Devoted to Younger African American Artists
The Call
In 1926, Wallace Thurman, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Aaron Douglas lit a match called FIRE!!, a journal by younger Black artists who refused to wait for permission.
It ran one issue. It changed everything.
Now, we strike the match, one century later.
FIRE!!! returns to publish twenty-one new pieces, paid, in the spirit of the original.
There are seats at this table for emerging African American writers, poets, photographers, makers, and artists.
FIRE … flaming, burning, searing, and penetrating far beneath the superficial items of the flesh.
Foreword · FIRE!! · 1926
The Lineage · Roots to Revival
A century of the African American image: drawn, painted, photographed, and printed by human hands.
FIRE!!! publishes in that unbroken line.
Three Sections · Seven Pieces Each
FIRE!!! will publish artwork, essays, poetry, photography, conversations, and short stories organized around three themes: Politics, Culture, and Identity.
We believe these categories reflect the issues, ideas, and experiences that matter to African Americans, how we navigate today’s political and cultural landscape, and how our identities shape how we see ourselves, our communities, and the world.
Organizing, economics, citizenship and the status of the African American political world.
Topics may include voting rights, economic justice, education, housing, healthcare, technology, activism, public policy, and social movements — the everyday ways African Americans engage power, resistance, and change.
Music, photography, film, art, performance, and the life of the African American mind.
Topics may include music, art, fashion, language, foodways, digital culture, sports, faith traditions, and community life, meaning, joy, and African American connection in a rapidly changing world.
African American selfhood, lineage, belonging, and determination through who we say we are.
Topics may include family, gender, sexuality, regional identity, class, spirituality, mental health, belonging, and memory — how African Americans understand themselves and their place in the world.
An essay about voting rights can sit alongside a poem about family memory, a photo essay on African American fashion, or a reflection on navigating African American identity online.
Download the CallEligibility
Each section also carries one donated piece from an established voice in support of the cause.
The Work
Seven pieces in each of three sections: Politics, Culture, and Identity.
Rates are per accepted piece, paid plainly and proudly.
| Form | Rate |
|---|---|
| Short Story | $500 |
| Essay | $600 |
| Photography or Photo Essay | $500 |
| Art Piece | $500 |
| Conversation, Roundtable, or Interview | $600 |
| Poem | $200 |
25% on acceptance, once your proposal is in and the agreement is signed. The remaining 75% when editing is complete.
Group conversations pay $300 per participant.
For multimedia work, television and film rights are split 50/50 between you and FIRE!!!.
One piece per section is donated by an established voice as a gift to the issue, not a paid slot.
Every accepted piece is read and made by people.
FIRE!!! publishes work made by human hands, voices, and minds. Nothing else.
We commission our art and draw on the public-domain 1926 issue.
We do not generate it.
Proposals
Deadline · August 15, 2026
The Frequently Asked
Straight answers, before you spend your afternoon on a proposal.
No. Send a short proposal: a few sentences on who you are, what you're making, and why it belongs in FIRE!!!, plus a link to a work sample.
If we accept, you'll make the piece on a short editorial timeline.
Please, do not send a finished manuscript.
No. Submitting is free, and every accepted piece is paid.
We pay you to publish. You never pay us.
Yes. Each submission is a single piece, but you're welcome to enter more than one — just submit each work separately.
For every piece, choose the section (Politics, Culture, or Identity) and the art form that best fit it.
Yes. We prioritize unpublished voices, but prior work doesn't disqualify you.
The piece you propose must be original, new, and previously unpublished so FIRE!!! runs it first.
Rates are per accepted piece, ranging from $200 for a poem to $600 for an essay or two-person conversation. You receive 25% within 14 days of signing the agreement — non-refundable — and the remaining 75% within 30 days of editorial completion. Roundtables pay each participant.
You grant FIRE!!! an exclusive license for 36 months from first publication. After that, rights revert to you automatically. Film and television rights are negotiated per piece.
Your work is yours unless we agree otherwise.
We keep the right to leave your piece in the complete issue and archive.
The rule is absolute for all approved FIRE!!! submissions.
Not in the writing, not in the art, not in the research behind it. Every piece is vetted by people. Using AI in your submission ends the agreement on the spot: the work is pulled and the rights return to you.
This is non-negotiable.
Call for Proposals
Tell us about the fire you want to set for the world.
One piece per submission — submit additional works separately. Please do not send a finished manuscript.
Proposal received
Thank you. Your proposal is in.
We read every submission by human hand.
If it moves us, you'll hear from us within four to six weeks.
A confirmation email is on its way to your inbox.
