Stories from a Queer Black Future - Pitch Event / Call for Proposals:

Afrofuturist Historians, Archivists & Creative Storytellers: If you or someone you know has stories to share about real-world Queer Black History (in a fictional framing); or speculative fiction covering any time(s) over the next 5 years to 4 billion years… you are encouraged to apply.

What it is…

A Pitch Event + Call for Writing ( & Other ) Submissions

We invite you to pitch your short story, poem, novella (or more – see below) for inclusion in an upcoming anthology: Stories from a Queer Black Future.

Selected stories would be included in an online anthology and/or a later print anthology to be published through our partnership with Black Zephyr Publishing.

Premise

The premise of this anthology is a narrative time-space journey through different time periods, including the historical past, the speculative past, the speculative near future, and the speculative far future.

We look to weave in narratives of Queer Black History…

…that visit real-world historical events

…that share Queer Black Perspectives and explorations, real and imagined.

We look to weave in narratives of Queer Black Futures…

…that explore the near future possibilities we might create together, be they jubilant, devastating, inspiring, awe-striking, hilarious, prophetic, meditative or… something uniquely Queeraesthetic™…

Ultimately, we're here to weave in narratives that embody what we already know: we have always been here. We will have always been here. And, while the future might be in flux and might include challenges, we are the ones we've been waiting for, and let's show each other and the world: by saving ourselves, we save everyone.

Themes

The themes of this anthology might span across Queer Black Experience and Queer Black Imagination. They might include:

• the joys and challenges of creating new, safer, wiser communities & spaces;
• what modern and future village might mean or look like or feel like;
• diaspora, across space and across time;
• speculative explorations of "Out of Africa" and early migrations;
• climate events;
• the origins of Blackness 💁🏾 (a relatively modern construction, perhaps);
• the origins of Whiteness (plot-twist origin story for fairer folk?);
• the origins of the Empire, Colony, and Oppression at community and national scales;
• the origins of Queerness (which precedes humanity ) and the threads leading to and through modern considerations of Queerness;
• Queer Black Love. at any time. at any times. across times. outside of time. across dimension and reality. love threads.;
• "Now that we've found love... what are we gonna do with it?";
• Reunions of the branches of humanity across time: Black exploration within and beyond Africa, interactions with other peoples and places. Speculations of how Black people re-arrived in ancient India, Pacific Islands, South America, North America and beyond. Hint: Anywhere Black people have been, Queer Black people have been.;
• How we (eventually) get it right / How we (at one point) had it right: Family. Cities. Communities. Nation-craft. Technology.;
• Queer Black Family;
• Queer Black Innovation;
• and Queer Black Community

YOUR MISSION

Pitch a story that would have the ancestors nodding, laughing, checking their math, gasping, clapping, and/or crying for joy.

MINOR DETAILS

Contributed works will be reviewed by a Panel of your Queers. More Panel details to be shared through the QBF newsletters.

Selected stories will be eligible not only for online and/or print anthology inclusion ( planned: anthology.QueerBlackFutures.com ) but also a cash or cash-equivalent ranging from $20 USD to $2,000 USD. More information on price amounts and categories to be shared here and through upcoming newsletter releases.

🥱 (feel free to skip this part. nothing to see here)

Among the contributors of selected works, 1 contributor will be selected to receive 2 tickets to their choice of our upcoming Queer Black Retreats to be announced in July.

Travel, if applicable, is included.

Eligibility & Application Range

We welcome these formats:

• short stories
• poems
• short plays
• skits
• video shorts
• journal entries
• found-footage video
• short films
• musical works
• visual art
• graphic novels
• fashion
  • designs
  • wearable pieces
  • complete looks
  • lookbooks
• architecture
  • architectural designs
  • scale models
• mobile apps
• web apps
• Tabletop role-playing games ( TTRPGs )
• offline AI & agentic experiences
  • Please contact us first regarding guidelines to limit resource usage in training and running
• robots & electronics ( raspberry pi creations welcome )

We welcome contributions for the first window starting at June 19, 2025 (any contributor timezone) ending December 19, 2025 (any contributor timezone).

We plan to announce winners during the week of December 24, 2025 - December 31, 2025.

How to Contribute

Use this Stories from a Queer Black Future 2025 Contribution Form

Subscribe for Updates

For the latest updates about Stories from a Queer Black Future, including winner announcements, subscribe here.