writerly world: news & tidbits

March 2024

In this issue: reader appreciation, workshop writes, Mary Karr recap, rejection roulette, literary subs, in-progress prizes, writing residency, lit crawl Sebastopol, and more…!

Photo of pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs) by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

whole lotta love

Rarely do I hear from readers in response to my published essays or poems. So I was delighted by the following comment from someone who not only appreciated “How to Repair,” a micro-essay that appeared in the New York Times Modern Love column in January, but took the time to find my website and reach out to tell me:

“Just a quick note of thanks for your beautiful piece in Tiny Love Stories. It struck a chord and circled the earth in only 100 words.” — Bob Schroeder

With numerous pieces in various states of revision, and others declined or lying in lit mag limbo-land, it helps me to track my progress in this newsletter. It also warms my heart to know the info supports other writers. Here’s some recent feedback:

“I want to mention how much I enjoy your newsletter. You model such commitment to your writing and you share amazing resources and ideas.” — Susan R.

“Thanks for sharing this – it’s inspiring and encouraging to those of us who have begun to submit things to journals. It’s easy as a writer to be discouraged, but your sending this lets me know it’s a process of making ourselves vulnerable, and gives me hope and inspiration.” — Mary S.

“I love reading the specifics of your writing submission/acceptance/rejection process. Thank you so much for your authenticity. It vibrates! Your post generates a LOT of vitality and energy. It makes a difference as a writer who is out there submitting and risking and receiving rejections (and successes) to feel a sense of validation and reminder—this is the role. This is the work. Be an engine who keeps driving her own success. Thank you!” —

Kelly DuMar

Keep the comments coming! Click the button below and share with others if you wish.

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prompted writing

On my Substack page I’m posting fresh work by participants in my AWA writing workshops, such as this beautiful prose poem by Leigh Jordan:

The Next Number (writing to a prompt)

I just started my 30th workshop series since I began leading From Memory or Imagination four years ago. My last Weds. series was wonderful, but most of the nine writers couldn’t continue due to scheduling conflicts. Here’s one testimonial:

“I just loved the vibe of the Wednesdays we had this winter, and so much of that is down to your sensitive facilitation, so in general I'll follow you anywhere. I hope to be one of your long-term students... In the meantime, I'll keep going cause your class lit a fire under me. No matter what happens, I'll certainly find a way to write with you again!” — Katherine S.

mary karr recap

A couple of weeks ago I reposted a recap of a USF talk by Mary Karr, the New York Times best-selling memoirist of The Liars’ Club, Cherry, and Lit as well as The Art of Memoir. Read her take on recovery, prayer, and writing. Until the next installment…

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acceptance-rejection roulette

In my last newsletter I offered a behind-the-scenes peek at the journey of “There Was a Man Who,” a flash essay rejected by half a dozen journals but longlisted in CRAFT’s 2023 Flash Prose Prize. This experimental piece—a litany of macroaggressions performed by men—is scheduled to appear online on April 5 in The Palisades Review.

In addition, I submitted a companion piece for their Of The Moment column, which features writing about a timely matter. I pegged “Content Warning: And Once More, Again” to Trump losing the civil suit for sexual battery and defamation against the journalist E. Jean Carroll, so I placed my bets on its acceptance. However:

“We're going to pass on the Content Warning piece but thank you so much for submitting. Really looking forward to sharing There Was A Man Who.”

Whelp. I’d spent hours reshaping this piece from its original draft. But that’s the way it goes. It’s a tricky piece to place: not quite op-ed, not quite CNF. So, I just now sent it to The AutoEthnographer: A Literary and Arts Magazine (thanks, Karen F, whose piece was accepted for publication). Whoah, were their sub guidelines complex!

I’ve also compiled a list of mass-market pubs where I might pitch it (and get paid):

• Salon: The Life Stories section features insightful commentary and essays about the human experience.

• Betches: developed and run for women, by women; a safe space to vent, scream, and deliver scathing hot takes on everything that pisses you off.

• SELF: looking for opinions that will make people stop and think, Huh, that’s interesting—I haven’t considered that perspective before.

• Slate: includes opinion and analysis; Slate is known for its surprising arguments.

• Vox’s Future Perfect: We do want to hear you explain an opinion or perspective, give more context to it, and give weight to counterarguments.

• Next Avenue’s Personal Perspectives: For readers in their 50s and beyond, with the purpose of helping our audience navigate and enjoy their lives.

If you’re familiar with these pubs and have pitching advice, let me know. Stay tuned!

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open, shut them: submission windows

I resubmitted “Roadside Markers” (declined 13x but a finalist in Midway Journal’s Flash Prose and Poetry Contest). The essay was again rejected by Passengers Journal, but awaits responses from Under The Gum Tree, Zone 3, Lunch Ticket, The Sun Magazine, and Tahoma Literary Review.

Several reworked essays from my memoir (still in progress!) are also under consideration. After CRAFT offered to expedite my next submission, I sent them my revision of “Dissolution,” which the editors read quickly but ultimately turned down:

“Your essay stood out for us, but we can accept so few pieces, we do, sometimes, have to decline good work. Unfortunately, we must pass on this essay at this time… We hope you will send us work again. In fact, you're very welcome to bypass the generally required three-month waiting period and submit creative nonfiction again soon.”

