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Jan 28, 2023·edited Jan 29, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

"Rendezvous in Bruxelles" was recently published in Memoirist and got a few hundred views pretty quickly (I haven't checked lately). I liked the website and what I read there so it seemed like a good choice. This is one of five new essays about my late Holocaust survivor mother published in the last year+. I was in Bruxelles, where she lived after WWII, to research her life and meet students from the school she taught in. The whole experience was mind-blowing for me. https://www.memoirist.org/post/rendezvous-in-bruxelles-by-lev-raphael

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Jan 28, 2023·edited Jan 28, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

My essay “Queer Elegies and Climate Mourning: Marc Swanson's Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco" won the Gulf Coast Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing. I was definitely very surprised to win, and very grateful. You can find the essay here (and it’s also coming in the Spring print issue of the journal):

https://gulfcoastmag.org/contests/the-beauchamp-prize/

This is a lighting-in-a-bottle moment, I think. I wrote a review of the art exhibition for Sculpture Magazine (630 words) but didn’t feel done with it, there was more to say from my own personal standpoint about growing up queer in a small town in the shadow of the Klan and other historical and contemporary violence. Plus climate change. So I kept writing and wound up at 1450-ish words. I think the very timely topics plus the personal combined with the historical and the current art lead to a win in a very specific contest. I want to stress that: the contest was very niche. I’ll take the win all the same.

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I'm happy to share that I was a finalist in Iron Horse Literary Review's annual PhotoFinish contest (short, ekphrastic pieces based on a photo prompt). My flash fiction entry appears in the contest issue: https://issuu.com/ironhorsereview/docs/ihlr_2022_photofinish

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Dear Becky and fellow Lit Maggers:

First, congratulations to everyone who continues to have the unmitigated chutzpah to keep writing and submitting in a world that seems to have little time for our art. You are my heroes.

Five days ago, Sojournal: One Image One Story published a piece I wrote especially for this Australian digital mag. I saw the call for travel writing and black and white photos and took it as a challenge to finally write about a graffito I photographed last August in La Candelaria, Bogotá. The title, "Rescátame del olvido" (Rescue me from oblivion) haunted me after this trip during which I learned much about the traumatic violence Colombians have endured for well over fifty years. It's the first time I have ever written specifically for a call for submissions. You can read it here: https://www.sojournal.com.au/post/resc%C3%A1tame-del-olvido?postId=cc681754-0ac7-42db-9bef-d69f31cd4086

Also, my second book-length translation, Arrhythmias by Mexican Jewish writer Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, was launched this past Thursday (Literal Publishing and Hablemos, escritoras 2022). 32 essays ponder memory, philosophy, exile (the author’s family fled the Spanish Civil War and the Holocaust), and the horrible, beautiful 20th century. I think you all will like it. https://literalmagazine.com/arrhythmias-2/

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With regrets that I am not able to continue my paid subscription due to severe limitation of discretionary funds this coming year, I'm happy to share my most recent publication in POETRY NI+ (Northern Ireland)'s Holocaust Remembrance Day online 'pamphlet'. Pleased to have "Klezmer" among other respected poets' work. https://rancididols.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/9/7/2697541/poems_for_hmd2023_ordinary_people.pdf

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Excited to get "We Owned the Night" published in MUTHA Magazine! I chose the magazine because they published pieces about all things "Mutha"-- families, dysfunction, children, etc. So impressed with their editorial staff and absolutely love the photos they added to my piece. Publishing there led to an invite on a podcast and a paid keynote speaking engagement, which are all SUPER helpful in building my author platform as I query lit agents. The piece has been read far and wide and gotten more comments than most pieces on their platform!

MUTHA is willing to publish pieces from your blog, which is also wonderful because you can get some mileage out of all the hard work you've done in publishing on your own site! Check them out!

https://www.muthamagazine.com/2023/01/we-owned-the-night/

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The Arlington Literary Journal just published my short story, "The Deep Blue Sea," at https://www.arlijo.com/post/issue-170#viewer-cidul.

Why did I choose them? They seem respectable, and their guidelines indicated they might be sympathetic to this story, with its themes of work, class, race, development, and comradeship.

A bonus I did not know of till the issue was released is that they chose a photo to illustrate it that was taken near the setting of the story. Nice touch.

