Tag: literary submissions

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SUBMIT 1: 13TH ANNUAL SUBMISSION DRIVE

Saturday, September 19, 2026 Women Who Submit (WWS) hosts our 13th annual SUBMIT 1 Submission Drive. This marks the one day a year we encourage women and nonbinary writers across the globe to submit to tier one journals as one community. 

As an act of solidarity, SUBMIT 1 dares to connect marginalized writers to top tier editors and publishers, widening the spectrum of voices reaching audiences and influencing arts and culture across the world. And you can be a part of the movement!

This year, thanks to a grant from WeHo Arts and the City of West Hollywood, WWS-LA and WWS-West LA are collaborating on an in-person meet up at Fan Girl Cafe from 10am-1pm and an online meetup (time TBD). Register to join!

Flyer with kelly green background and purple and white font advertising SUBMIT 1 in person and online meetups. In the left corner is a illustration of three women two with their fists up and one cheering.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1. Before September 19th, study this list of “Top Ranked Journals of 2026” with current open calls to find a good fit for your work. BE SURE TO READ AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES. 

2. On September 19th, submit your writing to at least one tier one magazine from wherever you are in the world at any time of day.

3. Join one of the following SUBMIT 1 Meetups to submit as a community: 

***BE SURE TO CHECK TIME ZONES***

WWS-Los Angeles & WWS-West LA
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10am-1pm Pacific
Fan Girl Cafe
8157 Santa Monica Blvd Ste A, West Hollywood, CA 90046
Hosted by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo and Nicole Evans
Register: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/submit-1-submission-drive

WWS-Los Angeles & WWS-West LA
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10am-2pm Pacific / 1pm-5pm Eastern  
On Google Meet
Hosted by Jasmine Vallejo-Love 
Contact: wwswla2527@gmail.com
Register: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/submit-1-submission-drive

WWS-Austin, Texas
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10am-1pm Central
Central Market at 4001 N. Lamar
Upstairs in the café (elevator accessible)
Instagram: @womenwhosubmitatx
Contact: ramona.reeves@gmail.com

WWS-New England
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10am-12pm Eastern
Virtual
Instagram: @womenwhosubmitnewengland
Contact: vlherman@gmail.com

***For more meetups in your area, check back over the month, or check in with your Chapter Lead.

4. Tag @WomenWhoSubmit on Facebook or Instagram and use the hashtag #SUBMIT1, to share when you’ve submitted, so we can celebrate with you! 

5. After submitting, log your submissions with THIS FORM to help WWS track how many submissions were sent out as a community.

6. Consider donating to WWS to support more women and nonbinary writers submitting their work for publication.

HOW TO PREPARE A SUBMISSION:

READ AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES: It may sound obvious, but editors can receive thousands of submissions a year. If you don’t follow their guidelines, they won’t bother with reading your work and automatically reject it. Don’t make it easy for them!

READ A SAMPLE OF THE JOURNAL: All journals ask that submitters read the journal before submitting. You don’t have to read the whole journal or even more than one, but do read a few sample pieces in the genre you’re submitting in to see how your work may fit in.

PERSONALIZE YOUR COVER LETTER: Address your letter to the genre editor by name and be sure to include a sentence that details something you like about the journal, a previously published piece, or how you see your work fitting in. This will show you’ve read ahead of time and you’re choosing them specifically. For more on cover letters, check out this article from Adroit Journal.

CHOOSE A PIECE YOU LOVE: If you want your writing to stand out to readers and editors, make sure it’s a piece of writing you’re excited to share or something you feel must be shared. You can’t expect others to love something you’re only lukewarm about.

GIVE IT TO A READER: Before submitting, see if you can exchange pages with a friend for notes and then revise it to the best of your ability. No writing will ever be perfect, but a second set of eyes can do wonders. Finally, make sure to read it aloud to catch any errors before hitting send.

