Dear Members,
Inspired to Write: Field Trip to the Backside of Churchill Downs
See Churchill Downs like you’ve never seen it before and get inspired to write! On Saturday, June 22nd, Women Who Write members are invited to attend a special field trip to the backside of Churchill Downs. This event is designed to boost creativity, broaden cultural horizons, and challenge our literary skills in a multisensory learning experience. As Members, you are invited to experience the sights, sounds, smells of the racing industry and write about what you observe.
We will meet in the Kroger parking lot on 4th Street at 7:30 a.m. We’ll then car pool onto the grounds where Mel Dixon will sign us in. Training at the track occurs from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. We’ll reconvene at Wagner’s for an early lunch and to share our observations. You are invited to remain for the races, which begin at 12:30. Please carpool accordingly!
This is a members-only event and offered at no-cost (other than lunch and souvenirs). Please register via our website. An email with directions and meet-up time will be sent to you after you register.
No Women Who Write Meeting in July
This year’s first Thursday in July falls on the 4th of July Holiday. Because of this, WWW will not have a meeting in July. We hope you enjoy the holiday.
We will meet again on Thursday, August 1st at 6:30 at the Mid-City Mall Public Library Branch.
WWW Board of Directors News
Two of our Board Officers have recently resigned. Public Relations Officer Pat Smith has resigned because she is moving to Lexington. Board Secretary Suzanne Cordery has resigned because of her very busy schedule and future travel plans. We appreciate Pat’s and Suzanne’s service to Women Who Write. They will be missed.
WWW member Pam LaFollete has agreed to become our new Public Relations Officer. We need another member to volunteer for the secretary Position. We also need two members to join the Public Relations and Marketing committee. If you are interested please contact one of the Board members.
May Meeting and Readings
Nine members were in attendance. We had one visitor.
Member Readings:
Linda Yewell – Essay – Godzilla vs. Walter White
Pat Smith – Poetry – Too Busy
Arizona
Grandad
Aimee Downs – Poetry – The Power
Pam Lafollette – New Book – Chapter 1 – The Army
Marty Hoover – Memoir – The Beach House
Joan Dubay – Short Play – Concrete Mary
Diane Cruze—essay – Finding Home – Part 1
Selene Phillips—poem – I Fall Into the Dipper
Congratulations to Susan Lindsey
After almost six years of research and writing, WWW member Susan Lindsey now has a publisher for her historical nonfiction book, Under the Vine and Fig Tree: Slavery, Freedom, and Ties That Bind. University Press of Kentucky will be including the book in their spring 2020 catalog.
Sixteen thousand black people—freeborn or freed from slavery—left the United States in the 1800s and sailed for Liberia, Africa. They were escaping America’s oppression and bigotry and seeking freedom, peace, and security in a new land. It was the largest out-migration in American history.
The so-called colonization movement was highly controversial. Some black people supported it; others vehemently opposed it. Some white people, including slave owners, supported it; others opposed it. The land where these colonists settled was home to numerous indigenous groups, some of whom welcomed the newcomers and others who battled with them.
On the day after Independence Day 1836, two families from Kentucky, the Majors and Harlans, set sail aboard the Luna. They landed in Bassa Cove, Liberia, several weeks later. Though of African descent, they were not African and were ill-prepared for the disease, dangers, and disasters that awaited them.
Their former owner had taught them to read and write, and for fifteen years, they maintained a correspondence with him. Their surviving letters form the heart of Under the Vine and Fig Tree.
Interested in Hosting a Seasonal Write?
Seasonal Writes events give members an opportunity to bring their laptop or writing tablet and start on that new writing project, revise and edit a piece, or use a writing prompt to jumpstart new writing ideas. It is also an opportunity for members to support each other in their writing pursuits.
We would love for members to volunteer to host a Seasonal Write at their home or at a community location. As the host, you choose the date, place and time for us to gather. Contact a board member if you would like to host a Write.
Writing Opportunities
THE WRITER’S BLOCK PRIZE in FICTION
https://www.louisvilleliteraryarts.org/writersblockprize
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 1, 2019. Tell us your story – your love story, ghost story, adventure story, your story of hope or despair, of longing, loss, or triumph. All themes considered and welcome. We want your fresh takes, experimental forms, iconoclastic characters, so long as your story is less than 4,000 words. Multiple entries will be considered with contest fee per submission. One prize winner will receive $500 plus publication in The Louisville Review, as well as an invitation to read the winning story at the Writer’s Block Festival on November 16, 2019, in Louisville, KY.