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This month was an exceptional one, with publications ranging from 260 word prose poems to single sentence poems. Communalities, One Sentence Poems, January 4

2023 - Sketchy Old Man, Moss Piglet January p.57

2023 - When You Stood There, The Journal of Radical Wonder, January 15

2023 - Fountain Pens Will Improve Your Life, The Journal of Radical Wonder, February 2

2023 - Trout Fishing Warwoman Creek, Georgia, The Journal of Radical Wonder, February 9

2023 - Ambivalent About Crows, Medusa's Kitchen, January 25

2023 - Colonoscopy, Medusa's Kitchen, January 25

2023 - Clicking on the Heart, Medusa's Kitchen, January 25

2023 - Lessons From the Zen Poet, Medusa's Kitchen, January 25

2023 - Off Blue Sky, Medusa's Kitchen, January 25

2023 - The Couch, Medusa's Kitchen, January 25

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I'm happy to report that my short story "The Universe Is So Amazing" was published in the November, 2022 issue of Drunk Monkeys. https://www.drunkmonkeys.us/issue-711-november-2022 It started out as a simple exercise in voice and grew from there.

Initially, I responded to a Drunk Monkeys' call for submissions for a culture issue. They responded rather quickly, saying it didn't suit for that call but liked the story and asked to save it for a future issue. I agreed and, about ten months later, here it came.

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Jan 28, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

I wrote a short essay for WOW-Women on Writing, and they picked it up. It came out yesterday, in fact.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2023/01/friday-speak-out-this-is-how-it-begins.html

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After a long and winding road of "We really like this, but..." style responses, my story "All God's Children" was published this month by Necessary Fiction. While it features different characters, it was a first take on a story idea that eventually became my second novel A Better Heart, published by Black Rose Writing.

http://necessaryfiction.com/stories/all-gods-children/

Also in January, "Pool Party at Captain Jack's" was published in the debut issue of Wrong Turn Lit.

https://wrongturnlit.substack.com/p/pool-party-at-captain-jacks

Though it's still not out in the world yet, I saw the cover for my book on Kurt Vonnegut. Talking Vonnegut: Centennial Interviews and Essays is due soon from McFarland.

Thanks to all of the writers who shared below. I've added several new things to my reading list.

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My bilingual short story "May We Be Named" was selected as an honorable mention for the 2022 Somos en escrito Extra-Fiction Contest and is now available to read here: https://www.somosenescrito.com/fiction-ficcioacuten/so-they-sold-their-names

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Jan 28, 2023·edited Jan 29, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

This year, I was pleased when Prairie Fire Magazine published a short story of mine, "man in a white car redux", which I'd been struggling to write and publish for at least twenty years. One of those had-to-get-it-out stories that finally got out in a way that connected with others. I chose Praire Fire because they were having an Uncharted Territory issue and also because they publish out of my birthtown of Winnipeg. It felt a bit like going home to a place I haven't been since I was five. Getting this story published by Praire Fire changed my life. I'll always be grateful.

https://www.prairiefire.ca/shop/spring-2022-volume-43-no-1/

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Jan 28, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

"Dodo," my poem published by Common Ground Review: https://www.cgreview.org/magazine/dodo in January 2023's online issue (Fall/Winter 2022) will appeal to writers, so I encourage you to read it, please and thank you!

I delve into my process of writing 'Dodo' in my Substack post: https://dianamullins.substack.com/p/dodo

My other writing published last year: "Log Cabin," a short story published by Bridge Eight Press; "SELF," a poem published by Porcupine Literary; and "Plasma," a CNF piece published in Ruminate's 'At Sea' issue are linked here on my website: https://www.dianamullins.com/

I invite you to read posts in my Substack: 'Diana Says...'

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I haven't had any journal or book publication news this month, but I think of equal merit (for me and all of you) is the putting-stuff-out-there stats: twenty journal submissions, book proposals, contest entries so far for 2023. Also a new substack-supported, serialized story with drawings, called "Explosion in a Mask Factory."

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Two big highlights for this month:

1. I am now a volunteer editor at 101 Words https://101words.org/ Check out this great site. Free to enter and feedback guaranteed, which is a rarity indeed.

2. I have launched my own 250 word prompt response page called Min Min, providing a community for fearless and fun writers. Find out more at https://sixcrookedhighways.com/about-min-min/

In other news, I've had 4 poems accepted for February by the quirkily named 'Rejection Letters' https://rejection-letters.com/ and two by the Shotglass Journal https://www.musepiepress.com/shotglass/index.html . I've also had a piece published in 50 Word Stories http://fiftywordstories.com/2023/01/12/doug-jacquier-out-here/ and, of course, a CNF story on the inestimable LitMag News itself. https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/the-poet-who-wasnt-there-but-became?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=165591&post_id=96133423&isFreemail=false&utm_medium=email

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Jan 28, 2023·edited Jan 28, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

My January brag (sans publication) is placing as a semifinalist for the North American Review's Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize for a second straight year with "Terrafir," my 2023 submission.

https://northamericanreview.org/open-space/awards-2023-kurt-vonnegut-speculative-fiction-prize

I've chosen to submit to NAR each year because a) I'm a fan of Vonnegut's work, b) I, too, went to Cornell, and c) it's one of the few speculative fiction prizes I've identified in non-genre literary journals.

