How to Join a Chapter During the Pandemic

By Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley

Hello Everyone, this is Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley, I am the Chapters Liaison for Women Who Submit, I also host the Long Beach Chapter via the Long Beach Literary Arts Center. 

As the Chapters Liaison, I support our Chapters Director Ryane Nicole Granados and WWS Leadership to provide resources for our members and Chapter Leads and to connect those looking to join our community with chapters in their area. Our collective goal is to empower women and non-binary writers to submit their work to literary magazines for publication

I am happy to see a heightened interest from women and non-binary writers looking to join our organization. The Pandemic has affected all of us in different ways including some of our chapters. While some chapters continued meeting virtually since last March, a lot of them have not.  

The Los Angeles chapter shifted their programing in 2020 and 2021 to online events and started hosting weekly check-ins for their members.  Below is a list of chapters that continued meeting online during the pandemic as well as our newest chapters. 

California: 

Bay Area

*Long Beach
Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley  

*Pasadena
Michelle Semrad Barrera

*West Los Angeles
Alix Pham 

Chicago

New York City

Portland

New Chapters:

Twin Cities

New Jersey

Wilmington, North Carolina

* Chapters hosting members virtually until in person meetings resume regardless of location. 

If you have questions or inquiries about joining a chapter or starting your own, Ryane and I are here to help. We hosted an orientation meeting for new Chapter Leads in March and look forward to hosting the next one. 

If you are a Chapter Lead looking to restart your chapter, we are here for you. 

This July, the organization celebrates its tenth year, with twenty-seven chapters across the United States and Mexico, more than one hundred fifty successful book and magazine publication credits by its members in 2020, and a devoted community of writers, editors, and publishers.

Lucy Rodriguez-Handley is a creative non-fiction writer, filmmaker, and mother of two. A Dominicana via Washington Heights now living in Long Beach, California. Her film, The Big Deal, won the Imagen Award for Best Theatrical Short. She is a VONA fellow and is on the board of the Long Beach Literary Arts Center. Her films and writing samples can be found at https://www.lucyrodriguezhanley.com/