Black Fox Literary Magazine’s literary agent feedback program, Agent Alchemy, is back! 

Every novelist faces hurdles when shaping their manuscripts or on their road to representation. Who better to offer you craft-based insight on your pages than a literary agent? Black Fox Literary Magazine is happy to announce that applications are open again for our Agent Feedback Program, Agent Alchemy. Periodically, we will open applications for a guest agent to review and provide feedback on pages and/or queries from writers.

This month, our guest agent is Leah Pierre, a senior agent at Ladderbird Literary Agency with an extensive editorial background. There will be 10 spots available for feedback on an excerpt of a novel, up to 50 pages, and 10 spots available for feedback on query letters.

When applying, please indicate on the application if you are applying for page review, query letter review, or both. If selected for pages review, the first 50 pages of your novel will be reviewed by our guest agent, Leah Pierre. Leah will provide detailed notes on your manuscript, including plot development, character arcs, pacing, and more. If you apply for a query letter review, Leah will provide feedback on the standard elements of a query letter, such as your hook, structure, pitch, and flow.

Due to space and the availability of our guest agent, this program will open for applications periodically, and we will only select a limited number of novelists each open period. Occasionally, there might be some flexibility on the number of writers accepted based on agent availability, but we suggest applying early. Writers of all backgrounds and levels are welcome to apply with 50 pages (formatted to industry standard: double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-pt. Times New Roman font) of their novels or their query letter.

There is no application fee.

*Please also note, writers, that this program is designed to help you ready your pages. Black Fox doesn't offer publication, and our guest literary agents are not offering representation or publication of any kind through the program.
 

Important Dates:

• Applications open: September 3, 2025
• Applications close: September 30, 2025
• Feedback Period (if application is accepted): October 1 - December 15, 2025
   

Investment: 

50 Pages: $279

Query Letter: $130
 

About Our Guest Agent:

A Texas native, Leah Pierre briefly moved to the East Coast to attend Rosemont College to pursue her dream of working in publishing. Not long after graduating with her B.A. in English and History, Leah found an agency home at Ladderbird Literary Agency as a Junior Agent and now, after five years, has grown to become a Senior Agent and a member of the AALA and an alum of their LAOC mentorship. In addition to agenting, Leah has a background in freelance editing through her work with RevPit and the WNBA’s Authentic Voices Program, and through her time studying under the Tessera Editorial mentorship and the Author Accelerator book coaching program. While establishing her career, Leah returned to her alma mater to pursue her M.A. in Publishing. After having accomplished her dream of working in publishing, she moved back to Texas to begin her next adventure and continue searching for the next PB, YA, or Adult project that will hook her (or make her cry).

Leah likes to spend her time enjoying the company of fictional characters more than people. But when not in the company of fictional characters, she likes to crochet, hike, travel, hang out with friends and family, and catch up on the movies and TV shows she is always behind on.

Leah’s projects include forthcoming books from H.D. Hunter, Ravynn K. Stringfield, Kay Sohini Sen, and more! She is a tenacious advocate for BIPOC writers and is always looking for ways to bring more diverse intersectionality to the publishing industry.

*Note: We will not be able to offer refunds once registration has been completed, except in the event we are not able to deliver feedback. If you have any questions, please reach out to racquel@blackfoxlitmag.com. 

Black Fox is accepting submissions for our Fall 2025 Black Fox Prize. The theme for this round is “Liar Liar.” We are open to loose interpretations of the theme in any genre, as always.

We all bend the truth. Sometimes, it’s a white lie to protect someone we care about, or sometimes it’s a series of lies that become tangled to a point that threatens to collapse everything. For our final contest of 2025, we’re asking writers to dissect deception in all forms: quiet lies, shams, secrets kept, masks worn, counterfeit stories, and half-truths. We want them all. Whether it’s a person wrapped up in their own ruse, a community built on falsehoods, or a quiet moment where honesty is sacrificed for survival, write about how lies shape, devastate, or in some cases, save. Your work should uncover what hides in the shadows and show us why the truth might not always be so simple.

Please submit your strongest fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and we will choose one winner that we feel interprets the theme best. The prize is $325 and print publication in the Winter 2026 issue. All submissions are considered for print publication in the Winter 2026 issue. The contest entry fee is $12, and submissions must be submitted before midnight (EST) on November 30, 2025.

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12-point font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. For poetry, send up to three poems in the same document. For flash fiction, send up to two stories in the same document. Author’s name and page number should appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. We also ask that you specify the category/genre of your work in the cover letter. Please see our Submission Guidelines before submitting. 

We will select a winner by the end of January 2026, and each entrant will receive a response.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

***Writers, please note that entry fees and feedback fees are non-refundable, and payment to the winner is awarded via PayPal. We reserve the right to extend the contest deadline if necessary.***

The Black Fox team looks forward to reading your wonderful submissions!

