Women Who Submit is proud to serve woman-identifying and nonbinary writers across the nation and the world through our Chapters program. Started in 2017 by cofounder, Ashaki M. Jackson, WWS Chapters has continued to grow under the leadership of Chapters Director, Ryane Granados with support from Chapters Liaison and WWS-Long Beach Chapter Lead, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley. We thank Ryane and Lucy for their last four years of service. Together they have been essential in making WWS resources available and accessible to countless writers and community members.
Women Who Submit is excited to share that Ryane Granados’ first book, The Aves, won the 2023 Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize and is slated for publication in fall 2024! As she takes on this new chapter in her writing career, she bids farewell to WWS Chapters. WWS thanks Ryane for her commitment and grace and sends many claps and cheers for what’s to come! As we like to say in orientation, once a WWS member, always a WWS member!
Women Who Submit is proud to welcome our new Chapters Team! We happily announce as Chapters Director, our former Chapters Liaison, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley, and introduce as Chapters Liaison, WWS member and collaborator, Thea Pueschel.
Please read below for a farewell message from Ryane and an introduction from Lucy and Thea.
Literary Play Cousins: A Farewell Message From Ryane Granados:
Recently my inquisitive middle son asked me why he had so many cousins. I only have one sister, so when I married my husband, I was drawn to his familial bonds that came with multiple siblings through biology and marriage. In addition to the cousins who carry the same surname, my son also has the privilege of play cousins. These enduring connections defined my childhood, and in turn they are enriching his. Play cousins are a mainstay in the Black community and they are bonds born from chosen family. These relationships transcend ancestral ties and date back to slavery when families were often torn apart. In my son’s case, his play cousins are the kids of our closest friends. The arrangement is best described as a braid with a group of threads crossing over and under each other into one.
This same braided image comes to mind when I think of my role as Chapters Director for Women Who Submit. I accepted the role at a crossroads both professionally and personally. I had stepped down from a tenured teaching position to manage the medical needs of another one of my children, and I found myself in search of an identity that encompassed retired professor, overwhelmed mom, artist, activist, author, and hopeful community builder. This braid had a lot of threads, but what it was missing was the cultural continuity of close-knit networks. This is what I liken the development of our WWS chapters to be. Expanding our organizational reach was a worthy endeavor, but for me, it wasn’t purely altruistic. In all sincerity, I was in search of literary play cousins and as our chapters grew, I found them. In New Chapter Lead Orientations, I would often joke about the idea of meeting chapter leads all across the globe; a kindred connection of cousins with the shared mission of encouraging women and non-binary writers to submit their work for publication.
I am grateful for my time as Chapters Director and after 4 plus years and 35 plus chapters, I find myself at a new crossroads. My gratitude for this journey is matched only by my appreciation for the partnership formed with my longtime Chapters Liaison, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley. In the ongoing spirit of leadership development, another unexpected byproduct of WWS, I am excited to hand over the role of Chapters Director to Lucy. Additionally, she will be working in collaboration with Thea Pueschel, our new Chapters Liaison. Together they are exceptionally suited to help usher the chapters direction of Women Who Submit into a new and exciting season.
As for me, I am stepping down to focus once again on family, professional commitments, and the launch of my forthcoming novella. I am also stepping out with an identity fortified by my braided connections and my multitude of literary play cousins. In my season as Chapters Director, I was given as much as I gave, and I hope that my interactions will leave a lasting impression on our ground-breaking artistic community.
In Solidarity,
Ryane Nicole Granados
Outgoing WWS Chapters Director
WWS Member
Welcome
Q & A with the Chapters Team: Introducing Chapters Director, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley and Chapters Liaison, Thea Pueschel
How and when did you first hear about Women Who Submit and how did you first become involved?
LUCY RODRIGUEZ-HANLEY: In 2013 I took a memoir workshop with writer/editor Seth Fischer. He encouraged the women in the class to join Women Who Submit. At the time, I had no idea the positive impact this community would have in my life. I’ve gotten published by my sheroes; Vanessa Martir, Reyna Grande and Myriam Gurba. I have benefited from mentorship and a myriad of resources that have helped develop my voice as a writer. I have two young children and have found solidarity with other moms in the community. The people I’ve met have become favorite people and/or the most fantastic friends.
