Women Who Submit

March 28, 2018September 26, 2018

Breathe and Push: Finding Light in Stephon Clark’s Name

By Noriko Nakada

This week there is another name to say.

Stephon Clark.

When the news breaks, it’s not because of the shooting. Police shootings like this happen with frightening frequency. What makes the news is the outrage, the crowds of protesters gathering around the city, shutting down freeways and sports arenas. It is the people who refuse to accept this familiar outcome that makes headlines.

I hear only the basics: he was unarmed. He stood in his grandparents’ backyard. He was shot twenty times. Protesters are calling for accountability; for justice.

Then, I look away. How many of you have looked away? It is hard to watch. To keep watching. Continue reading “Breathe and Push: Finding Light in Stephon Clark’s Name”

March 21, 2018March 20, 2018

Behind The Editor’s Desk: Melissa Chadburn

By Lauren Eggert-Crowe

WWS veteran Melissa Chadburn wants your work.

The Los Angeles literary rock star recently joined the editorial team at DAME Magazine and is looking for reported essays and lyrical journalism. If you’d like to work your Barbara Ehrenreich chops, stretch your Ifill and Didion and Bogado muscles, Melissa wants to work with you. This is not the hasty trendpiece end of the pool, but the deeper dives into research and reporting. You’ll be writing pieces with headlines on par with, “Why don’t doctors take women’s pain seriously?” and “Will SCOTUS let crisis pregnancy centers keep lying?” and “The Deafening Complacency of Melania Trump.”

“Independent, women-owned, and women-edited,” DAME’s tagline is, “For Women Who Know Better.” The outlet values critical analysis in the social, cultural and political spheres, and “breaks through conventional narratives.” Who wouldn’t want their name attached to such a classy, no-bullshit mission statement?

Continue reading “Behind The Editor’s Desk: Melissa Chadburn”

March 14, 2018March 14, 2018

Poem-a-Day as Practice

A tree with pink blooms next to a suburban sidewalk covered in shadows on a sunny day.

by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo

I am not a morning pages poet, nor am I a write everyday poet. To write every day, or close to every day, is something I have to work at, and by work I mean, it takes trickery. It takes a challenge like Poem-A-Day that happens every April for National Poetry Month. If you’ve never heard of this event, it’s similar to National Novel Writing Month—commonly known as NaNoWriMo—in September but without the cute name. For the month of April, in celebration of NPM, poets around the country and even the world, challenge themselves to write one new poem a day for 30 days. To help, many websites and journals give daily writing prompts. Many are free and some take a subscription. But here’s the thing, you don’t have to wait for April to challenge yourself, and to be honest, I have never successfully accomplished writing 30 poems in 30 days in April, and to be even more honest, I’ve only tried once, maybe twice.

Continue reading “Poem-a-Day as Practice”

March 8, 2018March 8, 2018

Welcome to the New Women Who Submit Site!

Brand new address, same stellar submission info you’ve come to expect from us, with some new additions:

Join Us! – Learn about the various WWS chapters across North America
Resources – A collection of useful links for your publishing journey
Submit to Us! – We have four new columns! – Writing on a Budget (ed. Lisbeth Coiman), Breathe and Push (ed. Noriko Nakada), WWS Chapters Publication News (ed. Ashley Perez and Ramona Pilar), and Dear Submission Mistress (ed. Ashley Perez).
We’re on YouTube! – If you can’t make one of our workshops and have missed the Facebook Live Streams, no need to worry! We’re now uploading to YouTube following the sessions.

Peruse the site and enjoy! Happy submitting!

March 6, 2018

Writing on a Budget: Discounts

By Lisbeth Coiman

Although writing involves a desk and countless hours sitting in front of computer, it has a significant overhead cost. Expenses add up pretty quickly and include items as varied as office supplies to car expenses. We learn to make informed decisions, and find the discounts to finance projects or conferences.

Early Bird Registration

Careful planning is the key to take advantage of the Early Bird Registration for conferences, especially those asking up to $300 (airfare, lodging, and food & beverages not included). Early registration can save you 15% off the total cost. The Early Bird discount is not restricted to large events and can be found in most small and local workshops and classes. Plan ahead to catch limited-time opportunities for conferences like Mendocino Coast Writers Conferences. Continue reading “Writing on a Budget: Discounts”

February 28, 2018March 6, 2018

A WWS Publication Roundup for February

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

The month may be short but the list of WWS publications is long. Congratulations to everyone who had work published in February!

From Claudine Burnett‘s “A Look at Bygone Days” at Signal Tribune:

In researching a possible new book on African-Americans in our community, I came across a California State Office of Historic Preservation report (“An Ethnic Sites Survey for California”) that mentioned that most people seemed to believe that, before 1940, there were virtually no African-Americans in the state. But there were.

