SAVE THE DATE!
We will begin accepting open submissions for the 2024 Greensboro Bound Literary Festival on October 1, 2023.
This year we will accept submissions from both traditionally and self-published authors.

Our next Festival will take place May 16-19, 2024 in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina.

Submissions for the 2024 Greensboro Bound Literary Festival will be accepted October 1 – 31, 2023
Selected authors will be notified in December.

Submission Requirements

  • Work was or will be published between January 1, 2023 – May 1, 2024
  • You are the author of the submitted work or an authorized publisher or publicist
  • Adult or young adult (YA) works of all formats and genres, ONLY.  We are NOT accepting submissions for children’s books (ages pre-K – middle.)
    • We define “YA” as literature written for grades 9-12+, or ages 14/15+. 
  • Provide Greensboro Bound with a electronic copy (e-galley/ARC) (preferred) or physical copy of your book. (See submission form for more details.)

Special Considerations
Greensboro Bound has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in support of the 2024 festival. In fulfilling our commitment to this grant, we are especially seeking stories and experiences from writers that address or speak to the following themes and ideas:

  • How political rhetoric and violence are used to control the physical spaces in which we live, learn, and connect, and the movements countering this control
  • What makes literary works safe spaces for readers and how steps taken to create literary and intellectual safe spaces helps or harms open discussion 
  • What makes a space safe for writers and how they create in a world where social media regularly amplifies creative missteps and mistakes   
  • Outer spaces, including the natural world, climate change, space exploration, and inner spaces, including the creative process and mental well-being 

In staying aligned with our long-time mission and vision as well as our DEI Statement, Greensboro Bound is committed to presenting at least 50% BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) at our Festival. We also have a desire to support the long literary tradition of our state by showcasing North Carolina authors. Our programming selection process is guided by these commitments.

Review and Notification
Our author selection team will review submissions and, based on programming priorities, may reach out to offer you a slot (or slots) in our May festival line-up.  If selected, you will hear from us by email by December 31, 2023. A small honorarium and travel stipend will be provided for invited authors.

All Voices Welcome!
Books from any and all range of topics and genres are invited and welcomed!  We create thematic tracks that leverage the specific work of our participating authors. Past themes have included: the LGBTQIA+ experience, speculative fiction, the life of immigrants, writing your own voice, diverse representation in YA writing, contemporary romance, and social justice in today’s world, to name a few.  Our vision is to bring together readers and writers of all genres, ages, ethnicities, identities, and voices to foster an understanding of writing as a process that allows free expression, deepens critical thought, and helps sustain a culture of inquiry and delight that is open to all.

Questions
If you have any questions, please reach out to Jessica Beamon, Program Manager, at jessica(at)greensborobound.com

 

Application links will be live on OCTOBER 1, 2023.