This February, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Cave Canem, The Offing will spotlight work by Black writers in all departments.

Cave Canem was founded in 1996 by Toi Dericotte and Corneilus Eady “with the intuition that African American poets would benefit from having a place of their own in the literary landscape,” and has continued to provide artistic sustenance and support for hundreds of Black poets each year.

In the spirit of Cave Canem’s mission, we seek works of poetry and prose from the myriad voices of the diaspora — and in particular from Cave Canem members — for our Fiction, Essay, Dead Letter Office, Wit’s End, You Are Here, Micro, Enumerate, and Insight departments.

Please note that the Poetry department is not accepting submissions for the spotlight issue. However, please consider submitting works of poetry to Micro, if very short, You Are Here, if about place, or Dead Letter Office, if epistolary-ish.

When submitting, please mention in which department your submission would work best. Submit here.

There is no fee for submission to the spotlight issue. You are welcome to submit more than one work, and you may submit to more than one department; simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please let us know immediately when if your submission is accepted elsewhere.

This special issue is being edited by senior editor Mahogany Browne with support from assistant poetry editor Luther Hughes; work will be selected and edited in collaboration with the magazine’s executive editors and department editors.

Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis; the deadline for submissions is Monday, January 25. Submit now.

Work accepted for the spotlight will be featured in February; however, any work submitted for consideration in this issue will also be considered for future publishing cycles.