Also from Claudine, “Lost Love Found” at Long Beach 908:

It was a story that brought many a tear to the eyes of many Los Angeles Herald readers the morning of August 28, 1898. It appeared that Leslie Newlin, one of the crew of the on the yacht Dawn, had found a long lost wife and she a long lost husband. Continue reading “A WWS Publication Roundup for February”

February 21, 2018March 5, 2018

Learning to Breathe and Push through the Darkness

By Noriko Nakada

A few days before 2017 came to a close, my family and I drove through a cold, dark night from Oregon to Southern California. As we sped along that long stretch of freeway, my partner and I took turns driving, while our kids slept in the back seat. I dozed off when I could, and when I couldn’t, I stared out at the dark landscape rushing past us: distant mountains pressed up against the horizon, shadows of hills crouched beneath a starless sky. Occasionally, I’d pull out my phone, and gaze at pictures of friends celebrating holidays with family and friends or news updates. That was when I first caught civil rights attorney Valarie Kaur’s speech, “Breathe and Push.”

In her address, delivered at an interfaith watch night on New Year’s Eve of 2016, she spoke about her Sikh grandfather’s immigration to this country, and the white man who came to his aid, rescuing him from a dark cell. She spoke about the injustices and discrimination that dripped across each generation in her family, and how members of her family stood up to hatred. She spoke about raising her young son to see a world that is magical, but the fear that she is bringing her brown son into a world that is even more dangerous than the one where she grew up. But after examining these dark corners where our nation lurks asks:

“What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb? What if our America is not dead, but a country that is waiting to be born? What if the story of America is one long labor?” Continue reading “Learning to Breathe and Push through the Darkness”

February 14, 2018

Our Voices: Adopted People of Color

by Julayne Lee

Several years ago I attended a conference in Minnesota with overseas adopted Koreans. One of the evening events was a spoken word and poetry showcase featuring only adopted Korean artists. I had been to several poetry readings but this was the first one where our perspectives and experiences were centered. My friend who had gone to poetry readings with me leaned over and said, “This is for us.” It was special, unique and amplified our voices and lives.

I moved to Los Angeles a few years ago and participated in Writ Large Press’ first #90for90. When I heard they would host #90X90LA again in 2017, I knew I wanted to curate an event, and I wanted it to center adopted people of color. On a very hot Saturday afternoon in September, we gathered at Cielo gallery, and I hosted Our Voices: A Reading & Discussion with Adoptees of Color. We believe it to be the first ever poetry reading by adopted POC in Los Angeles, which featured Lynne Thompson, Dr. Michael Datcher and Yun-Sook Navarre. I had let the poets know they could read anything adoption related or not but the majority of what they chose to share was about adoption. It was a powerful experience for the poets and the audience, some of whom identify as adopted POC. For some, it was their first time being in an adoptee-centered environment. Continue reading “Our Voices: Adopted People of Color”

February 7, 2018March 12, 2018

Six Rules to Write on a Budget

By Lisbeth Coiman

Taking the first steps into writing demands an immediate assessment of your finances. The cost of regularly submitting work for publication, attending conferences, or workshops, subscribing to publications, supplies, and other unforeseen expenses consume the usually limited resources of an unprepared emergent writer. Even those who live on writing have to approach their job with a thrifty mentality. Organization and careful planning are the fundamentals principles of writing on a budget.

1. Track every penny

I start my year with an expense tracker on an excel sheet. If your income this year barely makes it above poverty level, be thrifty and watch every penny. If you decide to report your writing as a business, it is mandatory that both income and expenses be carefully recorded for tax purposes. A spreadsheet is easy to prepare and must include mileage, supplies, gasoline, submissions, memberships, subscriptions, and can even cover charge to attend poetry readings. For a complete list of tax deductible items for writers see. Here is another. Continue reading “Six Rules to Write on a Budget”

January 31, 2018March 12, 2018

A WWS Publication Roundup for January

The year in publications has gotten off to a great start for Women Who Submit! Congratulations to everyone who had work published in January.

From Soleil David‘s “Seoul in October” at Cleaver:

If I could be anywhere
………..in the Fall
it would be Korea

walking rubberized pavement
………..to the top of Namsan Tower
surprised by snow in October

From Melissa Chadburn‘s “The Wounded Parts of People” at Shondaland:

Nobody needs to warn me about the wounded parts of people. There was that time I worked at a Level 12 residential treatment center for adolescent boys. It was called Mid-Valley Youth Center — a home for boys who stopped smelling like children. Some of us were fooled by this change in scent, by the wild sprites of hair off their face. Some days, we thought they were men. Their crude gestures, or refusals to eat, or to follow direction — we thought we were in a power struggle with them. Some judges even forgot they were boys, and gave them sterner sentences in places for men. The deal was, they could do more time at the treatment center with less restrictions, or less time at juvenile hall. Continue reading “A WWS Publication Roundup for January”