WOW! Women On Writing | Workshops & Classes | Quarterly Contests | The Muffin

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When I was twelve, I moved to North Carolina, and my first winter here, I was inundated with college basketball. My new friends in North Carolina were obsessed with the UNC college team, so I tried my best to smile while my friends were discussing their favorite players in the cafeteria at lunch, along with which teams to disparage. (Duke!) After I married my husband, I started cheering for his favorite college team, the rival team to UNC, North Carolina State University. (Go Wolfpack!) And this year, with my daughter playing in the pep band for her college, the University of Alabama, she will get to travel to the NCAA tournament, the holy grail of college basketball.

While I’ll probably be forced to fill out some of those fun brackets that predict which team will come out on top by the end of March, I began thinking of ways we as writers can have a ball with own writing during the month where we are so close to spring but still trapped in the doldrums of winter. I personally am trying to psyche myself up mentally to get through revisions for a 60,000-word manuscript I wrote in NaNoWriMo 2021. The process of writing brings me joy, but I’ll put off revision for as long as I can. I know that if I can just begin the process and play into overtime, if necessary, my thriller novel has the potential to be a slam dunk with potential literary agents and readers. I’ve browsed the archives here at WOW! and found several helpful articles to get me started, such as this one, “Beginning After NaNoWriMo.”

You know the call in basketball, “traveling,” where a player takes too many steps without dribbling the ball? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been guilty of traveling with writing projects. I have novel drafts that have been left to rot on my hard drive, and stories and essays that should be submitted that I revise once or twice and then forget about. Don’t be like me! This newsletter is a great place to help get your pieces off the bench. In last month’s newsletter, I found a competition specifically for southern writers and entered a short story.

And did you know that there’s even a tourney out there for essayists? March Xness, with this year’s theme of March Fadness, 80s Edition, kicks off on March 1. This series of yearly March-Madness-style tournaments feature essays about songs. Writers select a song from the tournament field and write about it in whatever way they choose (praise, condemn, close-read, memoir, riff, write about its cultural context, engage in nostalgia or memoir, etc.). All throughout the month, writers play head to head, essay vs essay, and song vs song. Each game runs for one day and is decided by popular vote. At the end, one champion is crowned. While it’s too late to join the tournament this year, the editors also accept pitches for essays on songs not in the tournament. Check out their website for submission details and some fun writing inspiration that’s not at all related to basketball!

CRAFT is a premier destination for fiction and creative nonfiction, known for its focus on the craft and artistry of prose. We’re excited to share a glimpse into this publication, through the eyes of Editor-in-Chief Courtney Harler.

Courtney holds an MFA from University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe (2017) and an MA from Eastern Washington University (2013). She also cohosts the literary podcast PWN’s Debut Review, as well as instructs and edits for Project Write Now. Courtney has been honored by support from Key West Literary Seminar, Writing By Writers, Community of Writers, Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and Nevada Arts Council. Links to her publications and other related awards can be found at harlerliterary.llc. Find her on Twitter @CourtneyHarler1, and on Instagram and Facebook @CourtneyHarler.

Before diving into our Q&A, let’s take a look at a snippet from CRAFT’s About Us page:

“We explore how writing works, reading pieces with a focus on the elements of craft, on the art of prose. We feature previously unpublished creative work, with occasional reprints, as well as critical pieces including craft essays and interviews. All published creative pieces include an author’s note and an editorial introduction that both discuss stylistics in the work.”

CRAFT features two separate submission categories each for fiction and for creative nonfiction, based on the length of the work submitted. CRAFT is a paying market. See their submissions page for more details.

WOW: Hello, Courtney! Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to answer my questions. I’ve been a wild fan of CRAFT for several years, and so I’m thrilled to talk with you. First, can you tell us about your role at CRAFT? How long have you been EIC, and how did you get involved with the publication? What do you like most about your position?

Courtney: Thank you, Myna, for the invitation. It’s lovely to chat with you.

I came to CRAFT in December 2021 from The Masters Review, our sister literary magazine, where I’d been a reader since 2017. I’d also written several interviews, reviews, and essays for The Masters Review, and based on my work there, Cole Meyers, their Editor-in-Chief, recommended me. After a series of interviews with our Managing Editor, Josh Roark, I was offered the position. I’ve had such a rewarding year at CRAFT—we have a multitalented team of readers and editors, and I feel so lucky to be able to work with each of them.

I love working with this team, and I love publishing great prose. As you know, a lot goes on behind the scenes to make a lit mag happen, but one very specific part of the process brings me endless joy—personally notifying writers via email when we would like to accept their work. Contest winners are especially appreciative and expressive, given the higher stakes and rewards, and I am just honored, again and again, to share that singular moment of validation with them.

WOW: CRAFT is a dream journal for so many writers, particularly because of your reputation for publishing truly excellent work. How has CRAFT achieved this prestigious position in the literary space? What are the primary goals of the magazine?

Courtney: Thank you for the kind words here. Since I’m only a year into this role, I must credit CRAFT’s previous editors for our well-established position in the literary world. I inherited their aesthetic, their vision, which I’ve endeavored to uphold while also moving us forward. Our primary goal, as you say, is to publish “truly excellent work,” but also, to ensure diversity and inclusivity in our archives. We believe in featuring a broad variety of voices, styles, and creative approaches. Publishing authentic, innovative work keeps our website fresh and inviting for our readership.

WOW: CRAFT is somewhat unique in that it’s free, both to read and to submit. General submissions are open year-round with no capacity limits, and authors receive a generous payment ($100 for original flash, $200 for original short fiction and creative nonfiction) upon acceptance of their work. This is fantastic for writers, but I wonder if this is a sustainable business model. How can your publication afford to be so generous?

