Malaika King Albrecht, Kimberly Becker, Elizabeth Wilson, and Amani Albrecht are the poetry editors at Redheaded Stepchild Magazine. We know that a lot of kickass poetry gets rejected, and we thought it would be fun to publish only previously rejected poems. We like rejects. That being said, receiving a rejection note from us doesn’t say anything about the quality of the poem(s). If it doesn’t work out here, submit it elsewhere.
Founding editor Malaika King Albrecht served as the inaugural Heart of Pamlico Poet Laureate. She’s the author of four poetry books. Her most recent book is The Stumble Fields (Main Street Rag 2020), which was a finalist in the 2021 Eric Hoffer Award. What the Trapeze Artist Trusts (Press 53) won an honorable mention in the Oscar Arnold Young Award and was a finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Her chapbook Lessons in Forgetting was published by Main Street Rag and was a finalist in the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an honorable mention in the Brockman Campbell Award. She’s the founding editor of Redheaded Stepchild, an online magazine that only accepts poems that have been rejected elsewhere. Malaika lives in Ayden, N.C. on Freckles Farm with her family and is a yoga instructor, Reiki practitioner, and equine specialist in mental health and learning working with Mane Source Counseling and the nonprofit Horses and Health.
For way too much info, visit her website.
Of mixed descent, including Cherokee, Kimberly L. Becker is the author of five poetry collections: Words Facing East and The Dividings (WordTech Editions), The Bed Book and Bringing Back the Fire (Spuyten Duyvil), and Flight (MadHat Press). Her poems appear widely in journals and anthologies, including Indigenous Message on Water; Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence; and Tending the Fire: Native Voices and Portraits. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart. She has received grants from Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina, and has been awarded residencies at Hambidge, Weymouth, and Wildacres. Kimberly has read at Busboys and Poets, The National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC), Split This Rock, and Wordfest. She has served as a mentor for PEN America’s Prison Writing and AWP’s Writer to Writer programs. She currently lives in North Dakota, but calls the mountains of North Carolina home. www.kimberlylbecker.com
Elizabeth Wilson is a poet, tap dance enthusiast, patient advocate, and speaker for Project Sleep’s Rising Voices of Narcolepsy program. In 2021, she received two prestigious awards for her poetry. Her debut book, Windowpanes, won Sappho’s Prize in Poetry, and her poem titled “Your Sister Brings Me an Orchard” won the Patricia Dobler Award. Elizabeth‘s work has been featured in various literary journals and anthologies, including Asheville Poetry Review, Cold Mountain Review, Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, South Dakota Review, and Voices from the Attic. She is also a recipient of the 2022-2023 NC Arts Council Artist Support Grant, which will help her promote her debut book and continue her work on her second poetry collection. https://www.elizabethlouisewilson.com
Amani Albrecht is the Chief of Staff at Rune, an MIT / YC startup for mobile gamers. Their responsibilities include overseeing daily operations, managing the Discord community, preparing presentation material for investors, and leading the hiring and onboarding process. Amani also has experience as a Freelance Writer, Web Designer, and Consultant. They are a poet and a fiction writer. Their work can be found online.