissions from people of African descent who were living and studying in Ukraine and those who witnessed or are witnessing what this group of people are going through.

● Please send the poems, short prose and creative nonfiction to civicleicester@gmail.com

● The call for submissions will stay open until we have enough material for an anthology.

 

Notes:

1. What Next for African Students in Ukraine? (Petition)
2. Virginia Pietromarchi. Across Europe, African students fight to study after Ukraine exit. Al Jazeera, 13 May 2022
3. Shamira Ibrahim. Africans In Ukraine: Stories Of War, Anti-Blackness & White Supremacy. Refinery29, 6 March 2022
4. CivicLeicester is an indy publisher that uses poetry, video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations. Books we have published include Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology (2022), Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World (2020) and Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Friction (2019). 

This post was updated on 12 December 2022 to remove the deadline for submissions and turn it into an open call.

This post was updated on 23 July 2022 to change the deadline from 14 July 2022 to 24 November 2022.

Poetry and Settled Status for All - a Call for Submissions

Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology (CivicLeicester, 2022) is now available.

This call for submissions is now closed.

CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems and short fiction on the theme, Settled Status or Indefinite Leave to Remain for All. 

The editors will also consider poems and short fiction exploring themes that include: 

● lived experience of being a migrant or an undocumented migrant or seeking refuge in Britain and the Irish States, 

● migrant, undocumented migrant or refugee experiences of rural and urban life, education, housing, work, healthcare, immigration and asylum systems, and 

● the hostile environment. 

 

The call for submissions is inspired by how, in Britain and the Irish States, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, several coalitions, including the Status Now Network (SNN), Members of Parliament (MPs) and groups that are concerned about the welfare of refugees and migrants are calling for settled status or indefinite leave to remain to be granted to all people who have insecure immigration status or are undocumented or in the legal process so that the people can access healthcare, housing, food and vaccines. 

 

We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. Submissions should respond to or explore the themes set out in this call for submissions. 

Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 11pm on Wednesday, 30 June 2021. 

Submission Guidelines 

● Poems should be 40 lines or less, and short fiction, 100 words or less. 

● The poems and short fiction should be on the theme, Settled Status or Indefinite Leave to Remain for All.

● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work. 

● If submitting a poem or short fiction which has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder. 

● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment. 

● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem is accepted. If you do not send a biography, it will be assumed you do not wish your biography to appear in the anthology. 

● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions. 

● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. 

● Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 11pm on Wednesday, 30 June 2021 

 

Notes: 

1. Poetry anthology fundraising page 

2. CivicLeicester is an indy publisher that uses video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations

● This post was last updated on 25 January 2022 to indicate that Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology is now available.

● This post was last updated on 5 July 2021 to indicate that the call for submissions is now closed. 

● This post was last updated on 4 April 2021 to reflect that the deadline for the call for submissions has been extended to 11pm on Wednesday, 30 June 2021.

● The image accompanying this blog post was first changed on 15 March 2021 and then on 4 April 2021 to reflect deadline extensions.

● This post was first updated on 13 March 2021 to reflect that the deadline for the call for submissions has been extended to 11pm on Wednesday, 31 March 2021.

Black Lives Matter: a Call for Poems and Microfiction

Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New Word (CivicLeicester, 2020) is now available*

CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems and short fiction on the theme, Black Lives Matter.

We welcome submissions exploring any of the images, issues, triggers, histories, lives, demands and outcomes that are being highlighted by Black Lives Matter and current and past protests.

We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.

The video of George Floyd dying as a white policeman pressed his knee against Floyd's neck and kept it there even after Floyd had stopped speaking or moving has triggered weeks of mass protests around the world.

The protests are taking place in the midst of a global pandemic that is also disproportionately killing people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Around the world people are demanding justice.

