You know what they say about June, right, friends? In like a lamb and out like a wayward porcupine on LSD.
Or something like that. It has certainly felt this way in my neck of the woods recently. The weather has been quite literally all over the map. A few days ago it was boiling hot. Yesterday as I waited for the bus I saw people walking around in winter coats! Several weeks back we had smoke-filled skies from Canadian wildfires that made my lungs and eyes burn the moment I stepped outside.
What is happening? Who knows. Is the world weird? Yes.
And yet, one thing is certain. Another month has passed, in all its mind-bending bizarro-atmosphere glory. And what I want to know right here and right now is: Where did you publish your work?
That’s right. We have arrived at the last weekend of the month. And you know what that means.
It’s time to celebrate you! Your passion, your perseverance, your curiosity, your determination, your big-hearted commitment to getting your words into the world.
Tell us.
Where did your stories/poems/essays/unclassifiables appear this month? Share the link(s)!
How did you find out about the journal that accepted your piece?
Had you submitted to them before?
Did you revise the piece as you sent it out or was it done and done? How long was it out on submission before it found its home?
Did you work with editors to make changes? What was your experience like?
I couldn’t believe Rattle picked up a Poets Respond submission of mine! I read an article about the women of Mauritania celebrating divorce as a rite of passage and knew I wanted to write a poem. I sent one off mid week, and then, on Friday, I was trying to go to sleep and something compelled me to go downstairs and get my laptop. I pulled up something else - some notes that were about 60% finished poem. I sat on the edge of my bathtub at midnight trying to finish something before the deadline. So when the acceptance came on Saturday morning, it had been less than 12 hours!!! (The midweek submission was rejected 😂)
So I really consider myself an essayist who occasionally writes a decent poem... recently I was speaking via email w Billy Collins (name drop-- ) who asked me about my poetry and I said “honestly Billy, I write about one a year” to which he held back his response with adept comic timing difficult to achieve via email ... before responding “One a year? That must be some poem!” So two of those one a year poems got submitted a long while ago to The Rumpus and this week they published them https://therumpus.net/sections/blogs/poetry-2/ It’s the fucking RUMPUS which I’ve been an adoring reader but never a contributor to ... until lst Thursday. The editor in chief was the editor and she was beyond lovely (which autocorrects to “lively” and she was that too) -- thanks anyone for reading here but moreso for reading my Twitter promo on it (@jbrookewrites) and liking because when it comes to social media I’m often that tree falling in the forest with no one around...
Jun 24, 2023·edited Jun 24, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch
It's been such a crazy weather month here in Michigan and I've been thinking of the Talking Heads line: "Air can hurt you too." So I've sort of lost track of what's happened acceptance-wise, though I'm just one away from having 50 essays and short stories published in under two years.
The Wave recently took an essay about my father in the kitchen and it was the perfect home because the editing notes made me expand and deepen it. That's due next month. I love their website for the content and the photos they tie to each piece: https://www.kelpjournal.com/thewave. Four lit mags had passed on it and I'm glad they did, because the revised version is so much better.
Thanks as always for this opportunity, Becky. I have a micro up in 101 Words, which I discovered on Duotrope. I received an acceptance in 5 weeks. I disagreed with a proposed edit, and the editor respected my wishes. There was no submission fee or payment, but I think they offer payment if a piece is later selected for the print anthology. They seem to have stopped promoting publications on Twitter as of April 2023, but there's often robust discussion about the pieces on the 101 Words website, which is nice. Overall, a good experience. Here's the link:
Well, June has been good to me because I have finally manged to publish a small, rather idiosyncratic collection of poems, at the ripe old age of 86 and available here:
I really only began to write with any regularity in my old age and just before the pandemic hit and during that time I managed to publish some 80 poems and 10 pieces of flash fiction.
Hi everyone! I discovered this beautiful lit mag on Twitter. I’ve had a flash story up here before - this is my second. The editor is a love. The piece is based on probably one of the worst days of my life. That said, the act of writing has helped me process the pain, at least, a little. Godspeed to all and happy weekend! ❤️https://fictivedream.com/2023/05/05/big-love/
I have been a big big fan of The Rumpus for many years, so this is a dream pub. I think I kept tinkering with the piece as I sent it out, but I knew all the main parts were there. I worked with an editor over the course of a few weeks to get the flow of the story just right, which I am endlessly grateful for. The final product is something I am incredibly proud of, and I feel so fortunate to have worked with a wonderful journal.
I mentioned this in the Chill Subs Discord last week, but why not mention it here as well... 😂 So, I'm a nonfiction writer who LOVES to read horror. Back before the pandemic, while on a writing retreat with my critique group and in response to a prompt, I tried my hand at writing a short horror story. It was long (about 8,000 words) and unwieldy and I felt very self-conscious about the slow pacing, but also I didn't think it was half bad? After eventually finishing it and running it through my critique group, I started to send it out on submission. As time passed and the rejections stacked up, I ran it through two more critique groups and a writing accountability partner. Over the years, it's been rejected by 12 different places. Some folks received the longer version. Some received a version I managed to cut down to... 5,000 words? Six thousand? I don't even know. But then last week, on Father's Day, I got a message that it had been accepted by a horror magazine I submitted to back in November 2021 (!). I can't for the life of me remember which version they have. Still, I was elated. I gasped so dramatically upon realizing it had finally found a home that my parents thought something was wrong. Does this mean I should try writing more fiction? 😂
Roy Beckemeyer's recent book of poetry attracted me immediately. (See The Currency of His Light.) I read and reviewed it within a very brief period of time. But here's the funny thing—I bragged about the book and my review to my sister. Except that email did not go to my sister, it went, mistakenly, to an editor whose name immediately preceded my sister's in my Contacts list. Within hours I received an email from him, the editor, saying he'd post the review in the next issue! I'd only just written it, and here it would soon appear online! I owned my mistake to the editor. He replied, "Ha, ha. It was well written, so I accepted it." Well, dear friends, that was one of the smoothest acceptances I've ever received. I can't say I learned much about writing in my interactions with that editor, except to be a bit more careful with my emails and to realize that Ms. Serendipity is ever active.
I also had poetry accepted in June by The Skipjack Review and On-the-High Literary Journal.
