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Black Ink Ocean Press

@blackinkocean.bsky.social

run-of-the-mill southern gothic literary magazine ISSUE 0 OUT NOW! founder: @chan-trell.bsky.social linktr.ee/blkinkocn

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Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · 8mo ago

your run-of-the-mill southern gothic litmag is back🖤 “Forbidden Love” We want your tales of love, remorse, and gothic pining. And art that nudges at the deep-seeded desire that drives a vampire towards flesh and warmth. #writingcommunity #writersky Submissions open February 1st!

Greyscale image of a couple embracing beneath a tree. The phrase “forbidden love” printed in repetition, the ink bleeding together almost as if someone was maddeningly typing the words over and over again to make them stick. Submissions Open February 1st for Black Ink Ocean Press’s first full-sized southern gothic literary magazine issue.

Theme breakdown.
Volume I: Vampirism
Issue I: Forbidden Love
Forbidden love is not just a trope of classic literature where there be star-crossed lovers split by family name. Limitations on love and who has any right to it have pervaded the American South for centuries on the basis of race, gender, creed, and social standing. The heart is not as fickle as the systems that attempt to contain it, and often times love is a powerful tool.
But love isn’t always pure.
Beneath the surface of classic and contemporary Southern Gothic works, lies a desire for a past long forgotten, for hate, for the grotesque. There is a putrid hunger that lingers on the page. Some could call it love. Innate, animalistic, and just as fatal.
The southern vampire—bloodthirsty creature in need of flesh—knows all too well what happens when one's desires oppose societal norm. Too long they have divulged the wants of their hearts in secret. With recent stories such as Interview with a Vampire, Sinners, and The Ravenous Fate, we have come to wonder if there is something much stronger than hunger that ties them to this land.
Be it love, remorse, or self-pitying revenge.
What can be done when what we crave most is taken from us?

Ripped paper cutout with black text that reads: WE ACCEPT POETRY, PROSE, & VISUAL ART.
Black Ink Ocean Press wants your gothic, gritty, ghoulish tales of old—or new! but long-lasting all the same.

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Boat or car? Which is least likely to be haunted for late night travel? Asking for a friend

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · 7mo ago

We accept submissions year round! Check our bio for more information.

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · 10mo ago

For southern gothic lovers wanting to be part of a creative team, join BIO staff today🤧 #literarymagazine Apply online at blackinkocean.com

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · last yr.

If you like vampires, the southern gothic, or have a taste for folklore and history then this is the perfect place to send in your #poetry, #prose, & #art!!! #writingcommunity #submissionsopen #literarymagazine #vampires #blackinkocean

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · last yr.

🖤REMINDER: Submissions are OPEN for a chance to be published in Issue 0!!! We want your mesmerizingly mundane stories that hint at something sinister lying beneath the surface & your messy, misshapen characters trying desperately to hide the cracks that peer into their soul. #southerngothic

Grainy black and white portrait of a girl concealed by shadows, a single beam of light casting an intense glow from her forehead and down to her mouth. Her eyes seem hazy and grey, her hair is dark and styled in twists partially pulled back from her face. White text overlays the cover image:
What we’re looking for
BLACK-INK-OCEAN PRESS & MAGAZINE

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · last yr.

What books (other than the ones we’ve listed) give you major southern gothic, vampy vibes?👀 #submissionsopen #writingcommunity #literarymagazine

Books that pair well with our southern gothic vampire-themed Literary Magazine Issue. There are 6 book covers lined in two rows against a burgundy red background:
“This Ravenous Fate” by Hayley Dennings
“Dracula” by Bram Stoker
“A Gathering of Old Men” by Ernest J. Gaines
“The Awakening” by Kate Chopin
“Bloodline” by Ernest J. Gaines
“Jazz” by Toni Morrison
Just below the books is a black ink ocean with white wave lineart, a large black mast drifting in the tide. The litmag title in all caps printed beside it: BLACK-INK-OCEAN PRESS & MAGAZINE

4 book covers split into two columns with text description on how they relate to the southern gothic vampire-themed magazine aesthetic.
“The Ravenous Fate” by Hayley Dennings is about Black vampires in New Orleans which pairs well with the rich cultural and supernatural history of the southern states.
“A Gathering of Old Men” by Ernest J. Gaines is another story based in Louisiana and features old men in a plantation setting. Earnest in its intentions and quite nostalgic in its prose, the tale of these Black gentlemen is imbued with a layer of tension and mystery that fits well into the chilling landscape of the southern gothic genre.
“Dracula” by Bram Stoker is one I’d be remiss to exclude. A proto-gothic novel about the vampire as we’ve known him and a major inspiration within my own writing.
“The Awakening” by Kate Chopin—another Louisiana-based tale—explores my very favorite character archetype. Bordering psychotic, complex female characters who yearn for better lives whilst being trapped within their own bodies and who will often do unthinkable acts to get what they want.

