PRESS RELEASE: April 17, 2023

Announcing the Combahee River Prize, a new prize for SC Writers of Color who submit their prose or poetry to the Jasper Project’s annual literary journal, Fall Lines – a literary convergence.

Approaching its 10th volume, Fall Lines – a literary convergence is a journal of poetry and prose presented by The Jasper Project in partnership with Richland Library and One Columbia for Arts and Culture. The Combahee River Prize will join the Saluda River Prize for Poetry and the Broad River Prize for Prose. All contributors will be asked to indicate if they are members of the BIPOC community when they complete their Cover Letter Template to submit their Fall Lines contributions. BIPOC writers will be eligible for the Combahee River Prize as well as the Saluda and Broad River prizes. Like the existing prizes, the Combahee River Prize is a cash prize of $250 and a framed commemorative certificate.

The title for the Combahee River Prize was selected to honor the freed woman and Underground Railway engineer, Harriet Tubman, whose raid at the Combahee Ferry on June 2, 1863 during the American Civil War resulted in the rescue of 750 enslaved individuals 

Fall Lines will accept submissions of previously unpublished poetry, essays, short fiction, and flash fiction from April 15, 2023 through July 31, 2023. 

ENTER FALL LINES 2023

While the editors of Fall Lines hope to attract the work of writers and poets from the Carolinas and the Southeastern US, acceptance of work is not dependent upon residence. Publication in Fall Lines will be determined by a panel of judges and accepted authors will be notified by December 31, 2023, with a publication date in early 2024. This year we are offering three cash prizes of $250 each. The Saluda River Prize for Poetryand the Broad River Prize for Prose sponsored by the Richland Library Friends and Foundation as well as the Combahee River Prize which will be awarded to a SC writer of color in either poetry or prose.

See last year’s winners and contributors.

2023 Entries

After filling out the submission form you will receive an email with instructions for submitting your work.

Poetry

• Up to 5 poems may be submitted in a SINGLE WORD FILE.

• No single poem should exceed four 6 x 9-inch pages

New This Year- To ensure the integrity of the poet’s spacing, it is best that poems be formatted to appear on a 6 x 9-inch page with I-inch margins. If submitted in a larger format, we cannot guarantee your poem will be printed with the spacing you desire
We have created a template that should make this easier: Fall Lines Poetry Submissions Template

Prose

• Up to 5 prose entries may be submitted in a SINGLE WORD FILE.

• Entries should be 2500 words or less

ALL ENTRIES SHOULD BE TITLED.

There is no fee to enter, but submissions that fail to follow the above instructions will be disqualified without review.

Simultaneous submissions will not be considered. Failure to disclose simultaneous submissions will result in a lack of eligibility in any future Jasper Project publications. 

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 The Columbia Fall Line is a natural junction, along which the Congaree River falls and rapids form, running parallel to the east coast of the country between the resilient rocks of the Appalachians and the softer, more gentle coastal plain.