On a related note, I just registered for a poetry retreat in October with River Heron Review. I'm very excited about this. A long weekend getaway at The Barn at Boyds Mills Retreat Center in the Poconos and making some new poet friends -- should be fun!!
It’s difficult finding a home for grotesque poetry. After several years of nothing, I was actually considering starting my own when this popped up at the start of this year. I’m excited to see my poem, “Unconditional Love”, in print!
After all that it feels like rainforest today in NJ. I had a flash published last week!
All Existing Lit - it’s a first issue. This is my third time appearing in a first issue. I guess I’m lucky and thanks Chill Subs!
The crazy weather is fitting because I wrote this after a short hike in the fall. It’s about foliage and north winds. It was rejected 5x. This spring I revised it in a SmokeLong fitness group. I got some useful feedback. And now it’s summer!
I didn’t make major revisions just around the margins. I think I changed the order a little and cut out things like about the science of rain.
You can click on the link next to my name: What I Can See From Here
I wrote this many years ago, then forgot about it because it didn't find a home back then. I still like the twist in the tale. The Hyacinth Review has a pleasing mixture of words and pictures.
I’ve had several pieces accepted this month, but they haven’t gone to press yet. I sold a short story called “Wolf Mother” to Augur Magazine. We haven’t gone through editing yet. The issue doesn’t come out until this autumn. They published one of my poems a couple of years ago, and I enjoyed the process. https://www.augurmag.com
I also had a short story (“Monkey Business”) and three poems (“Anirniliit: Those Which Breathe,” “Nuliajuk’s Promise,” and “Seasons of the Nattiq”) accepted by Yellow Medicine Review. They should be out any time now. I went through copy editing and proofreading with them. They published some of my poetry a couple of years ago. https://www.yellowmedicinereviewstore.com/store/c1/Yellow_Medicine_Review_Fall_2022.html
I also had some CNF (“The Ghosts of Forests Past”) purchased by Solarpunk Magazine. We haven’t gone through editing yet. This will be my first time being published by them. https://solarpunkmagazine.com
In addition, I had/have two public readings this week. One was for Indigenous Peoples Day. I had a ~20-minute reading for that and read a short story and a flash fiction. The other is this afternoon, when I’ll be closing out the finale for my fellowship with the Vancouver Manuscript Intensive. I get ~3 minutes for that, which I find much trickier than a longer reading. I’ll have time to read a micro flash fiction
Two of my poems, "Firmament" and "White Lies," appear in the latest issue of 2River View. I love being published in print journals, but also appreciate the ease of sharing work that appears in online lit mags. Thanks, Becky, for creating this community of writers! I've learned a lot about submitting from the interviews and talks and posts. (I'm a professional oboist performing on historical instruments and have only recently become serious about submitting in a systematic way.) On Tuesday I got an acceptance from LEON Literary Review, but that poem won't appear until December.
Thanks for the opportunity to brag. I was notified a week ago that my essay won first place in the Doro Boehme Contest facilitated by Hypertext Magazine and will be published in their Fall 2023 issue. This will be my first published piece and I'm so grateful and excited to have my work shared with others. Last April, on my wedding anniversary vacation, I committed myself to writing, with the goal of having a collection of short stories published in the near future. This acknowledgement has boosted my motivation and salved the sting of so many rejections in the last few months :)
The essay started as a micro fiction that quickly became very personal. I don't write essays or creative non-fiction pieces, or I should say I haven't begun any stories with that intention, but the stories have a way of telling themselves which works best if I just let them go where they want to go.
I wish I could say what brought me to Hypertext Magazine, but I've been exploring so many literary magazines lately that I don't know exactly how I found it, only that I'm glad I did. They had such nice things to say about my piece, I considered printing up their words and framing them :D
Two poems were published in issue 16 of Fahmidan Journal (https://www.fahmidan.net/). Two were published in antonym (https://antonymlit.com/issues/). Both journals seem to use Google Drive as the host for the pdf version of their issues. It's probably less expensive than paying for each poem to have its own webpage and illustration. Has anyone else noticed more editors moving to this format?
My poem "Keep the Beat" was published in "Syncopation Literary Journal" online this month. Please use the drop-down menu for "Volume 2, Issue 3" at the top of the webpage. My poem is in the "Poetry: Part 2" section. I found out about this online literary journal through Facebook. https://syncopationliteraryjournal.wordpress.com/
On June 1st, two of my poems were published on Verse-Virtual, "A Dream About My Mother" and "Mycelia" (both reprints). This is my second time being published in this online community; the editor is wonderful and other poets there are friendly and supportive. I will continue submitting there, and also making friends with other poets. https://www.verse-virtual.org/2023/June/bernard-cynthia-2023-june.html
My villanelle, "Half the Night," was published in The Society of Classical Poets, also early in June. I don't remember how I found them. The editor was friendly, but they added a descriptor on the page with my poem without asking me. It says, "‘Half the Night’: A Poem on Growing Old" and I very much prefer that a poem not tell the reader up front what it's about. So that was a disappointment.
In mid-June, Tabula Rasa Issue #2 was published and includes a reprint of my poem "Living with the Elephant." https://tabularasareview.com/issue-2/. I found them on Twitter and the editor was helpful. That poem is dear to my heart since it was my first-ever publication, in May of last year, and the only piece I've ever been paid for ($15).
My newest poem, "Daphne" (a retelling of the Greek myth as expressed in the life of a contemporary woman) was accepted for publication in Heimat Review next month. This is my third time appearing in this wonderful young lit mag (4th issue coming July 15th). The editor is wonderful and very collaborative.
Finally, Sharon Knutson publishes a fairly new journal of narrative poetry, Storyteller Poetry Review. She does not take submissions, only solicited work. She reached out to me and invited me to be featured on the website early next year. I was delighted to accept.
Becky, thanks for this opportunity to recap the last month, and to read about others' experiences. It always lifts my spirits.
My semi-sestina "Six" will appear in the July issue of Last Stanza's themed "The Things We Carry" issue. Editor made line edits that removed some of the elements of the sestina. She says she doesn't fuss about form. I couldn't improve on her edits. So, two lines don't adhere to the sestina. I think those two lines may stand out more now.
New Words Press. My professor sent me a bunch of journals that specifically publish trans writers. I submitted a piece about a frustrated muse on an onilne dating site, Findrr. It's a fun little jaunt! Coming soon in the Fall!
