Women Who Submit – Page 5 – Women Who Submit

August 19, 2022August 19, 2022

SUBMIT 1: 9th Annual WWS Submission Drive

SUBMIT 1 is the one day out of the year WWS encourages women and nonbinary writers across the globe to send one of their most beloved pieces of writing to one top tier journal as one community. This is an act of solidarity, not only with our writers, but with editors and publishers as well. SUBMIT 1 dares to connect the literary publishing community as a whole.

Black event flyer with "Submit" in green. Green circle at the center with a purple "1" at its center.

In its 9th year, thanks to an Impact Project grant from the California Arts Council and the support of our fiscal sponsor, Avenue 50 Studio, WWS has expanded this event into the WWS Summer Series. This program includes the Summer Writers Workshop in July, the Submission conference in August, and Submit 1 in September.

The submission drive was created in 2014 for WWS’s five-year anniversary and to honor Vida, Women in Literary Arts, and the Vida Count. It was the 2009 Vida Count that inspired the co-founding of Women Who Submit in 2011. While the event celebrates our history and the importance of gender equity in literary publishing, over the years, we’ve questioned if we were doing enough to help prepare our writers to send their work to the top journals of the nation and world.

The WWS Summer Series is our answer to this question. In July, 36 writers were given the opportunity to participate in month-long workshops with our faculty, Melissa Chadburn (CNF), Muriel Leung (Poetry), and Colette Sartor (Fiction). In August, over 150 writers registered for the Submission Conference, a one-day, online event that featured 18 writing professionals sharing their best tips and strategies (For recordings of the 2022 panels with closed captions visit the WWS Youtube page.). So then, SUBMIT 1 is not only an act of solidarity, but an act of faith in our writers and the writing process.

How to Participate:

1. Before September 10th, study THIS LIST of “Top Ranked Journals of 2022” with current open calls to find a good fit for your work. Links to guidelines are included. BE SURE TO READ AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES.

2. On September 10th, submit one of your most beloved pieces of writing to at least one tier one magazine from wherever you are in the world at any time of day.

3. Notify us on Twitter or IG. Be sure to tag us @womenwhosubmit, so we can celebrate you with lots of claps, cheers, and funny gifs.

4. Hang with us on IG Live at @WomenWhoSubmit from 7am to 10pm PACIFIC for a full day special guests, support, and resources. Here is where you can ask WWS members for tips on submitting, get encouragement, or receive LIVE claps for when you hit send.

SUBMIT 1 IG Live Schedule (all times are PACIFIC):

7am-8am: Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo (@xochitljulisa), WWS Director

8am-9am: Joy Notoma (@joywriteshermedicine), WWS-Europe Lead

12pm-1pm: pm Suhasini Yeeda (@suhasiniwrites), WWS-LA Member

2pm-3pm: Toni Ann Johnson (@treeladytoniann), WWS Board Member

3pm-4pm: Desiree R. Kannel (@rwwrites), San Antonio Lead

5pm-6pm: Lituo Huang (@thelmerfudd), WWS-LA Member

6pm-7pm: Jessica Ceballos y Campbell (@alternativefield), WWS Board Member

8pm-9pm: Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley (@lucyrodriguezhanley), WWS-Long Beach Lead

9pm-10pm: Juanita E. Mantz Pelaez (@lifeofjem1), WWS-Inland Empire Member

5. After submitting, fill out THIS FORM to help us track how many submissions were sent out, which will help us in our continued mission towards gender parity and wider representation of marginalized voices in literary publishing.

Submission Drive Origins:

After the first VIDA Count was published in 2009 illustrating the dearth of women’s voices in tier one publications, members of VIDA, Women in Literary Arts, began asking the editors of these journals why they thought the numbers were unbalanced. The most common answer was women don’t submit as often as men. In response, Women Who Submit and the monthly submission party was created in 2011 to support women and nonbinary writers in submitting their work for publication in order to raise the number of such voices coming across editors’ desks.

Our annual submission drive is a call to writers to submit their well-crafted and cared for work en masse to tier-one literary journals that historically have shown gender disparities in their publications. It is a call to action. Our first WWS submission drive was in September 2014 at Hermosillo Bar in Highland Park, CA.

July 13, 2022July 13, 2022

My Action Partner—A Thoughtful Witness

By Laura Sturza

While I have never birthed a human baby, I often benefit from the practices taught in birthing classes, the ones name-checked in this column—breathe, push. I spend much of my time pushing to be seen, heard, known, read, welcomed, held. I breathe between pushes, sometimes because I’m about to pass out.

