Lucky Jefferson

11/08/2025

😩 Still in shock we pulled off our THIRD Poetry and Prose contest this year.

This time, we received over 600 submissions again; two phenomenal pieces, by Sofia Bagdade and Nnamdi Ndiolo, would emerge and declare themselves the winners.

Lucky Jefferson’s Poetry Winner, Nnamdi Ndiolo, is a shortlist for the Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize (2025). His work is published in New Orleans Review, The Shallow Tales Review, The Kalahari Review, and Konya Shamsrumi.

This year’s judge, Ahmad Almallah, shared some remarks about Ndiolo‘a piece “Testament”:

““This poem deals with matters I think about constantly. I felt a great hunger to see more of the poet’s work on language/body/borders. It imagines and re-imagines the relationship with the so-called “mother-tongue.”

Lucky Jefferson’s Prose Winner, Sofia Bagdade, is a poet from New York City. Her work appears in One Art, The Shore, and Roi Fainéant Press, among other publications. More of her work can be found at sofiabagdade.weebly.com. She finds joy in smooth ink, orange light, and French Bulldogs.

Almallah, shared these remarks about Bagdade’s winning piece “Lady Luck”:

“”Lady Luck” looks at ruin and how memory is always reconstructing from it — through bare words. It reflects on the human inability to stay in the moment by bringing its own moment to us vividly. Every paragraph is its own poem.”

Stay tuned for our 2026 contest!

11/01/2025

‼️Nothing (and we mean NOTHING) could have prepared us to find our mailbox OVERFLOWING with submissions for our forthcoming book — a publication that highlights the relationships of those currently and previously navigating our criminal justice system.

❓Did you know that if you are a currently incarcerated individual or an organization working with currently and previously incarcerated people that you can mail in your work to us?

*Email us at [email protected] for more details and our address.

We’d also like to thank our funders of this project Awesome Foundation & Awesome Foundation Chicago. We wouldn’t have opened our first mailing address or have the capacity to do this work without you 🥹!

And HUGE shout out to everyone who found the courage to submit to Bond; and to everyone fighting for better conditions in jails and prisons, for a more humane prison system.

10/14/2025

🥹 We’re so honored that students' words could find a home at .

Thank you so much for being wonderful partners 826NYC and the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company!

10/13/2025

This one’s for anyone seeking softness, kindness in a world that grows more scary each day.

Emerging from an 826NYC and the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company fantasy writing workshop and collaboration with Lucky Jefferson, is an otherworldly anthology shaped by the minds of 9 young writers who dared to dream beyond the ordinary.

https://luckyjefferson.com/little-jefferson/collection/

“Fantasy writing is not just fiction, it’s fiction of an entirely different universe. You don’t have to be a human being, you can be a martian or a cyclops. From kingdoms to castles, you find a lot of detailed worlds.” - Jenna Barkan, age 10,
Foreword Writer

We’re so honored that students words’ can find a home at .

💡 Read the publication in these 3 easy steps:

1. Head here - https://luckyjefferson.com/little-jefferson/collection/
2. Filter by 826NYC
3. Enjoy each individual work or click the visible button to open the full publication

10/01/2025

🎃 Put down your pumpkins and candy, because…weee’ve got an announcement.

We’re psyched to announce the FINALISTS of our third annual Poetry & Prose Contest! 🎉

What started from our belief that writers deserve more FREE opportunities like this vs paying fees or jumping through hoops. We’re changing that.

Join us in celebrating our 37 finalists:

Spencer Eckart
Ridwan Fasasi
Anastasia Jill
Den Ares
Joshua Walker
Neha Rayamajhi
Ibtisam Shahbaz
Nnamdi Ndiolo
Don Farrell
Marcus Wilson
Eithar M.
Marwa Abu Raida
Talicha J.
Ishani Ray
Litzi Yona
Soonest Nathaniel
Rachel Chitofu
Gloria Ogo
Asma Abike
Noreen Ocampo
Renoir Gaither
Nwajesu Ekpen*si
Fiona Hartmann
David M. Alper
Kashawn Taylor
Dr. Anamika Nath
Cole Hersey
Hajer Requiq
Shantell Powell
Mary McColley
Thomas McComb
Sofia Bagdade
Sara Shea
Catherine Jade Grandorff
Brianna Yancey
Karl Iglesias
Madison Ellingsworth

For the second year in a row, we received more than 600 submissions 🤯. To every single writer that submitted this year, we THANK YOU. And we received so many amazing pieces that we increased the number of finalists from 20 to 37!

Stay tuned for the announcement of both poetry and prose winners (coming later this month)!

🎨 by Nia Brass!

08/31/2025

Guess what? Our sixteenth issue debuts today!

celebrates 14 writers and artists who dare to examine the cracks in our world and within ourselves.

