Torch Literary Arts seeks to light the path for Black women writers

Gathered in a Zoom workshop, a group of Black women writers had the opportunity to do some "digging into that honesty box," as presenter Ebony Stewart put it.

Part of that exploration of honesty meant looking their own imposter syndrome — or feeling of fraudulence and self-doubt — in the eye.

"Self-sabotaging your greatness because you don't think you deserve to be great," one participant wrote in the chat about the syndrome.

"The thing you say you are but fear you aren't," wrote another.

As the writers posted their feelings, the space grew more open and comfortable, accepting and affirming. It was the exact space Amanda Johnston wanted to create when she decided to found Torch Literary Arts in Austin.

"It is impossible to have a full representation of the world that we live in, and the world that we read, without the voices of Black women," Johnston said.

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Carving a space for Black women writers

Torch Literary Arts is a nonprofit dedicated to featuring and fostering creative writing from Black women. Though Austin-based, writers come from all over the world, including Jamaica and Nigeria.

But before Johnston founded Torch Literary Arts, she was finding her own way as a Black female writer in a space where such voices are often difficult to find.

In fact, Johnston said a New York Times study showed people of color wrote only 11% of books in 2018, even though a 2013 Pew Research Center study found Black women were among the most likely to read a book.

"So my question then is, what does she see when she goes to the bookshelf?" Johnston said. "Does she see herself as the author, as the creator of these books? Does she see herself represented in the story?"

Johnston luckily found her place in two Black writing organizations that would help define her career: the Affrilachian Poets and Cave Canem. The Affrilachian Poets is a grassroots group from the Appalachian region, including where Johnston lived in Kentucky from 2000 to 2005. The group inducted her in 2004, and Cave Canem — another Black poetry group — accepted her as a fellow in 2005.

"The core of my creative writing education really came from the Affrilachian Poets and Cave Canem because at Cave Canem is where I was exposed to working with the best poets of our time," Johnston said. "(I got to) sit with them... in workshop and then during meals and just talking about life and poetry and writing, so it was really formative."

Johnston would go on to serve as Cave Canem's retreat coordinator from 2008 to 2017 and then a board of directors member from 2017 to 2020. In her last year, she acted as board president.

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Torch Literary Arts fans their flame

Shortly after returning to Austin from Kentucky in 2005, Johnston founded Torch Literary Arts more so as a passion project than a formal nonprofit, she said. She saw the chance and need "to add more spaces and specifically reserve a space for Black women writers."

Johnston almost shut Torch down during the pandemic, but then she realized her work had only just begun.

"The pandemic showed me, no, we need more," Johnston said. "We actually need more resources, especially for marginalized communities because we're losing artists who are having to make real-life decisions between creating and surviving. Like, do I have the energy to write this story or write this poem after I just spent all day trying to figure out how I'm going to work and pay my bills while my family's sick?"

So Johnston applied for a grant from Future Front Texas, and in 2021, she received $1,000 in funds. Torch Literary Arts also earned its official 501c3 status that same year, and in January 2022, a relaunch gave the organization new life.

That includes more publishing opportunities through their online publication, workshops, payment for writers, a revived reading series, a writers' retreat and special events, including a panel on March 16 with the head writer for the upcoming Disney+ series "Ironheart" and writer of the viral SNL skit "Big Boys."

"Torch does this really brilliant job of allowing Black women, artists and writers, to thrive and be seen and appreciated," said Ebony Stewart, a Houston-based writer and spoken word artist. "I don't have to explain a lot of different things. I don't have to change anything about what it is that I'm presenting because it's just that much more welcoming, and it feels like home. It's super familiar to work with Torch."

With every Torch initiative, Johnston strives to help the Black women writers of today and tomorrow because "what we read becomes reality."

"The reality is you can have an incredible career and, first before that, life pursuing your passion and expressing yourself," Johnston said. "So making sure that we are a space where people can see this as a real opportunity for them to grow and learn about themselves through their writing, and then a safe space to be brave enough to share."

To submit work to Torch Literary Arts or learn more about their upcoming events, visit torchliteraryarts.org.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Torch Literary Arts features Black women writers from around the world