Jun 25, 2023·edited Jun 25, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch
My personal essay about my mother's suicide was published this month in Tablet Magazine https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/mother-me-borderline-personality-disorder. The process was entirely new to me. I already had a completed manuscript, but Tablet requires pitching the editor first. Wayne Hoffman was unusually facilitative after the initial pitch and directed me to revise it. He wasn't satisfied with the second pitch, each time urging me to dig deeper, and required a draft before committing. He edited the draft, but requested still more revisions, all the while remaining mum. After the second draft, he praised the piece and bought it. These fits and starts took place over a six month period. I am thrilled with the final product. The piece was definitely a collaboration, which may have been necessary both creatively and emotionally. I remain grateful for all the time and effort Wayne put into it, especially for a nubie.
But the real fanfare is for this guest post of mine on feedback published on Lit Mag news a few days ago, which went through several drafts with Becky over a couple of months, during which I learnt a lot. Many thanks again, Becky! https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/what-should-writers-know-before-seeking
They asked me to change stuff, mostly layout, which I did and think it's so much stronger for what I did, what I was asked to do. I still wonder though about one change that isn't layout but a line change. I wonder what people think. The line that I changed at their behest is: "crying the way men cry when they do something brutal." I had written: "crying the way men cry: they do something brutal."
My writer friends prefer the new line, and I'm leaving it for now. I'll be reading it on zoom for Writers Resist on Saturday night 7/8, 8pm ET (everyone come!) and I don't know how I'll read the line.
Anyway, it's part of a series of rape culture Bible stories I've been trying to re-imagine... thanks for letting me share it! (cw: violence, sexual violence and graphic images)
A retroactive "brag." On May 19 my short story, Sneaker Waves was featured in The Saturday Evening Post online. Given their prestige, and the fact that the story had been rejected by nearly forty other magazines, I was definitely surprised. Like most of my stories--published and otherwise--over the years this one underwent many revisions. Andy, the editor was very helpful and supportive. The only revision he recommended was replacing the F-word with something more in line with his readership's sensibilities. I'm happy with the result. Here's the link: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/05/sneaker-waves/
My light horror/fantastic story "Mutti" was published this month in the summer issue of Thriller Magazine. It's a great issue with an exciting mix of fantastic/crime/humor stories. Well worth a read... https://www.amazon.com/Thriller-Magazine-4-Issue-2/dp/B0C7JCF8DD/
Can I brag about my poetry manuscript being accepted for publication? Finishing Line Press accepted my manuscript, Dreams of the Floating House, to come out in March, 2024. I'm very excited about this.
Jun 25, 2023·edited Jun 25, 2023Liked by Becky Tuch
Late in May, The Woolf published my flash piece "Barely Keeping Abreast," which you can read here: https://thewoolfx.com/barely-keeping-abreast-by-meredith-wadley/. Formed from a SmokeLong Quarterly prompt in March of this year, the piece came together quickly and was accepted quickly, too. Loved working with the editors of The Woolf, who helped me tightened a few stray/awkward sentences without stepping on my toes. Disclaimer: they operate out of Zurich, Switzerland, and we belong to the same writing circle, although they did decline the first flash piece I submitted to them (which found a home in another pub). Have a look at what they're publishing, it's impressive for being four issues in!
I also received news last month that a longform story of mine was an Honorable Mention in a contest held by The Vincent Brothers Review. It will be published near the end of the year. I'm especially pleased about the piece because I've submitted it to circa 40 places, but loved it and believed in it. Getting longlisted felt like a WIN, and being shortlisted sent me spinning circles in the living room! So, thanks to the VBR editors. I look forward to working with them on polishing the story (unless they think it's perfect, haha!) as we approach the pub date.
And how could I forget? This morning I received news that a flash fiction piece has been accepted at Across the Margin (https://acrossthemargin.com/) 2 days after submission. I love a quick turnaround! "Sisyphus Becomes Another Person" should be published before the end of June.
Not too long ago I published a short Christmas story based upon a personal experience featuring a visit to a woman with Alzheimer's on Christmas Day. Visiting Helen was published in a young publication called Ariel Chart. www.arielchart.com/2023/01/visiting-helen.html From submission to acceptance took just a few weeks. They added a nice photo. Overall, a pleasing experience. On the other end of subject spectrum, a wacky piece I wrote in the style of Nextdoor.com was published in a U.K. publication called Once Upon a Crocodile. For iThe Buddy Saga, the publisher created original artwork, which is pretty spot on, and then did a fun author interview. https://onceuponacrocodile.weebly.com/the-buddy-saga-by-pat-partridge.html
A 100 worder of mine just hit the Flash Flood of National Flash Fiction Day (U.K.) "What Happens in the Rialto" is a reprint, first published in Scribes Micro Fiction in 2021. Coincidentally (or not), my first story there, in 2020, was published initially in that year's Flash Flood.
FlashFlood: 'What Happens in the Rialto' by Jon Fain #nffd2023 http://dlvr.it/Sr9y84
As to the story itself... I stole the first line... "The drapes close, hiding the screen like it's a secret pool"... from somewhere long forgotten, and took it from there.
My short story "Detroit in the Distance" about a biracial couple traveling in Egypt was accepted for publication in the UK online journal Idle Ink and will appear in the July issue. Many thanks to Erik Klass of SubmitIt who recommended the publication as a good fit for the story. I sent this piece out to about 20 journals before it finally found a home. IdleInk.org has some excellent writing, btw.
What wonderful success stories! I'm glad to have these reports from the World of Successful Submission. I have much reading to do to catch up!
A short essay of mine, "A walk to the cliff" was published by Tiny Molecules this month. It had been the submitted elsewhere 7 or 8 times. Connor at Tiny Molecules was very quick to take it, with some minor suggestions (largely punctuation... making or removing sentence fragments... the kind I'd been doing for myself, back and forth and back and forth). https://www.tinymolecules.com/walk-to-the-cliffs
Hi, this is my 1st time "bragging" here! So many journals, so many acceptances - congratulations everyone! I can't wait to dip in to those listed. I've just returned to the submitting game this year after a (too-long) break & am pleased to have had 7 acceptances so far. I had a feminst myth re-telling (on Pandora) accepted for an Improbable Press anthology, coming out early 2024. If I may be permitted a retroactive "brag", a prose poem I wrote especially for a call was accepted to Aurora Journal. They're a newish venture publishing surrealist-inspired writing. The editor is lovely, but I got the acceptance notification THE DAY it went live in the journal & disappointingly, there was very little promotion. Anyway, it looks pretty and I was paid!
