Well, well, friends, we have arrived not only at the end of another month but the near-end of a whole nother year. And what a year it’s been. We’ve had ups, we’ve had downs, we’ve been thrilled and throttled and through the loop-de-loop of time all in order to arrive here, more or less intact and most definitely together.
If you’re a long-time reader of Lit Mag News, then you know just what I am about to say. If you’re brand new, welcome! Glad to have you.
This last weekend of the month is all about celebrating you—your tremendous accomplishments, your perseverance, your passion, your hard work, your energy and commitment.
What did you publish this past month? Share the link(s!)
If there is a piece you published in the past year that you are especially proud of, go on and share that too!
Tell us all about it. How did you find the magazine(s) that took your work?
What was your experience with the editors like? Are you happy with the final product?
Did you revise the piece as you submitted it or was it done and done?
How many places did you submit to? How long was the piece making the rounds?
Go on and step right up to tell your tale. Don’t be shy.
We want to hear from you, we want to know where everyone’s publishing their work, and we want to celebrate all that you have done and worked for this month, and this year.
Come on out, dear ones. It is time to brag your lit mag!
My first published poem came out in The Ekphrastic Review on December 4! This journal publishes an ekphrastic poem every weekday with a wide range of art and poetic styles, so be sure to browse around. Here’s a link to my poem:
Congrats, Cate on this wonderfully lush poem & your first acceptance. TER was my first acceptance / publication earlier this year, too! I love ekphrastic writing. The journal is a veritable cornucopia of inspiration. I recommend Lorette's workshops, too. PS: Loved "stun me with open skies".
Thanks, Cate - I also have a prose poem coming out in TER's first-ever print anthology "The Memory Palace" early 2024. I worked off Dali's "The Persistence of Memory". So I'm very excited for that release!
This poem could shine again in an ekphrastic collection, each poem portraying the feminine perspective, women tutored by their loss - - but perhaps this manuscript is in the works already. :-)
If I wanted to, I could probably count up what submitting has cost me in fees in the last year and count up the number of rejections. However, my take on submitting is this. Almost nobody, apart from the editors, will actually read my pieces. But for me, that's enough. The fact that someone who loves writing and publishing as much as I do has chosen one of my pieces to publish is an honour and a potent recognition that I am not a great writer but a good writer. A handful of my pieces have received payment but I wouldn't give up my day job for it (if I had one). I am now 72 and didn't start taking my writing seriously until 3 years ago and since then I've had over 150 pieces accepted. Some of that is due the number of times I submit but it gives me the greatest joy to know that I connected with 150 editors that wanted to share what I had to say. Just as importantly, when I launched Witcraft https://witcraft.org 4 months ago to bring some humour to a world driven by angst, I never dreamed that I would publish over 50 stories from writers around the world, many of whom tell me it's the first time they've ever been published. We each do what we can.
Love your outlook. I am 74 and started writing seriously three years ago. I am writing a memoir, and the smart money says that these little essays I get published will have no impact on whether that book gets published. I don't think I would have continued the really hard work of writing the book without the acceptances of my shorter pieces. It is affirming, and often, fun.
Actually being previously published is basic to having a book accepted because it proves to an editor or editorial board you're the real thing. Based on my years in publishing, I think it would be next to impossible to get a book of unpublished stories or essays sold--unless it won a contest first.
You've done well, Doug--it's taken me 6 years [I'm 76] to get published in over 180 lit mags. And you're so right-- we each can only do what we can [though I do hope a few more than the editors read my work!]
Firstly, Doug, the number of acceptances in 3 years is impressive. Goes to show you're never too old to start. I worry at 52 I've left it too late ... your comment & commitment gives me perspective. Bravo! Secondly, I hear you on that feeling that maybe no one or very few people are reading you in lit journal-land. But maybe it's more than we think, or can ever know. I know I came across your work somewhere this year (not from a brag), in my own reading, and I stopped to read you. :)
Bravo maestro, proof that it's never too late. I published my first poem in 1995 but had several hiati (plural of hiatuses?) between then and the Pandemic, which somehow triggered my writing. Since then I've been writing every day and publishing with good success (see comment above). Oh, and I'm going on 70 so we're both proof that it's never too late. I will check out your review. Forge onward brother!
The pandemic has been a surprising spur for me to write and publish: close to 70 essays and short stories published since August 2021 and I've made money on them too. That's more short work than I've ever published before in the same amount of time. And just when I think I'm "done," new ideas come to me. This past 72 hours alone I've written and revised a new short story and submitted it to a good mag that asked me to try again.
Yes! A little humour (note the U - writing from Canada) goes a long way, especially in these very dark days. Have subscribed. Thanks for launching this site, Doug, and congrats on your impressive publication record.
I had a lucky publication year, significantly aided by the fact that I started aiming for a hundred rejections a year last year!
I published poems in Terrain, Barrow Street, swamp pink (formerly Crazyhorse), North American Review, New Ohio Review, berlin lit, The London Magazine, New Letters, Mslexia, The Greensboro Review, and Gulf Coast.
Congratulations, Alice - some prestigious journals in that list! I look forward to perusing your links.
I considered aiming for 100 rejections this year, but honestly, every time I imagined discussing or mentioning it, the negative framing didn't feel like it would motivate me. So I decided to aim for 52 submissions (one a week had a thematically sound ring to it) & have done well with that as both a goal & in terms of acceptances. I also turned an old weekly planner into a monthly submission tracker & took much childish delight in giving myself big gold stars for paid acceptances, silver for unpaid & smaller stars for longlistings, personal or higher tiered rejections.
I say, go with whatever works to keep you inspired & motivated! :)
Which part, Beth? :) I'd love for some other writers to join me for "52 submissions for 2024". A little crew to keep one another motivated. Obviously everyone is different & needs different goals. But I'm going to start putting the word out ... let me know if you're interested.
I love that you tied your goal to a strong anchor, but giggled and am delighted you also added a fun artsy component with the stars!
Yesterday I just finished adding word counts to my calendar for the first 5 months of 2024 to finally get the draft of my manuscript done, I’m not sure how much submitting I will be doing tbh BUT am I smitten with this idea!
Maybe devise a star system for your word count goals? Speaking of, I need to motivate my progress on my first novella draft, also started this year. Perhaps that needs to go on my calendar too!
Glad it inspired you, Nancy. How lovely that you live near a forest. I see we're both poets - (well, I write fiction,too). If you want to stay in contact to keep each other motivated, let me know!
I would love to keep in touch, and I definitely need more motivation. Although on second thought, I think I have plenty of motivation -- I just need the follow through! I like to write nonfiction and fiction in addition to poetry. Let me know your ideas on staying in contact. I'm game.
Would love to join you Melissa ! Checked out your website and see we have a lot in common - I also started as a journalist and am now writing for both children (trying to get my first books published) and adults , also love gardening :) More importantly, I'd love to turn my sporadic submitting to literary journals into something more consistent...
Hi Lori, wonderful! My email is ask.the.seeds@gmail.com. You can drop your email here & I'll send a quick hello email so we're connected, or you can send one to me. For privacy reasons, I don't like to leave my email address floating aound in forums, so I'll come back & delete it here once we're connected. Excited to be creating a little group of writers who want to do this together!
Congratulations, Alice--that's impressive ! My CNF was rejected by five on your list this year, (though North American Review was open to revisions). Woman and wife are the same word in French...wow, so good!
2023: 83 submissions, 12.5% acceptances. Poems in Last Stanza Literary, Hyacinth Review, Poetry NI+ Holocaust Anthology, and Poetica. A post-Holocaust short story, "Stones Tell No Lies," published in Kelsey Review and nominated for a Pushcart (wrote exclusively for this lit mag, only sent the story to this lit mag, revised two lines). I'm especially proud of my essay, "Anderlecht," published in Collateral Journal (an exclusive submission, a couple of revisions, includes an audio reading for which I had to practice French and Flemish) in which I traced the steps of a friend who'd been a hidden child in Brussels during the Holocaust. Novel in verse, Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship, published by Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers, named a Junior Library Guild Selection.
2024 looks promising; My essay, "The Yiddish Learner," appears on Jan. 1 in Jewish Literary Journal (sent to them exclusively, revised one sentence), and a poem in the Paterson Literary Review that earned an Honorable Mention in the 2023 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest.
Thanks, Gary. Yes, I heard about Yetzirah from Rodger Kaminetz, whom I met at a Jewish American & Holocaust Lit symposium in South Beach in November. I just uploaded my profile the other day.
Congrats on a great year, Barbara! "Stones Tell No Lies" has such sweet yearning and is a reminder of the power of heritage, even when--particularly when--suppressed.
I had a year of rejections, but my New Year’s resolution is to submit more frequently. Thanks to this supportive community and to Becky for hosting it and providing the excellent content!
Closing the year with two awards (International Human Rights Arts Program and Chilean Writers' Association) - one in English and one in Spanish. Fifteen stories, flash, or articles published in 2023. Apart from the awards, my favorite was published in India https://www.thewiseowl.art/jb-polk and one in Croatia https://wordpress.com/post/aloka-magazine.com/983. Looking forward to finishing my novel and writing more good fiction. A prosperous and successful 224 to all.
Wow, amazing accomplishments there, Jolanta. Congratulations on your awards - they sound like huge achievements - for bilingual work, too. Think you definitely deserve some champagne!
In the past 13 months, I had five poetry titles published and/or accepted for publication.
These include:
"Apprenticed to the Night" [full collection; still in PRE-release since April 2023];
"Vampire Ventures" [chapbook; released in October 2023];
"Cancer Courts My Mother" [chapbook; forthcoming in February 2024];
"Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" [illustrated; forthcoming in October 2024];
"Eros and His Entourage" [erotic verses; forthcoming in 2025].
* * But I am even prouder of this feat:
* * * I helped two poet colleagues place their full-length mss with two good publishers on the first try.
In 2024 I was nominated for literary awards; my writing was a finalist on two occasions; and also I turned down six book contracts that I considered to be infra dig - - - a sign that I have emotionally re-evaluated my place in the literary landscape.
Here's to hearing more bragging - - - especially from writers who have been helping other writers advance a few squares!
I had been my terminally ill mother's sole caretaker.
It took three decades to write the poems in "Cancer Courts My Mother."
I was very fortunate that this memoir collection on such a thorny subject found a good home so quickly. (And I hope the campus artist finishes that cover soon.) :-)
Congratulations LindaAnn - that's a huge year of amazing accomplishments. I think you might mean 2023, though - unless you're peering into a crystal ball!:)
Thank you, Melissa. Yes, quite an accomplishment - - especially helping two colleagues through a "no tears" submission / acceptance.
No typos here.
"Cancer Courts My Mother" was accepted in August 2023 by a university press - - but scheduled for next year. (A campus artist they selected is doing the cover.... slowly.)
"Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" was accepted in December 2023 - - but scheduled for Hallowe'en 2024.
"Eros and His Entourage" was accepted in July 2023, scheduled for 2024 - - then pushed back to 2025.
And my British publisher has not yet committed to a release date for "Apprenticed to the Night" even though he registered 3 copyrights for it [hardback, paperback, kindle] and he posted it on the company's website around Easter 2023. Rather perplexing.
Since there is a lot going on, I am not circulating two other manuscripts.
It's energizing to read these publishing triumphs! I'm new to this at 77. I got word on Dec. 23rd that Dorothy Parker's Ashes (DPA has no fee) had accepted my essay (lovely to work with, requested only five punctuation edits) for their themed month "Secrets." Best Christmas present. I took a chapter from my memoir-in-progress and re-wrote the secret my mother kept for 30 years, creating a totally new format for the story. I only submitted this piece to DPA, but had submitted other pieces elsewhere this year. I think Allison K Williams had suggested DPA. My essay "No U-Turn Allowed" comes out in January issue. https://www.dorothyparkersashes.com/ Happy New Year, everyone. And Becky, thanks for a brag opportunity!
Congratulations, Charlotte! When I heard the name, Dorothy Parker's Ashes, I immediately wanted to submit there! I haven't yet, but seeing your success inspires me. I'm looking forward to the January issue.; your story is intriguing.
Thanks Kresha. I usually don't mention till published, but I'm new to Becky's site and like what she does and wanted to contribute. Becky seems to have the same literary citizenship as Allison. Warm wishes for the new Year!
In adding up my expenses for 2023, I saw that I'd spent something like $450 on submission fees. I had thrown in tips sometimes, but I had no idea I was spending so much because each time it was just $3, $5 or $10.
On the other hand, in 2023 my essays got published in Bluebird Word, Modern Stoicism, Next Avenue, The Raven's Perch, Down in the Dirt, Meat for Tea, Grande Dame Literary, and with forthcoming pieces in Sequoia Speaks and Litro.
All that plus publishing a weekly essay in my substack, Introvert UpThink (https://www.introvertupthink.com). So it was a good year.
Yes, Marcia, you're right-- it can get very expensive to pay fees-- but you can get published without paying any-- in the past 6 years I've been published 332 times in 182 lit mags, for free! { some have even paid me or at least sent a free print copy]. If we all refused to pay, the mercenary mags would soon change their tune--or at least offer the option of snail mail/email.
I don't feel it's " mercenary " for a low budget literary magazine to charge $3 to offset what Submittable charges them. They are not turning a profit on those $3 fees adding up. However when they charge $10 or even $20, that is where my eyebrows go up.
Usually those are short story collections, chapbooks and novels. So they require more time to read, more readers. With that said, there are a few so called publishers out there that are more to make a buck at the expense of the writer than really to publish any of these works. Unfortunately, Submittable does not screen for that, so it's up to you (and places like this) to call them out.