THEA PUESCHEL: I first heard about WWS from the Airing out Your Dirty Laundry Workshop I took at the 1888 Center in Orange, CA. The facilitator asked me if I had been submitting my work. I responded maybe once or twice a year just to validate that I am not a literary writer. She told me I needed to join the WWS. This was before the Lockdown times, and so I had to wait 6 months to attend an in-person orientation. The first time I submitted with WWS was May 11, 2019, according to Submittable.
What excites you about working with WWS Chapters?
LRH: I love community building and encouraging women and nonbinary writers to submit their work to publications. I am an optimist, every month I see the change this organization is making when our members get published, even the rejections count. Facilitating opportunities, spreading our mission and sharing resources with our chapters, like our upcoming 2024 Summer Workshops or soliciting submissions to our anthology or grants is very gratifying.
TP: Helping others facilitate the magic of bringing more voices to the literary landscape.
What is something you wish people knew or understood about the WWS Chapters?
LRH: A chapter can be as simple as two writers getting together to submit their work to publications. You don’t need big numbers to be a successful chapter. As a Chapter Lead your sole duty is to host the gathering and cheer submissions on (most of us clap when a submission has gone out). You are not there to read someone’s work, facilitate a workshop or provide feedback. You can have multiple people leading a chapter, you can also have multiple chapters in the same region (Los Angeles and the Bay area both have multiple chapters).
TP: Each WWS chapter is a support network. A net to catch us when we get those hard-hitting rejections. A cheering squad for when we get those hard-won yeses. An audience to clap when we put our big kid chonies on and submit. For those of us humans that have come up as creative lone wolves for years and decades because we may not have the creative connections or known how to maneuver the literary world the WWS Chapters offer support. A village for us to walk on our two legs, to transform from lone wolf creatives to writers with a community. I think additionally, it’s such an important space particularly for those of us who grew up working class without connections whether we were the first generation to go to college or were bitten by the creative bug without formal education. WWS chapters bring experience, and resources.
Not all WWS Chapters are the same, but they are all worthwhile and community based.
If someone was interested in starting a chapter in their area, how might they begin that process and what does it look like?
LRH: If possible, I suggest attending a meeting to make sure it is something you want to take on. Ask yourself why you want to lead a chapter and what you’d like to gain from the experience. Do you want to lead alone or co-lead with one or two people? The process is simple, after filling out an application, we schedule an orientation where we share information, resources and best practices about the organization and the submission process. We also have a social media manager that can help you spread the word when you are ready to launch your chapter.
TP: It’s pretty easy peasy… 1. Check the WWS website for orientation dates, 2. Follow the direction and guidelines on the WWS website and submit your packet of interest to start a WWS Chapter, 3. Patiently wait while we analyze the materials, 4. Once you get your invite attend a WWS orientation, 5. Ask us questions!
We’re all writers and creatives first at WWS, what are you working on these days? Do you have any exciting news to share?
LRH: I am writing 500 words per day. The last six months have been hard for me on the creative front. I started a writing challenge this month led by fellow mom and WWS member, LiYun Alvarado. It’s a lot of shitty first drafts but I’m writing again! The goal is to get back to my memoir in May. I’m really happy about this and celebrating every day that I write a new page.
TP: Right now, I am in the process of having rehearsals for two plays that I am directing for the Short + Sweet Hollywood 10-minute play festival. I haven’t directed in a decade, so I am extremely excited about this.
In 2021, I had a solo exhibition of mixed media work at the Center in Orange. I realized that once the triptych of large format paintings stood next to each other I wasn’t pleased with how they looked. Separate I felt that the intention was clear, but when the series was lined up, I realized they just didn’t work. I like the foundation of the original paintings but feel that more is missing than my desired effect which is about displacement. I’ve been in the process of making smaller concept mockups and playing with color and design in my studio.
Monday, June 17th 6pm-7:30pm I am leading a FREE workshop Discovering Your Subconscious Thematic at the Cerritos Library in the Skylight Room. It’s a journey of personal discovery for writers. It provides a safe space to sift through the stories that attract us and analyze our own work. By discovering our personal theme, we are able to connect on a deeper level with our own work and create more generative flow.