Courtney: Our annual contest fees allow us to pay our contributors, editors, and guest judges—so thanks to all those writers out there who are able and eager to enter our contests. That said, we also value accessibility, so that’s why we work hard to keep general submissions free and open. We realize that not everyone can budget to submit to a contest, but those who can enter directly support the ongoing creative work of others. It is a system that does require funds, but to level the field a bit, we also routinely offer a batch of free submissions to those from historically marginalized groups at the end of each contest period. Writers should watch our calendar and my social media feeds.

WOW: Your website mentions several types of contests, as well as an editorial feedback option. Can you tell us about those? 

Courtney: Last year, we held five contests: the Hybrid Writing Contest, Short Fiction Prize, First Chapters Contest, Amelia Gray 2K Contest, and Creative Nonfiction Award. These contests are also slated for 2023, but we may yet consider updates or modifications. Each contest seeks specific writing, with the hope that writers can find the perfect contest for their work. Again, we want to offer as many opportunities to as many writers as possible, and our Editorial Feedback Program comes into play here as well. Interested writers may purchase feedback on both general and contest submissions. We maintain a core team of experienced editorial consultants who provide actionable feedback. We always want to encourage writers to continue to pursue their craft—contests and programs are good ways to reach that goal. In 2022, we launched even more programs for writers, including collaborative, lab-style experiences, as well as a virtual conference and reading salon. We look forward to expanding these new initiatives this year.

WOW: So many opportunities for writers! Now let’s talk about general submissions. What’s your acceptance rate, and perhaps more importantly, what are you hoping to find in the slush pile? 

Courtney: We accept less than one percent of submissions. As a generously paying market, we must keep a tight publishing schedule. As for what we seek from the slush pile, here are some brief thoughts from our section editors, which we also shared at our half-day virtual conference in December:

“Creative nonfiction is a capacious genre that embraces narrative nonfiction, expository essays, lyric essays, literary journalism, speculative memoir, braided essays, hermit crab essays, and a great deal of experimentation. Our choices reflect that range in forms, and we particularly appreciate works that are emotionally resonant, innovative on a craft level, and exhibit a sense of discovery.” —Jacqueline Doyle, Creative Nonfiction Section Editor

“While we definitely publish a fair amount of experimental work, in flash fiction we are also looking for some kind of arc or change—something beyond the language itself. Flash fiction is a demanding genre as it requires writers to ruthlessly examine…every single word, so we are absolutely looking for work that feels driven by this attention at the sentence level.” —Melissa Benton Barker, Flash Fiction Section Editor

“…I think that voice actually often boils down to this—to paying attention. Every single one of us is going to pay attention in a different way to different elements of the life that happens around us. Exactly what we see and how we translate it uniquely on the page—that’s voice. When your subjective vision goes into your words to create texture—that’s voice. Your syntax, your word choice. Your use of elements like metaphor or repetition. Remember that whatever craft elements you’re struggling with, precisely no one has your exact perspective. That’s your edge, your gift. So, yes, we are most passionate about voice.” —Suzanne Grove, Associate Editor & Short Fiction Section Editor

At CRAFT, each section editor works with their editorial assistants and reading team to process weekly submissions. In my year of experience, I would say that each section has its own style, but that each of those styles contributes to the magazine’s greater overall aesthetic. I rely on the section editors to champion and curate content, and final decisions are made collaboratively.

WOW: It’s so helpful to hear from each section editor! I’m always blown away by the excellence of the stories featured in CRAFT. This is probably an impossible question, but can you tell us about a few of the stories that have stuck with you? We’d love to take a peek at what you consider to be the best of the best!

Courtney: “An impossible question,” indeed! Let me first offer this caveat—as much as we focus on craft, this type of question asks for more subjectivity than objectivity. From an objective perspective, each of our publications succeeds in its own way. But—if you’re asking for some personal picks, I’ll do my best to oblige. I’ll exclude contest winners here, because they’ve already been chosen and celebrated by a guest judge. Finally, I’m only choosing because you’re making me do so!

For short fiction, “Suckling” by Neeru Nagarajan, which we published about this time last year, still rattles around in my mind—the language, the images, the hefty issues faced by the narrator all continue to reverberate for me.

For flash fiction, Christine H. Chen in “Story of You” harnesses an interesting structure and makes it sing. As a reader, I appreciate experimentation and meta gestures that truly hit home.

For longform creative nonfiction, and speaking of meta moves, I invite your readers to check out “The Writer” by Matthew Raymond. It’s a speculative essay that really challenges the form.

For flash creative nonfiction, in “Yield,” Jolene McIlwain explores modes of motherhood and the hidden cost of “production.” Fascinating, surprising language and comparisons found here.

WOW: Thanks for those stellar examples! Okay, shifting gears: tell us about your own work. You’ve had success in so many literary pursuits—writing, editing, teaching—how do you balance it all? And is your approach different for each? What’s your true love?

Courtney: Let me take those questions in reverse order. My first true love is reading, which led to writing, which led to teaching, which led to editing. I’m still foremost a reader—I need story every day—but I know I need to make time for my other responsibilities and endeavors as well. I try to approach each facet of this literary life with an open heart sans ego, but with varying success. Frankly, I’m still working on balance, but I find the work can be almost cyclical, or seasonal, even within the span of just a few days or weeks. I aim to give each project its due diligence—which works best, for me, when I allow myself the indulgence of full and total concentration. “Indulgence” is maybe not the right word, but that’s what it feels like, because it seems a luxury these days to really let yourself focus. Maybe it’s the old dig-deeper-not-wider advice, but I am happiest and most fulfilled when I can block my time into meaningful, uninterrupted sessions.

