Member Newsletter — April 2026

Photo by Billy Huynh on Unsplash

Hello Writers!

Fluffy, thin, drifting, streaking, scattered, gathered, white, gray – clouds can take just about any shape and reflect almost every mood. I’ve lately found myself staring at the clouds, counting my breath, and trying to enjoy the present.

I haven’t written much lately. A part of me feels like those thin stretches of clouds racing through the sky, like there is little time to stop. Another feels like a rumbling storm cloud close to bursting – I want to write. That I have that desire soothes me, and I hold onto it as another sun sets.

Perhaps this stage of my life is not best suited for writing. Life is full of many stages, takes many forms. In this, life and clouds have a common interest. Each stage of life, each type of cloud, each passing day – they are all finite and unique.

Finite. A cloud drifts across the sun, and my chest fills with the cool afternoon breeze. The world slightly dims, and a chill kisses my arms. The sun’s golden-yellow light halos the cloud. Just as the cloud will pass, so too will this moment of my life. Writing is a part of me like shining is a part of the sun.

Variety is the sweetness of life. It’s where I see the beauty in each cloud and sky I gaze at. It’s why I enjoy reading from Brandon Sanderson to Jane Austen to everyone’s workshop pieces. Unique voices crafted by unique lives and skills.

My voice is among those, even if this essay is all that I will contribute during this stage. While I may not actively be writing, I am still molding my voice, my experiences. And this period is not permanent. Clouds will dissipate and reform, change shape, roam, but they will always be made of water. And I will always be a writer.

~Erin Wedemeyer

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Our April 14th meeting will be from 6:00 PM to 7:30 at the St. Matthews Library at 3940 Grandview Ave 40207.

If you would like a peer critique, email us () before [meeting date] at noon and describe your piece. Please bring 15 printed copies of the manuscript you want us to read. No more than 1300 words (4 to 4.5 pages double-spaced) for prose (excerpts of longer pieces welcome), or two pages of poetry.

To give all members an opportunity to read, priority for peer critique will be given to those who email us ahead of time and who have not read at a recent meeting.

Photo by Sarah Burger on Unsplash

WRITING PROMPT

Variety is the sweetness of life!

Prose: Write a piece in which no two sentences are the same length.

Poetry: Think of something that comes in a variety. Write a list poem of those variations or the adjectives describing what changes.

~ Erin Wedemeyer

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Teresa Willis has written “The L in Louisville” a comedy play about queer community, chosen family, faith, and the complicated beauty of staying connected to one another.

The first scene is being produced as a 10 minute play at Actors Theatre on April 5 at 7:00 pm as part of Louisville Tens, an evening of 10 minute plays by Louisville writers. She will also produce a staged reading of the full play on May 11 at the Henry Clay Theatre.

WWW BLOG

Women Who Write has a blog on our website to showcase our community’s talent. We want to publish your writing or republish a recent publication of yours (given that reprints are permitted). Please send us your short stories, poems, and essays! No more than 2,000 words.

Browse our web blog now! Publishing on our blog will expand your writing platform. For more information, email and pitch your story or poem—the one you’ve written or the one you want to write! We may provide suggested edits, for flow and clarity.

SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES & LOCAL EVENTS

Join Kathleen Driskell for a writing retreat May 8-10 at Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Pineville. Registration starts at $500 and includes meals and lodging. View the full agenda and register here.

The Mini Book Fair is back! Join Miracle Monocle for books, zines, and bookish swag at Jubilee Field on Sunday April 26th from 1:00 to 3.

The 7th Heroines Anthology and Heroines Women’s writing is open for submissions. They are accepting poems and short fiction from women that tell women’s lost histories and untold stories, or reimagines myths, fairy tales, folklore, or legends from the perspective of their women characters. Submissions close July 30, 2026.

Regular local events:

• ‘Zine Lunch with Sarabrande Books, monthly on Fridays at noon
• Carmichael’s regularly hosts authors and poets in the evenings
• Axton Reading Series with UofL Creative Writing Department

Submission directories:

• Submittable
• Duotrope
• Poets and Writers’ list of literary magazines
• NewPages

Women’s publications seeking women writers:

• Landslide Lit(erary) (by WWW members Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson)
• HerStry, literary essay/memoir blog
• Ashes, an online magazine of personal essays
• Brown Sugar, online magazine for women of color
• Bi Women Quarterly, bisexual+ women’s publication
• Literary Mama, journal dedicated to motherhood
• Persimmon Tree, online magazine for women older than 60
• So To Speak, an intersectional feminist journal

SUPPORT OUR WRITING COMMUNITY!

Become a member or renew your membership—As a community, WWW strives to nurture your writing life. We hope you choose to join or renew as a member and participate in our monthly meetings, author talks, retreats, and workshops. Our membership coordinator will notify anyone due to renew. Regular annual membership is $50. Student annual membership is $25. Scholarships are available. Membership entitles you to discounts on workshops and retreats.

Attend our monthly member meetings on the second Tuesday of each month for a brief program, peer critiques, and conversations about the writing life. Not currently a member? You can attend two meetings before deciding to join.

Visit our webpage WomenWhoWrite.com.

Visit our Facebook Page—@womenwhowriteky. Don’t forget to like us and follow us.

Thank you, WWW members, for joining our nonprofit group, for sharing your unique voices, and for supporting each other with open hearts and minds.

Your Leadership Team

Megan, Erin, Holly, Colleen, Liz, Irene, and Nancy