SUBMISSION RESOURCES:

Thanks to a grant from WeHo Arts, WWS recently hosted the “Pitching in a Fishbowl” workshop with Jade Chang. Jade shared many tips and tools for crafting a compelling pitch. This workshop is best for creative nonfiction writers pitching stories to magazines.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

If you are a WWS member, either locally in Los Angeles or with a WWS Chapter, you are invited to apply for financial support through the Ashaki M. Jackson No Barriers Regrant. WWS members can request between $20 – $100 to be used toward their submission fees for SUBMIT 1 and other submission goals during the month of September. Applications are due September 16th.

To request an application form, email admin@womenwhosubmitlit.org.

WWS HISTORY: 

Inspired by the 2009 VIDA Count from VIDA, Women in Literary Arts, which published quantitative evidence illustrating the dearth of women’s voices in top tier publications, Women Who Submit was founded in 2011 to empower women writers to submit work for publication and help change those numbers. In September 2014, a group of writers gathered at Hermosillo Bar in Highland Park, CA for a day of beers, cheers, and literary submissions. It was the first time we called on our WWS community to submit to tier-one literary journals en masse as a nod to the original VIDA Count. SUBMIT 1 continues today as an annual event and call to action for equity and wider representation in publishing with submission drives hosted at public places across Los Angeles. From 2020-2023, we moved our annual gathering to the @WomenWhoSubmit Instagram, but we’re excited to continue the tradition of gathering in public places to share our work and our joy as one community.

Eight women with laptops sit on either side of a long table, smiling at the camera
1st Annual Submission Drive – September, 2014
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October Publication Roundup

It’s Halloween, which signals October’s close, and our WWS members continue to send out their work and publish in amazing places.

This month we’re celebrating the WWS members whose work was published during October of 2021. I’ve included an excerpt from their published pieces (if available) or a blurb if the publication is a book, and a link (if available) to where the pieces can be purchased and/or read in their entirety.

Please join me in celebrating our members who published in October!

Continue reading “October Publication Roundup”
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September Publication Roundup

September has ended, bringing us even closer to the end of 2021, a year that has felt as unreal, uneasy, and unresolved as 2020. Yet our WWS members continue to send out their work and publish in amazing places.

This month we’re celebrating the WWS members whose work was published during September of 2021. I’ve included an excerpt from their published pieces (if available) or a blurb if the publication is a book, and a link (if available) to where the pieces can be purchased and/or read in their entirety.

Let’s celebrate our members who published in September!

Continue reading “September Publication Roundup”
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July 2021 Publication Roundup

It’s hard to believe we’ve made it past the midway point of 2021, but here we are, close to turning the corner into Fall.

Meanwhile, our determined members have continued to send their beautiful, provocative, insightful work into the world and publish it. This month we’re celebrating the WWS members whose work was published during July 2021. I’ve included an excerpt from their published pieces (if available) or a blurb if the publication is a book, and a link (if available) to where the pieces can be purchased and/or read in their entirety.

Let’s celebrate our members who published in July!

Continue reading “July 2021 Publication Roundup”
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June Publication Roundup

We’re headed into the sweltering heat of summer, which sometimes can wilt the resolve to do anything. Not our members. They’re still sending out their work and getting it published in wonderful outlets.

This month we’re celebrating the WWS members whose work was published during June 2021. I’ve included an excerpt from their published pieces (if available) and a link (if available) to where the pieces can be purchased and/or read in their entirety.

Congratulations to our members who published in June!

Continue reading “June Publication Roundup”
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December Publication Roundup

During this ridiculously difficult year, Women Who Submit has offered hope. Our members have supported each other during accountability sessions and publication parties and virtual community readings. We have extended a warm, virtual hand to people when they receive rejections—“motivation letters” as our wonderful member, Hannah Sward, has encouraged us to dub them. And we cheer loud and hard when our members publish their work.

So three cheers for the following WWS members who published across all genres and venues during December, the final month of this long year!

Continue reading “December Publication Roundup”
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7 Steps to Submitting

Our 7th Annual Submission Blitz is coming Saturday, September 12th. This online event is our annual drive to submit to tier one journals as an action for gender parity in publishing.

In the summer of 2011 a group of women met together in a kitchen to share food, literary journals, and submission goals to encourage each other to submit work for publication. The idea for this first submission party came from WWS cofounder, Alyss Dixson as a response to the Vida Count. We began the Submission Blitz in the summer of 2014 to honor our beginnings and continue to push for gender parity in top tier publishing.

