Dedicated to discovering unique, exceptional, and varied voices within Black literary traditions, the Screen Door Press imprint will celebrate the very best in fiction across a broad range of categories. Its goal is to publish thought-provoking books that use relatable characters, strong narratives, and beautiful language to champion diverse views from throughout the Black diaspora. The Screen Door Press Imprint is sponsored by the Thomas D. Clark Foundation.
Two authors will each receive a publishing contract and a $5,000 prize.
EDITED BY CRYSTAL WILKINSON
Crystal Wilkinson, a recent fellowship recipient of the Academy of American Poets, is the award-winning author of Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, a culinary memoir; Perfect Black, a collection of poems; and three works of fiction—The Birds of Opulence, Water Street and Blackberries, Blackberries. She is the recipient of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Poetry, an O. Henry Prize, a USA Artists Fellowship, and an Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence. She has received recognition from the Yaddo Foundation, Hedgebrook, The Vermont Studio Center for the Arts, The Hermitage Foundation and others. Her short stories, poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including most recently in The Atlantic, The Kenyon Review, STORY, Agni Literary Journal, Emergence, Oxford American and Southern Cultures. She was Poet Laureate of Kentucky from 2021 to 2023. Wilkinson currently teaches creative writing at the University of Kentucky where she is a Bush-Holbrook Endowed Professor.
Photo by Carsen Bryant
Submission and publication timeline
March 1, 2025 – Imprint submissions open
April 15, 2025 – Imprint submissions close
Fall 2025 – Finalists selected and announced
2027 – Publication of imprint titles
All manuscripts must be submitted between March 1 and April 15.
Submission materials must include:
- Full manuscript
- Cover letter
- Author bio OR resume/CV
- Contact information
