Thank you for celebrating PUBLISHED! 2026 with us! Thanks to our sponsors, Democracy Center, BookSwell, Homework Club, and Tuesday Night Project, we featured nine writers representing the WWS-Los Angeles, WWS-West LA, WWS-Long Beach, and WWS-Ventura chapters, as well as honored 15 new books and publications in journals, news papers, magazines, and anthologies from 80 of our writers!
This work is not possible without your support! Thanks to our donors, WWS is able to offer free services to women and nonbinary writers across LA County and to nearly 20 chapters both in the US and abroad that include:
Professional development panels and workshops with hybrid options
Individual grants of $400 for BIPOC writers for conference/residency travel fees
Individual grants of up to $100 for submission fees
Online publication opportunities and book reviews with the WWS Blog Series
Open mics and readings featuring WWS members
Outreach to conferences, festivals, and college campuses
Remote community circles and online discussion boards
Help us to reach our $8,000 goal and keep this vibrant community submitting, publishing, advancing, and celebrating!
Friday, July 10, 2026 at 7pmjoin Women Who Submit for PUBLISHED! 2026 at the Democracy Center (100 N Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012). We’re celebrating literary publications from the last 12 months as reported through the WWS Monthly Publication Roundup edited by Team Member, Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo. Come for the stories and poetry, stay for the cake and music.
The night includes featured readings from Gabriella Contratto, Mahru Elahi, Stephanie Barbé Hammer, Jacqueline Lyons, Ronna Magy, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley, Carla Sameth, Amy Shimshon-Santo, Audrey Shipp, and is hosted by Suhasini Yeeda.
PUBLISHED! 2026 is proud to celebrate 14 new titles from the WWS community and many more publications in newspapers, journals, magazines, and anthologies!
Women Who Submit (WWS) is a literary organization empowering women and nonbinary writers to submit work for publication as an action for gender parity and wider representation of marginalized writers in literary publishing. WWS offers the following free services to women and nonbinary writers across LA County and to nearly 20 chapters both in the US and abroad:
Professional development panels and workshops with hybrid options
Individual grants of $400 for BIPOC writers for conference/residency travel fees
Individual grants of up to $100 for submission fees
Online publication opportunities and book reviews with the WWS Blog Series
Open mics and readings featuring WWS members
Outreach to conferences, festivals, and college campuses
Remote community circles and online discussion boards
By joining the WWS community, you support the expansion of what it means to be a writer and whose stories get told.
Saturday, September 13, 2025 Women Who Submit (WWS) hosts our 12th 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 apart of the movement!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
1. Before September 13th, study this list of “Top Ranked Journals of 2025” with current open calls to find a good fit for your work. BE SURE TO READ AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES.
2. On September 13th, 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 Saturday, September 13, 2025, 5pm-8pm Pacific Blossom Market Hall 264 S Mission Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776 2nd Floor Meeting Room Elevator access, ADA bathrooms, and free parking available Hosted by Luivette Resto Contact: admin@womenwhosubmtilit.org
WWS-Austin, Texas Saturday, September 13, 2025, 9:30am-11:30am Central Central Market (Upstairs) / 38th Street Location Contact: ramona.reeves@gmail.com
WWS-Bay Area - In person with Carrie Saturday, September 13, 2025, 1pm-3pm Pacific San Francisco Public Library – Main 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102 Mary Louise Stong Conference Room, 1st Floor https://sfpl.org/locations/main-library/rooms/mary-louise-stong-conference-room 415-557-4400 https://sfpl.org/locations/main-library
WWS-Bay Area - Virtual with Joyce Saturday, September 13, 2025, 2pm–4pm Pacific Check in with members between 2pm-3pm Pacific Via ZOOM To register for link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGUMN8aUPSTUdAyn5FvzOqArrHIj9xyNlMFUBwegBryjLOhg/viewform
WWS-Europe Saturday, September 13, 11am-12pm Central European Via Zoom with Joy Notoma Contact: joy.notoma@gmail.com
WWS-Long Beach Saturday, September 13, 2025, 10am-12pm Pacific Wrigley Coffee 437 W. Willow Street, Long Beach, CA 90806 Contact: lucy@lulustuff.com
WWS-San Antonio, Texas Saturday, September 13, 2025, 11am-4pm Central Archie's Coffee 9630 Huebner Rd, San Antonio, TX 78240 Contact: Queenviktory@yahoo.com
WWS-West Hollywood Saturday, September 13, 2025, 11am-1pm Pacific WeHo Library 625 N San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069 Contact: jasmine.vallejo.love@gmail.com
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.
MANUSCRIPT SUPPORT:
WWS Board member, Noriko Nakada is hosting a Submission Q&A on Saturday, September 6, 2025 from 9:30am-10:30am Pacific / 12:30pm-1:30pm Eastern / 6:30pm-7:30pm Central European. This event is on Zoom and is an opportunity to meet with an experienced published author, editor, and indie publisher. Come with all your submission-related questions.
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 10th.
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.
The WWS members included in this post published their work in amazing places during June of 2024. I’ve included an excerpt from published pieces (if available), along with a link (if available) to where the pieces can be purchased and/or read in their entirety.
This is my last post as publication roundup editor. I started as editor in July of 2020, when the pandemic was still in its infancy. Women Who Submit became a lifeline for me with our weekly Zoom check-ins and Writing Alone Together sessions. I’m so grateful to be part of this organization and will miss editing the roundup. I look forward, however, to continuing to read updates about our members’ publishing accomplishments under the editorship of Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo.
Please join me in celebrating our members who published in June of 2024!
The WWS members included in this post published their work in amazing places during May of 2024. I’ve included an excerpt from published pieces (if available), along with 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 of 2024!
The WWS members included in this post published their work in amazing places during March and April of 2024. I’ve included an excerpt from published pieces (if available), along with 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 and April of 2024!
Join Women Who Submit in celebrating the publication of our third anthology, TRANSFORMATION! Thanks to the work of Managing Editors, Ryane Granados and Noriko Nakada, Advising Editor, Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera, eight Genre Editors, Lorinda Toledo, Erin Anadkat, Flint, Laura Sturza, Luivette Resto, Hazel Kight Witham, Aruni Wijesinghe, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley, and publisher Nikia Chaney and Jamii Publishing, our third anthology features poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama from 42 women and nonbinary writers from around the world.
“Given these perilous times of great global and local humanitarian failures, cruel objectives cemented by morally repugnant mindsets, and given the history of violence which has proven all too predictable, I know my words may appear hugely insufficient in protecting the most vulnerable, may prove never to be enough to diminish the sorrow and suffering of others, and yet as a writer, I continue to write.”
Inspired by these words by Helena Maria Viramontes, shared at her AWP 2020 keynote address, Women Who Submit’s third anthology, TRANSFORMATION, centers work that speaks to the ways writers and other artists can promote change in the world.
The WWS members included in this post published their work in amazing places during February 2024. I’ve included an excerpt from published pieces (if available), along with 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 2024!
The WWS members included in this post published their work in amazing places during January 2024. I’ve included an excerpt from published pieces (if available), along with 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 2024!
The WWS members included in this post published their work in amazing places during December 2023. I’ve included an excerpt from published pieces (if available), along with 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 2023!