Congrats on your publications, Marcia. Those submission fees really can add up! May I recommend subscribing to the email listings of sub calls by "Authors Publish"? They only promote fee-free submission calls. I only spent about $15 on sub fees this year! They also have a wonderful series of free lectures & other goodies for writers.
Agree. I was a little frustrated by my experience with Meat for Tea. In their TOC, they listed me as Barbara Wilson Frank, and put the wrong page number. But, it's in print, so not correctable. Then too, I believe they are largely a one woman operation, and good on her for delivering the goods season after season, year after year!
Congratulations, Marcia! I've published in Down in the Dirt and Meat for Tea as well. I haven't added up my expenses, but I compare submission costs to a cup of coffee--$3 to $5 is reasonable; $26 (Narrative!) is not. But more importantly, when I think of all the time I put into an essay, my time is worth investing the cost of submission fees!
I spend about $2,000 since I also enter some of the competitions for short story collections and those tend to be $20 a pop. Ouch. The good thing is this. If you make any money in your writing creative pursuits (even five bucks). It's a business and you can deduct ALL the entries as MARKETING. (I love my CPA for that).
Just be careful with that-- speaking as a retired planner with a CFP, as I can recall: the IRS will expect you to turn a profit in at least 3 out of 7 years, or else they can designate it as a 'hobby' and hit you up for back taxes. Yup, us writers ain't gonna win, no way!
Yes, well that's what they call monies exceeding expenses, because you are essentially self employed as a writer---as you say, 'it's a business' and so 'profit' in that context means your income exceeds your expenses. Just advising caution when your dealing with the gov't, that's all.
I stopped submitting to lit mags that had fees and turned my balance of payments around quickly when I scored big with magazines like The Smart Set (twice).
December lesson #1: Keep submitting. After 32 submissions, my visual/word piece "How to Weave a Caned Chair or a Friendship" was published at JMWW. December lesson #2: Aim high. Many lesser-ranked lit mags rejected this piece before JMWW (133 on Brecht's Top 1000 Lit Mags 2024) picked it up. https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/how-to-weave-a-caned-chair-or-a-friendship-by-n-l-jorgensen/
Congratulations! Thanks for posting both your piece (wild and lovely!) and your December lessons. Occasionally, I've received a rejection comment from a submissions reader who was simply confused by a variation in form. Glad your piece found a good home.
Hi Nancy, fellow shape poem enthusiast here. It can limit where you can submit, but I find querying beforehand saves you submitting to inappropriate journals. And I notice many journals who release in hard copy have more sophisticated online publishing software to handle shape poems. I have a shape poem forthcoming in Antithesis journal in 2024. They are quite addictive, once you create a few!
Good morning. This month I have a silly, eye roll-inducing poem in Defenestration, a humor magazine that recently received a well-deserved shoutout from Chill Subs. It's an online journal that's been around for 20 years, and the editors are lovely. When my piece first came out there was a formatting issue. I emailed the editors, and EIC Andrew Kaye was extremely apologetic and fixed it right away. I submitted this to four places in fall 2022. I received three rejections and withdrew from the Coastal Shelf humor contest upon concluding (correctly) that the journal was defunct. Because this piece is clearly seasonal, I waited until fall 2023 to resubmit, and sent it only to Defenestration. Note that Defenestration does not allow simultaneous submissions (however, they are fairly speedy in terms of either declining your piece or letting you know if you've made the final round.) Here's the link:
Ha! I love this, Colette! So relatable. Just yesterday my partner and I were hiking in our usual place bemoaning the lack of snow this year. He mentioned that the summer will probably by hot, and I thought, yes, but will I be prepared for wildfire? I want to be. But I probably won't.
Colette, I loved the sly humor of your poem. I love the puns that link the physical world to the emotional ("no truck," "powerless"), and the way the enjambment italicizes them. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing your work.
Dec 30, 2023·edited Dec 30, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch
My villanelle poem "The Treachery of Memory" was accepted for The Crow's Quill Magazine, a themed monthly Gothic poetry & fiction journal. The theme was "Darkest Endings" & I wrote it over three days. Two days later it was accepted &, as I submitted close to the deadline, it was live a week later! This has been my fastest-ever route from conceptualization to publication. The visual lay-out is gorgeously Gothic & I've just ordered my print copy. The editor was lovely - there were no changes or revisions. They paid 10USD for poems. Sadly, this is the last edition of Crow's Quill. This is the 2nd villanelle I've written & I'm quite new to form poetry, so it felt like an affirmation that I'm (hopefully) growing as a poet. Free PDF link is below:
I received word just before Xmas that my prose poem "Nightfall in a Fenced Arcadia" has been accepted for Issue 9 of "Exist Otherwise", a journal for surrealist poetry & short fiction. This is my 4th acceptance for EO, which feels a bit crazy. They pay $15 per piece. Issue 9 will be live Jan 2024.
For my first year of seriously submitting to lit journals, I committed to 52 submissions for 2023 & made my goal, receiving 14 acceptances so far. It's been an amazing year & Lit Mag News has been a big shiny part of my adventure (thanks Becky). Congrats everyone for their December acceptances & here's to a new year of lit magging & bragging! My favourite acceptance for 2023 was the 1st piece I wrote especially for a journal (Aurora Journal) & my 1st prose poem acceptance (a "passion" genre). Also, the lay-out looked super-pretty :) : https://www.theaurorajournal.org/winter-2023-volume/molten-summer-reverie
Thanks, Jolanta. I wish I'd started submitting more consistently earlier in my writing life, but I'm committed now. A little success has been very motivating. :)
It's so gratifying to hear other writer's experiences of this year and to have a community where we can share these things - thank you Becky! I aimed for 100 submissions and made it to 82, which is the most I've ever done. (I also came to this late - I'm 70 and started three years ago). I had three two short stories and one flash fiction piece published. "Detroit in the Distance" was published in Idle Ink, a UK journal and "Betrayal" was published in Fault Zone: Detachment, a juried anthology of the California Writers Club SF Peninsula Branch. My flash fiction piece, "Acts of God", was published in Calliope.
Equally important to all this were the three fiction writing classes I took through Stanford Continuing Studies taught by Lynn Stegner, Elizabeth Percer and Nina Schuyler. Nina's class was focused on alternative plot structures and was immensely helpful in expanding the envelope of what it is possible to do within a short story.
One other item to add: I put together a PPT presentation for my writers club called "Cracking the Code: How to Get Published in Literary Journals" in which I shared the methodology I've developed for identifying and submitting to lit mags. It felt good to share this info with newer writers who weren't well-versed in this whole world and didn't quite know how to step into it.
Congratulations, David! Are the Stanford classes online? I love Nina Schuyler's Stunning Sentences. Any plans to turn your powerpoint presentation into a written piece? It could be a great fit for Brevity's Blog.
Hi Debra - Yes, the Stanford classes are all online. If you're interested in the winter term, I know they are beginning to fill up. No immediate to plan the PPT into a written piece. Who writes the Brevity blog?
Thanks, David, I'll check out the Stanford classes for sure. Brevity Blog is a sidelight for Brevity Magazine, with some notable names behind it, including Dinty Moore and Allison K. Williams. Craft pieces, the writing life, etc., daily to subscribers. I published a book review with them, but they no longer do those.
Well- thanks…. published a short story in the “Jewish literary journal,” and in the last month I choose to write and illustrate three article-memoir pieces , which were accepted and published in “Santa Barbars Independent!” -Devo Cutler —- happy new years all!
I've been absent from the Brag for several months while I racked up dozens of rejections. But, at long last, an acceptance! Down in the Dirt was suggested by Erik Klass, and they published my narrative nonfiction piece, The Backpacking Mother Who Saved Escalate. https://scars.tv/cgi-bin/works_e.pl?/home/users/web/b929/us.scars/perl/text-writings/g12718.txt. They publish immediately in digital form, followed by a print edition. No edits. Easy to work with.
In other news I've nearly completed my book, a centennial history of my mountain club, which should be out in the world in May 2024.
So grateful for this community! Thank you, Becky. Congrats to everyone for your attempts and your successes!
Thank you for reading, Lisa! I loved writing about her because she had a huge impact largely on her own efforts. Our environmental challenges seem beyond our grasp now, so she's truly an inspiration.
I am particularly happy with the Crime Scene essay. It had sat in the "In Progress" box of a journal I have a personal connection to for months. I finally submitted it to Amethyst Review and they accepted it. I was a little sorry to write that withdrawal note to the first journal, but submitted something else to them this fall, and they accepted that one quickly. No cheating! It was a good essay.
The Smokelong Summer Flash Workshop was fun and got me to write a lot of flash -- three of those pieces have subsequently been accepted -- but this is the year for the grueling work of getting the damn memoir in marketable shape. I'm sure I'll sneak off to write some flash and try to get some essays relevant to the longer piece published. Happy New Year, one and all! And thanks for your column and workshops, Becky.
Congratulations, Kresha! I love that you submitted again to the journal you had to withdraw from, and got an acceptance from them too. I had to withdraw from several excellent journals when my piece was accepted, so your story inspires me to resubmit to them. Also, I sent a piece to Smokelong for their critique service, and they were so helpful.
This was a repost from a piece in a defunct mag. That’s what BCC specializes in. I got this accepted in September and they gave be the specific pub date then. I also had a opportunity to answer questions about this piece and my process which will be published on February 11th. If you have a piece at a defunct mag I highly recommend BCC.
My chapbook of short fiction, "Pass the Panpharmacon! (Five Fictions of Delusion)" has been published by Greying Ghost Press. I put this collection together a couple of years ago for a publisher's call, unsuccessfully. Happened to catch the opportunity at GGP; I'm well-pleased by the design and high production quality. Took about a year from acceptance to print.
In 2011, I had a story accepted for a post-apocalyptic fiction e-book anthology that never came out. Since then I've sent it out periodically, and finally found a home for "All the World Was a Stage." Because there's something timeless about a story featuring fear, loathing, cannibalism and the theater arts, don't you know. The book also features work by sci-fi legend Robert Silverberg, still cranking them out at the age of 88, apparently.
Earlier this month, proving that Txitter still serves some purpose, I discovered something called Best of the Bests, where writers send in their favorite story published this year for possible recognition. And lo and behold, my story "They Who Stay," that came out in A Thin Slice of Anxiety, made the list.
Finally, while I had about a dozen fiction publications this year of various shapes and sizes, the most fun I had was doing the piece that found its way onto these "pages," "A Geezer's Guide to Lit Mag Maneuvers." Many thanks to Becky T. for that acceptance, and maintaining this wonderful and welcoming writers' world with her wit and hard work. Cheers!
Ooooh, I remember this eerie piece from my first reading. Still eerie: "...we could hear the frantic in their voices..." Some good smothering here! Congratulations!
And, from last December, “What the north wind knows,” in Flash Frontier, which is one of my favourites. The link opens to the magazine’s front page and further links to the stories.
It has been a good year with 5 flash stories and one micro-poem published, plus an acceptance for another story to come out in a print magazine next April.
Happy new year everyone! It has been a joy and an honour to be part of this group.
"Plumbing the Depths" is a potent, enchanting altered state, lots of language play within acute sorrow. Love as well “What the north wind knows”. Your work is always surprising and magical. Congrats on both of these, Donna, and on your fine 2023!
Thank you so much for these and other lovely comments throughout the year, Lisa. I’m looking forward to reading many more of your stories in 2024; “How I Lose Him Before I Lose Him” stands out for me as a heartfelt, powerful, and poignant piece of writing.
Congrats, Donna! Look forward to reading these. Just wanted to say your flash fic "Afterwords" is a tab I kept permanently open on my laptop since you posted it back in March. I return to it regularly for inspiration. You have an incredible facility for unique, lyrical imagery. Hope 2024 brings much inspiration your way.
Thank you, Melissa, for this heartwarming comment. And what you say about unique, lyrical imagery perfectly describes your own writing; “Molten Summer Reverie” is gorgeous and will linger long in my memory. Wishing you many fine stories in 2024.
The same to you, Donna - & look forward to reading more of your work! (I'm stuck in the middle of writing an article at the mo, but I've bookmarked your links for later).
PS: If you're looking for submission motivation /support in 2024, I'm starting a "52 Submissions for 2024" "club" just via email for now. You may already have your own goals, but I'm ask.the.seeds@gmail.com if you're interested. :) There's 3 of us (from this forum) so far.
Just read "What the North Wind Knows" - a beautifully melancholic flash. I enjoyed the surprise of the North Wind as narrator - "clattering ribs of ice-bound ships" is gorgeous - and this:
"The skin of her outstretched hands is parchment; the bones fine as birds’ quills. Her eyes will not be lied to."
I have to ask if you're a fan of Jeanette Winterson. She's one of my inspirational writers. Some of your metaphors remind me of her style. Reading Winterson gave me permission to be lyrical and lush with metaphor and imagery. I'd read too many male authors in my younger years - did not find my "touchstone" writers until my mid-thirties, such as Carter & Winterson. I wish I'd read them earlier!
Thank you so much for reading my north wind story, Melissa, and for your lovely comments. I’m embarrassed to say that I did not know Jeanette Winterson’s work—most of my reading in recent years has been in children’s lit.--but I am honoured to have any aspect of my writing compared with hers. I’ve put my name down at the public library for two collections of her short works: ghost stories and Christmas stories. Your own writing gives me great faith in your taste. Thank you for telling me about her!
Wonderful re finding some of her titles! I'd also recommend "Lighthouse-keeping", "Sexing the Cherry" (both novels) and "The World and Other Places" (another short story collection - some fairy tale-esque). I'd not heard of "Ghost Stories"! Will have to try & find that one.
“To My Mother’s Older Daughter” originally appeared in a magazine that later closed, so I’m thrilled to see it in SugarSugarSalt, which accepts only previously published CNF. The editors are accomplished writers. They’re also responsive and promote their contributors well on social media. Six months from acceptance to publication. Contributors write a brief “The Story Behind the Story,” which was, for me, part of the draw. Overall, a great publishing experience.
Congrats, Lisa, on finding your essay a good second home. I love journals that also publish / thoughts on creative process or backstory. Look forward to reading it!
Congratulations, Lisa! This is such a powerful piece. It especially resonated with me because I finished reading Such a Fun Age yesterday, and the "other daughter" in that story is heartbreaking as well.
It was a mixed year with a lot of poetry appearing at The Dirigible Balloon, a UK-based children's/educator's library of online poetry works by well-known, somewhat-published, and new poets, a poem in a Paddler Press children's anthology, and four poems accepted by my favorite high-quality children's group, Cricket Media (Babybug Magazine)...and a lot of poetry for adults rejected, but with four publications of poems close to my heart. I continue to send lots of work out, write almost every day and have joined The Stafford Challenge for 2024 (https://www.facebook.com/staffordchallenge/).
My favorite publication this year—and my favorite editorial relationship—was at the Jewish Writing Project. Editor Bruce Black was extremely perceptive and encouraging about digging deeper in a poem I'd written. The poem appeared here: https://jewishwritingproject.com/2023/08/21/something-about-the-rugalach/
Best wishes to all for a productive and meaningful 2024!
Wonderful memory and baking poem, I love the repetition of the lines, like the layers of rugelach. I’m thinking of joining the Staffor challenge too...the times I’ve done NaPoWriMl have been rewarding but I’m a little intimidated by the commitment of 365 days!
Cate - check out how Brian talks about the challenge - it's right in line with my flexible goal philosophy: essentially giving yourself an opportunity for a daily poem, with the knowledge that we simply do the best we're able, integrating realities of our lives. I expect to have some empty pages in my stack of 366...but the monthly zooms with visiting poets and possibilities for finding a small group n for critique and support also appealed.
It was one of those rare pieces that wanted to exist, exactly as created: it flowed onto the page while I was in flight; Welter was my first submission; they accepted it immediately (without edits). I read my piece aloud during their digital release party, which was fun. However, there hasn't been much individual promotion of pieces on social media. The journal is run by University of Baltimore students & faculty, so they may be on a well-deserved holiday break. :) I kind of wish the digital table of contents provided author names underneath the titles. But each piece is uploaded blog style with a nice shareable link. Overall I had a positive experience with Welter, and I'm proud they saw something in my words. I hope you get a chance to read "Tropospheric" and drift across the landscape with me!
It has been a really good year. Three published stories, Finalist in one award, and in the short list for a short story collection they were supposed to reveal the winner in September, then November then December and we do not know the winner yet. I always wanted to be published in the Acentos Review, they just published the last chapter of my novel, which works as a short story. But my proudest moment came from a story I wrote 30 years ago. Sent it out durning the Pre-cambrian Snail Mail era to be rejected a few times. I then stopped writing for a decade. After I workshopped the story, and Submittable became a reality, it got rejected about 20 times. Then on a second bout of workshopping, one of my critiques suggested to change the name to Catire, the protagonist nick-name, then sent it out to two places one accepted it. In that story I worked with an editor who was fabulous and helped me clear things that people in the US would not understand about South America. You can read that story here:
They were really hands-on, like in the old days of Gordon Lish and editors really worked with the writer to make the work even better. It's quite interesting because then you get a story placed on a different publication and you only hear from them to tell you the day it comes out. Either way, I am happy.
In December, my story 'Mermaids for Seahorses' came out in Sequestrum after 20 previous rejections and a few revisions between groups of rejections. This was my first paid acceptance and the editor was great to work with. He always responded to my emails and was very friendly, encouraging and supportive. Sequestrum periodically publishes reprints and they also do short author interviews to go with the pieces.
Oh my goodness, you are too kind - thank you! Now - you! Your site and CV blew my grey-covered-with-blonde-old-gal hair back! Brava! I look forward to your thoughts on my story, if you care to share! ❤️
My novel excerpt "A Wall of Masks" just came out in the journal L=Y=R=A. I logged another 11 declines. I've got about 35 things out. Happy new year everyone!
Poem that I wrote last year was just published in Consilience! This poem was rejected by a dozen other places, then I found Consilience Journal through the Full House Lit newsletter and noticed their issue theme this month fit my poem. Link below:
Here is a link to one of the short stories I had published this year (You Don't Know How I Get in Reckon Review): https://reckonreview.com/you-dont-know-how-i-get/. This was my first time submitting to this particular venue. I highly recommend it, especially for anyone writing literary fiction; the editors especially like stories with a little "grit." Cheers to you all and best wishes for 2024!
- I had a holiday (ahem) story at Shotgun Honey. "Gift Wrapped" - https://shotgunhoney.com/fiction/gift-wrapped-by-m-e-proctor/ - They only accept max 700 words, which is always tough. The editor sent a call to their authors (Shotgun Honey will publish my PI novel next year), saying they had room for a topical story. I wrote it in 2 days and they liked it, so, boom!
Dec 30, 2023·edited Dec 30, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch
I had a "lifetime" year in 2023 for which I am very grateful, my graphic memoir was republished by Impspired Press https://www.amazon.com/dp/1915819571? and my first and second poetry books were published Lyrical Years (Kelsay) https://www.amazon.com/Lyrical-Years-Gary-D-Grossman/dp/1639802630/ref=sr_1_3 and What I Meant to Say Was... (Impspired) https://www.amazon.com/What-I-Meant-Say-Was/dp/1915819431/ref=sr_1_1 . Both of these presses are very easy to work with, and Kelsay seems to publish many author's first books so don't be shy. Lots of pubs in reviews and I particularly like MacQueen's Quinterly and Verse-Virtual. Responses are quick and editors very easy to work with. Medusa's Kitchen is another review with those characteristics. I tend to submit to reviews that take no longer than 60 days and I always submit simultaneously, except to Poetry Breakfast which doesn't allow that, but responds within a few days so those subs don't hold up my submissions much. If you're new to the poetry world, both of my books are composed of poems that were both previously published and new and the publisher will tell you which ratio they want. Kelsay is around 50% IIRC and I don't think Impspired has a set ratio. I had three or four rejections of the ms. for What I Meant to Say... prior to Impspired's acceptance and a few for Lyrical Years. I put all my published work on my Medium blog, which is full of writing info/advice/pieces and worth the $5 a month membership IMO. I think they do give four free reads a month if you don't want to join. My blog is https://garydavidgrossman.medium.com/ . You can sign up for the Medium newsletter for free and Erica Verrillo publishes a monthly list of reviews looking for submissions so it's worth signing up just for that. Have a great publication/writing year everyone.
I published a long short story (7000 words or so) called Flowering in the Summer 2023 issue of The Opiate (https://issuu.com/theopiatemagazine/docs/the_opiate_vol._34.) This was the longest piece I've ever published. I think maybe 20 people read the story but I was still very happy with it. I submitted it to 5-10 publications I found on Duotrope before it was accepted (I now rely more on SubClub). Thank you, Becky, for this opportunity to share and brag! Happy and healthy 2024 and thank you for doing what you do. I love this space.
Long stories are hard to place. Bravo. I published a very long story, 8,000 words, called "London Ghosts" in Black Sheep. I knew it would be a hard sell, but I'm delighted with the print magazine.
Just started your story and OMG I love the structure, the edgy tone, and your gift for imagery is awesome. How did you get the idea of working with flowers throughout? If you don't mind sharing?
Lev, I just read your story, which I loved---please see my notes above. Re flowers in my story: There was a time in late 2018/early 2019 when I was buying a lot of flowers from Trader Joe's and tracking how they did in our apartment. I tried to weave the flower log into a short story but it didn't work or at least didn't work well enough. Three years later, I tried again. I also had in mind Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway---I took a class in graduate school where we studied it it and the professor said that he had a student who'd written her dissertation on the use of flowers in the novel. So I decided to try and turn the flowers into characters. It was much more fun than I expected it to be.
I particularly loved your detailed descriptions of interiors and flowers, especially this paragraph:
A balcony filled with majolica pots of bright red, orange, and yellow begonias overlooked the quaint gated garden below, and their sweet spicy fragrance alone was like a vacation. There were towering, wide-spread lime trees with their lovely heart-shaped leaves inside the gates, cozy-looking benches, graveled paths, and a profusion of flowers my garden-loving mother would have appreciated: lush peonies, foxglove, phlox, clematis, lavender, larkspur, delphinium and her favorite: big fat roses. She had taught me their names as if imparting our family history, but I’d never had success growing anything more than a beard, and even that was just a chin strap.
I loved your use of weather and rugs as stressors in these paragraphs:
Tormented by hotter weather than I was prepared for, that second day, I opened all the windows for cross-ventilation and the flat rebelled. It summoned fierce winds that blasted right through the place, front to back, sweeping all my papers off the heavy round table I was using as a desk, ripping a shade half off the kitchen window downstairs and almost completely unraveling the paper towels from their rack.
All those pretty rugs weren’t tacked down in any way, so the longed-for cross-ventilation turned them into woolen landmines. Each one was tossed about and twisted onto itself or rumpled in ways guaranteed to make me fall on the highly waxed floors if I wasn’t hypervigilant about straightening them perfectly. And their fringes grabbed at my feet as I scuttled around the flat, trying to restore a minimum of order.
I also loved this observation about the narrator's sister:
We talked about the pub I had so quickly grown fond of because Ruth was a real foodie and, even when she’d been deeply depressed, a lovely bottle of wine and a delicious meal could move the needle.
I loved the humor and tension-producing here:
Staring at the iPhone after she ended the call, I cursed myself for not having gotten right to the point with Susan, asking her if anything weird had happened while she was living in the flat. But then I wondered if she would have told me the truth, all of it. And then there was a worse possibility: she might have shared my question with hostile members of the Department who would talk about me as some kind of nutjob. I couldn’t risk that with academic jobs disappearing faster than glaciers in Tibet and Switzerland.
I loved the narrator's love of museums here:
To truly clear my head, I called for an Uber to take me to the Tate Britain to see the Dante Gabriel Rossetti paintings and the Henry Moore sculptures. I grew up in Manhattan, and museums had always soothed me when I was upset about anything at all, whether they were crowded or not, as comforting as a long silent rest in a steam room and as sacred in their own way as churches. People there were also often hushed and reverential, perhaps aware that they had crossed into a different space, a different reality. Museums so often gave me room to breathe.
Finally, I loved the ending! Upsetting and powerful and I didn't see it coming, which I loved! Thanks for writing and sharing.
Thanks for reading and for your comments. I'd actually had the idea for that story since around 2017 and was inspired to write it as more and more of my essays (and some stories) were accepted and published. Working on it was fun!
Oh boy, thank you for letting me know, Linda. I had no idea. I was kind of wondering about that message when I logged in yesterday. thank you for persevering!
Becky, as always, I thank you for giving us this opportunity, but for once my ego is asleep while my soul awakens-- and my soul wishes all of you a most productive and blessed 2024!
The world today is truly more dangerous than it has ever been [even compared to the Cuban Missile Crisis when I was 15 and for a week it seemed WWIII might go off]. And there is a miasma of anxiety, depression, despair spreading the globe, all because it seems many of us have forgotten we are actually immortal beings, each an endless consciousness, 'traveling' for a time in a fragile vessel. And if you don't believe that, think about how it is your words enter another's mind, being, and yes, maybe even soul.....
I'm excited to share that my personal essay, "By Vespa through Sardinia" was published at https://causticfrolic.org/current-issue/ on p. 95. It was a themed issue (on "Coda", which the editors defined as the final movement, the closing statement, the concluding brushstroke ... explore the art of resolution, conclusion, and the lingering resonance of ideas. How can the conclusion be a new beginning? How can the final brushstroke contain multitudes?”) -- and the theme resonated so with me that that's when I knew I had to submit there.
The "friendship" described within was the initial trigger for the piece, when several years ago I tried writing a series of essays about my difficult adult friendships with women. I re-conceived the essay when taking a class on submitting to the NYT's Modern Love this March. Upon their rejection, I reiterated and reiterated it, expanded it, shifted the focus, polished it some more. And then the first place I'd submitted, a grad student-run journal at NYU, accepted it. I quickly withdrew it from a number of (actually more renowned, top-tier) places I'd submitted it to.
Another publication this year that I'm quite proud of is a personal spoken word and piano essay. Inspired by The Decadent Review's invitation to write about Dmitri Shostakovich, I revisited his Preludes and Fugues, op. 87 on the piano, a piece I've explored for years, which led me to two beautiful novels which imagine Shostakovich's psyche, as well as to look into historical and musicological perspectives on the work. https://thedecadentreview.com/corpus/tangled-web-of-relationships-24-preludes-and-fugues-op-87-by-dmitri-shostakovich/
My flash nonfiction story, Warming Up, was published in the December edition of The Mantelpiece https://issuu.com/themantelpiece/docs/themantelpiece_december_2023. This was the 30th time I'd pitched this piece, so big shout out to The Mantelpiece for looking favourably on it.
So true, Lev-- I take a shotgun approach, metaphorically speaking, and just blast out as many as I can, so long as it doesn't cost more than a stamp or two. I know we're supposed to target [hmm, does this need a trigger warning?] but who likes what in any creative field is a subjective experience-- and if they shoot me down [sorry!] I just say, 'their loss'.
After several rejections this year (I made about 30 submissions), the year finished on an upswing! I won my first literary prize - The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction – and received a very encouraging note from another lit mag editor telling me one of my stories came close to being a semi-finalist for a long-story contest and that they'd like to see more of my work! Just the encouragement I needed to motivate me to commit to being more consistent in my submitting in 2024. Here is the story in The Letter Review: https://letterreview.com/the-dinner-new-short-fiction-by-lori-miller-kase/
What a great way to end the year! Winning a prize is so affirming. I won a prize for my first collection and it really buoyed me through my early years of career.
My 100 word micromemoir was one of 13 finalists out of 170 submissions for a contest from Five Minutes. It's my second piece published with them and I can't sing their praises enough. Susanna, the editor, is easy to work with and she does a great job building community. She promotes her contributors on social and in a newsletter. She shares when her contributors have work published in other magazines. And she offers the opportunity to work as a reader. I'll be serving my second stint in January. If you write CNF, I encourage you try Five Minutes.
And a shout-out to one of my very favourite editors this year, Cathy Ulrich of Milk Candy Review. She recently sent a lovely message thanking me for my contribution to her magazine in 2023. And, as she always does, even on rejections, she added a line that was personal and showed that she remembered the piece. She is a gem. You too are a gem, Becky. Thank you!
I had two this month: a sci-fi story, "Sickle Dance", in Voices of the Winter Solstice, and a hermit crab story, “The Cigarette Ash Column Between Her Fingers Is About to Crumble”, in The /tƐmz/ Review.
Dec 30, 2023·edited Dec 31, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch
Dear Friends,
December was a good month for my poetry. And 2023 was exciting because I found publishers for prose and poetry that I had written years ago and revised recently.
My tanka “Cedar Waxwings” appeared in Eucalypt #35 (2023) on page 26. This tanka journal is based in Australia.
Cold Moon Journal published my haiku “Coyote” and “Muffin Top” on December 11, 2023. The link is
Author of the poetry books Nature’s Olympics (Wipf and Stock, 2021), Exodus (WordTech Editions, 2014), Folk Concert: Changing Times (Anaphora Literary Press, 2012) and Traffic Stop (Finishing Line Press, 2011); the scholarly book Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, and the Reader of Drama (University of Missouri Press, 1990); the middle-grade chapter book for kids The Passover Surprise (Fictive Press, 2015, 2016); and the award-winning picture book for kids about bullying, How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale, 2006; seventh edition 2022).
35 rejections and one acceptance. Proudly placed my story "Monster Monster" in the Winter Issue of Epiphany. They loved it but thought it ended a fuller ending. They were right. Chris, Miracle, and Noreen were all great to work with. A terrific experience..
Dec 31, 2023·edited Dec 31, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch
My co-authored kids' book about bullying and self-esteem that's sold over 300,000 copies has been published in China, which makes for 15 translations and I got four copies of it this month without knowing they were coming. It looks lovely.
65: That will be the number of essays I'll have published (including reprints) in the last two and half years when Paranormal Magazine prints another true-life ghost story from me in their February issue. It was accepted and scheduled this past month. They do gorgeous art work. The following entries are just for December since I've posted my tallies in previous months.
Oddball, which had published a funny piece of mine last year, accepted "Streetwalker Stew" which is also written in that vein: https://oddballmagazine.com/oddball-stories-with-lev-raphael/ First line: "A sex worker taught my mother how to cook."
The editor of Halfway Down the Stairs said that "Dana Andrews Dream Suite" about my late father was "exactly what we want to be publishing"--and more. I was delighted. Of the dozens of essays I've published in the last 2+ years, this is one of my absolute favorites: https://halfwaydownthestairs.net/2023/12/01/dana-andrews-dream-suite-by-lev-raphael/ This one went through several title changes.
At the end of my recent workshop on personal essays for Rochester Writers, I shared a micro essay and gave people a theme, regret. I worked on one along with the group. Slightly revised, it's been accepted by Corvus Review which I'm fairly sure I found via the Author Publish newsletter. It will be out January 1.
What a collection of inspiring successes! Rays of hope! I had two short pieces accepted this year - The Globe and Mail (Canada's national newspaper) and ROOM Magazine - both print format, so no links, but thrilled just the same. Wishing everyone writing and publishing success for 2024, and for a little more peace in our world.
Alyson, definitely thrillworthy! Congratulations! The print-only venues bring up an interesting question, probably for a lot of us. I saw that Room put their third-place contest winner from a previous year online, but not first- or second-place. I wonder if contributors are included in the decision-making. Please comment if inclined. If not, wishing you a great revel in your notable successes!
I love seeing my work in print, though it's great to have a link to share. The best of both worlds is a mag that has an online presence and prints too. One of my favorite art-related essays got both: https://glreview.org/cold-marble-hot-memories/
My first published poem came out in The Ekphrastic Review on December 4! This journal publishes an ekphrastic poem every weekday with a wide range of art and poetic styles, so be sure to browse around. Here’s a link to my poem:
https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/aleyt-goyaerts-van-den-meerven-looks-out-at-the-garden-of-earthly-delights-from-within-the-peachy-marriage-chambers-by-caitlin-palo
Lovely, Cate! Congrats! I love The Ekphrastic Review—so many treasures!
Thank you Meredith!
Congrats, Cate on this wonderfully lush poem & your first acceptance. TER was my first acceptance / publication earlier this year, too! I love ekphrastic writing. The journal is a veritable cornucopia of inspiration. I recommend Lorette's workshops, too. PS: Loved "stun me with open skies".
Thank you Melissa! And congratulations on your publication with Ekphrastic Review also! I’ll look up Lorette’s workshops
Thanks, Cate - I also have a prose poem coming out in TER's first-ever print anthology "The Memory Palace" early 2024. I worked off Dali's "The Persistence of Memory". So I'm very excited for that release!
Oh I love “I want for nothing but want”! Congratulations!
Thank you Alice!
Congrats! This is a neat magazine.
So lovely!!!
Congratulations! I'm happy for you.
Beautiful! Congratulations!
Congrats!
A fascinating perspective on a lush garden from the viewpoint a childless wife (presumably barren or a victim of marital "neglect"). Good for you.
Thank you LindaAnn! I appreciate your close reading
Very fine work, Cate!
This poem could shine again in an ekphrastic collection, each poem portraying the feminine perspective, women tutored by their loss - - but perhaps this manuscript is in the works already. :-)
My congratulations Cate, you captured the earthly delights with an s.
What a lovely, evocative piece, Cate! Congratulations! I'm a big fan of the Ekphrastic Review.
Congratulations!
Congrats Cate, this is beautiful. Especially love "a monarch at the thistle
pricked by the thorn and stunned in the azure!"
If I wanted to, I could probably count up what submitting has cost me in fees in the last year and count up the number of rejections. However, my take on submitting is this. Almost nobody, apart from the editors, will actually read my pieces. But for me, that's enough. The fact that someone who loves writing and publishing as much as I do has chosen one of my pieces to publish is an honour and a potent recognition that I am not a great writer but a good writer. A handful of my pieces have received payment but I wouldn't give up my day job for it (if I had one). I am now 72 and didn't start taking my writing seriously until 3 years ago and since then I've had over 150 pieces accepted. Some of that is due the number of times I submit but it gives me the greatest joy to know that I connected with 150 editors that wanted to share what I had to say. Just as importantly, when I launched Witcraft https://witcraft.org 4 months ago to bring some humour to a world driven by angst, I never dreamed that I would publish over 50 stories from writers around the world, many of whom tell me it's the first time they've ever been published. We each do what we can.
Love your outlook. I am 74 and started writing seriously three years ago. I am writing a memoir, and the smart money says that these little essays I get published will have no impact on whether that book gets published. I don't think I would have continued the really hard work of writing the book without the acceptances of my shorter pieces. It is affirming, and often, fun.
I think many editors/agents definitely are impressed by a book-length ms. that contains previously published chapters. So keep on submitting.
Also, I subscribed to Witchcraft. Looks fun and interesting.
Thank you, Kresha. The more the merrier. :-)
Actually being previously published is basic to having a book accepted because it proves to an editor or editorial board you're the real thing. Based on my years in publishing, I think it would be next to impossible to get a book of unpublished stories or essays sold--unless it won a contest first.
You've done well, Doug--it's taken me 6 years [I'm 76] to get published in over 180 lit mags. And you're so right-- we each can only do what we can [though I do hope a few more than the editors read my work!]
Thank you, Nolo, and congratulations on your publishing record.
Firstly, Doug, the number of acceptances in 3 years is impressive. Goes to show you're never too old to start. I worry at 52 I've left it too late ... your comment & commitment gives me perspective. Bravo! Secondly, I hear you on that feeling that maybe no one or very few people are reading you in lit journal-land. But maybe it's more than we think, or can ever know. I know I came across your work somewhere this year (not from a brag), in my own reading, and I stopped to read you. :)
52 is young to start. You've got decades ahead of you and writers get better as we grow older and more experienced.
Many thanks for your kind words, Melissa.
Bravo maestro, proof that it's never too late. I published my first poem in 1995 but had several hiati (plural of hiatuses?) between then and the Pandemic, which somehow triggered my writing. Since then I've been writing every day and publishing with good success (see comment above). Oh, and I'm going on 70 so we're both proof that it's never too late. I will check out your review. Forge onward brother!
Many thanks, Gary. It seems the plural is either hiatus (as in one sheep, two sheep) or hiatuses. :-)
LOL
The pandemic has been a surprising spur for me to write and publish: close to 70 essays and short stories published since August 2021 and I've made money on them too. That's more short work than I've ever published before in the same amount of time. And just when I think I'm "done," new ideas come to me. This past 72 hours alone I've written and revised a new short story and submitted it to a good mag that asked me to try again.
There is something to hold onto with the "at least one person liked it" approach. I like that attitude.
I love Witcraft and got one story published!
Thank you, Jolanta.
Yes! A little humour (note the U - writing from Canada) goes a long way, especially in these very dark days. Have subscribed. Thanks for launching this site, Doug, and congrats on your impressive publication record.
Have subscribed to Witcraft. Sounds great!
Thank you, Amanda.
Thanks for sharing this perspective, Doug - and thanks for Witcraft. I'm another one of your happy-to-be-published-there writers. :-)
Many thanks for contributing, Cynthia. :-)
150 in three years! Holy cow. Congrats!
I had a lucky publication year, significantly aided by the fact that I started aiming for a hundred rejections a year last year!
I published poems in Terrain, Barrow Street, swamp pink (formerly Crazyhorse), North American Review, New Ohio Review, berlin lit, The London Magazine, New Letters, Mslexia, The Greensboro Review, and Gulf Coast.
Links are here:
https://www.poetalicewhite.com/poetry
Congratulations, Alice - some prestigious journals in that list! I look forward to perusing your links.
I considered aiming for 100 rejections this year, but honestly, every time I imagined discussing or mentioning it, the negative framing didn't feel like it would motivate me. So I decided to aim for 52 submissions (one a week had a thematically sound ring to it) & have done well with that as both a goal & in terms of acceptances. I also turned an old weekly planner into a monthly submission tracker & took much childish delight in giving myself big gold stars for paid acceptances, silver for unpaid & smaller stars for longlistings, personal or higher tiered rejections.
I say, go with whatever works to keep you inspired & motivated! :)
I love this idea! Brava!
Which part, Beth? :) I'd love for some other writers to join me for "52 submissions for 2024". A little crew to keep one another motivated. Obviously everyone is different & needs different goals. But I'm going to start putting the word out ... let me know if you're interested.
I love that you tied your goal to a strong anchor, but giggled and am delighted you also added a fun artsy component with the stars!
Yesterday I just finished adding word counts to my calendar for the first 5 months of 2024 to finally get the draft of my manuscript done, I’m not sure how much submitting I will be doing tbh BUT am I smitten with this idea!
Maybe devise a star system for your word count goals? Speaking of, I need to motivate my progress on my first novella draft, also started this year. Perhaps that needs to go on my calendar too!
I'll join you!
barbaradkrasner(at)gmail(dot)com.
I like your idea -- 52 submissions for 2024. I think I'll try that. Thanks.
Glad it inspired you, Nancy. How lovely that you live near a forest. I see we're both poets - (well, I write fiction,too). If you want to stay in contact to keep each other motivated, let me know!
I would love to keep in touch, and I definitely need more motivation. Although on second thought, I think I have plenty of motivation -- I just need the follow through! I like to write nonfiction and fiction in addition to poetry. Let me know your ideas on staying in contact. I'm game.
Would love to join you Melissa ! Checked out your website and see we have a lot in common - I also started as a journalist and am now writing for both children (trying to get my first books published) and adults , also love gardening :) More importantly, I'd love to turn my sporadic submitting to literary journals into something more consistent...
Hi Lori, wonderful! My email is ask.the.seeds@gmail.com. You can drop your email here & I'll send a quick hello email so we're connected, or you can send one to me. For privacy reasons, I don't like to leave my email address floating aound in forums, so I'll come back & delete it here once we're connected. Excited to be creating a little group of writers who want to do this together!
Amazing year, Alice! Congrats!!
Congratulations, Alice! Looking forward to reading via your website!
Congrats Alice, as Melissa said, very impressive list of publications--many aspirational ones for me!
Oh, lovely work, Alice! Thanks for sharing & congrats on your deserved success!
congrats, Alice! Great publications!
Congratulations, Alice--that's impressive ! My CNF was rejected by five on your list this year, (though North American Review was open to revisions). Woman and wife are the same word in French...wow, so good!
Congratulations Alice! What a year! Looking forward to reading your poems
Congratulations Alice! Adding your pub list to my wish list.
My poetry collection was published by Fernwood Pres: Girl in Tulips http://www.fernwoodpress.com/2023/11/06/girl-in-tulips/
Excellent publisher
Congratulations, Julianne!
Congratulations! The subtitle is great
Congratulations, Julianne. No small feat to have your 1st collection out. Have you had a chapbook published first? Love the title!
Congrats Julianne! What a beautiful cover!
Thank you very much for your kind words. Please share around, I hope the collection will help others through similar realities .
2023: 83 submissions, 12.5% acceptances. Poems in Last Stanza Literary, Hyacinth Review, Poetry NI+ Holocaust Anthology, and Poetica. A post-Holocaust short story, "Stones Tell No Lies," published in Kelsey Review and nominated for a Pushcart (wrote exclusively for this lit mag, only sent the story to this lit mag, revised two lines). I'm especially proud of my essay, "Anderlecht," published in Collateral Journal (an exclusive submission, a couple of revisions, includes an audio reading for which I had to practice French and Flemish) in which I traced the steps of a friend who'd been a hidden child in Brussels during the Holocaust. Novel in verse, Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship, published by Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers, named a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Links:
"Stones Tell No Lies"--https://kelseyreview.com/2023/12/14/barbara-krasner-2/
"Anderlecht"--https://www.collateraljournal.com/nonfiction/bkrasner
2024 looks promising; My essay, "The Yiddish Learner," appears on Jan. 1 in Jewish Literary Journal (sent to them exclusively, revised one sentence), and a poem in the Paterson Literary Review that earned an Honorable Mention in the 2023 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest.
A good year for sure. Do you know about Yetzirah, the organization for Jewish poets (yes I'm making an assumption here <g>).
Thanks, Gary. Yes, I heard about Yetzirah from Rodger Kaminetz, whom I met at a Jewish American & Holocaust Lit symposium in South Beach in November. I just uploaded my profile the other day.
Congrats on your great year, Barbara!
Congrats on a great year, Barbara! "Stones Tell No Lies" has such sweet yearning and is a reminder of the power of heritage, even when--particularly when--suppressed.
I published an essay about a hidden child in Belgium last year (I think): https://www.memoirist.org/post/rendezvous-in-bruxelles-by-lev-raphael
She was one of my late mother's pupils in a school for children who'd been hidden by monks and nuns.
What a year! Congrats Barbara!
I had a year of rejections, but my New Year’s resolution is to submit more frequently. Thanks to this supportive community and to Becky for hosting it and providing the excellent content!
Closing the year with two awards (International Human Rights Arts Program and Chilean Writers' Association) - one in English and one in Spanish. Fifteen stories, flash, or articles published in 2023. Apart from the awards, my favorite was published in India https://www.thewiseowl.art/jb-polk and one in Croatia https://wordpress.com/post/aloka-magazine.com/983. Looking forward to finishing my novel and writing more good fiction. A prosperous and successful 224 to all.
Wow, amazing accomplishments there, Jolanta. Congratulations on your awards - they sound like huge achievements - for bilingual work, too. Think you definitely deserve some champagne!
Woo hoo! Congrats, Jolanta!! You have had an impressive year.
Wow, congrats!
In the past 13 months, I had five poetry titles published and/or accepted for publication.
These include:
"Apprenticed to the Night" [full collection; still in PRE-release since April 2023];
"Vampire Ventures" [chapbook; released in October 2023];
"Cancer Courts My Mother" [chapbook; forthcoming in February 2024];
"Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" [illustrated; forthcoming in October 2024];
"Eros and His Entourage" [erotic verses; forthcoming in 2025].
* * But I am even prouder of this feat:
* * * I helped two poet colleagues place their full-length mss with two good publishers on the first try.
In 2024 I was nominated for literary awards; my writing was a finalist on two occasions; and also I turned down six book contracts that I considered to be infra dig - - - a sign that I have emotionally re-evaluated my place in the literary landscape.
Here's to hearing more bragging - - - especially from writers who have been helping other writers advance a few squares!
Happy New Year!!!
Yay! Congrats! Happy 2024
Thank you so much, Heather. Wishing you the very best for the New Year!
congrats, LindaAnn! You're on fire!
Thank you very much, Meredith.
* * * Back story on one of the titles:
I had been my terminally ill mother's sole caretaker.
It took three decades to write the poems in "Cancer Courts My Mother."
I was very fortunate that this memoir collection on such a thorny subject found a good home so quickly. (And I hope the campus artist finishes that cover soon.) :-)
Best of luck to you in the New Year!
Congratulations LindaAnn - that's a huge year of amazing accomplishments. I think you might mean 2023, though - unless you're peering into a crystal ball!:)
Thank you, Melissa. Yes, quite an accomplishment - - especially helping two colleagues through a "no tears" submission / acceptance.
No typos here.
"Cancer Courts My Mother" was accepted in August 2023 by a university press - - but scheduled for next year. (A campus artist they selected is doing the cover.... slowly.)
"Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" was accepted in December 2023 - - but scheduled for Hallowe'en 2024.
"Eros and His Entourage" was accepted in July 2023, scheduled for 2024 - - then pushed back to 2025.
And my British publisher has not yet committed to a release date for "Apprenticed to the Night" even though he registered 3 copyrights for it [hardback, paperback, kindle] and he posted it on the company's website around Easter 2023. Rather perplexing.
Since there is a lot going on, I am not circulating two other manuscripts.
Your journey and accomplishments are impressive, Linda! I'm looking forward to Cancer Courts my Mother. I hope the artist gets the job done!
Thank you very much for your kind words, Debra.
Here's hoping the university press releases "Cancer Courts My Mother" when promised - - - or at least before its logical news peg: Mother's Day.
Good wishes to you, too, as the New Year invites writers to turn the page.
Congratulations LindaAnn on all these accomplisments!
accomplishments*
Thank you so much for your kind words, Lori.
What's the old saying? When it rains, it pours. :-)
Good wishes to you and your Muse in the New Year!
It's energizing to read these publishing triumphs! I'm new to this at 77. I got word on Dec. 23rd that Dorothy Parker's Ashes (DPA has no fee) had accepted my essay (lovely to work with, requested only five punctuation edits) for their themed month "Secrets." Best Christmas present. I took a chapter from my memoir-in-progress and re-wrote the secret my mother kept for 30 years, creating a totally new format for the story. I only submitted this piece to DPA, but had submitted other pieces elsewhere this year. I think Allison K Williams had suggested DPA. My essay "No U-Turn Allowed" comes out in January issue. https://www.dorothyparkersashes.com/ Happy New Year, everyone. And Becky, thanks for a brag opportunity!
Congratulations, Charlotte! When I heard the name, Dorothy Parker's Ashes, I immediately wanted to submit there! I haven't yet, but seeing your success inspires me. I'm looking forward to the January issue.; your story is intriguing.
Congratulations, Charlotte! Nice way to start 2024.
Wonderful news!
This is so great, Charlotte. Can't wait to read your essay!
Thanks Kresha. I usually don't mention till published, but I'm new to Becky's site and like what she does and wanted to contribute. Becky seems to have the same literary citizenship as Allison. Warm wishes for the new Year!
In adding up my expenses for 2023, I saw that I'd spent something like $450 on submission fees. I had thrown in tips sometimes, but I had no idea I was spending so much because each time it was just $3, $5 or $10.
On the other hand, in 2023 my essays got published in Bluebird Word, Modern Stoicism, Next Avenue, The Raven's Perch, Down in the Dirt, Meat for Tea, Grande Dame Literary, and with forthcoming pieces in Sequoia Speaks and Litro.
All that plus publishing a weekly essay in my substack, Introvert UpThink (https://www.introvertupthink.com). So it was a good year.
Yes, Marcia, you're right-- it can get very expensive to pay fees-- but you can get published without paying any-- in the past 6 years I've been published 332 times in 182 lit mags, for free! { some have even paid me or at least sent a free print copy]. If we all refused to pay, the mercenary mags would soon change their tune--or at least offer the option of snail mail/email.
I don't feel it's " mercenary " for a low budget literary magazine to charge $3 to offset what Submittable charges them. They are not turning a profit on those $3 fees adding up. However when they charge $10 or even $20, that is where my eyebrows go up.
Usually those are short story collections, chapbooks and novels. So they require more time to read, more readers. With that said, there are a few so called publishers out there that are more to make a buck at the expense of the writer than really to publish any of these works. Unfortunately, Submittable does not screen for that, so it's up to you (and places like this) to call them out.
Congrats on your publications, Marcia. Those submission fees really can add up! May I recommend subscribing to the email listings of sub calls by "Authors Publish"? They only promote fee-free submission calls. I only spent about $15 on sub fees this year! They also have a wonderful series of free lectures & other goodies for writers.
Congrats, I had a piece in the most recent Meat for Tea...I just wished they published online as well as in print...
Agree. I was a little frustrated by my experience with Meat for Tea. In their TOC, they listed me as Barbara Wilson Frank, and put the wrong page number. But, it's in print, so not correctable. Then too, I believe they are largely a one woman operation, and good on her for delivering the goods season after season, year after year!
Congratulations, Marcia! I've published in Down in the Dirt and Meat for Tea as well. I haven't added up my expenses, but I compare submission costs to a cup of coffee--$3 to $5 is reasonable; $26 (Narrative!) is not. But more importantly, when I think of all the time I put into an essay, my time is worth investing the cost of submission fees!
Congrats on these fabulous publications!
I spend about $2,000 since I also enter some of the competitions for short story collections and those tend to be $20 a pop. Ouch. The good thing is this. If you make any money in your writing creative pursuits (even five bucks). It's a business and you can deduct ALL the entries as MARKETING. (I love my CPA for that).
Just be careful with that-- speaking as a retired planner with a CFP, as I can recall: the IRS will expect you to turn a profit in at least 3 out of 7 years, or else they can designate it as a 'hobby' and hit you up for back taxes. Yup, us writers ain't gonna win, no way!
Not a profit, income.
Yes, well that's what they call monies exceeding expenses, because you are essentially self employed as a writer---as you say, 'it's a business' and so 'profit' in that context means your income exceeds your expenses. Just advising caution when your dealing with the gov't, that's all.
I stopped submitting to lit mags that had fees and turned my balance of payments around quickly when I scored big with magazines like The Smart Set (twice).
December lesson #1: Keep submitting. After 32 submissions, my visual/word piece "How to Weave a Caned Chair or a Friendship" was published at JMWW. December lesson #2: Aim high. Many lesser-ranked lit mags rejected this piece before JMWW (133 on Brecht's Top 1000 Lit Mags 2024) picked it up. https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/how-to-weave-a-caned-chair-or-a-friendship-by-n-l-jorgensen/
Congratulations! Thanks for posting both your piece (wild and lovely!) and your December lessons. Occasionally, I've received a rejection comment from a submissions reader who was simply confused by a variation in form. Glad your piece found a good home.
Thank you. I’ve also heard from editors who say a visual piece is sometimes difficult to post online.
Hi Nancy, fellow shape poem enthusiast here. It can limit where you can submit, but I find querying beforehand saves you submitting to inappropriate journals. And I notice many journals who release in hard copy have more sophisticated online publishing software to handle shape poems. I have a shape poem forthcoming in Antithesis journal in 2024. They are quite addictive, once you create a few!
Let us know when your shape poem is published, Melissa!
Will do! They keep delaying the issue's release, but my fingers are crossed it will be soon!
Good advice! And congrats on your upcoming pub. This is my third visual work. The other two are in Streetcake.
Well done, Nancy! I've submitted 2 for a print antholgy - will find out in Feb about those.
Good luck getting those placed!
Yes, I've heard same. Melissa Coffey (on this forum) could probably add to that as she writes shaped poems.
Yay Nancy! I love love love JMWW!!!
Thank you. And yes, great experience with JMWW!
Good morning. This month I have a silly, eye roll-inducing poem in Defenestration, a humor magazine that recently received a well-deserved shoutout from Chill Subs. It's an online journal that's been around for 20 years, and the editors are lovely. When my piece first came out there was a formatting issue. I emailed the editors, and EIC Andrew Kaye was extremely apologetic and fixed it right away. I submitted this to four places in fall 2022. I received three rejections and withdrew from the Coastal Shelf humor contest upon concluding (correctly) that the journal was defunct. Because this piece is clearly seasonal, I waited until fall 2023 to resubmit, and sent it only to Defenestration. Note that Defenestration does not allow simultaneous submissions (however, they are fairly speedy in terms of either declining your piece or letting you know if you've made the final round.) Here's the link:
https://www.defenestrationmag.net/2023/12/consequences-of-poor-planning-in-winter-by-colette-parris/
(In case anyone is wondering, I do not actually own a Mini Cooper. :)
Looking forward to another year of being part of this great community. Happy New Year to all!
How wonderful!!
Thank you Heather!
Ha! I love this, Colette! So relatable. Just yesterday my partner and I were hiking in our usual place bemoaning the lack of snow this year. He mentioned that the summer will probably by hot, and I thought, yes, but will I be prepared for wildfire? I want to be. But I probably won't.
Thanks Debra! Glad you were entertained. :)
Loved it, Colette! Congrats!
Thanks Meredith!
Colette, I loved the sly humor of your poem. I love the puns that link the physical world to the emotional ("no truck," "powerless"), and the way the enjambment italicizes them. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing your work.
Thanks so much, John!
I had a poem in Defenestration last Dec. The experience was very positive. congrats on your.
Thanks Gary! Just read CAPTCHA and I totally feel your pain. :)
T’is the season! Congratulations, Colette. Patience pays off.
Thanks Dave!
My villanelle poem "The Treachery of Memory" was accepted for The Crow's Quill Magazine, a themed monthly Gothic poetry & fiction journal. The theme was "Darkest Endings" & I wrote it over three days. Two days later it was accepted &, as I submitted close to the deadline, it was live a week later! This has been my fastest-ever route from conceptualization to publication. The visual lay-out is gorgeously Gothic & I've just ordered my print copy. The editor was lovely - there were no changes or revisions. They paid 10USD for poems. Sadly, this is the last edition of Crow's Quill. This is the 2nd villanelle I've written & I'm quite new to form poetry, so it felt like an affirmation that I'm (hopefully) growing as a poet. Free PDF link is below:
https://www.quillandcrowpublishinghouse.com/cqmagazine2023
I received word just before Xmas that my prose poem "Nightfall in a Fenced Arcadia" has been accepted for Issue 9 of "Exist Otherwise", a journal for surrealist poetry & short fiction. This is my 4th acceptance for EO, which feels a bit crazy. They pay $15 per piece. Issue 9 will be live Jan 2024.
For my first year of seriously submitting to lit journals, I committed to 52 submissions for 2023 & made my goal, receiving 14 acceptances so far. It's been an amazing year & Lit Mag News has been a big shiny part of my adventure (thanks Becky). Congrats everyone for their December acceptances & here's to a new year of lit magging & bragging! My favourite acceptance for 2023 was the 1st piece I wrote especially for a journal (Aurora Journal) & my 1st prose poem acceptance (a "passion" genre). Also, the lay-out looked super-pretty :) : https://www.theaurorajournal.org/winter-2023-volume/molten-summer-reverie
Huge congratulations, Melissa, on both submissions and acceptances. And yes, "Molten Summer Reverie" is a favourite of mine too.
High praise, Donna - not sure if deserved, but I'll take it. Thank you. :)
This is amazing!
Not sure which "bit" amazed you, Heather - but thank you!
Congratulations on a great year, Melissa! You seem to have found your groove!
Thanks so much, Lisa! I've greatly appreciated your encouragement along the way. Here's to 2024 being another exciting lit mag-ical year! :)
Glass raised!
Great sub rates! Congrats!
Thanks, Meredith. They're better than what I anticipated for my first year of submitting seriously. Onwards & upwards for 2024. :)
I have a way higher submission and rejection rate so congrats! Well done you.
Thanks, Jolanta. I wish I'd started submitting more consistently earlier in my writing life, but I'm committed now. A little success has been very motivating. :)
December has been good to me. Two slim volumes (as the saying goes) of mine have been published:
“Curiouser and Curiouser Flash Fiction by Tony Dawson” Published by Cyberwit.net ISBN: 978-81-19654-93-2 First Edition 2023
and
“Musings. Poems by Tony Dawson” Published by Impspired ISBN:978-19-15819-66-6 First Edition 2023
In addition, Lighten Up Online took “Ash to Cash: A Cautionary Tale” which can be found at
https://www.lightenup-online.co.uk/index.php/issue-64-december-2023/tony-dawson-from-ash-to-cash-a-cautionary-tale
Meanwhile, Cajun Mutt Press accepted a poem, “Conscience” for publication in February 2024.
Yippee!
Oh yay! Amazing!!
I'll say! Especially as I'm getting on a bit for so much excitement in one month... :-)
I enjoyed "Ash to Cash." Very clever. :)
Thanks. That's very nice of you.
A review of “Musings” can be found here:
https://londongrip.co.uk/2023/12/london-grip-poetry-review-tony-dawson-2/
Tony, "Ash to Cash" is delightful, and also, many parts of it ring quite true. Well done!
Thank you very much Cynthia. It is so satisfying when someone makes such a warmhearted comment.
Thank you Becky for this amazing community! I've loved celebrating and commiserating with everyone in 2023.
This Dec, I had two short stories come out: “The Observer’s Cage” in The Offing
https://theoffingmag.com/backoftheenvelope/13556/
and
“Tiger on My Roof” in Epiphany
https://epiphanyzine.com/tiger-on-my-roof-by-marguerite-sheffer
and I'm very happy with both experiences!
I had 11 stories published overall in 2023 -- all are at www.margueritesheffer.com if you'd like to see.
Good luck to everyone in 2024!
Congratulations!
Congrats Marguerite!!
Lovely work, Marguerite. Your opening in "The Observer's Cage" drew me straight in!
Thank you Meredith!
The Offing is terrific.
Congrats, Marguerite! Excellent voice in tiger!
It's so gratifying to hear other writer's experiences of this year and to have a community where we can share these things - thank you Becky! I aimed for 100 submissions and made it to 82, which is the most I've ever done. (I also came to this late - I'm 70 and started three years ago). I had three two short stories and one flash fiction piece published. "Detroit in the Distance" was published in Idle Ink, a UK journal and "Betrayal" was published in Fault Zone: Detachment, a juried anthology of the California Writers Club SF Peninsula Branch. My flash fiction piece, "Acts of God", was published in Calliope.
Equally important to all this were the three fiction writing classes I took through Stanford Continuing Studies taught by Lynn Stegner, Elizabeth Percer and Nina Schuyler. Nina's class was focused on alternative plot structures and was immensely helpful in expanding the envelope of what it is possible to do within a short story.
One other item to add: I put together a PPT presentation for my writers club called "Cracking the Code: How to Get Published in Literary Journals" in which I shared the methodology I've developed for identifying and submitting to lit mags. It felt good to share this info with newer writers who weren't well-versed in this whole world and didn't quite know how to step into it.
Oooooh Nina's class sounds like something I would love. So glad you got to do this.
Congratulations, David! Are the Stanford classes online? I love Nina Schuyler's Stunning Sentences. Any plans to turn your powerpoint presentation into a written piece? It could be a great fit for Brevity's Blog.
Hi Debra - Yes, the Stanford classes are all online. If you're interested in the winter term, I know they are beginning to fill up. No immediate to plan the PPT into a written piece. Who writes the Brevity blog?
Thanks, David, I'll check out the Stanford classes for sure. Brevity Blog is a sidelight for Brevity Magazine, with some notable names behind it, including Dinty Moore and Allison K. Williams. Craft pieces, the writing life, etc., daily to subscribers. I published a book review with them, but they no longer do those.
Well- thanks…. published a short story in the “Jewish literary journal,” and in the last month I choose to write and illustrate three article-memoir pieces , which were accepted and published in “Santa Barbars Independent!” -Devo Cutler —- happy new years all!
Congrat, Devo! Happy New Year to you, too!
I've been absent from the Brag for several months while I racked up dozens of rejections. But, at long last, an acceptance! Down in the Dirt was suggested by Erik Klass, and they published my narrative nonfiction piece, The Backpacking Mother Who Saved Escalate. https://scars.tv/cgi-bin/works_e.pl?/home/users/web/b929/us.scars/perl/text-writings/g12718.txt. They publish immediately in digital form, followed by a print edition. No edits. Easy to work with.
In other news I've nearly completed my book, a centennial history of my mountain club, which should be out in the world in May 2024.
So grateful for this community! Thank you, Becky. Congrats to everyone for your attempts and your successes!
Fascinating story of both person and place. Congrats!
Thank you for reading, Lisa! I loved writing about her because she had a huge impact largely on her own efforts. Our environmental challenges seem beyond our grasp now, so she's truly an inspiration.
Hey Deb!
Glad to see you posting here. And congrats again on the publication!
Great to see you here, Nancy!! And congrats again on the Vespa story--I loved seeing it in final form.
So glad for your great year!
Thank you, Heather!
Congrats on both accomplishments!
Thank you, Lori!
I had two pieces come out this month: https://amethystmagazine.org/2023/12/21/crime-scene-an-essay-by-kresha-richman-warnock/ and a piece of micro: https://persimmontree.org/winter-2024/what-i-like-what-i-dislike/. (this is their "Short Takes" list and mine is at the end.)
I am particularly happy with the Crime Scene essay. It had sat in the "In Progress" box of a journal I have a personal connection to for months. I finally submitted it to Amethyst Review and they accepted it. I was a little sorry to write that withdrawal note to the first journal, but submitted something else to them this fall, and they accepted that one quickly. No cheating! It was a good essay.
The Smokelong Summer Flash Workshop was fun and got me to write a lot of flash -- three of those pieces have subsequently been accepted -- but this is the year for the grueling work of getting the damn memoir in marketable shape. I'm sure I'll sneak off to write some flash and try to get some essays relevant to the longer piece published. Happy New Year, one and all! And thanks for your column and workshops, Becky.
Oh yay! This worked out beautifully!
Congratulations, Kresha! I love that you submitted again to the journal you had to withdraw from, and got an acceptance from them too. I had to withdraw from several excellent journals when my piece was accepted, so your story inspires me to resubmit to them. Also, I sent a piece to Smokelong for their critique service, and they were so helpful.
I had two pieces published this month
Incarcerated Spaces - Bulb Culture Collective
https://www.bulbculturecollective.com/read/incarcerated-spaces-dave-nash
This was a repost from a piece in a defunct mag. That’s what BCC specializes in. I got this accepted in September and they gave be the specific pub date then. I also had a opportunity to answer questions about this piece and my process which will be published on February 11th. If you have a piece at a defunct mag I highly recommend BCC.
Someday I’ll walk in the Rays - Working Title
https://workingtitlelit.substack.com/p/someday-ill-walk-in-the-rays?utm_medium=ios
Yay Substack mag! First time on this platform as an Au. Great work with and the editors made some edits to the format that I thought was spectacular.
Here’s a link to all I published in 2023 and what’s on deck
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ek8puqLyXH73aIpgO1Saq19vwIvqRecJpG3ug6105lg/edit
Wow, prolific! Congrats and Happy New Year!
Congrats!!
My chapbook of short fiction, "Pass the Panpharmacon! (Five Fictions of Delusion)" has been published by Greying Ghost Press. I put this collection together a couple of years ago for a publisher's call, unsuccessfully. Happened to catch the opportunity at GGP; I'm well-pleased by the design and high production quality. Took about a year from acceptance to print.
https://greyingghost.bigcartel.com/product/fain
In 2011, I had a story accepted for a post-apocalyptic fiction e-book anthology that never came out. Since then I've sent it out periodically, and finally found a home for "All the World Was a Stage." Because there's something timeless about a story featuring fear, loathing, cannibalism and the theater arts, don't you know. The book also features work by sci-fi legend Robert Silverberg, still cranking them out at the age of 88, apparently.
https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-William-Joseph-Roberts-Presents/dp/1962791238
Earlier this month, proving that Txitter still serves some purpose, I discovered something called Best of the Bests, where writers send in their favorite story published this year for possible recognition. And lo and behold, my story "They Who Stay," that came out in A Thin Slice of Anxiety, made the list.
https://tylerdempseywriting.com/best-of-the-bests/
Finally, while I had about a dozen fiction publications this year of various shapes and sizes, the most fun I had was doing the piece that found its way onto these "pages," "A Geezer's Guide to Lit Mag Maneuvers." Many thanks to Becky T. for that acceptance, and maintaining this wonderful and welcoming writers' world with her wit and hard work. Cheers!
Congrats, Jon!!
My novella-in-flash made it to a shortlist of ten in a contest AND I got a story acceptance on Christmas Day!
Here's a very short story https://milkcandyreview.home.blog/2023/09/21/1986-by-sarah-freligh/
Happy New Year to all who celebrate!
Yay Sarah! Congrats on a fabulous year! Milk Candy Review is one of my favorites.
Thank you! HNY to you and yours!
Ooooh, I remember this eerie piece from my first reading. Still eerie: "...we could hear the frantic in their voices..." Some good smothering here! Congratulations!
Thank you for reading, Lisa!
Yay! Congrats!
Thank you!
Amazing result on the flash novella Sarah. And I enjoyed your dark little flash & the way you wove those two disparate narratives together.
Thanks so much, Melissa!
Great story. What a year that was....
Thank you for reading!
We published our third issue of The Apostrophe. Our theme was "mistakes" and the authors interpreted it in totally unexpected ways and it was great. https://hkwcmagazine.substack.com/p/issue-3-mistakes
We're re-opening submissions on January 1 (deadline January 31) and the theme is "time".
My flash story “Plumbing the Depths” is in Nunum’s Winter issue:
https://online.fliphtml5.com/kmmwt/ktgu/#p=1
And, from last December, “What the north wind knows,” in Flash Frontier, which is one of my favourites. The link opens to the magazine’s front page and further links to the stories.
https://flashfrontier.com/december-2022-wonder/
It has been a good year with 5 flash stories and one micro-poem published, plus an acceptance for another story to come out in a print magazine next April.
Happy new year everyone! It has been a joy and an honour to be part of this group.
"Plumbing the Depths" is a potent, enchanting altered state, lots of language play within acute sorrow. Love as well “What the north wind knows”. Your work is always surprising and magical. Congrats on both of these, Donna, and on your fine 2023!
Thank you so much for these and other lovely comments throughout the year, Lisa. I’m looking forward to reading many more of your stories in 2024; “How I Lose Him Before I Lose Him” stands out for me as a heartfelt, powerful, and poignant piece of writing.
Thank you, Donna. I appreciate your comments, too, and am looking forward to reading more of your work in the near future. Happy New Year!
Congrats, Donna! Look forward to reading these. Just wanted to say your flash fic "Afterwords" is a tab I kept permanently open on my laptop since you posted it back in March. I return to it regularly for inspiration. You have an incredible facility for unique, lyrical imagery. Hope 2024 brings much inspiration your way.
Thank you, Melissa, for this heartwarming comment. And what you say about unique, lyrical imagery perfectly describes your own writing; “Molten Summer Reverie” is gorgeous and will linger long in my memory. Wishing you many fine stories in 2024.
The same to you, Donna - & look forward to reading more of your work! (I'm stuck in the middle of writing an article at the mo, but I've bookmarked your links for later).
PS: If you're looking for submission motivation /support in 2024, I'm starting a "52 Submissions for 2024" "club" just via email for now. You may already have your own goals, but I'm ask.the.seeds@gmail.com if you're interested. :) There's 3 of us (from this forum) so far.
Yay! Congratulations!!
Just read "What the North Wind Knows" - a beautifully melancholic flash. I enjoyed the surprise of the North Wind as narrator - "clattering ribs of ice-bound ships" is gorgeous - and this:
"The skin of her outstretched hands is parchment; the bones fine as birds’ quills. Her eyes will not be lied to."
I have to ask if you're a fan of Jeanette Winterson. She's one of my inspirational writers. Some of your metaphors remind me of her style. Reading Winterson gave me permission to be lyrical and lush with metaphor and imagery. I'd read too many male authors in my younger years - did not find my "touchstone" writers until my mid-thirties, such as Carter & Winterson. I wish I'd read them earlier!
Thank you so much for reading my north wind story, Melissa, and for your lovely comments. I’m embarrassed to say that I did not know Jeanette Winterson’s work—most of my reading in recent years has been in children’s lit.--but I am honoured to have any aspect of my writing compared with hers. I’ve put my name down at the public library for two collections of her short works: ghost stories and Christmas stories. Your own writing gives me great faith in your taste. Thank you for telling me about her!
Wonderful re finding some of her titles! I'd also recommend "Lighthouse-keeping", "Sexing the Cherry" (both novels) and "The World and Other Places" (another short story collection - some fairy tale-esque). I'd not heard of "Ghost Stories"! Will have to try & find that one.
Adding “The World and Other Places” to my list—fairy tale-esque is catnip to me. Thanks, Melissa!
“To My Mother’s Older Daughter” originally appeared in a magazine that later closed, so I’m thrilled to see it in SugarSugarSalt, which accepts only previously published CNF. The editors are accomplished writers. They’re also responsive and promote their contributors well on social media. Six months from acceptance to publication. Contributors write a brief “The Story Behind the Story,” which was, for me, part of the draw. Overall, a great publishing experience.
https://sugarsugarsalt.org/2023/12/15/to-my-mothers-older-daughter-by-lisa-buchanan/
Congratulations, Lisa. I'm looking forwarding to reading the story and the story behind it.
Thank you, Donna! I'll be honored.
Congrats, Lisa, on finding your essay a good second home. I love journals that also publish / thoughts on creative process or backstory. Look forward to reading it!
Thank you, Melissa! Much appreciated.
Congratulations, Lisa! This is such a powerful piece. It especially resonated with me because I finished reading Such a Fun Age yesterday, and the "other daughter" in that story is heartbreaking as well.
Thank you, Debra. I'm not familiar with Kiley Reid, but will take a look. I love a book that breaks my heart.
Congratulations, Lisa. I liked your concept and economy. All the best for 2024!
Thank you, Dave! Happy 2024 for you, too!
It was a mixed year with a lot of poetry appearing at The Dirigible Balloon, a UK-based children's/educator's library of online poetry works by well-known, somewhat-published, and new poets, a poem in a Paddler Press children's anthology, and four poems accepted by my favorite high-quality children's group, Cricket Media (Babybug Magazine)...and a lot of poetry for adults rejected, but with four publications of poems close to my heart. I continue to send lots of work out, write almost every day and have joined The Stafford Challenge for 2024 (https://www.facebook.com/staffordchallenge/).
My favorite publication this year—and my favorite editorial relationship—was at the Jewish Writing Project. Editor Bruce Black was extremely perceptive and encouraging about digging deeper in a poem I'd written. The poem appeared here: https://jewishwritingproject.com/2023/08/21/something-about-the-rugalach/
Best wishes to all for a productive and meaningful 2024!
Yay! Best wishes
Wonderful memory and baking poem, I love the repetition of the lines, like the layers of rugelach. I’m thinking of joining the Staffor challenge too...the times I’ve done NaPoWriMl have been rewarding but I’m a little intimidated by the commitment of 365 days!
Cate - check out how Brian talks about the challenge - it's right in line with my flexible goal philosophy: essentially giving yourself an opportunity for a daily poem, with the knowledge that we simply do the best we're able, integrating realities of our lives. I expect to have some empty pages in my stack of 366...but the monthly zooms with visiting poets and possibilities for finding a small group n for critique and support also appealed.
Catching up a bit...my CNF flash "Tropospheric" was published by Welter Online in the Fall 2023 issue:
https://blogs.ubalt.edu/welter/creative-nonfiction-2/tropospheric/
It was one of those rare pieces that wanted to exist, exactly as created: it flowed onto the page while I was in flight; Welter was my first submission; they accepted it immediately (without edits). I read my piece aloud during their digital release party, which was fun. However, there hasn't been much individual promotion of pieces on social media. The journal is run by University of Baltimore students & faculty, so they may be on a well-deserved holiday break. :) I kind of wish the digital table of contents provided author names underneath the titles. But each piece is uploaded blog style with a nice shareable link. Overall I had a positive experience with Welter, and I'm proud they saw something in my words. I hope you get a chance to read "Tropospheric" and drift across the landscape with me!
Congrats!
It has been a really good year. Three published stories, Finalist in one award, and in the short list for a short story collection they were supposed to reveal the winner in September, then November then December and we do not know the winner yet. I always wanted to be published in the Acentos Review, they just published the last chapter of my novel, which works as a short story. But my proudest moment came from a story I wrote 30 years ago. Sent it out durning the Pre-cambrian Snail Mail era to be rejected a few times. I then stopped writing for a decade. After I workshopped the story, and Submittable became a reality, it got rejected about 20 times. Then on a second bout of workshopping, one of my critiques suggested to change the name to Catire, the protagonist nick-name, then sent it out to two places one accepted it. In that story I worked with an editor who was fabulous and helped me clear things that people in the US would not understand about South America. You can read that story here:
https://www.westchesterreview.com/l-vocem
Acentos Review: https://acentosreview.squarespace.com/l-vocem
So I have a feeling that 2024 is going to be an even more momentous year.
Congratulations on a long-awaited success! I've heard only great things about Westchester Review and look forward to reading your story.
They were really hands-on, like in the old days of Gordon Lish and editors really worked with the writer to make the work even better. It's quite interesting because then you get a story placed on a different publication and you only hear from them to tell you the day it comes out. Either way, I am happy.
Happy New Year everyone,
In December, my story 'Mermaids for Seahorses' came out in Sequestrum after 20 previous rejections and a few revisions between groups of rejections. This was my first paid acceptance and the editor was great to work with. He always responded to my emails and was very friendly, encouraging and supportive. Sequestrum periodically publishes reprints and they also do short author interviews to go with the pieces.
https://www.sequestrum.org/fiction-mermaids-for-seahorses
Congratulations!
Nice!!
A story that is in my forthcoming book (So as Not to Die Alone, Finishing Line Press) and was a Finalist in the London Independent Story Prize 2022 will be included in their 2023 anthology. Here’s the link: https://www.londonindependentstoryprize.co.uk/post/reunion-by-lisa-johnson-mitchell
Thought your name sounded familiar! Congratulations on your book and LISP award! I look forward to reading your story.
Oh my goodness, you are too kind - thank you! Now - you! Your site and CV blew my grey-covered-with-blonde-old-gal hair back! Brava! I look forward to your thoughts on my story, if you care to share! ❤️
Wonderful news!
Aaaw, thank you so much! ❤️
My novel excerpt "A Wall of Masks" just came out in the journal L=Y=R=A. I logged another 11 declines. I've got about 35 things out. Happy new year everyone!
Huge congrats!
Poem that I wrote last year was just published in Consilience! This poem was rejected by a dozen other places, then I found Consilience Journal through the Full House Lit newsletter and noticed their issue theme this month fit my poem. Link below:
https://www.consilience-journal.com/issue-15-light-years-away
I am so glad it found a perfect home
Here is a link to one of the short stories I had published this year (You Don't Know How I Get in Reckon Review): https://reckonreview.com/you-dont-know-how-i-get/. This was my first time submitting to this particular venue. I highly recommend it, especially for anyone writing literary fiction; the editors especially like stories with a little "grit." Cheers to you all and best wishes for 2024!
I love Reckon and this story! Congrats!
Poignant and sad, one woman tutored by loss, the other tethered to depression and delusion. Fine details, Heather.
You are so very kind - thank you LindaAnn!!
Wow, a deep, dark, powerful story of secrets and pain--and friendship that can't save a soul in danger.
i'm so grateful to you for reading - Happy New Year
Same to you!
It has been a good December...
- The Yard: Crime Blog published a retro noir early in the month. "The Sunny Side of the Street" - https://theyardcrimeblog.com/2023/12/08/the-sunny-side-of-the-street-police-fiction/ - This one, written in March 2022, took a while to find a home. 5 subs before an acceptance. And then everybody tells me they love it... go figure.
- I had a holiday (ahem) story at Shotgun Honey. "Gift Wrapped" - https://shotgunhoney.com/fiction/gift-wrapped-by-m-e-proctor/ - They only accept max 700 words, which is always tough. The editor sent a call to their authors (Shotgun Honey will publish my PI novel next year), saying they had room for a topical story. I wrote it in 2 days and they liked it, so, boom!
And reviews are coming in, slowly as these things tend to do, for the short story collection. "Family and Other Ailments" (it's a steal at 3.99 on the zone: https://www.amazon.com/Family-Other-Ailments-Crime-Stories-ebook/dp/B0CD4S8ZL2/)
I had a "lifetime" year in 2023 for which I am very grateful, my graphic memoir was republished by Impspired Press https://www.amazon.com/dp/1915819571? and my first and second poetry books were published Lyrical Years (Kelsay) https://www.amazon.com/Lyrical-Years-Gary-D-Grossman/dp/1639802630/ref=sr_1_3 and What I Meant to Say Was... (Impspired) https://www.amazon.com/What-I-Meant-Say-Was/dp/1915819431/ref=sr_1_1 . Both of these presses are very easy to work with, and Kelsay seems to publish many author's first books so don't be shy. Lots of pubs in reviews and I particularly like MacQueen's Quinterly and Verse-Virtual. Responses are quick and editors very easy to work with. Medusa's Kitchen is another review with those characteristics. I tend to submit to reviews that take no longer than 60 days and I always submit simultaneously, except to Poetry Breakfast which doesn't allow that, but responds within a few days so those subs don't hold up my submissions much. If you're new to the poetry world, both of my books are composed of poems that were both previously published and new and the publisher will tell you which ratio they want. Kelsay is around 50% IIRC and I don't think Impspired has a set ratio. I had three or four rejections of the ms. for What I Meant to Say... prior to Impspired's acceptance and a few for Lyrical Years. I put all my published work on my Medium blog, which is full of writing info/advice/pieces and worth the $5 a month membership IMO. I think they do give four free reads a month if you don't want to join. My blog is https://garydavidgrossman.medium.com/ . You can sign up for the Medium newsletter for free and Erica Verrillo publishes a monthly list of reviews looking for submissions so it's worth signing up just for that. Have a great publication/writing year everyone.
Congrats, Gary on a great year!
Congratulations, Gary--what a year!
My poem "Come Lie With Me" was published in The Passionfruit Review on December 1, 2023. Here's a link to my poem: https://passionfruitreview.com/nancy-p-hesting/. I hope you enjoy it.
I published a long short story (7000 words or so) called Flowering in the Summer 2023 issue of The Opiate (https://issuu.com/theopiatemagazine/docs/the_opiate_vol._34.) This was the longest piece I've ever published. I think maybe 20 people read the story but I was still very happy with it. I submitted it to 5-10 publications I found on Duotrope before it was accepted (I now rely more on SubClub). Thank you, Becky, for this opportunity to share and brag! Happy and healthy 2024 and thank you for doing what you do. I love this space.
Long stories are hard to place. Bravo. I published a very long story, 8,000 words, called "London Ghosts" in Black Sheep. I knew it would be a hard sell, but I'm delighted with the print magazine.
Lev, did your story get published on line as well? If so, could you share the link?
Thanks for asking. It's a reprint from Bewildering Stories: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue987/lost_london1.html
Awesome! I will read it.
Just started your story and OMG I love the structure, the edgy tone, and your gift for imagery is awesome. How did you get the idea of working with flowers throughout? If you don't mind sharing?
Lev, I just read your story, which I loved---please see my notes above. Re flowers in my story: There was a time in late 2018/early 2019 when I was buying a lot of flowers from Trader Joe's and tracking how they did in our apartment. I tried to weave the flower log into a short story but it didn't work or at least didn't work well enough. Three years later, I tried again. I also had in mind Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway---I took a class in graduate school where we studied it it and the professor said that he had a student who'd written her dissertation on the use of flowers in the novel. So I decided to try and turn the flowers into characters. It was much more fun than I expected it to be.
Lev, I just finished your story, which I loved.
I particularly loved your detailed descriptions of interiors and flowers, especially this paragraph:
A balcony filled with majolica pots of bright red, orange, and yellow begonias overlooked the quaint gated garden below, and their sweet spicy fragrance alone was like a vacation. There were towering, wide-spread lime trees with their lovely heart-shaped leaves inside the gates, cozy-looking benches, graveled paths, and a profusion of flowers my garden-loving mother would have appreciated: lush peonies, foxglove, phlox, clematis, lavender, larkspur, delphinium and her favorite: big fat roses. She had taught me their names as if imparting our family history, but I’d never had success growing anything more than a beard, and even that was just a chin strap.