WOW: That uninterrupted time is so valuable (and elusive)! You’ve had a lot of success with the WOW quarterly contests, both fiction and nonfiction. I was moved by your winning essay, “Be Still My Mother.” This line really got me: “in the roundest eyes capable of the boldest lies.” Just gorgeous work! How did you find WOW, and what’s your contest strategy?

Courtney: I’m guessing I found WOW through google searches in 2016—it’s been some time—because I received my first honorable mention in January 2017. Encouraged, I’ve continued to submit for the past several years. When “BSMM” won last year, I felt a real sense of completion, which isn’t always easy to achieve in this industry. I’ve always admired WOW as a platform devoted to women, and for their willingness to consider reprints. In fact, an earlier piece, “Still,” that won second place in fiction in 2019, garnered a whole new life with WOW. It had been first printed in a Vegas lit mag called Neon Dreams, then reprinted online in The Vignette Review. Both of those markets served emerging writers, so I continued to revise the piece, then known as “Gass Peak,” until it became “Still,” and by then, it seemed the right time to submit it to WOW. My contest strategy has heretofore been persistence, but I’ve been much more selective of late. You never really know when a piece will resonate with a certain reader or editor, but working in the industry has given me a great deal of insight into how to ascertain a lit mag’s overall style.

WOW: Thanks for sharing that journey with us. It’s encouraging to see the evolution of a successful piece. So, what’s on the horizon for you?

Courtney: I’m currently revising what I want to call a hybrid collection (flash fiction, flash nonfiction, some prose poems and vignettes), with the work funded by a grant from Nevada Arts Council. Since the pandemic, I’ve been writing a lot more lineated poetry, prose poetry, and microfictions, so next, I’d like to go back and review those materials, maybe unearth a viable manuscript there. This year, I’ve had a collection of linked stories on submission with indie presses. I may need to jump back into revision with that project as well.

WOW: One last question: do you ever wake up at 2 a.m. with an exciting new story idea? How do you capture it?

Courtney: Apparently, I am a bad sleeper. Especially in winter. I am trying my best not to wake at 2 a.m., and when I do, which is more often than I’d like, I’m rather disgruntled. Story ideas don’t occur to me when I am rather disgruntled in the dead of the night, usually. I try to listen to sleep stories or sounds of thunderstorms to lull myself back to some sort of rest until my alarm at 5:30 a.m., but again, with varying success. However, I do sometimes have a dream that inspires me, and I play it over and over in my mind in the midst of my insomnia, trying to recollect and cement the surreal details, but I often forget them and have to reinvent them. Good thing I enjoy reinvention.

Is this your year to ace a CRAFT contest? The Short Fiction Prize opens March 1 and runs through April 30. And remember, general submissions are always open and always free. Thanks again to Editor-in-Chief Courtney Harler for this overview of CRAFT!

Entries should address the themes of science fiction/fantasy/horror/science. Limit: 3 poems/person, maximum 60 lines each. Winners will receive a cash prize (1st prize: $100; 2nd prize: $75; 3rd prize: $50), convention membership and be invited to read their winning entries at Balticon. Attendance at Balticon is not required to win. No fee.

Poems are invited that deal with any aspect of nature and place – these terms will be given a wide interpretation by the judge Ian McMillan. Poems must have a title and must be no more than 40 lines, excluding the title. Prizes: 1st prize – £1000, 2nd prize – £500, 3rd prize – £250. You can submit up to six poems in one batch. Fee: £7

Editor Avra Margariti is accepting submissions on the theme Fungi for issue 48. FUNGI: Mushrooms, molds, and other fungi are organisms that live all around us, yet for the longest time they have eluded classification. They can offer sustenance and ensure survival, or cause a slow, poisoned death. Their mycelium and spores spread—subterranean, airborne—beyond our perception. Within forest ecosystems, fungi are decomposers: feeding on dead matter, returning the nutrients to the soil in a perpetual cycle of destruction and rebirth. "I am particularly interested in cli-fi, body horror, and fabulism from marginalized voices. Make me feel the sublime ache of metamorphosis, the transcendental comfort of belonging in a colony." Please submit 1–3 unpublished poems in English (ideally, attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain). Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US $0.04/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25. Payment is on publication. No fee.

Airlie Press's vision and mission are to publish books of poetry that are compelling, innovative, and representative of diverse voices. Manuscripts should be 48 to 90 pages of original poetry in English (excluding front matter and end matter). No more than one poem should appear on a page. The author’s name should not appear anywhere in the manuscript. The winner will be notified at the end of the summer following the submission and will receive a $1,000 cash award upon publication of the book in January of 2025. The initial print run is 500 copies. Fee: $25

An annual contest hosted by Bellingham Review. Susan Nguyen will be the poetry judge for 2023. $1,000 first-place will be awarded. Submit 1-3 poems. Fee: $15

Since 2014, Permafrost Magazine has held an Annual Book Prize contest for the best manuscript (genre alternating each year). The winner of the contest receives $1000 and publication through the University of Alaska Press. New York Times bestselling author Aimee Nezhukumatathil will judge. Fee: $20

The Tomaž Šalamun Prize is open to poets at any stage of their career. Previous publication is neither a requirement nor a restriction. You can enter if you've published zero books or 100 books. $1000 + chapbook published by Factory Hollow Press + one-month residency in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The prize winner will receive $1000, 10 copies of their chapbook, and a free one-month residency at the Tomaž Šalamun Centre for Poetry in Ljubljana, Slovenia. If a translation wins the prize, the translator will receive $1000, 10 copies of the chapbook, and the residency. Hoa Nguyen will judge the 2023 prize. Send a chapbook of 20-28 pages (total length including title page, optional table of contents, optional acknowledgments/notes). Fee: $17

Authors may submit any number of poems equaling thirty to thirty-five pages in length, with no more than one poem per page. (Single poems may extend more than one page.) The winner of the POPP Award will receive $200 and a standard publication contract and national distribution. No fee.