Last month I also submitted a feminist re-telling of Medusa's story to "Last Girls Club", an indie feminist horror mag, and although it wasn't accepted to the themed issue, I heard the editor wants it for "Blood & Jazz" a professionally produced & scored podcast. Your bio is also read out afterwards. It's released publicly to Spotify a month later. They also pay! Work for the podcast isn't something they advertise as a submission call! From this, I learnt that rejections aren't always rejections and can lead to other opportunities, so take risks & send work out - even if you feel it might not be quite right. It's my 2nd publication with them.
Becky, thanks for creating & facilitating such a lively literary community. I've been quietly following & reading for a few months! I appreciate all you do here.
Human Error Press of Western Massachusets, a small feisty press with a very dedicated publisher is going to publish my poetry (about a one hundred pages) some time, hopefully this year. Ive spent most of covid putting this book together and am now collectnng blurbs, doing acknowledgements, and contacting bookstores settiing up readings, etc as I did with my collection of stories.
The press has sixty books. The publisher takes two bucks a book; authors get the rest and set the price. Publisher doesnt charge authors ANY money. Authors are in charge of own distribution. II understand; it's not a perfect world. Ive been a fiction editor for two magaziines, and have championed,advocated and helped distribute "small press magazines fo over thirty years.More on much of this later, but it was truly astonishing that he would consider RE-publishing my short story collection about race and class among hospital workers ( you know- "the 'essential workers 'who before and after the pandemic remain among the most underpaid, invisible, and disparaged workers in the world) I Looked Over Jordan and Other Stories (Boston:South End Press. 1980. It's about 288 pages but I could remove one story without marring the overall motion of the book. So,we'll see. I am also preparing a collection for the Dru Heinz short story contest sponsored by the ubiquitously wonderful University of Pittsburgh, Got to keep on keeping on.
June was interesting. Since new year I have been trying month, after month, to get a copy of a prestigious lit mag that agreed to publish three of my English poems side by side with versions of those poems translated into Hungarian.
This month I discovered that this Hungarian literary journal actually has a Facebook pave with a few recent generic posts. They also had a post in December of last year that listed my name, the name of the issue, and the names of other poets who are featured in that issue. I sent an IM to the page telling them that I wanted to buy a few copies of the journal with my three “Poem for Otto” translations.
A few days ago, I got a reply and they said that the literary journal, that was founded in the ‘70’s is “no more”. My work appeared in what was their final issue of 2022 and that issue inadvertently became their final issue.
Hungary has become very right wing over the years and it is very hard to get funding for the arts and liberal publications.
The good news is that I can start looking around for another audience for my three poem tribute to my father, a freedom fighter, who left his home country in October of 1956, also know as the Hungarian Revolution. I have a development that I should be able to announce in the next few weeks. Fingers also crossed for a zoom broadcast featuring me reciting each poem for Otto (my father’s first name) followed by a reading of the poem translated into Hungarian, my father’s language of origin.
I found out about Backstory on ChillSubs. Big shout out to the awesome Ben, Karina and CS crew!
It took about two months from submission to hear that my piece had been accepted, and another few weeks before it appeared online. I agreed to some of the editor's changes, and negotiated others; all up, the editorial process was respectful and uneventful and I'm happy with the finished product.
I’m proud of this one. My essay “Getting Up There” published this month in Mud Season Review. After two years of rejections the editors loved it! I heard of this journal from Erica Dreifus’s newsletter
In like a lamb, out like lamb chops! Meaning...not exactly getting through the month without more time in the reject abattoir: year-to-date acceptances 2, (but none this month), declines 29, current things out 42, continuing work on novella-maybe-novel, another short story-maybe novella, and painting everyday along with writing. A couple of journals saying they like my work, but it doesn't fit.
I had a piece come out in Milk Art Journal today - a poem about an anthropological hypothesis regarding the development of language.
I haven't gotten to see the hard copy yet but I was very impressed with the digital. I found them on Sub Club. The editor was lovely to work with and I really like how she put the issue together. As a reader, the vision really shows.
I had a poem in Psaltery & Lyre. https://psalteryandlyre.org/2023/06/12/soft-wild-things/
I couldn’t believe Rattle picked up a Poets Respond submission of mine! I read an article about the women of Mauritania celebrating divorce as a rite of passage and knew I wanted to write a poem. I sent one off mid week, and then, on Friday, I was trying to go to sleep and something compelled me to go downstairs and get my laptop. I pulled up something else - some notes that were about 60% finished poem. I sat on the edge of my bathtub at midnight trying to finish something before the deadline. So when the acceptance came on Saturday morning, it had been less than 12 hours!!! (The midweek submission was rejected 😂)
https://www.rattle.com/i-kept-buying-bottles-of-honey-by-francesca-moroney/
So I really consider myself an essayist who occasionally writes a decent poem... recently I was speaking via email w Billy Collins (name drop-- ) who asked me about my poetry and I said “honestly Billy, I write about one a year” to which he held back his response with adept comic timing difficult to achieve via email ... before responding “One a year? That must be some poem!” So two of those one a year poems got submitted a long while ago to The Rumpus and this week they published them https://therumpus.net/sections/blogs/poetry-2/ It’s the fucking RUMPUS which I’ve been an adoring reader but never a contributor to ... until lst Thursday. The editor in chief was the editor and she was beyond lovely (which autocorrects to “lively” and she was that too) -- thanks anyone for reading here but moreso for reading my Twitter promo on it (@jbrookewrites) and liking because when it comes to social media I’m often that tree falling in the forest with no one around...
It's been such a crazy weather month here in Michigan and I've been thinking of the Talking Heads line: "Air can hurt you too." So I've sort of lost track of what's happened acceptance-wise, though I'm just one away from having 50 essays and short stories published in under two years.
The Wave recently took an essay about my father in the kitchen and it was the perfect home because the editing notes made me expand and deepen it. That's due next month. I love their website for the content and the photos they tie to each piece: https://www.kelpjournal.com/thewave. Four lit mags had passed on it and I'm glad they did, because the revised version is so much better.
