Member Newsletter — March 2026

 

Woody: Hey, Buzz! You’re flying! 

Buzz: This isn’t flying, this is falling with style!

Toy  Story

Hello Writers!

On my writing desk is a square stone drink coaster that I bought for myself as a Christmas gift this past year. These words are emblazoned: “What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”

Poet Erin Hanson gives us these words that serve as a perfect microcosm of the writer’s love-hate relationship with their craft with all its accompanying insecurities, fears of failure, fears no one will care what you have to say, fears your muse has left you for good this time, ultimately even fears of success. It is that desire to fly that drives us, but I will argue that learning to fall with grace – over and over again – is what truly instructs us about who we are.

The Hanson quote is a reminder that there is this unconditionally loving force behind you, gently encouraging you to grow, try new things and be your full authentic self without fear. We can remind ourselves that something inside us at some point unfolded like a flower and beckoned to us. That still small voice that peeped out from behind that wall need never be silenced because that is what makes us a writer. Not being published. Not getting paid to write. Not having an agent.

I remember once telling my therapist I didn’t feel like I was a good mother and she told me that the fact that I worried so much about it meant that I was already a better one than I imagined. What makes one a writer? Wanting to write, caring about writing, taking the time to put pen to paper. Period.

Maybe you think no one else wants to hear what you have to say, but don’t you want to know? Aren’t you curious about how what is rattling around in your head can live immortal on the page? Not everyone feels this compulsion and while it can be maddening at times, it’s truly a gift. There is someone out there dying to know your perspective, waiting for you to put it into the right words for them.

Iconic author George Orwell understood the struggle when he told us, “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

Examining and exploring those demons, though can be fodder in and of itself for deep reflection. Don’t worry about yourself when you’re feeling insecure or even hateful toward your writing. Accept it as part of your journey; ask yourself what it means, how it can spur you on, what it drives you toward.

A few tips:

• Take a page from the concept of the “flaneur.” As an “observer of modern urban life,” the flâneur acts as a “cultural camera,” absorbing the city’s sights and sounds, explains the Kenyon Review. It is never wasted time to be a curious observer of the world.
• Join us at Women Who Write or other writing groups for non-judgmental support, camaraderie, craft sharing and inspiration from fellow writers.
• Do an online or in-person writing workshop on a craft aspect you’ve always wanted to know more about.
• Read some craft books on the writing process.
• Oh, yeah, also, never give up!

~Holly Hinson

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Our March 10th member meeting will be from 6:00 PM to 7:30 at the Goodness Grows Community Center at 12900 W Hwy 42, Prospect, KY 40059.

If you would like a peer critique, email us () before March 10th 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 Jacques LE HENAFF on Unsplash

WRITING PROMPT

Fiction: Create a character who has discovered things about themselves through writing.

Poetry: Play the “flaneur.” Stroll in a park or sit in an internet café or in a restaurant and watch those around you and how they interact with one another. What conversations or sensory images pique your imagination? Create a poem about it.

Nonfiction: Write about when you first felt or believed you were a writer. If you’re not there yet, talk about what might make you feel like, or identify as a “real” writer.

~ Holly Hinson

LOVE LETTER TYPING PARTY

Member Leah Tenney is hosting a letter transcribing party Saturday March 21st from 9am – 1 pm at the St. Matthews library!

Between 1942 and 1952 a young couple named Larry and Joy wrote hundreds of love letters while Larry was serving in both WWII and Korea. I was lucky enough to discover and save these letters and found a beautiful love story and a window into the past. Over the past two years, I’ve been slowly reading, cataloging, and transcribing them to compile into a book for their descendants. I’d love to share these letters with others – and get some much needed help in typing up so many hand-written pages! If you’re interested and have a little time to spare, I’d love your help in moving this giant project forward!

Here’s how it will work:

• I’ll provide the letters and a few simple formatting guidelines
• I’ll provide light snacks and bottled water
• You bring your own laptop for the typing
• You’ll email me whatever you type at the end of the afternoon
• We’ll have lots of fun 🙂

If you’d like to read a bit about their story and the research I’ve done so far, check it out here. Plus, there’s a playlist of love songs the two mention in their letters to set the atmosphere!

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP to Leah by 3/19/26:

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.

Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash

SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES & LOCAL EVENTS

Lexington’s Brown Hound Press is open for offbeat/mystery/dark humor/southern gothic short story submissions between 800-3000 words.

Applications for Kentucky Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship: Literary Arts are open until March 15th. The award is $7,500 to be spent during the grant period July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

The Bluegrass Writers Coalition’s annual Conference of Writers will be April 11th from 8:30 to 4:00 pm. Registration is required and includes a $100 fee.

Collaborature is a unique online journal dedicated to literature written by more than one author. It is always open to submissions.

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