The world of literature lost a profoundly influential voice on December 23rd, 2025. Here are some quotes Blackbird is lucky to have from and about the great Vinod Kumar Shukla. More about him and his wise words can be read in his featured interview and Bhavya Bhagtani's review in Flight 23.2.

Meet Lydia! She has been with Blackbird for around five months, and we are so grateful to have her on our team! Check out our newly published poetry at blackbird.vcu.edu. ⭐️

A piece that appraises and antagonizes the self, Kasumi Parker's "Look and See" is a must-read from our most recent Flight. Check it out at the link below! blackbird.vcu.edu/look-and-see/

To round off the day, these are the lit mags that you guys voted as just A Damn Good Read! Find out who else made the cut and submit to them here: www.chillsubs.com/lists/a-damn... #writing #writers #writingcommunity

The results are in, and second place has never felt better! Our readers and contributors are the whole reason why we exist, so a toast is in order to you all and, of course, to the folks at @chillsubs.bsky.social who are so persistent in celebrating the literary community. Cheers! 👏

Meet our dearest Bhavya! Check out Flight 24.1's poetry section to see how her hard work has come to fruition. 🪶 blackbird.vcu.edu @bhavyabhagtani.bsky.social

A stunning quote from Dennis Hinrichsen's "Dementia Lyric with Miles Davis and a Gamelan." Read the full poem at the link below! ✨ blackbird.vcu.edu/dementia-lyr...

The face behind our review and interview curation: Sam Schieren! Check out the "Book Reviews, Craft Essays, and Interviews" section in Flight 24.1 to see the wonderful pieces his work has yielded. blackbird.vcu.edu

The last day to vote for Blackbird is this Sunday!!! www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...

Brenna Womer's "Only" artfully blends creative nonfiction and visual storytelling. Check out the full piece at the link below! blackbird.vcu.edu/only/

Do you love Blackbird? Do you think Blackbird should be recognized as an outstanding literary journal? We agree! Cast your vote at chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag-awards today. Voting closes on December 7th, so be sure to act now!

(1/2) In leading our copyediting team, J.A. Holm works diligently to elevate our authors voices and make Blackbird look as good as possible. Head to blackbird.vcu.edu to see the evidence of their hard work!

What a powerful quote. Read the full poem by Chelsea B. DesAutels at the link below! ✨ blackbird.vcu.edu/attunement/

Submit to the Levis Reading Prize before January 15th, 2026 to be considered by the attentive faculty and students of the VCU Department of English and MFA in Creative Writing Program. Read Matt Schroeder's review of our 2024 Levis Reading Prize winner, Weijia Pan, at blackbird.vcu.edu. ✍️🐦‍⬛

(1/2) Swipe through these graphics to read Megan's stellar thoughts about art and literature. Thank you, Megan, for your insights! Check out Blackbird's art section of Flight 24.1 to see the fruits of her labor. 🎨 blackbird.vcu.edu @megmcdermott92.bsky.social

Read "FATHER" by Zlatan Nezirović and translated by Ena Selimović. Swipe to take a look at headshots of the author and the translator. You can read this heartfelt and moving piece at the link below. ❤️ blackbird.vcu.edu/father/

Read "Prayer" by Debmalya Bandyopadhyay at the link below. It is moving, heartwrenching, and will stick with you through your day. ❤️ blackbird.vcu.edu/prayer/

“My body’s held by a mirror between Vega and Venus. By this room. The parasol moon, its ten cold ribs bearing the furniture of evening.”

"In terms of what I do to choose the actual location, I believe emotions impact how we see and experience a place. When I am composing a painting, I try to imagine it anew, more based on how it makes me feel versus what it actually looks like." - Gretchen Scherer

Being back in school has included opportunities to be creative in new ways, like serving as art editor for @blackbirdjournal.bsky.social. So excited for my 1st artist interview (alongside Gwen Hall) is out, featuring the enchanting work of Gretchen Scherer! blackbird.vcu.edu/the-space-sa...