Driftwood Press is excited to announce that we are accepting submissions for full-length poetry collections. Submit 40 - 100 pages of poetry (if you are a few pages under or over, no problem). Experimental poetry, hybrid work, poetry with a visual element, prose poetry, and any avant-garde poetry are welcomed. 1 - 3 collections will be chosen for publication during this submission period. Each winner will receive: $500 USD, 20 copies of their collection, and a standard royalties package. Fee: $20

Poems may be previously published or unpublished, and simultaneous submissions are accepted. Winner receives $1,000 and a bronze medallion. Finalists receive $100. Winner and finalists are published in both the online and annual print editions of The Lascaux Review. Two copies of the journal will be supplied to every poet appearing in it. Poets may enter more than once, and as many as five poems may be submitted per entry (all pasted into one document). There are no length restrictions. All genres and styles are welcome. Fee: $15

The Fish Poetry Prize was established in 2006. Billy Collins will again be judging. Billy will select the 10 poems to be published in the Fish Anthology 2023. Ten poems will be published in the Fish Anthology 2023 (first, second, third and seven honourable mentions). Poem length is restricted to 60 lines. The title is not included in the word limit. Prizes include: First – €1,000; Second – A week in residence at Anam Cara Writers and Artists Retreat, West Cork, Ireland. + €300; Third – €300; The ten published authors will each receive five copies of the anthology and will be invited to read at the launch during the West Cork Literary Festival in July ’23. Fee: €14

A prize of $5,000, publication by New York Quarterly Books, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a manuscript of narrative poetry. The winner and finalists are invited to give a reading in Paterson, New Jersey, in partnership with the Poetry Center of Passaic County Community College. José Antonio Rodríguez will judge. Submit up to 10 pages of poetry from an unpublished manuscript. Semi-finalists will be notified by June 1 and asked to submit full manuscripts (70 to 90 pages) at that time. Fee: $25

America Media is sponsor of the annual Foley Poetry Award. Each entrant is asked to submit one poem of 45 lines or fewer. Poems should not be under consideration elsewhere. Poems may address any topic. The winning poem will be announced in early June and published in the print edition of America. The cash prize is $1,000. Three runners-up will also be published in subsequent issues. No fee.

Now in its 22nd year, this contest seeks today's best humor poems. One poem only, please. Length limit: 250 lines maximum. No restriction on age of author. Both unpublished and previously published work accepted. First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value); Second Prize: $500; Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each; Top 12 entries published online. No fee.

Looking for unpublished manuscripts 20k-40k words for novellas, 50k-90k novels. "We like supernatural ghost stories and slashers, would definitely pub multiple quality haunted house books if we get sent a bunch, urban legend/real life lore and locale-based fiction is our flavor. Not really interested in comedy horror — though we’re happy to pub pulpy stuff and also classy ‘lit’/quiet horror fiction. We’ll read gothic, we’ll read sci-fi-horror, but typically will pass on those unless the plot rundown is exciting." Pay: $500 - $2,000 advance, 60% royalties to author. Paperback and electronic book rights, worldwide in English. No fee.

For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which one or more characters have a problem because something (someone?) important is missing. Whether whatever is missing is ever found is up to you. Choose the answer that makes the story work better. No fee.

This year sees the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Fowey Festival, running May 12th – 20th, 2023. The Short Story Competition title for the 2023 competition is: "I’ll Never Be Young Again." The maximum length of submissions is 1,500 words. If exceeding that the entry will be disallowed. There is no minimum length. This was the title of Daphne Du Maurier’s second novel, published in 1932. We are delighted to announce that the winner of the 2023 competition will receive £250, with the runner up receiving £100. Fee: £10.

The Eludia Award is offered annually for a first book-length unpublished novel or collection of stories. The prize is open to women writers age 40 and older, who do not yet have a book-length publication of fiction. (Book length publications in other genres are fine. Self-publishing IS publishing, and will disqualify the fiction manuscript.) The winning manuscript will be published on our imprint, Sowilo Press, and will receive a $1,000 award, plus a standard publication contract with Hidden River Publishing. Fee: $20

The Alice Munro Short Story competition, now in its 18th year, is an opportunity for writers to explore the short story, a literary art form made popular by 2013 Nobel Laureate Alice Munro. The winning entry will be the Canadian work of up to 2,500 words in the English language, fiction, written by an author not yet published in book format. Winners will be announced at the 2023 festival with simultaneous social and print media release. First prize for Adult submissions is $1,500, 2 additional prizes of $250 being awarded. First prize for Youth submissions is $500, and 2 additional prizes of $250. Fee: $10 (youth), and $25 (adult)

An annual contest hosted by Bellingham Review. The fiction judge for 2023 is Corinne Manning. $1,000 first-place prize. Submit one short story up to 4,000 words, or 3 pieces of flash fiction of up to 1,500 words each. Fee: $15

A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. First runner-up will receive $3,000, second runner-up will receive $2,000. A two-page (maximum) outline or synopsis of the entire novel and the first 50 pages of the novel-in-progress are to be submitted. Fee: $30 (plus a $3 processing fee)

They are looking for complete 500- to 1000-word stories with crisp prose, well-developed characters, compelling plots, and satisfying resolutions. They want stories that engage their minds and emotions. They publish across many genres, including speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary fiction. Pay: $80 per story. No fee.