We’ve come to understand that submitting to tier one journals is no easy ask, so to help, check out the 7 Steps to Submitting below. And consider joining us on September 12th. It’s as easy as marking yourself going to the event, submitting to a journal, notifying us know on FB, Twitter, or IG, and letting us shower you in claps and cheers.

Images from our 2019 Submission Blitz LA meet-up at the Faculty Bar in East Hollywood.

7 Steps to Submitting:

by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo

1. Select a Manuscript – When selecting a piece (for poetry this may be 5-7 poems) to submit, be sure sure to choose a story, essay, or poems you absolutely love or need to see in the world. These are top tier magazines, so if you don’t love the work and need to see it published, why would you expect the editors to?

2. Research & Pick a Journal – Begin by looking through this list of tier one journals with links to guidelines curated by Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera. Some things to look into: Who’s on the editorial team? Who’s been published? What’s their mission statement? Do you like what’s been published? Does your work fit within their guidelines?

3. Read & Follow the Guidelines – the fastest way to get your work rejected is to not follow guidelines. Don’t make it easy for an editor to say no to you. 

4. Prepare your Manuscript – be sure to adjust your manuscript according to the guidelines, give it to a friend read through for any last minute notes, and read through it out loud before sending to catch any typos. 

5. Write a cover letter – be sure to personalize a cover letter with the name of the editor and a sentence about why you’ve chosen to send your work to them. Though it’s up for debate if cover letters are even read, this is a good practice for keeping open communications with editors you hope to create a working relationship with. See more about cover letters here.

6. Submit – once you’re ready, HIT SEND! And then be sure to let us know on our social media accounts so we can clap and cheer for you!

7. Record your Submission – a submission tracker is a spreadsheet and a great tool for keeping your submissions in order. What you put on the tracker is up to you, but the name of journal, name of submission, and date it was submitted is a good place to start. This is helpful for checking back on submissions that have been out for three, six, or more months, as well as keeping up communications when practicing simultaneous submissions (see the link in point 5 for more information on this). 

This is image represents the first six months of my personal 2019 submission tracker.

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Getting into the Top Tier

Illustration of a woman sitting in an orange floating tub in an overflowing bathtub.

by Désirée Zamorano

First off, you can’t get into a top-tier magazine unless you submit. You can’t submit unless you’ve got work, and you won’t have the work unless you sit down to write. Let’s talk about this.

My bookshelves are filled with texts, some popular, some academic, on how to be a better person, partner, parent, educator, writer. To help you close the gap, I’m not going to talk about all those writerly texts, as marvelous as they all can be. (Personal favorites: Making a Literary Life by Carolyn See, and Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass). I’m going to go old school here, and talk about The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Yes, I realize Stephen Covey turned into an industry himself. But I’m going to talk about the two habits that I have carried forward once I read this classic. The first habit involves a Venn diagram with one circle labeled “Area of concern” and the other circle labeled “Area of influence.”

Concerned about your writing? (You should be)

Do you have influence over your writing? (You are the only one).

Where those two circles overlap is where you have your most powerful impact. Continue reading “Getting into the Top Tier”

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Writing Myself: On Becoming a Real Writer

by Marya Summers

In the summer of 2003, poets from around the world converged in Chicago for the National Poetry Slam. One densely packed nightclub was electric with anticipation for the group poem showcase, a highlight of the annual event. You could have supplied power to a small town with the energy my own body was generating as I took the stage with two women on my team to deliver the poem “Penis Envy.” It had received perfect scores the night before in preliminary bouts.

For any team, but particularly for our small-to-middling town team from Delray Beach, Florida, this showcase was The Big Leagues. Because it wasn’t part of the competition (it was a “best of”), all we had to do is exactly what we did the night before – deliver our bawdy, satiric conjecture on what we would do if we had penises. We were only a few seconds into our poem when the room began to hiss as if giant, terrible snakes were about to strike. I recognized the sound immediately. I’d heard other poets call it “the feminist hiss.”

Continue reading “Writing Myself: On Becoming a Real Writer”