I'll be working on resubmitting my piece to other journals after a thorough revision. Read more at https://robertwalikis.com

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Jan 28, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

I submitted to Moot Point Magazine because their About page said their poetry editor liked the gothic and weird. After reading the poems on their website, I decided one of mine might be a good fit. They promise a quick response and it was. Their poetry editor was excellent to work with. A five-star experience-- https://www.mootpointmagazine.com/post/unrepentant-confessions-of-mammals-consuming

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

Hello, I've just subscribed.

My poem "Losing the Fog" was published this month in Heimat Review's second issue: https://heimatreview.weebly.com/losing-the-fog.html . This is a new online journal; I liked the content and the layout of the first issue. The editor, Hannah Cole Orsag, was friendly and collaborative. It's clear she wants authors to be pleased with how their work appears in her journal.

I had some negative experiences in the past, with line breaks being changed in one poem and another piece being right-justified, without asking me about the changes. Another journal placed my poem on a page next to someone's else's work that was not a good fit. So I am taking a careful look before submitting, and I appreciate how Orsag handled things.

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I have two poems published in December 2022’s Indigenous EcoPoetry edition of Under a Warm Green Linden. They’re called “Constellation and Aurora” and “The Fern Yard.” https://www.greenlindenpress.com/issue14-shantell-powell

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Asking my ego to 'brag', Becky, is like letting some wild untamed beast out of its cage-- but since you asked: I have been fortunate enough in my golden--o.k. more like rusting years, to have been published in 132 different lit mags the past 6 years, in 11 countries [including unexpected ones like Sweden and Turkey]. Even more amazing [truly], my trade publisher in December put out a 3rd book of my poems, titled 'Soul Songs' and he let me end it with a mini-memoir on the NDE I had after I jumped into a Vermont river 52 years ago to try to escape a clinical depression, and discovered that what poets have called the 'soul' for thousands of years--was real. Hence the title of the book, and the previous two: The Enormity of Existence [2020] and Of Ether and Earth [2021]. Why it's taken me a 1/2 century to share this, and create the words evoking a sense of ourselves as both mortal and immortal beings, I can't say.

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

I published my first "real" reported article in Thrillist, a publication I've been reading for years and years, so definitely a win in my book. Right after publishing, I received an email that they are no longer running the food section, so mine may've been one of the last. They still run travel.

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/what-is-chinese-chorizo

I also published a flash nonfiction essay-- lots of trigger warnings, so read with discretion.

https://www.dorothyparkersashes.com/crime/noose

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Jan 28, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

well a lit mag of sorts, all music. Today they published my sixth piece for them and well now they call me 'their writer'. Yes, there is no shortage today of online mags that will let you write for them for free! LOL! https://www.botheringtheband.com/blog/bothering-the-band-the-next-doors-pasadena

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

The journal Five Points recently published my poem "Spanish Moss." I submitted it last February and heard from them exactly two months later. I sent it to Five Points because they're based in South Carolina and that is where I saw Spanish moss for the first time. It was that experience which inspired the poem. It's not online, otherwise I would share it. Seeing it in print helps to make up for the sea of rejections.

Becky, I really enjoyed your interview with Sacha Idell from The Southern Review. He helped reinforce the idea that writers just have to persevere!

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

Hi all- I'm new to this group. At the beginning of this month Memoir Monday was kind enough to feature my essay, "Ghost Stories, Master Race," first published in Salvation South: https://www.salvationsouth.com/ghost-stories-master-race-virginia-eugenics/

https://memoirmonday.substack.com/p/fifteen-personal-essays-to-ease-you

Salvation South is the new-ish magazine by Chuck Reece, co-founder of The Bitter Southerner who has a weekly podcast on NPR featured on All Things Considered and Morning Edition, in Georgia.

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I have a 50–word story in The Dribble Drabble Review 2023, Issue VII on pg. 41, "Five Hours After Annie Leibowitz's Portrait, John's Shot Dead" https://www.flipsnack.com/AB7B77BBDC9/the-dribble-drabble-review-2023-issue-vii.html

I sent Keith Hoerner the founder and editor several dribbles based on photos and he chose this one to publish. I've published with him before—he's fast and supportive and puts out a terrific publication plus highlights different writers and nominates for awards. The dribbles that he turned down are under consideration at other pubs & I hope they soon find homes.