“The work in this issue reflects the darkness of our time, but it also screams our desire to be free. ”

— NaBeela Washington, Editor-In-Chief

Each contributor in this issue confronts the question: how do we find meaning when everything feels like it’s falling apart?

luckyjefferson.com/fissure

Give it up for our writers and artists:

Disha Trivedi
K.R. Van Horn
Kashawn Taylor
Lynne Schilling
Nicholas Pagano
Rachel Pittman
Alexandra Nwigwe
Susan L. Lin
Angela Townsend
A. J. Frantz
Christiana Castillo
Shaniqua Harris
Josie Levin
Jessi Farfan

Read the issue by heading to luckyjefferson.com/fissure!

🎨 Cover Artwork by Tran Nguyen and Emma Hodgdon. Interior Art by Thy Hoang and Riley Hannon.

08/27/2025

Are you ready for ?

Issue 16 drops this Sunday.

The cracks are forming. Could this be a turning point??

🎨 Artwork by Tran Nguyen.

Tran is a freelance graphic designer and aspiring environment concept artist from Vietnam. Her work blends fantasy and realism, drawing from illustrated stories and vivid imagination. With bold color and atmospheric detail, she builds worlds that feel both haunting and alive.
Explore her portfolio: tranarts.myportfolio.com

08/24/2025

💥Happy !

is our second Latine-focused issue that celebrates 6 Latin-American and Latin-identifying writers, poets, and artists, each of them inviting the radical act of protest into their work.

“Estallido aims to show that there is another option. There is more than helplessness.

Estallido tiene como objetivo mostrar que existe otra opción. Hay algo más allá del la amargura.”

— Keila Gallardo Cubas, Editor

Celebrate the six writers with us:

Madari Pendas
Ciara Alfaro
Marie Anne
Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés
Catalina Garza Onofre
Vic Xochitl Chavez

Enjoy the issue now by heading to luckyjefferson.com/estallido!

🎨 by Alberth Wilfredo Chacon Salas. Alberth studied fine arts at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Perú.

He is an illustrator and comic author. Most of his work talks about animals, fantasy, or science fiction. His hobbies include watching movies and cartoons, listening to records, and reading comics or books.

07/29/2025

🌟 Introducing our Inaugural Randolph Emerging Photographers Fellow 🥹

Our cohort kicks off next week and will debut their exhibition opening September 15 at Buddy at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Randolph Window.

Our fellow represents the south (Englewood) side of Chicago and we couldn’t be more excited to work with her.

She embodies the spirit of storytelling, innovation, and community that the Fellowship was founded to champion.

Brittany Norment, rooted in Chicago, is a visual storyteller whose work weaves together photography, language, and design to celebrate Black joy, memory, and collective experience. Her creative practice effortlessly bridges documentary and imaginative expression, recently expanding into immersive and collaborative storytelling formats. Beyond the camera, Brittany amplifies the missions of purpose-driven organizations with campaigns grounded in care, culture, and impact—making her artistry as powerful in boardrooms as it is in galleries.

07/09/2025

Still so grateful for IFF’s support! 🥹

This is our largest gift to date. And with everything going on in our world, it feels surreal to be included among this list of organizations fighting for the arts.

As the Trump administration slashes arts and culture funding, Chicago-based IFF has awarded $3 million to more than 70 local groups, including Lucky Jefferson, Albany Park Theater Project and Kuumba Lynx.

06/23/2025

Don’t let the heatwave melt your creative spark. 🥵

Stay cool and join one (or all) of our upcoming FREE writing workshops in July!

luckyjefferson.com/programs

Here’s a quick rundown:

• Wednesday, July 9 - 5-6:30PM CT - Join Lucky Jefferson, Kyrie Mason, and Zuri Arman for a free 1.5-hour virtual writing workshop designed for writers interested in reworking history.

• Saturday, July 12 - 11-12:30PM CT - Join Lucky Jefferson and Devon Fulford for a free 1.5-hour virtual writing workshop designed for writers interested in using poetry to write about challenging topics.

Register for these FREEE virtual workshops: luckyjefferson.com/programs

*Questions? Email [email protected].

05/28/2025

Who has time for contest entry fees? WE definitely don't.

For the third year, we're calling all poetry and prose writers to submit to our summer contest! Here's how it'll work:

* We'll select up to 20 finalists who will ALL be published in our 365 Collection.

* Then 2 of those finalists will win a cash prize + LJ swag pack.

luckyjefferson.com/poetry-prose-contest/

It's FREE to enter. Submit any original and unpublished poem or prose piece you want.

🍉 We're proud to work with this year's judge Ahmad Almallah!

Ahmad Almallah grew up in Palestine and currently lives in Philadelphia. His newest poetry collection, Wrong Winds, is out with Fonograf Editions (2025). His other collections include Border Wisdom (Winter Editions 2023) and Bitter English (Chicago 2019). He is currently an artist in residence in English and Creative Writing at the UUniversity of Pennsylvania

Artwork designed by Dana Ross: danarossportfolio.com!

Submit/More Info: luckyjefferson.com/poetry-prose-contest