I’d send “Reading Comprehension,” a ‘hermit crab’ essay that emulates the form of a multiple choice quiz, but I submitted that to the Susan Atefat Prize for Creative Nonfiction at Arts & Letters, which requested no simultaneous submissions.

Meanwhile, “Dissolution” is pending with Your Impossible Voice, a nonprofit literary journal publishing voice-driven, off-center, and innovative work. Their prose editor is Stephen Beachy, one of my top-notch MFA professors at USF, whose editorial vision helped me rework early pieces for what would become my creative thesis, now expanded into my essay collection Just Some Things We Can’t Talk About. I retitled “Big Brother,” the book’s opening essay, as “The Ties That Bind,” recently submitted to The Sun Magazine and The Rumpus. (The latter published “Fallen” in Voices on Addiction.)

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manuscript in progress

And… smack dab in the midst of a major move across town I suddenly decided to send 150+ revised pages plus a 10-page Overview to the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize. I spent roughly 20 hours compiling it in a 25-hour period (zzz’s much?), getting it in just two hours before the Feb. 29 deadline. Obviously I work well under pressure!

“The Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize emphasizes innovation in form and content, and we want to see projects that push the boundaries of literary nonfiction.”

A $20,000 advance and publication by Graywolf Press will be awarded to the most promising and innovative literary nonfiction project by a writer not yet established in the genre. The winning author will also receive a $2,000 stipend intended to support the completion of their project. They expect to announce the winner in early fall.

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shout out to isabel

OMG, speaking of prizes! The extremely competitive National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Literature Fellowships program announced its 2024 fellows. Of 2,184 eligible applications, only 35 published creative writers were offered $25,000 grants.

Among them: my friend, S. Isabel Choi, whose work was recognized as a Best American Essays Notable Mention and nominated for Pushcart Prizes and The Best of the Net:

“She is finishing a generational memoir on the legacy of loss and illness, titled Let the River Run, inspired by the story of her grandfather, the Chief Justice of South Korea’s Supreme Court from 1981 to 1986. He crossed one river in North Korea to escape a death march during the Korean War and, decades later, leapt into another river in Seoul to take his own life. An excerpt from this project was longlisted for The de Groot Foundation’s 2020 First Pages Prize.”

Fellows are selected through an anonymous review process and are judged on the basis of artistic excellence of the work sample they provided. Grants enable them to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. Go, Iz!!

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reflection under redwoods

And go, me! Nearly three months ago I applied to the Artist-Residency program at Creekside Arts, located in Humboldt County. And recently found out I was accepted!

“Our program facilitates an exchange of creative thought and expression between participants, neighborhood and the larger Northern California community with a focus on new work with a social and political consciousness. Our three-week programs provide each artist with fully equipped private living quarters and individual separate work/studio spaces. In addition to providing a space for solitary work, our program supports and encourages a collaborative atmosphere.”

The application included a CV, artist statement/bio, two professional references, a work sample of up 10 pages, plus a Zoom interview. My residency begins May 18!

“With a flood of more than 50 talented applicants to consider, it was difficult narrowing the field. We are delighted to announce our selection of 7 amazing artists.”

more literary mayhem

Please join me on Saturday, April 13, 2–6 pm PDT for Lit Crawl Sebastopol, a project of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts and Litquake Foundation. I've curated a dynamic group of six local women writers from my Zoom workshop series to read poems and prose, 5–6pm at Silk Moon downtown. I look forward to showcasing their creative talents while sharing the strengths of the Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) method with our community! See the schedule of events and listing with author bios!

I also plan to attend The Sonoma Community Writers Festival—a collaboration between English and Creative Writing faculty and students at Sonoma State University, the Zaum literary magazine staff, and various local independent literary organizations. Check out the incredible lineup! The festival is free and open to the public: Thursday, April 4, 4–9pm PDT at 1801 E. Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA.

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no passport required

The Sitting Room—a community library and reading room of women’s literature, art, and archives located near SSU, announced the topic of their 2024 anthology theme: Travel. Last month I attended “Round Table: No Passport Required”: an afternoon of exploring, reading, and writing while reviewing the Sitting Room selection of women travel writers and discussing some ideas on the theme... 

“Do women travel writers take different journeys, do they see differently, say differently, than their male counterparts? Let’s test that question by doing some traveling where no passport is needed, namely doing some reading on our own. How has gender influenced their lives and how might it have influenced your own?”

Read these guidelines for anthology contributions. Deadline: April 1, 2024.

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As Ukraine spends its third consecutive Easter defending itself against Russian forces, and famine in northern Gaza is declared to be “imminent” amid catastrophic hunger experienced by 2.2 million Palestinians caught in a humanitarian crisis, I don’t hold lightly the ease with which I feast on beautiful blue eggs hatched by a friend’s chickens or pack my bags for a weeklong road trip to Palm Desert to see family. I offer these words by Joanna Macy, from her poem Active Hope is Not Wishful Thinking:

“…Active Hope is waking up to the beauty of life
on whose behalf we can act.
We belong to this world.
The web of life is calling us forth at this time.
We've come a long way and are here to play our part…”

May we each find ways to play our part in making peace within this broken world.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash