Maya Angelou Book Award

We were thrilled to find Maya Angelou Book Award winner @taylorbyas.bsky.social's poem "The Black Girl Comes to Dinner" in the brand-new book THIS IS THE HONEY: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY BLACK POETS, edited by Kwame Alexander.

Run out and pick this one up from a local library or bookstore today!

We're excited to announce the dates for @taylorbyas.bsky.social's tour, which begins next week! We hope you'll come out to hear Taylor read her poems, and if you haven't read her award-winning I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES, be sure to pick up a copy from your local library or bookstore!

There's less than one week left to submit to the Maya Angelou Book Award! This year we will be recognizing a work of fiction.

Publishers: send us your novels and short story collections that engage with social justice.

Link in bio for the submission portal and full eligibility guidelines!

Happy Birthday, Audre Lorde.

~~~

The smell of your neck in August
a fine gold wire bejeweling war
all the rest lies
illusive as a farmhouse
on the other side of a valley
vanishing in the afternoon.

—Audre Lorde
from “Never to Dream of Spiders”

Thanks to all the folks who talked with us at AWP over the weekend. Picked up some great new books and mags!

And just a reminder: we're still open for fiction submissions through April 1 (all entries must come directly from publishers). Link in bio for details and eligibility requirements.

Catch the great @taylorbyas.bsky.social at AWP next week here in Kansas City, at both official and offsite events!

Taylor Byas's landmark poetry collection I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES won the 2023 Maya Angelou Book Award.

Calling all small presses: we want to hear from you!

While we certainly welcome submissions from big-name publishers, we've made it a priority to also consider the incredible books put out by small and indie presses.

Follow the link in our bio for the manuscript submission form!

We are now accepting submissions for the 2024 Maya Angelou Book Award in Fiction! Novelists and short story writers, have your publishers send us your work!

Follow the link in our bio to check out the entry form and read our detailed guidelines. The portal will close on April 1, 2024.

As we gear up for next year's contest in fiction, we're taking a look back at our 2022 winner, Buki Papillon's AN ORDINARY WONDER, an extraordinary literary debut about a Nigerian boy's secret intersex identity and his desire to live as a girl. Check the link in our bio for more on past winners!

What does it mean to be a writer, to be from Chicago, and to *write* about Chicago? This year's Maya Angelou Book Award winner @taylorbyas.bsky.social is over at Literary Hub today, joining Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan on Fiction/Non/Fiction to discuss writing about Chicago.

Link in bio!

What does it mean to be a writer, to be from Chicago, and to *write* about Chicago? This year's Maya Angelou Book Award winner @taylorbyas.bsky.social is over at Literary Hub today, joining Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan on Fiction/Non/Fiction to discuss writing about Chicago.

Link in bio!

Monica Youn's FROM FROM was named a Finalist for the 2023 National Book Award. FROM FROM was also one of our favorite poetry collections from this year, so much so that it made our longlist! We hope you'll pick up a copy from your local bookstore or library.

Taylor Byas (@taylorbyas.bsky.social) will be reading at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library on Thursday, April 11!

This is just one stop on Taylor's reading tour. We'll be announcing events at the following locations soon!

-NWMSU
-UMKC
-MSU
-SEMO
-TSU
-MU
-Unbound Book Festival

We love each of our 2023 Finalists for the Maya Angelou Book Award! In their poetry and in their lives, these writers demonstrate a commitment to social justice, and we're honored to have showcased their important books:

Taylor Byas
Sally Wen Mao
Terrance Hayes
Franny Choi
Jessica Q. Stark

Don't forget that the winner of this year's Maya Angelou Book Award, Taylor Byas (@taylorbyas.bsky.social), will be going on a book tour next spring. She'll be reading at our partnering educational institutions across Missouri, so stay tuned for details and dates!

"South Side (I)," the first poem in @taylorbyas.bsky.social's I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES (Soft Skull Press), winner of the 2023 Maya Angelou Book Award.

It's truly a remarkable achievement.

i’m really looking forward to reading this

We're so happy that @taylorbyas.bsky.social's beautiful book is out in the wild, and that we're able to honor it as the winner of this year's Maya Angelou Book Award. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and order a copy from Soft Skull Press!

Still in disbelief this morning over this. Thank you @mayaangelouaward.bsky.social for this incredible honor, for seeing me, my book, and my mind.

No, thank *you*, Taylor, for writing such a beautiful and important book. We're honored to support you and your work!

And the second ever poetry winner for the Maya Angelou Book Award is:

I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times by Taylor Byas (@taylorbyas.bsky.social) -- Soft Skull Press

This collection is inspired by The Wiz and celebrates South Side Chicago and a Black woman’s quest for self-discovery.

Congrats!

And the second ever poetry winner for the Maya Angelou Book Award is:

I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times by Taylor Byas (@taylorbyas.bsky.social) -- Soft Skull Press

This collection is inspired by The Wiz and celebrates South Side Chicago and a Black woman’s quest for self-discovery.

Congrats!

Writers for Readers, a premier literary event in Kansas City, returns this Thursday night, October 5, with an exciting lineup featuring celebrated author Lan Samantha Chang and the announcement of this year's Maya Angelou Book Award winner for poetry!

Shortlist Spotlight no. 5:
Franny Choi's
THE WORLD KEEPS ENDING, AND THE WORLD GOES ON
✨
✨
"...THE WORLD KEEPS ENDING, AND THE WORLD GOES ON reminds us that apocalypse has already come in myriad ways for marginalized peoples." (Ecco Books)

Shortlist Spotlight no. 4:
Terrance Hayes's
SO TO SPEAK
✨
✨
"A powerful, timely, dazzling new collection of poems from Terrance Hayes, the National Book Award–winning author of LIGHTHEAD—to be published simultaneously with his latest work of literary criticism, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE." (Penguin Poets)

Shortlist Spotlight no. 4:
Terrance Hayes's
SO TO SPEAK
✨
✨
"A powerful, timely, dazzling new collection of poems from Terrance Hayes, the National Book Award–winning author of LIGHTHEAD—to be published simultaneously with his latest work of literary criticism, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE." (Penguin Poets)

Shortlist Spotlight no. 3:
Sally Wen Mao's
THE KINGDOM OF SURFACES
✨
✨
"...Sally Wen Mao examines art and history—especially the provenance of objects such as porcelain, silk, and pearls—to frame an important conversation on beauty, empire, commodification, and violence." (Graywolf)

We just talked about this book with Sally Wen Mao and Jeff Shotts of Graywolf as part of @therumpus.bsky.social Poetry Book Club. It’s an excellent and Sally and Jeff are fun to talk to.

We're thrilled that it's getting the attention it deserves.