I loved your use of weather and rugs as stressors in these paragraphs:
Tormented by hotter weather than I was prepared for, that second day, I opened all the windows for cross-ventilation and the flat rebelled. It summoned fierce winds that blasted right through the place, front to back, sweeping all my papers off the heavy round table I was using as a desk, ripping a shade half off the kitchen window downstairs and almost completely unraveling the paper towels from their rack.
All those pretty rugs weren’t tacked down in any way, so the longed-for cross-ventilation turned them into woolen landmines. Each one was tossed about and twisted onto itself or rumpled in ways guaranteed to make me fall on the highly waxed floors if I wasn’t hypervigilant about straightening them perfectly. And their fringes grabbed at my feet as I scuttled around the flat, trying to restore a minimum of order.
I also loved this observation about the narrator's sister:
We talked about the pub I had so quickly grown fond of because Ruth was a real foodie and, even when she’d been deeply depressed, a lovely bottle of wine and a delicious meal could move the needle.
I loved the humor and tension-producing here:
Staring at the iPhone after she ended the call, I cursed myself for not having gotten right to the point with Susan, asking her if anything weird had happened while she was living in the flat. But then I wondered if she would have told me the truth, all of it. And then there was a worse possibility: she might have shared my question with hostile members of the Department who would talk about me as some kind of nutjob. I couldn’t risk that with academic jobs disappearing faster than glaciers in Tibet and Switzerland.
I loved the narrator's love of museums here:
To truly clear my head, I called for an Uber to take me to the Tate Britain to see the Dante Gabriel Rossetti paintings and the Henry Moore sculptures. I grew up in Manhattan, and museums had always soothed me when I was upset about anything at all, whether they were crowded or not, as comforting as a long silent rest in a steam room and as sacred in their own way as churches. People there were also often hushed and reverential, perhaps aware that they had crossed into a different space, a different reality. Museums so often gave me room to breathe.
Finally, I loved the ending! Upsetting and powerful and I didn't see it coming, which I loved! Thanks for writing and sharing.
Thanks for reading and for your comments. I'd actually had the idea for that story since around 2017 and was inspired to write it as more and more of my essays (and some stories) were accepted and published. Working on it was fun!
PS--I didn't recognize some of the passages. It's been a while. :-)
Tried to read it in The Opiate, Laura, but Issuu (dot) com would not let me sign in / create account. Strange.
But big congrats.
Linda, thank you for trying! I find the Opiate website hard to navigate. Here is the link again.
https://issuu.com/theopiatemagazine/docs/the_opiate_vol._34
Thank you, Laura.
Here's what I learned: Issuu had blocked access after someone had complained about racy and "objectionable content."
Finally, I found the way to get past the stone guardians. :-)
Oh boy, thank you for letting me know, Linda. I had no idea. I was kind of wondering about that message when I logged in yesterday. thank you for persevering!
I found the site, athinsliceofanxiety, on authors publish and submitted a poem. The editor accepted it right away and published it a few days later.
http://www.athinsliceofanxiety.com/2023/12/poetry-working-crisis-hotline-by-dianne.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR0qb4VqqIHmzszXlYuKp72WkdOr8LuTImvIebHAwHQqjO3dsXoqHz2TKoA
Becky, as always, I thank you for giving us this opportunity, but for once my ego is asleep while my soul awakens-- and my soul wishes all of you a most productive and blessed 2024!
The world today is truly more dangerous than it has ever been [even compared to the Cuban Missile Crisis when I was 15 and for a week it seemed WWIII might go off]. And there is a miasma of anxiety, depression, despair spreading the globe, all because it seems many of us have forgotten we are actually immortal beings, each an endless consciousness, 'traveling' for a time in a fragile vessel. And if you don't believe that, think about how it is your words enter another's mind, being, and yes, maybe even soul.....
Vayan con Dios, todos--
Nolo Segundo
I'm excited to share that my personal essay, "By Vespa through Sardinia" was published at https://causticfrolic.org/current-issue/ on p. 95. It was a themed issue (on "Coda", which the editors defined as the final movement, the closing statement, the concluding brushstroke ... explore the art of resolution, conclusion, and the lingering resonance of ideas. How can the conclusion be a new beginning? How can the final brushstroke contain multitudes?”) -- and the theme resonated so with me that that's when I knew I had to submit there.
The "friendship" described within was the initial trigger for the piece, when several years ago I tried writing a series of essays about my difficult adult friendships with women. I re-conceived the essay when taking a class on submitting to the NYT's Modern Love this March. Upon their rejection, I reiterated and reiterated it, expanded it, shifted the focus, polished it some more. And then the first place I'd submitted, a grad student-run journal at NYU, accepted it. I quickly withdrew it from a number of (actually more renowned, top-tier) places I'd submitted it to.
Another publication this year that I'm quite proud of is a personal spoken word and piano essay. Inspired by The Decadent Review's invitation to write about Dmitri Shostakovich, I revisited his Preludes and Fugues, op. 87 on the piano, a piece I've explored for years, which led me to two beautiful novels which imagine Shostakovich's psyche, as well as to look into historical and musicological perspectives on the work. https://thedecadentreview.com/corpus/tangled-web-of-relationships-24-preludes-and-fugues-op-87-by-dmitri-shostakovich/
I'm so happy for you, Nancy--the essay captures a turning point in your life so elegantly.
My flash nonfiction story, Warming Up, was published in the December edition of The Mantelpiece https://issuu.com/themantelpiece/docs/themantelpiece_december_2023. This was the 30th time I'd pitched this piece, so big shout out to The Mantelpiece for looking favourably on it.
Persistence pays off. I've had some of my best writing ever multiply rejected until the right editor resonated to it, often very quickly.
So true, Lev-- I take a shotgun approach, metaphorically speaking, and just blast out as many as I can, so long as it doesn't cost more than a stamp or two. I know we're supposed to target [hmm, does this need a trigger warning?] but who likes what in any creative field is a subjective experience-- and if they shoot me down [sorry!] I just say, 'their loss'.
Lovely, quiet piece. Congrats, Rose.
Thank you.
Rose, I clicked on your link, but was unable to find your story.
If you can bring up the cover page, you should be able to tap the arrow at the right-hand side to advance the pages until you get to my story.
After several rejections this year (I made about 30 submissions), the year finished on an upswing! I won my first literary prize - The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction – and received a very encouraging note from another lit mag editor telling me one of my stories came close to being a semi-finalist for a long-story contest and that they'd like to see more of my work! Just the encouragement I needed to motivate me to commit to being more consistent in my submitting in 2024. Here is the story in The Letter Review: https://letterreview.com/the-dinner-new-short-fiction-by-lori-miller-kase/
What a great way to end the year! Winning a prize is so affirming. I won a prize for my first collection and it really buoyed me through my early years of career.
My 100 word micromemoir was one of 13 finalists out of 170 submissions for a contest from Five Minutes. It's my second piece published with them and I can't sing their praises enough. Susanna, the editor, is easy to work with and she does a great job building community. She promotes her contributors on social and in a newsletter. She shares when her contributors have work published in other magazines. And she offers the opportunity to work as a reader. I'll be serving my second stint in January. If you write CNF, I encourage you try Five Minutes.
https://www.fiveminutelit.com/five-minutes/away-and-back
Followed Lev's lead on this. Congrats!
Read and commented on at the site. Bravo!
Lev, that was so nice of you to take the time to read and comment. Thanks so much!
I loved it! I just had a micro essay accepted and the form for CNF or fiction fascinates me.
Mazel tov! Let us know when it will be published so we can look for it.
It just came out today, January 1, in Corvus Review. It's on p. 21. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/611fabd3-8220-45e3-bf9d-d2a394260000/downloads/Corvus%20Winter%2023.pdf?ver=1704128122822
And a shout-out to one of my very favourite editors this year, Cathy Ulrich of Milk Candy Review. She recently sent a lovely message thanking me for my contribution to her magazine in 2023. And, as she always does, even on rejections, she added a line that was personal and showed that she remembered the piece. She is a gem. You too are a gem, Becky. Thank you!
I had two this month: a sci-fi story, "Sickle Dance", in Voices of the Winter Solstice, and a hermit crab story, “The Cigarette Ash Column Between Her Fingers Is About to Crumble”, in The /tƐmz/ Review.
https://constancemalloy.com/2023/12/21/voices-of-the-winter-solstice-ii-the-ending-place/
https://www.thetemzreview.com/worrell.html
Loved them, Jennifer! (I think I got a leg stuck between my teeth, though.) Congrats!
LMAO thank you!!
Dear Friends,
December was a good month for my poetry. And 2023 was exciting because I found publishers for prose and poetry that I had written years ago and revised recently.
My tanka “Cedar Waxwings” appeared in Eucalypt #35 (2023) on page 26. This tanka journal is based in Australia.
Cold Moon Journal published my haiku “Coyote” and “Muffin Top” on December 11, 2023. The link is
https://coldmoonjournal.blogspot.com/ You can find my poems by searching for "Heller" or by scrolling to the date of December 11.
My senryu “Birthday Visitors” appeared in failed haiku 8, #96 (December 2023), and the link is https://failedhaiku.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/failedhaikuissue96.pdf My poems are toward the end of this issue.
I was happy to have three full-length poems published in one journal: “Mother-in-Law on the Phone,” “Snow Woman in Portage,” and “Mark’s Progress II” appeared in Live Encounters Poetry & Writing (January 2024). Although the date of this issue is "January 2024," it got posted in December 2023. Here is the link: https://liveencounters.net/2024-le-pw/01-january-le-pw-2024/janet-ruth-heller-mother-in-law-on-the-phone/
Best wishes for 2024 to everyone!
Janet Ruth Heller
Author of the poetry books Nature’s Olympics (Wipf and Stock, 2021), Exodus (WordTech Editions, 2014), Folk Concert: Changing Times (Anaphora Literary Press, 2012) and Traffic Stop (Finishing Line Press, 2011); the scholarly book Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, and the Reader of Drama (University of Missouri Press, 1990); the middle-grade chapter book for kids The Passover Surprise (Fictive Press, 2015, 2016); and the award-winning picture book for kids about bullying, How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale, 2006; seventh edition 2022).
My website is https://www.janetruthheller.com/
Congratulations, Janet, on a great year!
Congratulations, Janet, on such an inspiring year!
35 rejections and one acceptance. Proudly placed my story "Monster Monster" in the Winter Issue of Epiphany. They loved it but thought it ended a fuller ending. They were right. Chris, Miracle, and Noreen were all great to work with. A terrific experience..
Good editing is a gift!
My co-authored kids' book about bullying and self-esteem that's sold over 300,000 copies has been published in China, which makes for 15 translations and I got four copies of it this month without knowing they were coming. It looks lovely.
65: That will be the number of essays I'll have published (including reprints) in the last two and half years when Paranormal Magazine prints another true-life ghost story from me in their February issue. It was accepted and scheduled this past month. They do gorgeous art work. The following entries are just for December since I've posted my tallies in previous months.
Oddball, which had published a funny piece of mine last year, accepted "Streetwalker Stew" which is also written in that vein: https://oddballmagazine.com/oddball-stories-with-lev-raphael/ First line: "A sex worker taught my mother how to cook."
Lit Mag News published my piece about writing sex scenes, with examples of what to avoid and advice on what makes sex scenes work: https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/bad-sex-blues
The quirky and fun lit mag Roi Fainéant took my essay "Writer off the Road." I love their website.
My personal essay "Still Life With Pain" (https://kneebracepress.com/2023/11/30/still-life-with-pain/) appeared in Knee Brace Press's magazine ab0ut disability and chronic illness. I love the lit mag's title, found them via Chill Subs, and I wrote a substack about the essay itself here: https://levraphael.substack.com/p/still-life-with-pain
The editor of Halfway Down the Stairs said that "Dana Andrews Dream Suite" about my late father was "exactly what we want to be publishing"--and more. I was delighted. Of the dozens of essays I've published in the last 2+ years, this is one of my absolute favorites: https://halfwaydownthestairs.net/2023/12/01/dana-andrews-dream-suite-by-lev-raphael/ This one went through several title changes.
Sybil accepted a reprint of my essay "Plan B: Liberation" under the title "Honey from the Rock" to be published early next year. Here's the first appearance: https://writewithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Plan-B.pdf
At the end of my recent workshop on personal essays for Rochester Writers, I shared a micro essay and gave people a theme, regret. I worked on one along with the group. Slightly revised, it's been accepted by Corvus Review which I'm fairly sure I found via the Author Publish newsletter. It will be out January 1.
Loving this group. Happy New Year to Becky and to all!
What a collection of inspiring successes! Rays of hope! I had two short pieces accepted this year - The Globe and Mail (Canada's national newspaper) and ROOM Magazine - both print format, so no links, but thrilled just the same. Wishing everyone writing and publishing success for 2024, and for a little more peace in our world.
Alyson, definitely thrillworthy! Congratulations! The print-only venues bring up an interesting question, probably for a lot of us. I saw that Room put their third-place contest winner from a previous year online, but not first- or second-place. I wonder if contributors are included in the decision-making. Please comment if inclined. If not, wishing you a great revel in your notable successes!
A writer I work with won a second prize and was not consulted about the piece not being online at all. She assumed it would be and so did I.
I love seeing my work in print, though it's great to have a link to share. The best of both worlds is a mag that has an online presence and prints too. One of my favorite art-related essays got both: https://glreview.org/cold-marble-hot-memories/
I love seeing it in print too--find it hard to cuddle with the laptop! But yes, the best of all possible world is both online and print.