Congrats to everyone writing, submitting, and publishing. I've got your links and look forward to a lovely week of reading!

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

My flash suite “South Florida” was published this month by Moot Point Magazine. After reading the lit mag, it seemed the perfect home for a nostalgic Florida story. The editors actively promoted the work on social media and I was most impressed by their use of Insta story. It’s a gorgeous lit mag!

https://www.mootpointmagazine.com/post/south-florida

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch

A poem in Triggerfish Critical Review 29 https://triggerfishcriticalreview.com/issue-29/ in which my spouse, artist and poet Diane Corson, also has three poems and is the featured artist. Most of the images in the issue are hers and her interview is in the issue, as well. I'm so proud of her art and poetry! Two poems in Heimat Review Issue 2, https://heimatreview.weebly.com/issue-2-winter.html.

So it's been a good month for both of us.

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. One month ago I got a message from Musenewspaper, an online with mag place. They apologized for being late, two years late, then said a flash fiction I'd sent( 497) had won a prize and woulld be published on and in print and I'd get a copy . Last week I saw it on line with a dynamite graphic. The story, "The Dream of A Nothing Special Kid" is part of a pointillstic about growing up in a Brooklyn project during the McCarthy period in the nineteen fifties when hundreds of people lost their jobs and/or were blacklisted as Elvis Presley sang a cleaned up version of Big Mama Thornton's You Aint Nothing But A Hound Dog and Paull Anka sang You Are My Destiny and rowds on infuriated whites screamed at black kids trying to go to school and lynched one, Emest Till for allegedly whistling at a white woman and Graham Greene wrote a horror story The Quiet American about Vietnam

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This comment isn't a brag -- no acceptances to brag about recently -- but perhaps an odd request. In 2015, I had a poem published in an online journal called Grapes & Cake. O.K., that was great. The problem is that Grapes & Cake went defunct and left no trace of itself on the internet. The journal didn't use Submittable; everything was done via email. Those emails are long gone. And I don't know what the poem was. I have this lingering fear that I might be sending out a poem that was already published but of which no record exists. Has anyone else encountered this sort of issue with other magazines? And does anyone have a clue as to how I might retrieve the knowledge of what the poem was in the now disappeared Grapes & Cake? Thanks....

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Really, who haven't you interviewed, Becky? It's impressive. Trish is now managing editor and I have taken her place.

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I didn't get anything published, but I became the fiction editor at Philadelphia Stories.

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I would like to know how much you all respond to themed calls for submissions vs. general submissions.

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Wow. The students in my mother's school in Bruxelles were all hidden children. Good luck with your novel.

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I spent the entire covid period gathering poems Ive written since the holiday season of 1964. It is a collection of sections: familyy Holocast memories, family portraits, bedpan briigade poems ( ( I worked in hospitals for 14 years (to pay bills, no altruism involved), The Middle East, nonnature haikus including The Black Lives Matters Hybrid Haikus ( egighteen published in 2021 in floweringsong press' anthology Good Cops, Bad Cop, varieties of racism unending ( for now), a small section of city poems aka aiyouwontfindamillionsiingingowllittlehouseontheprairiebighouseonthemountainmyfriendflickaoldyallerlasseletshaveyetonemorenaturepoemaboutthepurityofmountainsbeforeUnionCarbideFrackingIncGeorgiaPacific move in and here's to you Julia Butterly where's YOUR monie and better where's the movie about the victory at Standing Rock????? oooops better stop right now.. Before I leave y'all- a quick ad: BROOKLYN HEARTBASED POET SEEKS INEXPENSIVE ROOM TO RANT. CONTACT EBRILL69"GMAIL.COM. CONTACT HIM TOO IF YOU WOULD LIKE: A) An International Reading List of Fiction and Poetry, most of which most of you have not read because very few of your teachers k-IOWANYUWARRENWILSONCOLUMBIABROWN MFA plus PHDWK+ read "those" people ".

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--and congratulations on all your success! Saw you teach at MSU, so I thought I'd mention this piece I submitted ended up as part of a podcast that is now being shared among students studying social work at MSU. Such an unexpected consequence and audience. I'm sure you feel the same with all your international publishing. Amazing the audiences who find us!

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Thank you so much. Feels good to put work out thee that is helping others, too.

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Mazel tov, that's quite a run too. I have trouble publishing essays/short stories but will keep at it!

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I'd love to talk sometime...

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