“And never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things — childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves — that go on slipping, like sand, through our fingers.
~Salman Rushdie~
Dear WWW Member—
We can’t let August pass without celebrating the first day of school, especially since returning to classrooms does not seem normal. These children, once adults, will have stories to tell.“What I did on my summer vacation?” has taken on new meaning.
Childhood school days have all the elements of good story—tension, triumph, conflict, uncertainty, discovery, universality.School days conjure multi-sensory images—the smell of crayons, screeching school bus brakes, echoing hallways, slamming lockers, the cafeteria medley of orange peels and peanut butter.
To celebrate the return to school and remember our memories, we invite you to compose a poem or short prose (750 words or less). We’d love for you to read your prompt response at our August 10 meeting, and/or consider submitting it to our WWW blog!
Here is an excellent short prose example of a school memory—“Homeroom,” by Melissa Ballard, from the flash nonfiction online journal, Brevitymag.com.
If you have trouble signing in, please text 502-396-4542
We invite you to send us writing for peer commentary.
We invite five volunteers to share prose and/or poetry (no more than 4 pages double-spaced for prose, and no more than 3 poems) at our August 10 meeting. Please forward your manuscript to by Tuesday August 10 at noon. We will screen-share your work so you can read it aloud while the group members follow.
We try to comment on strengths and opportunities for revision or development.Here are five questions we consider in our peer review.
How would you describe the writer’s voice?
Does the writing flow smoothly?
Is there an arc to the story or poem?
What is the main point of the story or poem?
What can the writer do to finish the piece?
Submission opportunities
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.
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 year-round.
Landslide Lit (erary) is a Medium.com publication by WWW members Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson.The platform publishes poetry and prose. Learn more about submissions here.
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?
The next theme for the literary blog, HerStry is “First Dates,” due August 30. The blog accepts creative nonfiction on any theme year-round. They also provide affordable editing services and critique workshops. September 1 is the deadline for essays on the subject of “missed connections.”
The Mud Season Review literary journal accepts poetry and prose between August 1 and August 31, 2021.This is a paying market.
For Women Who Roar: This platform is looking for poetry and stories of healing, writing and recovery.
Blog.reedsy.com lists literary journals and magazines accepting both prose and poetry.
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.
Like our Facebook Page—@womenwhowriteky. Help us reach 1,000 followers in the month of August! Like and follow our Facebook page (and linger awhile to take advantage of the posted content).
Join the leadership team—We are now taking nominations for a social network coordinator and treasurer. If you have questions specific to these positions, please email
Be safe. Be strong. Be peace.
Love your writing life!
The leadership team— Kimberly, Pam, Melony & Alisa