Among the things that have carried me through my pushes to write, publish, read, support other writers, and teach—has been the support of having an action buddy (aka action partner). We’re both goal-oriented people, full of visions and the chops to carry them out. It happens with greater ease by having a consistent partner who serves as a reminder of our progress.

stock photo of two women with dark hair looking at a page in a journal.

Even though I have a spouse and other friends who know a lot about what I do, a daily check-in with my action buddy means having a thoughtful witness to the details of my day-to-day actions and intentions. Meanwhile, I get to see her process, victories, challenges, and moments when she needs to catch her breathe. We listen deeply, ask if the other needs particular support.

The pandemic meant that most of us weren’t out in the world as much. It was easy to feel invisible. Yet each day, I’ve had someone watching out for me while I’m watching out for her. Our partnership helps me make mindful choices about activities concerning my writing goals, along with seemingly unrelated (yet related) tasks like hanging blackout curtains, which help me sleep better. Self-care is a recurring theme.

We correspond via email, often starting with a short check-in like “Spouse overfed the cat again. I’m furious.” or “Had a shitty night’s sleep, but hopeful anyway.”

Then, two lists. The first is the day’s action plan. I do mine in bullet points, which are so tidy and filled with hope the items will magically get completed.

eat to support well-being
breathe, rest, take breaks
savor my teaching success
welcome health joy, yes, peace
meditation/prayer
type up notes to students and email them
brainstorm new story pitch
read
yoga
avoid multitasking
date with stepdaughter and her fiancé on Zoom
lights out at 10:15

Even the items that aren’t completed are considered achievements. They mean we weren’t only pushing. We were breathing too.

The second list celebrates what went well the day before:

Gratitudes:

ate to support well-being
health
Mom got her hair done
amazing first class, teaching!
lady at Starbucks
Tom, Zari
handled issue at Mom’s place with grace
took breaks
morning walk
the last episode of Insecure
progress on writing projects

Beyond corresponding with one another, we talk by phone at least once a week to enjoy a more directly interactive exchange.

I’ve had many action buddies over the years as schedules and priorities have changed, and I’ve found them through writing groups and other social circles. We’ve had commonalities and differences, which has worked well in having someone who introduces me to new ideas and approaches.

Finally, my action buddy isn’t the only person who supports my writing and other visions. I rely on a team approach, reaching out to people when taking harder actions with texts like “hitting send on my latest story.” I also attend the WWS Saturday check-ins and stay current on our Rejection Brag.

However, having that one consistent person has been among the ways I’ve found stability, especially during the shaky nature of the past couple of years. We serve as birthing coaches, reminding one another when to breathe, when to push.

Laura Sturza’s writing is in The Washington Post, The LA Times, AARP’s The Girlfriend, Hippocampus, and Lunch Ticket, among others. She is completing her memoir, How I Got Married After 50 for the First Time. Laura wrote, produced, and starred in the one-woman show, Finding the Perfect Place to Live in 111 Gyrations. She recently started teaching writing to older adults. Laura lived in L.A. for 20 years and is now in Rockville, Maryland. laurasturza.com

June 30, 2022July 3, 2022

June 2022 Publication Roundup

June 2022 released even more chaos into the world. Roe v. Wade was officially overturned by SCOTUS, in a decision that eliminated a constitutional right for the first time in United States History, and the January 6th House Committee Hearings revealed information about the 2021 insurrection that even the most jaded found startling. Despite the ongoing mess that is 2022, our WWS members continue to persevere, sending out and publishing their amazing creative work in fantastic markets.

I’ve included an excerpt from 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 June!

May 31, 2022May 28, 2022

May 2022 Publication Roundup

May 2022 has been a month of devastating news, from the near-certain overturn of Roe v. Wade to the continued war in the Ukraine to the horrifying murder of children and teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Yet our WWS members continue to persevere, sending out and publishing their amazing creative work in fantastic markets; reminding us that creativity matters, that it uplifts us even during the most uncertain of times.

I’ve included an excerpt from 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 May!

