Mouthful of Salt exists to amplify stories that refuse to stay quiet.
We are a Black-led literary journal dedicated to bold, boundary-pushing storytelling. Our editorial vision is shaped by a wide range of lived experiences, and we are committed to creating a space where writers from across the globe can be seen, heard, and celebrated.
We publish poetry, prose, and hybrid work that challenges conventions, disturbs expectations, and reimagines what literature can hold. We are especially passionate about uplifting BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and neurodiverse writers whose voices resist containment and whose work expands the possibilities of language and form. Give us work that lingers.
Mouthful of Salt exists to create a home for stories that have been silenced, ignored, rejected, or displaced. We believe powerful writing should be accessible, and barriers should not stand between writers and opportunity. That is why we remain submission-fee free, always.
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Imani Cauthen-Robinson
(she/her) Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Imani is a mother, writer, yoga teacher, and sun-seeker. Her work has appeared in Rigorous, Next Page Ink, World Insane, and Royal Rose, but she dreams of publishing her debut novel. A graduate of the Masters in Professional Writing program at Towson University, she enjoys finding the delicate balance between quiet moments with words and the chaos that makes them worth writing about.
IG: @rootedwithimani
Kaci MoDavis
(she/her) Editor, Fiction
Kaci is a writer & editor from Pennsylvania. She’s currently an MFA Candidate in The Writer’s Foundry program in Brooklyn, NY and serves as a Co-Editor for Writer’s Foundry Review and Assistant Managing & Marketing Editor for Tabula Rasa Review. Her fiction and poetry have been published in Rivercraft Magazine, Sanctuary Magazine, and Ink in Thirds.
IG: @kaciielizabeth
Kevin Jin
(he/him) Editor, CNF
Kevin is an Australian Chinese writer and editor from Sydney, Australia, who currently resides in China. He majored in English Literature at the University of Sydney, and his work can be found in SuperJump Magazine, WhyNot Australia, New Myths and Interstellar Flight Magazine, among others. He currently writes about his interests, including films, literature, gaming, and contemporary Chinese culture.
IG: @salty.scrawlings
Renan Mahmoud
(they/them) Editor, Poetry
Hailing from the land of the pharaohs, Renan Mahmoud is an aspiring writer studying English and Comparative Literature at the American University of Cairo. With their soul dedicated to the arts and crafts of writing and photography, they are currently working on poetry collections that explore the commemoration of memories Their work has been published in Mad Persona Magazine, The Rotten Pomegranate Literary Magazine, and Northern Light 10: Part 2. They like their coffee as dark as their sense of humor.
IG: @via_santa_maria_dell_anima
Joe Massa
(he/him) Editor, Fiction
Joseph is a writer and communicator from Baltimore, Maryland. He attended George Mason University, where he studied creative writing with a dual focus on fiction and poetry and minored in professional writing. During that time, Joe worked with Volition and Phoebe literary magazines, read submissions for Stillhouse Press, and studied abroad at Oxford University. He graduated from GMU in 2021 and promptly started working with CityLit Project, a nonprofit focused on nourishing writers and readers in Baltimore through a variety of events.
Will Diggs
(he/him) Editor, Granules
Will is a PG County raised, NC braised writer & scholar. His work has appeared with Merion West, Moist Poetry Journal, Last Leaves Magazine, Furrow & others, Diggs is the Co-Founder & Co-Creative Director of Sepia Soul Live Poetry & Music. His debut poetry book is forthcoming with Bridgehouse Publishing in the summer of 2026.
IG: @willtheblackguy
Mariam Girgis
(she/her) Editor, Granules
Mariam is an Egyptian editor and English & Comparative Literature student with a passion for literature, journalism, and thoughtful storytelling. She is particularly interested in gender, culture, and contemporary social issues.
IG: @mar.iamgirgis
Kaycee Painter
(she/her) Web Editor
Kaycee is a disabled poet from Dalton, Georgia. She writes from the body, exploring what it means to endure in a world not built for you. Kaycee’s work appears in Mouthful of Salt, TrashLight Press, and The Nonbinary Review.