ORCA COVER LETTER CONTEST
https://orcalit.com/2019/05/12/cover-letter-contest/
$5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2019. We love cover letters. The best of them are like flash fiction, expressing a story of their own, and making us excited to see the submission they introduce. In 300 words or less, introduce yourself, and/or your submission (real or imagined). Make us laugh, make us cry, make us wish there was a story attached for us to read. First place: $200. Second place: $75. Third place: $50.
Mom Egg Review “Home” Theme Issue
Submissions are open for the 18th annual print issue of Mom Egg Review/ MER, themed HOME. We publish literary work that is about mothering or motherhood; submissions for this issue should be about motherhood and this issue’s theme of HOME. We publish poetry, fiction, and creative prose (up to 850 words). Early Bird Submissions (free) May 1 to May 7. Regular Submissions ($3 fee) May 1 to August 1. Guidelines, info, submit here: themomegg.submittable.com/submit.
Volney Road Review Paying for Prose, Poetry, Art, and Comics
Deadline: August 1, 2019
Volney Road Review is a literary magazine based in Youngstown, Ohio. We are currently open to submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction up to 3,500 words, art/photography, and comics for VRR volume 2, issue 1. We publish digitally twice a year and pay $10 per accepted piece. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/volneyroad/.
Hard Times Essay Contest
Seeking essays (up to 5,000 words) about how writers faced and overcame difficult experiences and were changed by them. Entry fee $25. https://www.twwoa.org/contests.html. Deadline June 30.
Bellevue Literary Review Contest
Deadline July 1
Seeking fiction and nonfiction (up to 5,000 words), and poetry (up to three poems) related to health, healing, illness, the mind and body. First prize in each genre is $1,000 and publication. Honorable mention: $250 and publication. Entry fee $20. https://bellevueliteraryreview.submittable.com/submit .
CHICKEN SOUP I CAN’T STOP LAUGHING EDITION
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline July 31, 2019. We are looking for stories about something that happened to you in your life – in your relationship with a partner or spouse, a parent or child, a family member or friend, at work or home – that made you and the people around you laugh out loud. Did you mean for it to be funny? Did the other person mean to make you laugh? Did a situation just get out of control? Keep your story to 1,200 words or less. Story must be true. No fiction, no creative writing. If we publish your story, you will be paid $200 one month after publication of the book and you will receive ten free copies of the book your story or poem appears in.
CHICKEN SOUP STORIES ABOUT CHRISTMAS
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline January 30, 2020. We are now collecting stories for our HOLIDAY 2020 book and we are looking for stories about the entire December holiday season, including Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Year’s festivities, too. We want to hear about your holiday memories and traditions. The rituals of the holiday season give a rhythm to the years and create a foundation for our lives, as we gather with family, with our communities at church, at school, and even at the mall, to share the special spirit of the season, brightening those long winter days. Keep your story to 1,200 words or less. Story must be true. No fiction, no creative writing. If we publish your story, you will be paid $200 one month after publication of the book, and you will receive ten free copies of the book your story or poem appears in.
CHICKEN SOUP STORIES ABOUT MIRACLES
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline June 30, 2019. Miracles do happen each and every day. Everyone has experienced events in their lives that cause wonder and astonishment and give them hope for a better future. Why did these things happen? Is there an explanation? Or did these things seem to happen for no reason at all? Keep your story to 1,200 words or less. Story must be true. No fiction, no creative writing. If we publish your story, you will be paid $200 one month after publication of the book, and you will receive ten free copies of the book your story or poem appears in.
CHICKEN SOUP FORGIVENESS FIX
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline May 30, 2019. We are looking for stories that will show our readers how forgiving someone or being forgiven by someone changed your life in a positive way. Were you able to reestablish a relationship after forgiving or being forgiven? Did letting go of your hurt feelings heal you and bring you a sense of peace? Help others find the same resolution by sharing your story. Keep your story to 1,200 words or less. Story must be true. No fiction, no creative writing. If we publish your story, you will be paid $200 one month after publication of the book, and you will receive ten free copies of the book your story or poem appears in.
CHICKEN SOUP GOLDEN YEARS OR SECOND WIND
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline June 30, 2019. So, you’re a certain age now, and you’re ready for what’s next. You might be enjoying an empty nest, or starting a second career, or winding down a first one. You might be downsizing, or traveling, or caring for elderly parents. You might be going on the adventure of a lifetime or taking long walks in the woods. The one thing you know for sure is that you’re not ready to stop living! Looking for stories after 60. Keep your story to 1,200 words or less. Story must be true. No fiction, no creative writing. If we publish your story, you will be paid $200 one month after publication of the book, and you will receive ten free copies of the book your story or poem appears in.