May 6, 2022May 6, 2022

Women Who Submit Supports Universal Abortion Access

abortionfunds.org image stating liberate abortion everywhere in purple against a floral background — image from the abortionfunds.org

by Noriko Nakada for the Women Who Submit Leadership Team

This week my ten-year-old had her annual physical. Her dad took her, but that afternoon, when she came home to tell me about it, she said, “I’ve never had a man before.” In her ten years, every pediatrician she’s known has been a woman or non-binary physician. She is growing up in a world where women can be and do so much: they are doctors, they run for president, they play professional sports. In my work in a public middle school, I see young people pushing back against sexist dress codes, and exhibiting so much freedom in what they want to do with their bodies and their lives, but the leak of the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade cast a long, dark shadow across any of the improvements to women, non-binary, and transgender folks’ rights, reminding us that our bodily autonomy is under aggressive attack.

We have seen this coming in the election of a blatant misogynist, in the efforts at the state level to restrict abortion access, to silence stories through book and conversation bans, and in the appointment of conservative justices to the Supreme Court. We have watched this unfold slowly, like the shifts in our planet’s climate, but with this ruling, for the first time in many of our lives, abortion will no longer be protected in the United States.

Over the course of the pandemic, chapters and memberships have sprouted up across the nation and globe, and while some of us might reside in solidly blue states where access to safe and legal healthcare remains intact, but even there, care can become precarious as clinics shut down, or voting restrictions make it more likely that the conservative minority will come to power. We watched this over the years as in so many places the reasonable availability of abortions has eroded. And for those of us living in poverty, no matter where we reside, healthcare options are often financially out of reach.

Women Who Submit supports safe, legal, affordable abortion access for all and encourages members to support and lift one another up as we navigate these hostile waters. We see you and acknowledge the range of emotions this week’s news might have triggered. We urge you to take care of yourselves and those around you as you seek out opportunities to turn the tide. We acknowledge that the ways we all push back are diverse and unique. Maybe you are grieving silently, writing a story you have about your reproductive struggles or health, or having difficult conversations with loved ones about the significance of this ruling. However you are processing, we are here, we are creating, and we aren’t going anywhere.

If you have the wherewithal to push back financially, here are some funds and resources to pass along. Most are set up to help people in areas where access to abortion and healthcare is already limited and is likely to become more challenging in the coming months.

Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund

ARC Southeast supporting Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Fund Texas Choice

West Fund serving West Texas

Tea Fund serving northern Texas

Whole Women’s Health Alliance with clinics in Austin, Minnesota, Charlottesville, and South Bend

Jane’s Due Process supporting Texas teens

New Orleans Abortion Fund

Women’s Health Center of West Virginia

Kentucky Health Justice Network

Holler Health Justice serving Appalachia

Missouri Abortion Fund

Arkansas Abortion Support Network

National Network of Abortion Funds

Reproductive Legal Defense Fund

Keep Our Clinics

Indigenous Women Rising

Yellowhammer Fund

Clinic Access Support Network

Lilith Fund

April 30, 2022May 28, 2022

April 2022 Publication Roundup

Although April 2022 has been a quiet publishing month for our WWS members, they still are consistently sending out their work and publishing in fantastic markets.

I’ve included an excerpt from 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 April!

March 31, 2022March 28, 2022

March 2022 Publication Roundup

March 2022 is ending here in Los Angeles with both rain and sunshine, which feels like a hopeful sign. Another hopeful sign: our WWS members are, as always, consistently sending out their work and publishing in fantastic markets.

I’ve included an excerpt from 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 March!

February 28, 2022March 1, 2022

February 2022 Publication Roundup

February flew by, settling us more deeply into 2022, which is shaping up to be as tense and chaotic and unpredictable as the past two pandemic years. Even so, WWS members continue to send out their work and publish in amazing places.

I’ve included an excerpt from 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 February!

January 31, 2022January 31, 2022

January 2022 Publication Roundup

The first month of 2022 is just about in the taillights, and it’s been a quite a slog on so many levels: the omicron spike continued to rise for most of the month throughout the country, though it now seems to be hitting its peak. Plus, travel, work, school, health care, and so many other aspects of everyday life have continued to be disrupted. Even so, WWS members continue to send out their work and publish in amazing places.

I’ve included an excerpt from 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 January!

December 31, 2021

December Publication Roundup

We have officially reached the final day of 2021, and not a second too soon. What a tumultuous, unpredictable, often heartbreakingly infuriating year it’s been on so many fronts. Even so, WWS members continue to send out their work and publish in amazing places.

I’ve included an excerpt from 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 December!