Thanks as always for this opportunity, Becky. I have a micro up in 101 Words, which I discovered on Duotrope. I received an acceptance in 5 weeks. I disagreed with a proposed edit, and the editor respected my wishes. There was no submission fee or payment, but I think they offer payment if a piece is later selected for the print anthology. They seem to have stopped promoting publications on Twitter as of April 2023, but there's often robust discussion about the pieces on the 101 Words website, which is nice. Overall, a good experience. Here's the link:
https://101words.org/attitude-fix/
Well, June has been good to me because I have finally manged to publish a small, rather idiosyncratic collection of poems, at the ripe old age of 86 and available here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/8119228340
https://www.cyberwit.net/publications/2135
I really only began to write with any regularity in my old age and just before the pandemic hit and during that time I managed to publish some 80 poems and 10 pieces of flash fiction.
Hi everyone! I discovered this beautiful lit mag on Twitter. I’ve had a flash story up here before - this is my second. The editor is a love. The piece is based on probably one of the worst days of my life. That said, the act of writing has helped me process the pain, at least, a little. Godspeed to all and happy weekend! ❤️https://fictivedream.com/2023/05/05/big-love/
My speculative short story “Signal and Response” came out in The Rumpus earlier this week! Here is the link: https://therumpus.net/2023/06/19/signal-and-response/
I have been a big big fan of The Rumpus for many years, so this is a dream pub. I think I kept tinkering with the piece as I sent it out, but I knew all the main parts were there. I worked with an editor over the course of a few weeks to get the flow of the story just right, which I am endlessly grateful for. The final product is something I am incredibly proud of, and I feel so fortunate to have worked with a wonderful journal.
I mentioned this in the Chill Subs Discord last week, but why not mention it here as well... 😂 So, I'm a nonfiction writer who LOVES to read horror. Back before the pandemic, while on a writing retreat with my critique group and in response to a prompt, I tried my hand at writing a short horror story. It was long (about 8,000 words) and unwieldy and I felt very self-conscious about the slow pacing, but also I didn't think it was half bad? After eventually finishing it and running it through my critique group, I started to send it out on submission. As time passed and the rejections stacked up, I ran it through two more critique groups and a writing accountability partner. Over the years, it's been rejected by 12 different places. Some folks received the longer version. Some received a version I managed to cut down to... 5,000 words? Six thousand? I don't even know. But then last week, on Father's Day, I got a message that it had been accepted by a horror magazine I submitted to back in November 2021 (!). I can't for the life of me remember which version they have. Still, I was elated. I gasped so dramatically upon realizing it had finally found a home that my parents thought something was wrong. Does this mean I should try writing more fiction? 😂
Roy Beckemeyer's recent book of poetry attracted me immediately. (See The Currency of His Light.) I read and reviewed it within a very brief period of time. But here's the funny thing—I bragged about the book and my review to my sister. Except that email did not go to my sister, it went, mistakenly, to an editor whose name immediately preceded my sister's in my Contacts list. Within hours I received an email from him, the editor, saying he'd post the review in the next issue! I'd only just written it, and here it would soon appear online! I owned my mistake to the editor. He replied, "Ha, ha. It was well written, so I accepted it." Well, dear friends, that was one of the smoothest acceptances I've ever received. I can't say I learned much about writing in my interactions with that editor, except to be a bit more careful with my emails and to realize that Ms. Serendipity is ever active.
I had two non-fiction pieces published recently that I spent a long time writing and revising. One was in The Raven's Perch https://theravensperch.com/house-guest-by-anne-e-beall/ and the other was in Grand Dame Literary Journal https://www.grandedameliterary.com/post/the-inheritance-of-truth. So thrilled!
Two of my poems were published this month in BarBar, an online literary magazine, with a third yet to be published in June. Here are the links:
https://www.bebarbar.com/blog/the-fisherman
https://www.bebarbar.com/blog/a-rhombus-tango
I also had poetry accepted in June by The Skipjack Review and On-the-High Literary Journal.
On a related note, I just registered for a poetry retreat in October with River Heron Review. I'm very excited about this. A long weekend getaway at The Barn at Boyds Mills Retreat Center in the Poconos and making some new poet friends -- should be fun!!
I’ve got two poems in the June/July issue of The London Magazine. 🥰 Print only, but one is here: https://www.poetalicewhite.com/londonmag1
I have a poem coming out in https://www.twoheadedzine.com
It’s difficult finding a home for grotesque poetry. After several years of nothing, I was actually considering starting my own when this popped up at the start of this year. I’m excited to see my poem, “Unconditional Love”, in print!
After all that it feels like rainforest today in NJ. I had a flash published last week!
All Existing Lit - it’s a first issue. This is my third time appearing in a first issue. I guess I’m lucky and thanks Chill Subs!
The crazy weather is fitting because I wrote this after a short hike in the fall. It’s about foliage and north winds. It was rejected 5x. This spring I revised it in a SmokeLong fitness group. I got some useful feedback. And now it’s summer!
I didn’t make major revisions just around the margins. I think I changed the order a little and cut out things like about the science of rain.
You can click on the link next to my name: What I Can See From Here
https://allexistinglitmag.wixsite.com/allexisting/issue-1
Lmk what you think
Cheers
My story Paradise Lost, a retelling of Adam and Eve with an unexpected ending, was published in The Hyacinth Review. https://hyacinthreview.org/madeleine-mcdonald-paradise-lost/
I wrote this many years ago, then forgot about it because it didn't find a home back then. I still like the twist in the tale. The Hyacinth Review has a pleasing mixture of words and pictures.
I’ve had several pieces accepted this month, but they haven’t gone to press yet. I sold a short story called “Wolf Mother” to Augur Magazine. We haven’t gone through editing yet. The issue doesn’t come out until this autumn. They published one of my poems a couple of years ago, and I enjoyed the process. https://www.augurmag.com
I also had a short story (“Monkey Business”) and three poems (“Anirniliit: Those Which Breathe,” “Nuliajuk’s Promise,” and “Seasons of the Nattiq”) accepted by Yellow Medicine Review. They should be out any time now. I went through copy editing and proofreading with them. They published some of my poetry a couple of years ago. https://www.yellowmedicinereviewstore.com/store/c1/Yellow_Medicine_Review_Fall_2022.html
I also had some CNF (“The Ghosts of Forests Past”) purchased by Solarpunk Magazine. We haven’t gone through editing yet. This will be my first time being published by them. https://solarpunkmagazine.com
In addition, I had/have two public readings this week. One was for Indigenous Peoples Day. I had a ~20-minute reading for that and read a short story and a flash fiction. The other is this afternoon, when I’ll be closing out the finale for my fellowship with the Vancouver Manuscript Intensive. I get ~3 minutes for that, which I find much trickier than a longer reading. I’ll have time to read a micro flash fiction
Pieces accepted in Grailing Press, Last Stanza, and Rigorous Magazine. One wanted some minor changes which I accepted.