2 book covers split into two columns with text description on how they relate to the southern gothic vampire-themed magazine aesthetic.
“Bloodlines” by Ernest J. Gaines was chosen mainly for its title but also you can’t go wrong with Gaines and his devotion to bringing his experience of being born to sharecroppers and growing up in rural Louisiana to life on the printed page.
And last but certainly not least is “Jazz” by Toni Morrison—by all time favorite novelist—that captures such grit and depth concerning the birth of jazz and its influence on the Black community. Namely listed here for the character of “Wild” a dark, primitive woman with no family ties who has become a major inspiration for the theme of the first issue—ORIGIN.
BELOW THE BOOK LISTINGS is a sea of deep red waves, a glass bottle with a ship trapped inside drifting amongst the foam.
In white text:
Submit to our literary magazine! linktr.ee/blkinkocn
Accepting poetry, prose, & artwork

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · last yr.

#subsopen SOUTHERN GOTHIC LITMAG! In the meantime, meet our lovely staff members: •A’Daja, Editor-in-Chief •Brya, Marketing Manager •Marli, Production Manager •J’Kobe, Music Strategist •Anah, Lead Staff Editor •Ayanna, Breon, Diana, & Ruthann are Staff Editors

A full-bloom lily yellow in the center and a darker reddish pink tint at the edge of the petals, set against a black background. Overlaid in the center with white text that reads: Meet the Staff
BLACK-INK-OCEAN PRESS & MAGAZINE

9 staff images (each in an oval frame) giving mysterious, vampire vibes lined in rows of 3.
A plum red background with burgundy leaf filigree design in the top-right & bottom-left corners. A rectangle box as border.
Pictures from left to right, top to bottom:
Anah our Lead Staff Editor.
Breon one of our Staff Editors.
Diana one of our Staff Editors.
Brya our Marketing Manager.
A’Daja our Editor-in-Chief.
Marlena our Production Manager.
Ayanna one of our Staff Editors.
J’Kobe our Music Strategist.
Ruthann one of our Staff Editors.
@ blkinkocn

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · last yr.

#submissionsopen to be featured in the first edition of Black Ink Ocean Press & Magazine are now open. Click the link in our bio to submit and visit our website. #literarymagazine #litmag #writingcommunity

A faded 2-page newspaper spread lies atop a greyscale sketch art image of a cicada. The newspaper spread includes various images, an assortment of random headline titles, and illegible article columns. Black, upper-cased text is overlaid in the center of the collage that reads: SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN (in regards to the Black-Ink-Ocean literary magazine).
There is a black arrow pointing to the right with text above it that reads: Swipe to see Issue 0 theme and find out how you can be featured

A dark red backdrop with pale red filigree design creating a rectangle border. White text in the center reads:
ISSUE 0
THEME: Vampirism
There is an ancientness to the vampire that I believe connects heavily to the grandness of the American South.
There is something to be said of legacy, of living forever, tracing back to one’s origins, and giving birth—rather, name—to something new.
Not every story or poem or piece of art has to be ravenous or in seek of wine. BUT, it must get at the heart of the issue: A desire to understand oneself and one’s community by both glancing back at the past and looking forward towards the future.
@ blkinkocn

A black backdrop with dark grey filigree design creating a rectangle border. White text in the center reads:
ISSUE 0
SUB-THEME: Origin
Where does love & life & light begin for the southern vampire? Where does it end?
Across history legends have persisted of the vampire—creature of darkness with a thirst for blood. As of recently, stories such as Interview with a Vampire, Sinners, and The Ravenous Fate have brought the vampire to root and roam on southern soil, and through this newsmag I intend to keep him here. Tether him to something tangible and accessible to the masses.
@ blkinkocn

Black Ink Ocean Press @blackinkocean.bsky.social · last yr.

Run of the mill southern gothic mag. Meet Black Ink Ocean Press & Magazine. #literary #