SmokeLong supported emerging writers long before I came to the journal. More than a decade ago, the editors of SmokeLong introduced the Kathy Fish Fellowship, which boosted the budding careers of so many writers throughout the years. The fellowship later transitioned to The SmokeLong Quarterly Flash Fellowship. The focus was always one writer with the promise of publication in SmokeLong Quarterly, which was great but we have since reconsidered the purpose and benefits of the fellowship. In 2023 we are excited to introduce The SmokeLong Quarterly Fellowship for Emerging Writers. Plural. We are now committed to supporting the careers of eight emerging writers each year.
If you are interested in applying for the second half of the year, keep an eye on our social media channels. The application period will open in May.
The SmokeLong Quarterly Emerging Writer Fellows — January-June 2023
Daniel Garcia‘s essays appear or are forthcoming in Ninth Letter, Quarterly West, Guernica, Passages North, The Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. Poems appear or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, Gulf Coast, Pleiades, Electric Literature, swamp pink (formerly Crazyhorse), and others. A recipient of prizes, scholarships, and grants from Tin House, PEN America, and others, Daniel is the InteR/e/views editor for Split Lip Magazine, the Creative Nonfiction editor for GASHER Journal, and a Lambda Literary Emerging Fellow in Nonfiction. Daniel’s essays also appear as Notables in The Best American Essays. Find Daniel on Twitter @_iloveyoudaniel or at danielwritespoetry.com.
Erin Vachon lives in Rhode Island and their work appears in SmokeLong Quarterly, DIAGRAM, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Pinch, and Brevity, among others. They are a multi-Pushcart, Best of Net, and Best Microfictions nominee, and an alum of the Tin House Summer workshop. You can find more of their writing at www.erinvachon.com or on Twitter @erinjvachon.
Fiona McKay lives beside the sea in Dublin, Ireland with her husband and daughter. She writes flash fiction, short stories, and is also revising a novel. Writes with Writers’HQ. Words in various places, including: Reflex Fiction, Janus Literary, Scrawl Place, Bath Flash, Lumiere Review, Lost Balloon. Supported by Arts Council Ireland Agility Award.
Oyinkansola Sofela grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and currently resides in New York, where she was born. A child of Yoruba and Igbo parents, storytelling was a natural part of her upbringing. Her latest story, “Remembrance,” won Second Prize in the SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction. She is committed to exhuming ancestral stories in an effort to illuminate a path to joy and freedom. You can find her on Twitter @oyinkansolaso.
Welcome, Daniel, Erin, Fiona, and Oyinkansola!
Christopher