Thank you for your interest in teaching your class at the Black Fox Writing Academy! The Black Fox Writing Academy offers writing classes (focused on craft, genre/category, and workshopping) to writers of all experience levels and our classes are held online via Zoom. 

This form is for class proposals from experienced instructors. We are looking for instructors who excel at teaching and inspiring writers. Our future instructors will be knowledgeable, compassionate, open-minded, and approachable. We want instructors who have a lot of heart. If that sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.

This is a paid opportunity. All instructors are paid a flat hourly rate of $100/class hr. Classes should be a combination of lecture/instruction, writing exercises, analyzing, and class discussions.

To see what classes we have coming up, visit our blog.

     We are looking for classes in the following areas:
 

• Short stories
• Poetry
• Novels
• Essays
• Memoir
• Publishing
• Craft (plotting, character creation/development, dialogue, setting, etc.)
• Genre (mystery, romance, thriller, speculative, etc.)
• Editing/Revision
• Lit Analysis and discussion
• Any unconventional ideas you might have!

Once we review your application, we will reach out if we feel the class is a good fit. If we are interested in your class, you will be asked to submit a formal outline for your class, and send us a sample instructional video before we accept. Please don’t take it personally if we don’t accept your proposal. We don’t have the capacity to host every class submitted. We really wish we could. If we pass on your class, we encourage you to submit again.

For now, we will keep proposals open, however, we may decide to close if we become overwhelmed. 

Questions? Email us at racquel@blackfoxlitmag.com.

A response time of 2 weeks is guaranteed. Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Fiction and nonfiction submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Please specify fiction or nonfiction in your cover letter. Poetry submissions should be no more than 3 poems (poetry does not need to be double-spaced). Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

A response time of 4 weeks is guaranteed. Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Fiction and nonfiction submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Please specify fiction or nonfiction in your cover letter. Poetry submissions should be no more than 3 poems (poetry does not need to be double-spaced). Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details.

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

Donations help us with administration costs and with paying contributors. We are also hoping to make it to AWP each year, and donations can help with this. You may submit fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and blog posts to this category. Donations cannot be refunded. This is entirely optional and writers can still submit their work at no cost. Thank you for continuing to support Black Fox.

Make sure to read our submission guidelines before submitting. We expect a clean copy formatted with 12 pt Times New Roman font. Fiction and nonfiction should be double-spaced. Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

We are looking for quality poetry. We don’t have many requirements for poetry, but please send only three poems at a time in one document. Poems do not have to be double spaced, but poets should still use Times New Roman, 12 pt. font and the poet’s last name/page number should still appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. If submitting multiple poems, submit them in one document. Poets, please keep in mind that our issue pages are 6x9. For this reason, poems with particularly long lines often don't work well. Please also review our general submission guidelines on the Black Fox website. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

We are looking for quality flash fiction. We love flash fiction that makes every word count! Please submit no more than two stories, each 1,000 words or less. If your story is over 1,000 words, please submit it to the general fiction category. Please submit a double-spaced document with 12 pt Times New Roman font, including your name and page number in the upper right hand corner of each page. Please read our submission guidelines before submitting. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

We're looking for personal essays and creative nonfiction. We tend to resonate more with nonfiction pieces that read more like fiction. There is no submission fee, but please prepare your manuscript according to our guidelines.

Preparing your Manuscript:

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

We are looking for artwork to be featured on the covers of our issues. Please send your best artwork, including drawings, photographs etc. Please do not send more than five pieces of art at a time. If submitting multiple pieces, we prefer images to be in one document. Review previous covers to get a feel for our tastes. Artists are paid $30 for cover art.

The Black Fox blog is always looking for contributors. We are particularly interested in articles on the craft of writing, book reviews, book news, and publishing news. If it's writing, book, or publishing-related then this is the place for it. If we like your article, we'll publish it on our blog.

Blog posts should meet our general submission guidelines and be 1500 words or less. Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

Black Fox Literary Magazine is on the hunt for a few good readers! Readers can expect to spend 4-5 hours per week on submissions. More specifically, we assign 10 submissions per week to prose readers and 15 submissions per week to poetry readers. Our reading team positions are voluntary at this time. Black Fox readers are sometimes invited to select classes through the Black Fox Writing Academy or our sister company, Writer’s Atelier.
Black Fox readers are responsible for reading submissions in their entirety, analyzing them from a craft standpoint, and assessing if they’re a good fit for Black Fox. We place much trust in our readers, as they essentially make recommendations to our editors for publication.

A few notes: Readers from historically marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to apply. Please also note that readers cannot have submissions under consideration while reading for Black Fox. If you have a submission under consideration, please withdraw it or wait until a later date to apply.

Potential readers should fill out our application and attach a resume/CV, cover letter, and a writing sample, preferably in the same category you wish to read. We will close applications once positions have been filled.
Thank you so much for considering Black Fox as a magazine worthy of your time. We can’t wait to hear from you!