Urban or Hip Hop Literature has been defined in many ways by many different people and groups. For the purposes of this anthology, the editor defines the genre as any work of fiction (short-story or novel) that is written by an African American author between 1990 and the present and that examines the life and lifestyle of “the street” and its denizens. One of the works that helped lay the groundwork for the genre is Steve Cannon’s 1967 book, Groove, Bang and Jive Around, although Sister Soulja’s 1997 book, The Coldest Winter Ever is often cited as being its first and seminal work. Some critics admonish offerings within the genre as being poorly written, badly edited, one dimensional and lacking in style. While this may be true of some of the work, as it is in any genre, is it indicative of all the writers and books that have been published in the genre over the past decade? The anthology will explore this question as well as present work by both published and un-published authors.

Deadlines: Submissions for the anthology will be accepted from December 30, 2008 until February 23, 2009. Two types of submissions will be accepted for review and possible inclusion in the anthology:
1) Critical Essays on one of the topic areas mentioned above. Essays about other topics may be considered but should critically analyze some aspect of the genre.

Some topics essays might address include:
• Character Archetypes
• Setting
• Diction and Language
• Evolution of the genre
• Plot(s)
• Imagery and Symbolism
• Form

Essays that compare and contrast Urban/Hip hop literature with those from other literary genres in terms of the above topics (or other topics) will be considered.

Length: 10 to 15 pages – page numbers should appear on each page in the top right corner with the author’s last name and essay title.

Format: Single sided, dbl spaced, 12 pt font (preferably Arial), 1 inch margins
Include a 200 word abstract and a brief (no more than 100 words) bio of the author as a cover page. In the top left corner of the cover page include the author’s:
• Essay Title
• Name
• Address
• Phone
• Email

2) Fiction in the form of short stories or novel excerpts. Length: 15 to 25 pages - page numbers should appear on each page in the top right corner with the author’s last name and essay title

Format: Single sided, dbl spaced, 12 pt font (preferably Arial), 1 inch margins
Include a brief (no more than 100 words) bio of the author as a cover page. In the top left corner of the cover page, include the author’s:
• Submission Title
• Name
• Address
• Phone
• Email

Please submit publication ready pieces only. No proposals or rough drafts will be accepted.
All submissions will be reviewed by the editor, but only those accepted for inclusion in the anthology will be contacted. Previously published work may be considered but it is not necessary for the submission to have been published elsewhere. If a work was previously published, please include all publication information with the submission as a part of the cover page.

File types:
*.pdf and *doc files types only preferably, *.pdf