"Black Lives Matter", "Hands up, don't shoot", "Am I a threat?", "I can't breathe", "White silence is violence", "No justice, no peace", "Is my son next?", "Get your knee off my neck" have become rallying calls against police brutality and against the killing of Black people by the police. They have become rallying calls against racism, racial profiling and racialised inequality, discrimination and oppression.

Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 2pm on Tuesday, 7 July 2020

Submission Guidelines

● Poems should be 40 lines or less, and short fiction, 100 words or less.
● The poems and short fiction should be on the theme, Black Lives Matter.
● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.
● If submitting a poem or short fiction which has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.
● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment.
● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem is accepted. If you do not send a biography, it will be assumed you do not wish your biography to appear in the anthology.
● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.
● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.
● Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 2pm on Tuesday, 7 July 2020.

Notes:

1. Black Lives Matter poetry anthology fundraising page

2. Black Lives Matter, Wikipedia entry

3. CivicLeicester is an indy publisher that uses video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations
 
*Updated on 17 November 2020 to show that Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World (CivicLeicester, 2020) is now available.

Bollocks to Brexit: Poetry & Microfiction - a Call for Submissions

Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction (CivicLeicester, 2019) is now available.*

We are inviting, and are accepting, poems and short fiction on the theme, Bollocks to Brexit.

Brexit has polarised the country and led to the normalisation of xenophobia, Islamophobia and hate crimes. Can the harm it is causing be stopped? Can it be reversed? Who should clean up the mess which the politicians have made and are making? What will the future be like for Britain? Who will be the winners and who the losers? Should it be like this? Should the country be divided in two?

Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 11pm on Friday, 29 March 2019.

Submission Guidelines

● Poems should be 40 lines or less, and short fiction, 100 words or less.
● The poems and short fiction should be on the theme, Bollocks to Brexit.
● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.
● If submitting a poem or short fiction which have been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.
● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment.
● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem is accepted. If you do not send a biography, it will assumed you do not wish your biography to appear in the anthology.
● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.
● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.
● Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 11pm on Friday, 29 March 2019.

Notes:

1. Source of Image: Bollocks to Brexit
2. Bollocks to Brexit stickers are available from EU Flag Mafia

*This post was last updated on 3 June 2019 to reflect that Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction is now available.

Leicester 2084 AD: Poetry & Microfiction - a Call for Submissions

Leicester 2084 AD: New Poems about The City is now available. 

An introduction to the anthology can be read on the Creative Writing at Leicester blog. 

Could you write a poem or short fiction that shares an experience or aspect on or of future Leicester?

Your poem or short fiction could be about life, personalities or relationships with, within or around the city, its people, features, landmarks, peculiarities, history, or future.

What will Leicester be like in the year 2084? How will it get there? Where will it go or where did it go along the way?

There is a legend, at most points into the city, that says,
Welcome to
Leicester
Historic City.

Will this legend still be there in the year 2084 or will it have been replaced by another one?

What greeting will people get when they come to future Leicester? What will they be coming to? What or where will they be coming from?

What meaning will Leicester have in the year 2084? What will Leicester mean to its citizens, residents and to others? What will Leicester's relationship be like with or within itself or with the rest of the world?

Submission Guidelines

● Poems should be 40 lines or less, and short fiction, 100 words or less.
● The poems and short fiction should have a strong, recognisable link to Leicester.
● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.
● If submitting a poem or short fiction which have been previously published please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you own the copyright.
● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment. Postal submissions will also be accepted.
● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem is accepted. If you do not send a biography, it will assumed you do not wish your biography to appear in the anthology.
● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.
● Please send poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 5.30pm on 1 August 2018.
● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.

Note:

This blog post was amended on 22 July 2018 to show that the deadline for submissions for Leicester 2084 AD has been extended from 12 midnight on 15 July 2018 to 5.30pm on 1 August 2018. The rest of the brief and submission guidelines remain the same.

The blog post was further amended on 1 October 2018 to include a statement saying Leicester 2084 AD: New poems about the city is now out, and that an introduction to the anthology is available on the Creative Writing at Leicester blog.