A WWS Publication Roundup 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 2019 comes to a close, we are excited to share another great roundup of publications from Women Who Submit members. Congratulations!

From Désirée Zamorano‘s “Our Collective History: An Interview with Michael Nava” at the Los Angeles Review of Books:

MICHAEL NAVA: It’s a very common story. I’m about to turn 65. I’ve been out since I was 17. I’ve had hundreds of conversations as a gay man and realize that Bill’s story is just not that uncommon. I think it’s changed a little since 1971, where the opening is set. It has improved for the LGBTQ community in those intervening 40-plus years, so I have some emotional distance from the rawness of the story. That’s what protects me from not being able to write about it.

Also from Désirée, “Scarification” at Acentos Review:

One evening in July, in San Antonio, a group of us fled the stiff air conditioning of our rooms and gathered  impulsively at the outdoor seating of the college dorm at Texas A & M University. People brought beer, bottles of Topo Chica water, bottles of wine. Others brought hummus, potato chips, brownies. I glanced around the crowd of mostly women, and wondered, how many novels, memoirs, chapbooks, essays, present and future, did we all represent?

Congrats to Deborah Edler Brown who had two poems published in poeticdiversity, one of which, “Buddhi” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize! From “Buddhi”:

I know my wings when they show up
I feel their heft on my scapula,
on the wingspan between shoulder blades
I feel their stretch and the shadow
they draw across the ground. 

From “We’re Losing Generations of Family History Because We Don’t Share Our Stories” by Rachael Rifkin‘s at Good Housekeeping:

Most people don’t know much about their family history. This is because people usually don’t become interested in genealogy until they’re in their 50s and 60s, when they have more time to reflect on their family identity. The problem is that by that time, their grandparents and parents have often already passed away or are unable to recount their stories.

From Lisbeth Coiman‘s “El Guaire” at Acentos Review:

Before born,
El Guaire provided Caracas
With fresh water streaming down from tributaries.

Citizens proud of
First source of constant energy
In the subcontinent.

Congratulations to Helena Lipstadt whose poem, “First Light June, was published in A Dangerous New World: Maine Voices on the Climate Crisis!

Congratulations to Bonnie S. Kaplan who had two poems published in the Northridge Review!

Congratulations to Tanya Ko Hong whose book, The War Still Within, was published at KYSO Flash!

Congratulations to Romaine Washington whose poems “Br’er Boombox,” “Childman in the Motherland, Saguaro,” and “All-American Pastime,” were published in Cholla Needles 36!

Congratulations to Mareshah “MJ” Jackson whose story, “Too Nice,” was published at the Citadel!

Behind The Editor’s Desk: Jennifer Acker

WWS organizer Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera recently introduced me to Jennifer Acker, Editor in Chief of The Common. So much more than a literary journal, “The Common is a literary organization whose mission is to deepen our individual and collective sense of place.” Besides their online publishing and two annual print issues, The Common also hosts readings and conversations, and partners with schools, libraries and museums to promote literary engagement and create community. We are obviously all about that here at Women Who Submit. They also do leadership development with the next generation by hosting a literary publishing internship and participating in classroom programs.

Continue reading “Behind The Editor’s Desk: Jennifer Acker”