Simon Trewin is the judge of Literary: First Chapters contest. If you’ve written a Literary novel, or have started writing one, send us the first 5,000 words, plus a One-Pager (300-word plot synopsis). Prizes: First Prize: £1500 The winning Literary: First Chapters entry will be published on The Plaza Prizes website. The winner will also receive a one-to-one tutorial and detailed feedback from the judge, Simon Trewin; Second Prize: £300; Third Place: £100. Fee: £20.00

Southword: New International Writing is a print literary journal published twice a year by the Munster Literature Centre. They are currently open for fiction submissions up to 5,000 words. Pay is €250 per short story. No fee.

This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. The application process includes an unpublished work of crime fiction. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress, 2,500 to 5,000 words. The grant is for $2,000. No fee.

They want the stories you’d whisper in the dark. "We prefer stories set in a rural backdrop with the intimate feeling of a small town. We want sparse populations and a closeness to nature. The stories don’t need to be about camping necessarily, but they should evoke the eerie feeling of a story told around a campfire with the strange sounds of the forest just beyond the firelight." All subgenres of speculative fiction are welcome, and stories must be unpublished. Word count: 2,000-5,000 words. Pay is $40 per story. No fee.

Writers of short fiction may now enter the 2023 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. Stories must be original unpublished fiction, typed and double-spaced, and may not exceed 3,500 words in length. The literary competition is open to all U.S. and international writers whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed publication with a circulation of 5,000 or more. The first-place winner will receive $1,500 and publication of his or her winning story on our competition website. The second – and third-place winners will receive $500 each. Honorable mentions will also be awarded to entrants whose work demonstrates promise. Fee: $15

The Last American is a new journal that publishes essays only. They are seeking essays for their first issue on their topics of: The Roots (resurfacing history), The Edge (considering modernity), The Naturalist (nature and climate) The Laborer (work and wages), The Artist (books and film). Essays shouldn’t exceed 2,000 words. Pay is $100 per essay. No fee.

They bring out the best and the worst in us; we love them; we hate them; what would we do without them? For BW/DW's April issue, they’re looking at Siblings in film. "Whether it’s a story of rivalry, loyalty, or both, we’re interested in exploring the dynamic and complex relationships between siblings on screen. There are so many movies to choose from, the sky’s the limit: from the hilarious (Step Brothers, Twins) to the grotesque (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, Sisters), from the Wes-Anderson canon (The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tenanbaums) to the 'oh god, did they just kiss?' (Star Wars), from the incredibly comforting (Little Women, Pride and Prejudice) to the incredibly sad (The Bridge to Terabithia, You Can Count on Me). We want to read your essays about siblings on film." Pay is $50 per essay. No fee.

The final judge for the contest is Sasha LaPointe. Please limit prose to 4,000 words. For prose that is 1,500 words or fewer, submit up to three in one entry. (These flash prose pieces will be considered individually, unless they are connected.) All manuscripts will be read blindly. $1,000 first place cash prize. Fee: $15

The Steinberg Memorial Essay Prize is named in honor of Fourth Genre's founding editor, Michael J. Steinberg, The contest gives us an opportunity to highlight outstanding writers and their work. The first place winner of the contest will receive $1000 and publication in the following year's spring issue. "We rarely publish essays longer than 6,000 words. But if you have something longer, and it is really good, send it our way." The judge this year is Debra Gwartney. Debra is the author of two book-length memoirs, Live Through This, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and I Am a Stranger Here Myself, winner of the RiverTeeth Nonfiction Prize and the Willa Award for Nonfiction. Fee: $20

Travel is full of romance and romantic ideals, whether that’s a new relationship with a fellow traveler, a deep connection with a sublime landscape, or even the discovery of self and the self-love that follows. Intrepid Times is inviting travelers and writers from all countries, at all levels of writing experience, to explore this idea. Write an original, factual, first-person travel story (between 1200 and 2000 words) about a time you experienced romance while traveling. Feel free to explore romance in all of its manifestations, but ensure that your travel story builds itself around the context of a place or experience. One winner and up to three runners-up will be selected to have their work published on Intrepid Times. The winner will be paid a cash-prize of US $200, and the runners-up will receive $50. No fee.

"As with our regular essay/memoir submissions, we are seeking strong and stirring personal stories." Send them a minimum of 800 and maximum of 1500 words. Please do not submit previously published work. 1st place: $125;

2nd place: $75; 3rd place: $50. Winners will be announced on April 10th, 2023, and all winning entries will be published online on Streetlight and in print in Streetlight's annual anthology. Fee: $10

We are interested in essays in which the writer’s personal engagement with the subject provides the frame or through-line. Entrants must be Canadian (citizen or resident). Submissions must be unpublished, nor can they be accepted for publication elsewhere. While there is no word limit to personal essay contest entries, most essays fall within the range of 2000 – 5000 words. A $1000 top prize will be awarded for one personal essay. All entries will be considered for publication in The New Quarterly ($250 paid upon publication). Entry fee includes a 1-year Canadian subscription or renewal to The New Quarterly. Fee: $40

"We accept one winning Creative Nonfiction piece of up to 25 pages (other submissions will be considered for publication at our normal rates). We offer the winner a $1,000 prize and publication in next year's Fall or Spring issue. All creative nonfiction prize submissions will be considered for publication at regular payment rates." Fee: $20

The 1st place winner of the Page Prize receives $1,000. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. There is no limit to the number of submissions a person can make to the contest. Non-fiction submissions should not exceed 1,000 words. Fee: $10

This anthology seeks true tales about courageous animals. Stories must be true (non-fiction). They must relate to non-human animals (of any species) and can be about your personal experiences/growth because of an animal, an issue threatening animals today, or other aspects of the human/non-human animal relationship. For the upcoming anthology, please weave the theme of courage/bravery into your story. We are particularly interested in spotlighting species less familiar to people, like insects, marine animals, and reptiles. Please keep your submission roughly between 500 and 3,000 words. One winning author will receive a $300 prize, and the second place author will receive $200. All other authors with stories chosen for the book will receive a $50 award, along with a free copy of the book upon its publication in 2023 a week before its release to the general public. Stories not chosen for the book will have the opportunity to be featured online on the blog, with a $20 award. No fee.

