BOMBS accepts submissions for publishing consideration throughout the year.
the clutch collection by BOMBS
.png/:/cr=t:21.65%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:40%25/rs=w:1209,h:605,cg:true)
clutch /kləCH/
verb
1. to grab, clench, or grip eagerly, tightly
“She clutched her poems.”
noun
1. a tight grasp, or an act of grasping
“She made a clutch at her poems.”
2. a small, usually strapless handbag held in hand or under arm, designed to carry essentials—like phone, lip stick, car keys, wallet, and haiku
“She folded her poem into her designer clutch.”
adverb
3. to be helpful or successful at a fundamental time
“Her reading of Kendra Nicole Bryant Aya’s we be theorizin came in clutch.”
adjective
1. great, useful, awesome
“Kendra Nicole Bryant Aya’s we be theorizin is clutch.”
essentially speaking
Modeled after both the chapbook and the zine, the clutch collection is a series of limited-edition short books ranging from 25-50 pages. It is a minimally produced, project based and/or thematically-focused collection of poems and/or prose centering Black popular culture and personhood. Each title, like a designer bag, is numbered chronologically and according to its publication month and year. For instance, blueBlack magic is the first clutch produced in the clutch collection; it will be published in April 2026. Therefore, blueBlack magic is numbered: 001.0426.
submissions
Most clutches are produced via the clutch collection’s annual summer contest. However, editors may consider publishing manuscripts submitted during BOMBS’ year-long open call period as clutches, should a clutch best support the author’s content over the more conventional book form. Because the clutch collection aims to be a creative resource—a delightful study in and of Blackness—content is loosely edited, thus maintaining authorial integrity. For more information regarding the clutch collection’s annual summer contest, click here.