by Sundus Hassan Nooli (on behalf of the Brunel Literary Anthology)

A few days before the MA Creative Writing 2023 Winter Graduation, everyone – students, professors, readers – was rocked by the passing of Benjamin Zephaniah. His passing was felt around the world. And as the other side made way to greet him, it was beautiful to witness how many people were honouring his memory and art.

Benjamin Zephaniah was and still is a towering figure in the literary space, whose shoulders many of us, pupils, friends, and otherwise, stand upon.

To honour his powerful work in championing refugees, migrants, Blackness, humanity, justice, freedom, and street politics, the Brunel Literary Anthology invites former and current Creative Writing students from Brunel University London to submit their prose and poetry to BLA.

All are welcome to submit multiple works within a single submission, as long as they keep to the overall word count (further details below).

We welcome submissions of both poetry and short stories of any genre, including abstract and experimental fiction.

The submission guidelines are:

PROSE: 1,500 word limit, original piece, must not have been published elsewhere (personal websites and blogs included).

POETRY: Up to 4 poems.

For simultaneous submissions, in different genres, see example below:

You can submit up to:

• 2 short stories

OR

• 4 poems

OR

• 1 short story and 2 poems.

Deadline: February 26, 2024. Any and all questions and inquiries can be sent to blabla24@gmail.com. Submission link and further information can be found on our Instagram page.

With the blessing of Prof Zephaniah’s wife, all proceeds BLA makes will go directly to a charity of her choice.