May Updates: Virtual Workshops, Our New Book Reviewer Program, and the Book Award Fiction Prize for QTBIPOC Writers!!
We're welcoming in an eventful May! Don't forget to submit to our first-ever book award prize!
CLOSING SOON: Book Award Fiction Prize for QTBIPOC Writers!
Deadline is May 31st!
For our first ever full length fiction prize, Abode Press is looking to acquire fiction short story collections or novels written by people of color who are queer and/or trans. We want work that is voice driven, sparks social change, reminds us of home, and defies genre. We are especially interested in works that are haunting, that have a strong sense of place, that are queer, radical, and genre defiant. Some of the editorial teams favorite authors who do this remarkably well are Octavia Butler, Mariana Enriquez, Carmen Maria Machado, Toni Morrison, and Rivers Solomon. We also love when work is inspired from theorists, such as Audre Lorde and Saidiya Hartman.
The book award fiction prize is open until May 31st. We cannot wait to read your work. Guidelines and submission info here!
PRIZE DETAILS
- 1000 cash prize
- 25 author copies
- Standard book contract
- Professional marketing and publicity
- Work with an indie press and a small team who will champion your work!
May Virtual Workshop: The Word, the Bow, & the Arrow
May 16, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM CDT | Virtual Workshop
About the event
Workshop Description: June Jordan said, “I still do not recognize a necessary conflict between the sonnet and the bow & arrow.” This workshop asks: How might the poem and the bow & arrow nod to one another with recognition? Where do poetry and action meet? What gives poetry, in particular, the power to be dangerous, to stir our readers to revolutionary action? In this 2-hour generative workshop we will consider the possibilities of inciting action through language and walk through the mud of no-easy-answers together.
About the Presenter: Yomalis Rosario (she/her) is a Black Dominican poet who was born and raised in Washington Heights, NYC. She is a graduate of the 2025 Brooklyn Poets Mentorship Program and serves as the Managing Editor for WE THE SOIL. Her work appears or is forthcoming in ROOM Magazine, I Feel Nothing Like Good Anthology, Nimrod, & elsewhere.
Tickets are $25 minimum for general admission and limited $10 tickets for writers-in-need. All proceeds go towards paying our presenters and helping the Press pay for operational expenses. Thank you for your contribution to help keep an indie intersectional press afloat! Get your tickets here!
Apply for Our Book Reviewer Program!
Abode Press is seeking thoughtful reviewers for upcoming titles. Applicants will be asked to complete a short form to help determine eligibility for the program. While a limited number of physical copies are available, digital galleys are strongly encouraged due to small print runs. *Please note that physical books can only be shipped within the United States, as our titles are distributed domestically. International applicants are welcome to request digital galleys but must demonstrate how they will reach U.S. audiences who can purchase print editions. Ideal reviewers are aligned with the types of work we publish, have experience reviewing books or a clear plan for doing so, and bring an intentional approach to their reviews.
Apply for the program here.
Welcome Our New Programs Manager, Ravneet Sandhu & Our Publicity Manager, Angela Heiser!
Abode Staff News!
We want to take a moment to acknowledge accomplishments in the Abode Press family.
Marilyn Ramírez has a poem coming out in Rip Rap's 75th issue.
Ravneet Sandhu has a poem out with Tiny Spoon Magazine for their Translation issue. She also has a prose poem coming out with Oreades Press on May 16th for their Earth anthology.
Teri Vela has a poem coming out in Puerto Del Sol’s Spring issue and a sequence of sonnets, Triforce Sonnets, coming out with Fifth Wheel Press for their pride micro-chapbook series. Out on June 18!
Divine Byrd was offered a Vermont Studio Center Writer’s Residency.
Congratulations to these Abode staff members!! Learn more about them on our Masthead page.
Thank you, as always, for your support! We love you!