Two of my poems, "Firmament" and "White Lies," appear in the latest issue of 2River View. I love being published in print journals, but also appreciate the ease of sharing work that appears in online lit mags. Thanks, Becky, for creating this community of writers! I've learned a lot about submitting from the interviews and talks and posts. (I'm a professional oboist performing on historical instruments and have only recently become serious about submitting in a systematic way.) On Tuesday I got an acceptance from LEON Literary Review, but that poem won't appear until December.
Here's the link to my poems: https://www.2river.org/2RView/27_4/poems/mckinley.html
Thanks for the opportunity to brag. I was notified a week ago that my essay won first place in the Doro Boehme Contest facilitated by Hypertext Magazine and will be published in their Fall 2023 issue. This will be my first published piece and I'm so grateful and excited to have my work shared with others. Last April, on my wedding anniversary vacation, I committed myself to writing, with the goal of having a collection of short stories published in the near future. This acknowledgement has boosted my motivation and salved the sting of so many rejections in the last few months :)
The essay started as a micro fiction that quickly became very personal. I don't write essays or creative non-fiction pieces, or I should say I haven't begun any stories with that intention, but the stories have a way of telling themselves which works best if I just let them go where they want to go.
I wish I could say what brought me to Hypertext Magazine, but I've been exploring so many literary magazines lately that I don't know exactly how I found it, only that I'm glad I did. They had such nice things to say about my piece, I considered printing up their words and framing them :D
You can find them here (but my piece won't be out until the Fall issue): https://www.hypertextmag.com/
Congratulations everyone! It's encouraging to see so much success this month. I had acceptances from three lit mags this month all discovered thanks to the Best of the Net anthology. e-flights is affiliated with a small press and slam poetry open mic in the UK (https://flightofthedragonfly.com/la-felleman/?fbclid=IwAR1Lwsg5MgIxG2_nxU4qmrlKonY0Fp09Y7qT6PN8gdqfBfUGj7zKJ83Pkto).
Two poems were published in issue 16 of Fahmidan Journal (https://www.fahmidan.net/). Two were published in antonym (https://antonymlit.com/issues/). Both journals seem to use Google Drive as the host for the pdf version of their issues. It's probably less expensive than paying for each poem to have its own webpage and illustration. Has anyone else noticed more editors moving to this format?
My poem "Keep the Beat" was published in "Syncopation Literary Journal" online this month. Please use the drop-down menu for "Volume 2, Issue 3" at the top of the webpage. My poem is in the "Poetry: Part 2" section. I found out about this online literary journal through Facebook. https://syncopationliteraryjournal.wordpress.com/
Had my first essay come out in Hong Kong: https://chajournal.blog/2023/06/23/chungking-express/
Also have a story out in this anthology: https://www.neonhemlock.com/ebooks/luminescent-machinations-queer-tales-of-monumental-invention
On June 1st, two of my poems were published on Verse-Virtual, "A Dream About My Mother" and "Mycelia" (both reprints). This is my second time being published in this online community; the editor is wonderful and other poets there are friendly and supportive. I will continue submitting there, and also making friends with other poets. https://www.verse-virtual.org/2023/June/bernard-cynthia-2023-june.html
My sonnet, "ménage à trois," was published in The Journal of Radical Wonder early in June. I've appeared there before; the editors are friendly and helpful, and I like their ongoing theme. https://medium.com/the-journal-of-radical-wonder/m%C3%A9nage-%C3%A0-trois-fbb02c8d1c33
My villanelle, "Half the Night," was published in The Society of Classical Poets, also early in June. I don't remember how I found them. The editor was friendly, but they added a descriptor on the page with my poem without asking me. It says, "‘Half the Night’: A Poem on Growing Old" and I very much prefer that a poem not tell the reader up front what it's about. So that was a disappointment.
In mid-June, Tabula Rasa Issue #2 was published and includes a reprint of my poem "Living with the Elephant." https://tabularasareview.com/issue-2/. I found them on Twitter and the editor was helpful. That poem is dear to my heart since it was my first-ever publication, in May of last year, and the only piece I've ever been paid for ($15).
My newest poem, "Daphne" (a retelling of the Greek myth as expressed in the life of a contemporary woman) was accepted for publication in Heimat Review next month. This is my third time appearing in this wonderful young lit mag (4th issue coming July 15th). The editor is wonderful and very collaborative.
Finally, Sharon Knutson publishes a fairly new journal of narrative poetry, Storyteller Poetry Review. She does not take submissions, only solicited work. She reached out to me and invited me to be featured on the website early next year. I was delighted to accept.
Becky, thanks for this opportunity to recap the last month, and to read about others' experiences. It always lifts my spirits.
My semi-sestina "Six" will appear in the July issue of Last Stanza's themed "The Things We Carry" issue. Editor made line edits that removed some of the elements of the sestina. She says she doesn't fuss about form. I couldn't improve on her edits. So, two lines don't adhere to the sestina. I think those two lines may stand out more now.
New Words Press. My professor sent me a bunch of journals that specifically publish trans writers. I submitted a piece about a frustrated muse on an onilne dating site, Findrr. It's a fun little jaunt! Coming soon in the Fall!
My poem was published in the summer issue of The Banyan Review: http://www.thebanyanreview.com/issue-15-summer-2023/claire-coenen/
I appreciated the kindness and support of the The Banyan Review editors! (The poem formatting changes on i-phone screen. )
My personal essay about my mother's suicide was published this month in Tablet Magazine https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/mother-me-borderline-personality-disorder. The process was entirely new to me. I already had a completed manuscript, but Tablet requires pitching the editor first. Wayne Hoffman was unusually facilitative after the initial pitch and directed me to revise it. He wasn't satisfied with the second pitch, each time urging me to dig deeper, and required a draft before committing. He edited the draft, but requested still more revisions, all the while remaining mum. After the second draft, he praised the piece and bought it. These fits and starts took place over a six month period. I am thrilled with the final product. The piece was definitely a collaboration, which may have been necessary both creatively and emotionally. I remain grateful for all the time and effort Wayne put into it, especially for a nubie.