Mothers have a lot to say about mothering. Trust us, we know. We’re dedicating the month of May to telling those motherhood stories. Don’t sugarcoat it. We want the messy parts of mom life. The up-all-night, covered-in-poop, haven’t-showered-in-two-weeks parts. And we want the parts you love, too. The first words, the proud parent moments, the things you never imagined. Or, maybe you don’t want to be a mom, or aren’t able to be a mom. We want those stories too. The struggles that have come with it, or the freedom. Stories must stay between 500–3,000 words. All accepted pieces receive a $20 payment. Fee: $3

The winner of the Writing Prize will receive a cash prize, and the runners up will receive travel expense support that must be used to attend our 2023 symposium which will be held from 10th-13th August 2023 in Fjällnäs, Sweden. Prizes: First place: £3,000 cash grant, Second place: £1,000 travel expense, Third place: £1,000 travel expense. All genres of writing are permitted, including fiction, non-fiction and non-academic essays. Open to all nationalities. A maximum of 2,500 words per entry. No fee.

Submit poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. Contrary’s poetry in particular often mimics the effects of fiction or commentary. We favor fiction that is contrary in any number of ways, but our fiction typically defies traditional story form. “Commentary” is our word for the stuff that others define negatively as non-fiction, nominally as essay, or naively as truth. Payment is $20 if an invoice is submitted one month after publication. No fee.

Please submit four to six poems, one story, three flash pieces, or one essay at a time, and please wait at least six months between submissions. For prose we do not have any length restrictions—but longer-than-normal pieces have to earn their space. Copper Nickel pays $30 per printed page + two copies of the issue in which the author’s work appears + a one-year subscription. We also award two $500 prizes per issue—the Editors’ Prizes in Poetry and Prose—for what we consider to be the most exciting work in each issue, as determined by a vote of our in-house editorial staff. Fee: $2

Gulf Coast is now able to pay $50 per page for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in their print issues. In their Online Exclusives they guarantee $50 for poetry and $100 for prose. They also offer $50 for blog posts. For print exclusive prose, submit a maximum of 7,000 words. For online exclusive prose, submit a maximum of 3,000 words. For poetry, submit up to five poems. Fee: $3

You may submit one fiction piece of no more than 5,000 words, one nonfiction piece of no more than 3,500 words, or a maximum of three poems of a maximum of 100 lines each. No fee.

Submit to their theme, "Help from a stranger." All short stories, essays, poems, photographs and art must relate to one of the premises specified above. Fewer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages preferred. On acceptance for publication, they will pay the following amount: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10; artwork, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. No fee.

Burningword Literary Journal accepts poetry, flash fiction, flash nonfiction, photography, and digital art submissions for publication. Your poetry submission may contain up to five (5) poems, may be submitted as one file, run fewer than 10 pages in length, and must be unpublished. Flash fiction and flash nonfiction submissions should aim for a word-count of 300-500 words or less per piece. You may submit up to two (2) pieces per issue. Fee: $3

The Flash 405 Contest will be guest judged by Exposition Review Stage & Screen Editor Krista Nave. The theme: Tacky. "Gaudy, cheap, over-indulgent, and altogether too much. We flinch away from those things, embarrassed and protective of our 'good' taste, or we hide our enjoyment behind a shield of irony. Write a love letter to kitsch. Tell me about the ugliest thing your grandmother owned. Create tasteless characters. And disavow the 'guilty' part of pleasure." Open to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, stage & screen, and experimental - up to 405 words. 1st Place is publication and 40% of the entry fees. 2nd Place is publication and 20% of the entry fees. Two Honorable Mentions receive publication. Entry fee: $5

Hedgebrook is a global community of women writers and people who seek extraordinary books, poetry, plays, films and music by women. A literary nonprofit, their mission is to support visionary women writers, 18 and older, whose stories and ideas shape our culture now and for generations to come. it's open to writers of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting/TV, and songwriting. The residency runs two to four weeks; the cottage and all meals are included. Fee: $45

Wild Roof Journal is an online art & literary publication that features work from a wide range of creative people—painters, drawers, photographers, digital artists, writers, poets, and anyone else who is passionate about the creative process and self-expression. Poetry: 1-6 poems (submit multiple poems in a single file). Fiction: 1-3 pieces of short fiction (approx. 1,000-3,000 words) or flash fiction (under 1,000 words). Nonfiction: 1-3 pieces of creative non-fiction/essay (total length approx. 3,000 words max.) Fee: $4.50

Solarpunk is a prefigurative, utopian artistic movement that envisions what the future might look like if humanity solved major modern challenges like climate change, and created more sustainable and balanced societies. Word counts and pay rates: Fiction: 1500-7500 words ($.08 per word, $100 minimum); Poetry: up to 5 poems or 5 pages of poems, whichever is shorter. ($40 per poem); Nonfiction: 1000-2000 words ($75 per essay or article). No fee.

Canthius is an intersectional feminist magazine that publishes poetry and prose by writers of marginalized gender identities, including trans, Two Spirit, non-binary, agender, cis women, genderqueer, GNC, and intersex writers. They accept short fiction, creative non-fiction, and other forms of experimental prose (up to 3,500 words), and poetry (up to 5 poems). Pay is $50 CAD for one page, $75 CAD for two pages, $100 CAD for three, $125 CAD for four pages, and $150 CAD for five pages or more, regardless of genre. Note: they may close early if they reach their maximum submissions. No fee.

