Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
“I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light . . .”
~Wendell Berry~
Dear Woman, Who Writes—
Imagine finding this sole bench by a mountain-lake, with a journal in hand, as rust leaves fall softly nearby. At Women Who Write, we hope you find happy places where you can turn your muse free (or simply feel the peace of the season).
Autumn is a season of reflection and peace. As the leaves change and the acorn-mouthed squirrels circle madly on the ground. As Alaskans again sponsor their annual “fat bear” tournament. Winner—Otis, 25 years old, an old man by bear standards.
In the fall months, everything seems to slow down— even the cars lined up to view leaves in New England and elsewhere. And metaphors abound—the season of our life, animals like kids raiding the fridge, the world going to bed . . .
Photo by Glen Carrie
Our next membership meeting is Tuesday, October 12 on Zoom beginning 6:30 PM
We’ll begin with a discussion of publication resources and strategies. And then we’ll provide peer commentary for up to 5 prose and/or poetry submissions. Please send your manuscript to by noon on Tuesday! Nor more than five double-spaced pages please!
We look forward to seeing your face and hearing your voice.
Guests are welcome to attend twice before they pay the membership fee of $50.
The meeting information was sent in the October Newsletter. Feel free to email us at if you need the meeting link.
If you have trouble signing in, please text 502-417-3424
Mark your calendar for the remaining 2021 meetings—
Tuesday, November 9, per Zoom (same link each time) begins with a reading of writing prompt responses on the subject of “gratitude” (see writing prompt and readings below).
Tuesday, December 14 will be an in-person Christmas party at 6:30 AM (place to be announced). We hope some of you will volunteer to read five minutes of a work-in-progress.
Your writing prompt for November relates to the subject of gratitude and/or delight—
I’ve been reading Ross Gay’s Book of Delights—lyric essays about delight and its opposite. These are short essays by a poet, who praises simple things while addressing serious issues. The essays are funny and evocative.
Here is a video of the poet reading his award-winning poem, “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uURnrX_-v6o
Your “assignment,” is to write a flash essay, story, or a poem. Prose—750 words or less. No story is too small, too trivial, too ordinary.
At the start of the meeting, we invite you to read aloud your story/essay/poem and tell us a bit about your invention process. Or keep your story to yourself but share your writing process.
We want to support your writing life.
Here are a few submission opportunities.
- Members are invited to submit to the Women Who Write blog— We accept short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (less than 1,300 words of prose) from current members. Please pitch a blog idea or paste your writing in an e-mail to Help us provide content and encouragement to writers. You can read our most recent blog post, by Alisa Childress, WWW secretary, “Soundtrack of a Life.”
- Landslide Lit (erary) is a Medium.com publication by WWW members Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson. The platform publishes poetry, fiction, and short memoir. See a recent submission here. Learn more about submissions here. Kim and Bonnie offer a Medium.com tutorial and editing assistance for submissions—developmental and otherwise. We’re both WWW members!
- The next theme for the literary blog, HerStry is “Change of Heart.” Personal essays due November 1.
- Consider submitting to Image Journal, which publishes fiction, poetry, and personal essays re: “sustained engagement with Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. That engagement can include unease, grappling, or ambivalence as well as orthodoxy.”
- Consider submitting to Minerva Rising’s on-line journal, “The Keeping Room.” The journal publishes “short stories, essays, free writing, poetry, and photo essays that touch on topics related to Women’s Wisdom, Lessons Learned, Self-care, Bodies, Relationships, and Community.”
- Funds for writers newsletter—provides paying markets for writing.
- Bonnie and Kim’s Medium.com publication Landslide Lit(erary) is looking for members to publish a short essay, memoir, or short story. You do NOT need to be a paying Medium subscriber. We will provide a Medium tutorial. See submission guidelines here.
- Submit to this new literary journal, Dead Skunk Magazine.
- Here is an intriguing anthology submission request by Fawn Press (UK). The topic: “Elements: The Natural & Supernatural.”
- If you write poetry and have connections to Ohio, consider submitting to this anthology— I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio’s Appalachian Voices —poetry anthology submission period is August 1 to November 15, 2021.
- Literary Mama publishes creative nonfiction by mothers, about motherhood. They accept submissions on a rolling basis.
- Brevitymag.com accepts flash nonfiction submissions year-round. Well respected for short creative nonfiction (750 words or less). Hard to get in, but why not try? Brevity is also a wonderful place to find fabulous craft essays for the nonfiction genre.
- Under the Gum Tree is a well-respected quarterly literary journal of creative nonfiction, with a variety of themed sections (shorter) and a feature article in each issue. Two of my students published features in the journal that began with writing prompts!
- Check out The Manifest Station: On Being Human literary blog. Submit poetry, essay, fiction, art, and photography. Submissions are open continuously.
- This clearing house has an amusing name, “Publishing and Other Forms of insanity. The list of submission opportunities is ongoing.
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. Please share your ideas for future programming! You can attend two meetings as a non-member, before joining for $50. Students 18 and older enrolled in school can become members for $25.
Visit our Facebook Page and stay awhile—@womenwhowriteky. Help us exceed 1000 followers. Check out our most recent writing prompt for six-word memoirs and add one of your own! See video interviews of WWW meetings with visiting writers, Lynn Slaughter, Linda Reising, and Kathy Sterman.
WWW needs new leaders to help move our organization into the future—Melony Dixon, treasurer, will end her term (s) in January. Pam LaFollette, Vice-president, will end her term in January as well. Alisa and I are yearning to know who will be next on our leadership team! We also need a social network coordinator! If you have questions specific to these positions, and the time required, please email Kim via
Be safe. Be strong. Be peace.
Love your writing life!
The leadership team— Kimberly, Pam, Melony & Alisa
