November 2017 – Women Who Submit

November 30, 2017October 7, 2018

A WWS PUBLICATION ROUND UP FOR NOVEMBER

A laptop computer with an article titled "Submissions Made Simple" on the screen and a stack of literary journals sits on top of the laptop base, titles facing out

As the year wraps up, we are happy to celebrate the Women Who Submit who had work published in November. Congrats to all!

From “During Childbirth, Enduring the Patriarchy Was the Hardest Part” by Rachael Rifkin at Yes!:

Everyone from medical professionals to strangers tell pregnant people what they should and shouldn’t be doing with their bodies. Throughout my two pregnancies, OB-GYNs, nurses, family, and friends often used phrases like “you can’t,” “you’re not allowed to,” and “we’ll let you” when discussing my body.

Continue reading “A WWS PUBLICATION ROUND UP FOR NOVEMBER”

November 22, 2017

Behind My Editor’s Desk

by Lauren Eggert-Crowe

For the past year and a half, I’ve been interviewing badass women editors for this blog, asking about what they love about their jobs, what they’re looking for in submissions, and how they balance writing and editing. Today I’m going to talk about MY job as editor!

In April of 2016, I signed on as the Reviews Editor at Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built and Natural Environments. I’d known about Terrain for ten years, having gone to grad school with editor in chief Simmons Buntin. I’d long admired Simmons as an editor and a friend, so when we caught up at AWP Los Angeles and he asked if I’d like to be part of the Terrain team, I jumped at the chance!

So, what is Terrain and what do we publish? Continue reading “Behind My Editor’s Desk”

November 15, 2017

A Repost: The Fabulous 40

Back at the end of 2015, WWS organizer, Tisha Marie Reichle, curated this fantastic list of 40 feminist journals to support and submit to in 2016. Since we are coming to the end of 2017, why not challenge yourself to hit up a couple of these markets before the new year? Check out these journals that didn’t make it on to our first list–Gigantic Sequence, Lady/Liberty/Lit, Mothers Always Write, VIDA, Women in Literary Arts, and What Fresh Witch is This–and be sure to share any new journals we missed in the comments!

NPG x126136; Jackie Collins; Joan Collins by Terry O'Neill — by Terry O’Neill, bromide fibre print, 1970s

The Fabulous 40: Sister Journals to Read, Support, and Submit to in 2016

by Tisha Reichle

When setting your reading and writing goals for 2016, consider the work being done by other women writers and editors – people like you! Think about subscribing to one or more of the journals listed below. Make a conscious effort to read print and online journals edited/curated by women writers. Submit your work regularly to the journals and magazines that address themes you are writing about. As we move towards being more responsible literary citizens in the upcoming year, keep our sister writers in mind. (Information below is edited from each journal/magazine website information.)

If there are publications that have not been included on this list, please add a brief description and a link in the comments below so others can learn about it and we can update our information.

13th Moon: A Feminist Literary Magazine
Founded in 1973 in the ferment of early second wave feminism, as a home for women writers and their readers. Because the surrounding culture has tended to erase women writers from history, their work has needed rediscovery, preservation and its own dedicated space each generation. Continue reading “A Repost: The Fabulous 40”

November 8, 2017

An Interview with Lisa Cheby, Owner of the Desert Lotus House for Writers

by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo

The Desert Lotus House for Writers is a new writing retreat in Joshua Tree, California, and is the passion project of WWS original member, Lisa Eve Cheby. Applications opened on 11/11/17 with residencies beginning in January 2018.

Women Who Submit: On the Desert Lotus House for Writers website, you mention time you spent at a residency in Knoxville, TN. Why did you want to start a writing retreat, and how did your residency experience help you create your own?

Lisa Eve Cheby: The residency at Firefly Farms and SAFTA was amazing. I had never been on a residency and doubted myself and what I would do with that gift of space and time. There was something about the process of applying and being accepted. It is not a fully-funded residency, but it was affordable and in a new place. The house was welcoming and comfortable. The landscape was new and beautiful. It was the first time in my adult life where I did not have an agenda. I was able to write and read poetry all day. I opted to not have a car that week, so I was really isolated to the farm and to walks on the property and neighborhood. All I had to do was feed the animal and write. I also loved having another poet in the house with me, in this case, Karen Craigo, and the writer in the “coop” who shared kitchen and bath with us, Sara Martin. We each retreated to our rooms or various places in the house to write, but cooking in the kitchen seemed to indicate we were open for conversation.

For about a year, I had been wanting to create a writing retreat for myself in Joshua Tree. The right place at the right price never really came along, and I am limited in what I can fund on my own. I was reluctant to Airbnb as I didn’t want to be a burden to the community. When I was in Knoxville it occurred to me that I could do this with a house in Joshua Tree. I realized it did not need to be a house like the many bought and renovated by professional investors who get homesteader cabins and renovate them to be hipster places for desert getaways. It just had to be a comfortable house where writers could go at an affordable rate to write. A month after I returned from Firefly Farms, I found the house and decided to go for it. Continue reading “An Interview with Lisa Cheby, Owner of the Desert Lotus House for Writers”

November 1, 2017March 6, 2018

Ten Kind Suggestions for Being a Literary Citizen

by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo

1. Read

The most important way to contribute to a community of writers is to read their writing. Buy and read the books and journals of those around you, those you admire, those who you wish to work with, those you call friend or wish to call friend. Of course, we can’t buy every book, but if you can’t buy it, then borrow it from a friend or the library (And by the way, support your local libraries! They do important work for the community’s children and families). We are writers; it’s what we do; it’s what we work for. Show your appreciation for others by knowing their work.

2. Share

Use social media to share what you’ve been reading and help promote other writers’ work, readings, or events. I like to post photos of my current reads to Twitter and Instagram with #amreading and tag the author if I can. As someone whose first book debuted a year ago, I know it gives me all the warm, happy feels to see my book in a reader’s hands on social media, and I want to give that feeling back. Also, it helps promote their work and possibly gain them more readers and followers. I also like to share photos of events I’m at, especially if they are women, women of color, and writers of color centric events because we need to be archiving more. I think it’s important to capture these moments, and say, yes, these writers were here; their work is important; you should know these writers.

It costs nothing to share what you’re reading or the events you’re attending on social media, so why not give freely and widely? Continue reading “Ten Kind Suggestions for Being a Literary Citizen”