The Arkansas International welcomes previously unpublished, unsolicited general submissions of fiction, poetry, essays, comics, and works in translation. Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words, poem packets no more than five poems. Pay is $20 a printed page (capped at $250) and receive two complementary copies of the journal. Fee: $4

Deadline: March 15 (pitch deadline); April 3 (submission deadline)

Issue 06: Hot & Spicy is an homage to the sensual, erotic, tantalizing side of food. The pleasure of nourishing our bodies. "We want your foodie erotica/romance writing. Your tips on organizing your spice cupboard. Your interview with a chilli farmer. Maybe it’s about your favourite restaurant to take a date to. A how-to guide on how to satiate your appetite. Your hot sauce recipe. Or perhaps a poem about that night with your partner where you thought it would be a good idea to invite some snacks into the bedroom." Poetry: submit a maximum of three poems; Fiction and Nonfiction: 1,000 words or less. Writing can include but is not limited to short stories, essays, interviews, and recipes. Pay is $50 on publication. No fee.

Atticus Review is open for submissions in all genres for Issue Four. Poetry: submit 1-5 poems. Fiction: send one story of up to 4,000 words. We especially like Flash Fiction. Stories that are 800 words or less. Stories that don't need a lot of space to get their point across. If you are submitting Flash, then you can submit up to three stories. Creative Nonfiction: send one piece of up to 3,000 words. We especially like Flash CNF: pieces that are 800 words or less. If you are submitting Flash CNF, then you can submit up to three pieces (in one document). We accept book reviews that are 900-1200 words long and author interviews of 900-1400 words long. We are also especially interested in emerging writers. We define this as writers with fewer than five publications across all genres. If this applies to you, please note "New Voices" in your cover letter. Fee: $3

The Non/Fiction Collection Prize is awarded annually to a book-length collection of short stories, essays, or a combination of the two. The award is open to writers of fiction and creative nonfiction, and eligible submissions include unpublished manuscript of short stories or essays; two or more novellas or novella-length essays; a combination of one or more novellas/novella-length essays and short stories/essays; a combination of stories and essays. The prize carries a cash award of $1,500 and publication with The Ohio State University Press under its standard contract. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 350 typed double-spaced pages, 12-point font. The 2023 judge is Pulitzer Prize winner, author Lee Martin. Fee: $23 ($11.50 for BIPOC writers), fee waivers available.

The Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize Series welcomes manuscripts from all living writers, including non-US citizens, writing in English. Both unpublished and published writers are welcome to submit manuscripts. They will not consider manuscripts that have previously been published, which includes self-publication. Winners will receive $3,000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press. The fiction prize is for a short story collection, and manuscripts should be at least 150 pages long. The poetry prize is for a collection of poems, and manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long. Fee: $25

White Enso is seeking short fiction, essays, creative non-fiction and artwork that encapsulates the Japan experience. Submissions (up to 10,000 words) must be in English. White Enso will accept reprints. One work from each of the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, Japanese style poetry (haiku, haibun, rengay, waka, etc.), and visual art will receive the White Enso award. That selection will receive a small honorarium. No fee.

Heimat Review publishes poetry, prose (flash fiction, short stories, and creative nonfiction), photography, and art. They are seeking submissions for their Spring issue #3. Poetry: 1-5 poems. Fiction: 1-2 pieces of fiction of no more than 3000 words each. Creative Nonfiction: 1-2 pieces of creative nonfiction of no more than 3000 words each. Visual Art: 1-5 high-res photos or images of originally-created artwork. No fee.

OwlKids publishes books for children up to age 13. This call is open to authors and illustrators with disabilities, visible and invisible. Picture books should be no more than 900 words. For non-fiction, please include a synopsis, a detailed outline, a writing sample, and a list of competitive titles. For middle grade fiction, please submit a brief synopsis, a chapter overview, and a few sample chapters. Pays in royalties. No fee.

Westerly publishes short stories, micro-fiction, poetry, memoir and creative non-fiction, artwork, essays and literary criticism. Poetry: maximum of five poems, with maximum 50 lines each; Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction: maximum 3500 words; Scholarly Articles: maximum 5000 words; Reviews: between 500-700 words, to be published online or in print. Pay: Poems: $120 for one poem or $150 for two or more poems; Stories: $200; Articles: $200; Visual art/Intro essay: $120; Reviews: $100; Online Publication: $120. No fee.

We are now open for submissions to feature in the next edition of our é-zine, on the theme of 'Menace'. What does menace mean to you? We are open for submissions of poetry, short stories and short essays. No fee.

Submit prose between 50,000 and 100,000 words and poetry between 48-128 pages. All genres considered except for work in translation. The prize recipient will receive a $1,000 dollar advance on royalties. The prize recipient will receive a Standard publishing contract from Nervous Ghost Press. No fee.

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Hudson Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or short stories. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes awarded on publication. Manuscripts should be 45-95 pages in length (poetry) or 120-280 pages in length (fiction), not including front and back matter (table of contents, title page, etc.). Fee: $28

Split Lip is a literary journal that’s “totally bonkers-in-love with voice-driven writing, pop culture, and the kind of honesty that gets you right in the kidneys.” They are open for free submissions in March, May, August, September, November, and January, but remember to submit early because they may close submissions if they fill. Pay is $75 per author for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews. No fee.

