Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. For those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year. You can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past. Summer just opens the door and lets you out.”
~Deb Caletti~
Honey, Baby, Sweetheart
Dear Women Who Write—
Hello to our new and returning members. We hope that you are having an amazing start to your summer. June brings us many opportunities to celebrate each other and our world including Father’s Day, Junteenth, Pride Month and the summer solstice. At Women Who Write, we have been busy with writing, reading, learning and of course, developing some exciting summer events. We look forward to seeing you all and reading your work as we return to our South Central Library. Spread the word and invite a writerly friend. All are welcome.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
The Women Who Write leadership team is planning many activities—a writing meet-up, a WWW reading, and a day retreat as well as an overnight retreat. Several of you have asked when we can return to the Kentucky Foundation for Women (KFW) Hopscotch House. We’ll book an overnight retreat there as soon as KFW completes renovations currently in progress. Meanwhile, we’ve planned a day retreat on Saturday, July 16 on St. James Court (Old Louisville) at a private home.
Tuesday, June 14 —Our next monthly meeting begins a 6:30 PM, ending no later than 8:30 PM. Both our June 14 and July 12 meetings will be on Zoom and in-person at the South Central Branch— 7300 Jefferson Blvd—of the Louisville Free Public Library. It’s a beautiful modern library with floor to ceiling windows looking out to a little forest of trees.
Please consider submitting a short manuscript of poetry or prose for our monthly peer commentary—Members will provide strength-based critiques on prose and poetry provided by up to 5 attendees who have submitted work by email to by noon on the day of the meeting. Writers attending in person, please bring 5 copies of your work to our meeting in addition to sending a copy as an attachment in an email.
Alisa will be your host. Please note that we will not be using our usual link. The Zoom link for this meeting was sent in the monthly newsletter. Please reach out to if you need the link.
Saturday, July 16—We’ll meet 9 AM to 5 PM for our summer retreat at a private home on St. James Court in Old Louisville.
On the retreat agenda is coffee and conversation, a writing prompt, writing time, a casual historic tour of St. James and Belgravia Courts workshop, and a workshop with Susan McNeese Lynch, actor with Eve Theater. Susan will talk to us about how to read our writing aloud. Meanwhile, here is an excellent article from Brevitymag.com, “Can You Hear Me Now? How Reading Our Writing Aloud Informs Audiences and Ourselves.” https://brevitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Craft-Can-You-Hear-Me-Now.pdf
Each person who wishes to will read aloud from an excerpt of their work. Choose something you’re tempted to read aloud and bring it along. Two pages or 550 words.
Sign up for the retreat by registering on our website, here.
COVID precautions—Please follow the current COVID restrictions. For the June 14 meeting, masks are recommended but optional. For our July 16 meeting, the rules are likely to differ. We’ll update participants.
Photo by Debbie Hudson on Unsplash
MONTHLY WRITING PROMPT—Travels and Travails
This month’s writing prompt deals with “the journey.” You already know the journey as a popular subject in plotting a story. Of course, a journey is not restricted to travel. Think the mantra that I placed on my college dorm wall— “Life is a journey, not a destination.”
The Middle English root of travel is “travail.” When we travel, there are travails—difficulties, unexpected happenings. Those are the stories we often remember!
Your writing prompt— Describe a trip you or your character takes. No need to be Odysseus confronting the Cyclops. Ordinary complications will suffice.
This prompt creates an opportunity to build character, tension, place, and dialogue. Consider bringing the first draft of your story to our June 14 meeting for critique.
If you write nonfiction essay or memoir, consider submitting your polished writing on the theme of “Traveling Women,” to Herstryblog.com, Deadline is July https://herstryblg.com/traveling-women.
WE WANT TO SUPPORT YOUR WRITING LIFE.
Consider attending the three-day Imaginarium Convention for creatives of all genres – Louisville, Kentucky – July 8 through 10. https://www.entertheimaginarium.com
Submit your work to literary journals and blogs. Why might you want to submit your writing to literary journals? It’s part of the writing life. Rejection is universal. Acceptance happens. And there are so many other reasons to submit, as a writer for Gulf Coast says in the following lively personal essay.
http://gulfcoastmag.org/online/blog/literary-magazine-submission-tips-submitted-to-myself/
Here is the updated submission listing on New Pages.com— https://www.newpages.com/classifieds/calls-for-submissions
Consider submitting to a writing contest via NewPages.com—https://www.newpages.com/classifieds
Submit to the Medium.com publication Landslide Lit(erary) . The co-editor WWW members would love to publish your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. No need to be a paying medium subscriber. Bonnie and Kim will provide a Medium.com tutorial and editorial suggestions for submitted manuscripts. You do NOT need to be a paying subscriber to Medium.com. See submission guidelines here.
Consider submitting short memoir on the theme of “Traveling Women,” to Herstryblog.com, Deadline is July 1. https://herstryblg.com/traveling-women. The theme for the August 1 deadline is ‘Women Who Teach”. The issue after that is themed “Twist of Fate.”
Small presses are excellent places to submit a book directly. Here is a listing of small presses—https://www.newpages.com/books/publishers
Pithead Chapel is looking for engaging art, fiction, nonfiction, and prose poetry.”
https://pitheadchapel.com/submission-guidelines/.
Submit to Gulf Coast literary journal and/or its annual contest.
https://gulfcoastajournalofliteratureandfinearts.submittable.com/submit
Consider writing for the Speculative Nonfiction journal. The current theme is “passage.” Submissions accepted until October 2022 for $3 via Submittable. Here is the link for submissions—https://speculativenonfiction.submittable.com/submit
Funds for writers newsletter—lists paying markets for writing.
Here is a collection of 21 markets that publish humor writing.
Brevity accepts flash nonfiction submissions year-round. Well respected for short creative nonfiction (750 words or less). Hard to get in, but why not try? https://brevitymag.com/submissions/
HERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR WRITING COMMUNITY
Become a member (or re-member)—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. We will notify persons when they are due to renew. Regular annual membership is $50. Student annual membership is $25.
Attend our monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of each month.
Join our leadership team as treasurer to oversee our finances, keep records, pay (our few) bills, oversee the budget, file a few reports, balance our bank statements, help collect membership dues. Note—we are a very low budget operation. And you’ll join our energized leadership team. We want more than your attention to detail. We want your ideas! If you are interested, write to Kim at .
Write for our web blog! Members are invited to submit blogs about writing, life, or the writing life. Personal essay, poem, fiction all welcome (1500 words maximum). This provides you a link to share on your social networks. And we’ll accept reprints. Browse our web blog now! https://womenwhowrite.com/our-blog/
Inform us when you are published online (or any other way). Online publications we’ll post on our Facebook page. Visit our Facebook Page and stay awhile—@womenwhowriteky. Like and become a follower. Answer questions. See video interviews of WWW meetings with visiting writers. Etcetera.
Be safe. Be strong. Be peace.
Love your writing life!
Kim, Alisa, Megan, and Irene