I forgot that I had a poem in OneArt, a journal I always enjoy appearing in.https://oneartpoetry.com/2023/06/20/what-i-loved-by-robbi-nester/
Other links I forgot: https://medium.com/the-journal-of-radical-wonder/dear-mom-6c84c72ab46c
https://medium.com/the-journal-of-radical-wonder/dangerous-c006fcd4dea2
This month's highlights include:
'Intercept' - a humorous take on conspiracy theories - The Short Humour Site - http://www.short-humour.org.uk/11writersshowcase/intercept.htm
'Charity vs Chocolate Biscuits' won 3rd prize (and some money) in this On The Premises Mini-Contest https://onthepremises.com/minis/mini_57/
'At the end of the word' won 3rd prize (and some money) in the annual Peter Cowan Writers Centre 600 word Short Story Competition https://sixcrookedhighways.com/2023/06/25/at-the-end-of-the-word-2/
But the real fanfare is for this guest post of mine on feedback published on Lit Mag news a few days ago, which went through several drafts with Becky over a couple of months, during which I learnt a lot. Many thanks again, Becky! https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/what-should-writers-know-before-seeking
Thank you Becky for this! I have a piece in Writers Resist: http://www.writersresist.com/2023/06/15/judges-19-remembering-the-concubine/
and it made it to this list at CLMP: https://www.clmp.org/news/reading-list-featuring-trans-nonbinary-gender-nonconforming-writers/
They asked me to change stuff, mostly layout, which I did and think it's so much stronger for what I did, what I was asked to do. I still wonder though about one change that isn't layout but a line change. I wonder what people think. The line that I changed at their behest is: "crying the way men cry when they do something brutal." I had written: "crying the way men cry: they do something brutal."
My writer friends prefer the new line, and I'm leaving it for now. I'll be reading it on zoom for Writers Resist on Saturday night 7/8, 8pm ET (everyone come!) and I don't know how I'll read the line.
Anyway, it's part of a series of rape culture Bible stories I've been trying to re-imagine... thanks for letting me share it! (cw: violence, sexual violence and graphic images)
A retroactive "brag." On May 19 my short story, Sneaker Waves was featured in The Saturday Evening Post online. Given their prestige, and the fact that the story had been rejected by nearly forty other magazines, I was definitely surprised. Like most of my stories--published and otherwise--over the years this one underwent many revisions. Andy, the editor was very helpful and supportive. The only revision he recommended was replacing the F-word with something more in line with his readership's sensibilities. I'm happy with the result. Here's the link: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/05/sneaker-waves/
My modern gothic short story "The Window" appeared in Blood Moon Rising, Issue 91.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/Blood+Moon+Rising?projector=1
I like to see what others here are writing and appreciate the links. Some great work.
My light horror/fantastic story "Mutti" was published this month in the summer issue of Thriller Magazine. It's a great issue with an exciting mix of fantastic/crime/humor stories. Well worth a read... https://www.amazon.com/Thriller-Magazine-4-Issue-2/dp/B0C7JCF8DD/
Can I brag about my poetry manuscript being accepted for publication? Finishing Line Press accepted my manuscript, Dreams of the Floating House, to come out in March, 2024. I'm very excited about this.
Late in May, The Woolf published my flash piece "Barely Keeping Abreast," which you can read here: https://thewoolfx.com/barely-keeping-abreast-by-meredith-wadley/. Formed from a SmokeLong Quarterly prompt in March of this year, the piece came together quickly and was accepted quickly, too. Loved working with the editors of The Woolf, who helped me tightened a few stray/awkward sentences without stepping on my toes. Disclaimer: they operate out of Zurich, Switzerland, and we belong to the same writing circle, although they did decline the first flash piece I submitted to them (which found a home in another pub). Have a look at what they're publishing, it's impressive for being four issues in!
I also received news last month that a longform story of mine was an Honorable Mention in a contest held by The Vincent Brothers Review. It will be published near the end of the year. I'm especially pleased about the piece because I've submitted it to circa 40 places, but loved it and believed in it. Getting longlisted felt like a WIN, and being shortlisted sent me spinning circles in the living room! So, thanks to the VBR editors. I look forward to working with them on polishing the story (unless they think it's perfect, haha!) as we approach the pub date.
And how could I forget? This morning I received news that a flash fiction piece has been accepted at Across the Margin (https://acrossthemargin.com/) 2 days after submission. I love a quick turnaround! "Sisyphus Becomes Another Person" should be published before the end of June.
Not too long ago I published a short Christmas story based upon a personal experience featuring a visit to a woman with Alzheimer's on Christmas Day. Visiting Helen was published in a young publication called Ariel Chart. www.arielchart.com/2023/01/visiting-helen.html From submission to acceptance took just a few weeks. They added a nice photo. Overall, a pleasing experience. On the other end of subject spectrum, a wacky piece I wrote in the style of Nextdoor.com was published in a U.K. publication called Once Upon a Crocodile. For iThe Buddy Saga, the publisher created original artwork, which is pretty spot on, and then did a fun author interview. https://onceuponacrocodile.weebly.com/the-buddy-saga-by-pat-partridge.html
A 100 worder of mine just hit the Flash Flood of National Flash Fiction Day (U.K.) "What Happens in the Rialto" is a reprint, first published in Scribes Micro Fiction in 2021. Coincidentally (or not), my first story there, in 2020, was published initially in that year's Flash Flood.
FlashFlood: 'What Happens in the Rialto' by Jon Fain #nffd2023 http://dlvr.it/Sr9y84
As to the story itself... I stole the first line... "The drapes close, hiding the screen like it's a secret pool"... from somewhere long forgotten, and took it from there.
My short story "Detroit in the Distance" about a biracial couple traveling in Egypt was accepted for publication in the UK online journal Idle Ink and will appear in the July issue. Many thanks to Erik Klass of SubmitIt who recommended the publication as a good fit for the story. I sent this piece out to about 20 journals before it finally found a home. IdleInk.org has some excellent writing, btw.