Check out "AFTER YVES TAKES ME HOME FROM THE DOCTOR, I LIE IN THE DARK" by Cameron McGill, a dreamy yet attentive poem from our brand new Flight! It's a stunner.✨ blackbird.vcu.edu/after-yves-t...

*literally screaming at all of you* LOOK AT THE ART!!!!!! ❤️

New Flight alert! We are beyond thrilled to announce Flight 24.1. Swipe to see some of the wonderful authors published in this issue, and peruse pieces from Gretchen Scherer, our featured artist! Check it out now: blackbird.vcu.edu 🤩

"Writing is the way that a civilization sees itself." - S.A. Cosby. Thank you to S.A. Cosby for coming to speak with our editors and interns this past Wednesday. His latest book, King of Ashes, is out now! ☺️

Read "Metamorphosis" by Henry Hart in full at the link below. Check out the full flight, too! ☺️ blackbird.vcu.edu/metamorphosi...

Read "The Stages of Ukranian Futurism" by Oksana Maksymchuk in our latest Flight 23.4. Link in bio! ✨

Poetry submissions will close at 11:59pm TONIGHT! Get your poems in before then! All other genres will remain open. Link in bio to submit! ✍️ blackbird.submittable.com/submit

Poetry submissions will close at 11:59pm on Thursday, October 16th. Get your poems in before then! All other genres will remain open. FOUR MORE DAYS! ✍️ blackbird.submittable.com/submit

We have reached our cap for poetry submissions and will close them in ONE WEEK! Poetry submissions will close at 11:59pm on Thursday, October 16th. Get your poems in before then! All other genres will remain open. blackbird.submittable.com/submit

Wondering what we're looking for in our video essay submissions? M Freeman's "Like the Air" is a remarkable example! Watch the heart-wrenching video from Flight 23.3 now! 🎥 blackbird.vcu.edu/like-the-air//

Read "Half an O of light" by Shira Dentz in our latest Flight 23.4. Link in bio! 🐦‍⬛

A huge thank you to Weijia Pan for coming to accept his Levis Prize and give a reading from his prize-winning collection, Motherlands, published by Milkweed Editions. Swipe to see the beautiful broadsides made by our very own Kathleen Graber. This collection is one worth reading: cover to cover! 📖

We have officially opened our submissions for video essays and sound-based literature! Click "Submit to Blackbird" in our bio to read the full guidelines. We want your work!

We want your creative nonfiction! You can find the link to submit in our bio. Swipe through these photos to read the kind of work we’re looking for, straight from Jesse Lacy, our Lead Nonfiction Editor!

Diane Seuss working her genius in Blackbird:

"She peeks into my eyes long enough to say we did not do this to ourselves." 🔥

Read "I Talked to My Cousin" by Angela Townsend in our latest Flight 23.4. Link in bio and below! 😊 blackbird.vcu.edu/i-talked-to-...

What’s better than @blackbirdjournal.bsky.social on BlueSky? A Diane Seuss poem to start them off.

Yay! I mentioned earlier that I am working on @blackbirdjournal.bsky.social this year & now they're on Bluesky! Follow for literary/artistic goodness.

Read "The Light" by Jacob Griffin Hall in our latest Flight 23.4. 🤩 @jacobgriffinhall.bsky.social blackbird.vcu.edu/the-light/

Welcome, Rabeetah Hasnain! New leadership means a new era. ✨ Swipe to see what she is excited about for this year! Submit for future flights NOW!

Read "faq 018318" by Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi in our latest Flight 23.4. Link in bio and below! 😊 blackbird.vcu.edu/faq-018318//

An event completely open to the public, our annual Levis Prize Reading event is on September 25th! Come see our winner, Weijia Pan, read from his prize-winning collection, Motherlands. See you there! ☺️

Read "In every religion, a purifying" by the legendary Diane Seuss in our latest Flight 23.4. Link in bio and below! 🐦‍⬛ blackbird.vcu.edu/in-every-rel...

New socials update... Blackbird is HERE! We are stoked to be making the switch to Bluesky, and we can't wait for you all to meet us here. We will be sharing some content today that we've had on the back burner, so be sure to scroll through our feed to find out what we've been up to recently!