Q***r literature is often found in the side stacks, in the back of the bookstore, under “Gay and Lesbian.” These authors are put into a genre that barely fits them, excluded from mainstream funding, and alienated by submission questionnaires and prying questions about identity and the underlying, “What are you?” The contradiction is that though labels can be alienating, they can also be empowering
and community-building. Red Hen Press seeks to work against the negative politics of labeling while honoring and empowering authors who identify as q***r. Quill will publish literary prose by a q***r (LGBTQ) author once per year, chosen by rotating judges through award submissions, with a $5 entrance fee and a minimum of 150 pages. The chosen author will be awarded $1,000 in addition to having their work published by Red Hen Press. Quill is proud to announce official sponsorship from Amazon Literary Partnership! About Tobi Harper, Founder and Editor of Quill
Tobi Harper is Development Associate and Operations Manager at Red Hen Press. in English Literature, Tobi served as Editor-in-Chief of San Francisco State University’s graduate student journal Interpretations and wrote a thesis titled “‘What is it?’: Examining Narrative Shifts in Twentieth-Century Genderq***r Novels.” This thesis was presented in an abbreviated form in 2014 at Q***r Yo Mind Conference in San Francisco, CA, and in 2013 at Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference in San Diego, CA. While serving as the “Q***rstorian” Officer of the Q***r Student Union, Tobi co-founded and co-organized the First Annual Isla Vista Pride Festival in 2010 as well as the Big Q***r, Little Q***r mentor program in 2009. Tobi Harper, along with Red Hen Press, is committed to the q***r in the matter, the wicked other, the celebration of acceptance, love, and the story that dare not speak its name. Quill
Mission: To publish quality literature by q***r writers. Guidelines: Prose, minimum 150 pages
Award: $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press
Submit: https://redhenpress.submittable.com/submit/59201/quill-q***r-prose-award