Here's the link: Idleink.org
What wonderful success stories! I'm glad to have these reports from the World of Successful Submission. I have much reading to do to catch up!
A short essay of mine, "A walk to the cliff" was published by Tiny Molecules this month. It had been the submitted elsewhere 7 or 8 times. Connor at Tiny Molecules was very quick to take it, with some minor suggestions (largely punctuation... making or removing sentence fragments... the kind I'd been doing for myself, back and forth and back and forth). https://www.tinymolecules.com/walk-to-the-cliffs
I published a Substack related to the piece, with an additional, very different, essay about the same setting -- Santa Barbara, CA. https://megrmahoney.substack.com/p/a-walk-to-the-cliff
I had a hybrid writing advice / memoir essay published at Litro https://www.litromagazine.com/every-saturday-litro-magazine-publishes-essays-that-reach-far-beneath-the-surface/the-elements-of-story/
Hi, this is my 1st time "bragging" here! So many journals, so many acceptances - congratulations everyone! I can't wait to dip in to those listed. I've just returned to the submitting game this year after a (too-long) break & am pleased to have had 7 acceptances so far. I had a feminst myth re-telling (on Pandora) accepted for an Improbable Press anthology, coming out early 2024. If I may be permitted a retroactive "brag", a prose poem I wrote especially for a call was accepted to Aurora Journal. They're a newish venture publishing surrealist-inspired writing. The editor is lovely, but I got the acceptance notification THE DAY it went live in the journal & disappointingly, there was very little promotion. Anyway, it looks pretty and I was paid!
https://www.theaurorajournal.org/winter-2023-volume/molten-summer-reverie
Last month I also submitted a feminist re-telling of Medusa's story to "Last Girls Club", an indie feminist horror mag, and although it wasn't accepted to the themed issue, I heard the editor wants it for "Blood & Jazz" a professionally produced & scored podcast. Your bio is also read out afterwards. It's released publicly to Spotify a month later. They also pay! Work for the podcast isn't something they advertise as a submission call! From this, I learnt that rejections aren't always rejections and can lead to other opportunities, so take risks & send work out - even if you feel it might not be quite right. It's my 2nd publication with them.
Becky, thanks for creating & facilitating such a lively literary community. I've been quietly following & reading for a few months! I appreciate all you do here.
My piece "College Townie," a micro essay about the stillness of summer break, was published in Fourth River's Tributaries: https://www.thefourthriver.com/tributaries-newnature/2023/6/22/college-townie
Human Error Press of Western Massachusets, a small feisty press with a very dedicated publisher is going to publish my poetry (about a one hundred pages) some time, hopefully this year. Ive spent most of covid putting this book together and am now collectnng blurbs, doing acknowledgements, and contacting bookstores settiing up readings, etc as I did with my collection of stories.
The press has sixty books. The publisher takes two bucks a book; authors get the rest and set the price. Publisher doesnt charge authors ANY money. Authors are in charge of own distribution. II understand; it's not a perfect world. Ive been a fiction editor for two magaziines, and have championed,advocated and helped distribute "small press magazines fo over thirty years.More on much of this later, but it was truly astonishing that he would consider RE-publishing my short story collection about race and class among hospital workers ( you know- "the 'essential workers 'who before and after the pandemic remain among the most underpaid, invisible, and disparaged workers in the world) I Looked Over Jordan and Other Stories (Boston:South End Press. 1980. It's about 288 pages but I could remove one story without marring the overall motion of the book. So,we'll see. I am also preparing a collection for the Dru Heinz short story contest sponsored by the ubiquitously wonderful University of Pittsburgh, Got to keep on keeping on.
June was interesting. Since new year I have been trying month, after month, to get a copy of a prestigious lit mag that agreed to publish three of my English poems side by side with versions of those poems translated into Hungarian.
This month I discovered that this Hungarian literary journal actually has a Facebook pave with a few recent generic posts. They also had a post in December of last year that listed my name, the name of the issue, and the names of other poets who are featured in that issue. I sent an IM to the page telling them that I wanted to buy a few copies of the journal with my three “Poem for Otto” translations.
A few days ago, I got a reply and they said that the literary journal, that was founded in the ‘70’s is “no more”. My work appeared in what was their final issue of 2022 and that issue inadvertently became their final issue.
Hungary has become very right wing over the years and it is very hard to get funding for the arts and liberal publications.
The good news is that I can start looking around for another audience for my three poem tribute to my father, a freedom fighter, who left his home country in October of 1956, also know as the Hungarian Revolution. I have a development that I should be able to announce in the next few weeks. Fingers also crossed for a zoom broadcast featuring me reciting each poem for Otto (my father’s first name) followed by a reading of the poem translated into Hungarian, my father’s language of origin.
I had a short story published in Backstory Journal, an Australian magazine that focuses on telling stories from the past. This was the first time I'd submitted to them. Link to the story is here: https://www.backstoryjournal.com.au/2023/06/06/in-search-of-identity/.
I found out about Backstory on ChillSubs. Big shout out to the awesome Ben, Karina and CS crew!
It took about two months from submission to hear that my piece had been accepted, and another few weeks before it appeared online. I agreed to some of the editor's changes, and negotiated others; all up, the editorial process was respectful and uneventful and I'm happy with the finished product.
I’m proud of this one. My essay “Getting Up There” published this month in Mud Season Review. After two years of rejections the editors loved it! I heard of this journal from Erica Dreifus’s newsletter
https://mudseasonreview.com/2023/06/creative-nonfictiction-issue-68/
In like a lamb, out like lamb chops! Meaning...not exactly getting through the month without more time in the reject abattoir: year-to-date acceptances 2, (but none this month), declines 29, current things out 42, continuing work on novella-maybe-novel, another short story-maybe novella, and painting everyday along with writing. A couple of journals saying they like my work, but it doesn't fit.
I had a piece come out in Milk Art Journal today - a poem about an anthropological hypothesis regarding the development of language.
I haven't gotten to see the hard copy yet but I was very impressed with the digital. I found them on Sub Club. The editor was lovely to work with and I really like how she put the issue together. As a reader, the vision really shows.
https://houseofoktober.com/product/milk-art-journal-vol-2/
Francesca thank you for the kind hearted read!