Hoxie Gorge Review is committed to publishing innovative poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by both emerging and established contemporary writers. "We aim to provide a platform for writing that is urgent and engaging, regardless of theme or style. To that end, we seek work that compels us, that challenges us, that breaks us open. Our only requirement is quality. Send us your best." For poetry, please submit 3-5 poems in a single document. Each poem should start on a new page. For fiction and nonfiction, please send only one story or essay at a time. While they prefer shorter pieces, they are happy to read quality work of any length. No fee.

Booth publishes four titles of original literature on the first Friday of every month. They accept poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, lists, and audio files. Poetry: up to 3 poems; Fiction or Creative Nonfiction: up to 7,500 words; Comics: up to 20 pages, JPEG, width: 850-900px, Landscape preferred; Audio: up to eight minutes of content. Pay is reported at $50 per piece. Fee: $3

Long Hauler Publishing is seeking short stories, commentary, letters, essays or poetry addressing the lived experience of COVID long-haulers. The goal of the Long COVID anthology is to harness support for American COVID long-haulers while furthering a wider understanding of Long COVID’s ongoing effects. Short stories, commentary, letters, and essays should be 800 – 1500 words and poems up to two pages. Pay is $50 and a copy of the book. No fee.

The Ocotillo Review will accept submissions of poetry, short fiction, creative or narrative nonfiction, and flash fiction. Short fiction should be double spaced and total word count should be 1000 to 4200 words. Nonfiction submissions should be double spaced and the word count should be between 800 and 4200 words. You may submit up to three flash fiction stories of 1000 words or less per submission. You may submit up to three poems of up to 65 lines each per submission. No fee.

The 1st place winners in poetry and fiction each receive a prize of $2,000. Fiction submissions should not exceed 5,000 words. Poetry submissions have a maximum of three poems. Fee: $20

Seeking poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Payment: $55 for flash prose and short poems; $135 for longer prose and poems. TLR defines the term "longer" as 1,500 to 6,000 words for prose, and any poem that is seven pages or longer. One submission per writer per reading period. Word or PDF files only. Poetry: up to six poems in one manuscript. Prose: submissions should be in standard manuscript format. Flash: fiction and nonfiction up to 1,500 words. Fee: $4-$5 (no fee for historically marginalized writers)

Chestnut Review’s mission is to provide a literary home to stubborn artists and writers. They’re currently reading for their Summer issue. Prose: Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction between 1000 and 5000 words. Flash: Submit one piece of flash, both fiction and creative nonfiction, and micros, no more than 1000 words. Poetry: Submit up to six poems in any length or format. They are also looking for visual art and photography, as well as mixed media—work that doesn’t fit into their categories. Pay is $120 per piece via PayPal. Unpublished work only. Fee: No fee for poetry, flash, art/photography; prose: $5

An international six-month fellowship for emerging writers, who have not yet published or been contracted to write a book-length work with a U.S. publisher. Their aim is “to seek out and support writers who embrace risk in their work and their own singular vision.” Submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and—this year, for this first time—poetry are welcome. Three fellowships will be awarded. The submission includes, for prose, one fiction or nonfiction piece with a limit of 8,000 words; for poetry, a sequence of poems, a long poem, or hybrid work, with a limit of 15 pages. During the six-month fellowship, fellows will receive: editorial support from A Public Space editors to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine; a $1,000 honorarium; a one-year subscription to A Public Space; a guest pass to attend Master Classes with A Public Space during the term of the fellowship; the opportunity to participate in a public reading and conversation with A Public Space editors and contributors. No fee.

Deadlines: February 28 (fiction) and April 30 (nonfiction). Our favorite writing community offers quarterly contests judged blindly with multiple cash prizes and more for 20 winners, up to $1,350 (fiction) and $1,175 plus a gift certificate to CreateWriteNow (nonfiction), an affordable critique option, and a 300-entry limit on each contest. Previously published work is accepted! What’s not to love? This season's guest judge is Literary Agent Emily Forney with BookEnds Literary Agency. Fee: $10 (Flash Fiction) and $12 (Nonfiction).

Spring is just around the corner! In honor of the season, phoebe hosts contests in Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction, each with a $500 prize. Submissions for the phoebe 2023 Spring Contest Issue are open now until March 15th. Poetry: up to 5 poems per submission. Fiction and Nonfiction: up to 5,000 words. Fee: $7

March is full of national animal days, including National Puppy Day, National Horse Protection Day, and National Pig Day. To celebrate our fine furry friends, why not submit to Please See Me's spring issue, Animals and Healing, by March 6th? Tell them about your experience with a beloved pet during illness, caring for an animal who was ill or injured, or create a short story that introduces a healing cat with magical powers. Submit fiction and creative nonfiction up to 4,000 words, or three poems. No fee.

March 2nd is National Old Stuff Day! Spell Jar Press is seeking submissions for their upcoming print anthology, Behind the Thinning Veil: Honoring Our Ancestors. They are accepting: poetry, flash fiction, flash non-fiction, spells, photos, and print art. Submissions can be based on/related to feminism, sex, desire, witchy and earthly stuff, spirituality, culture, art, experiences of women and non-binary folk, and anything related to the natural world. Fee is $5 for up to five pieces. Submit by March 30th.

March 30th is National Virtual Vacation Day! Take a trip with your writing by submitting to Sans Press's upcoming anthology, Passageway! "New adventures, friends and foes, and whole worlds out there; all of that is being promised to those who cross the threshold. Without any guarantees, or without knowing what's out there, we want to follow the journeys of those who dare to go beyond." Open to all genres. Pay is €150 for accepted submissions. Open until March 27th or until they hit their 1,000 submission cap. No fee.

On Submission With ... DarkWinter Literary Magazine

This month, we dive into writing the dark, mysterious, and weird with Suzanne Craig-Whytock. Suzanne is an award-winning Canadian writer. Her first three novels, Smile, The Dome, and The Seventh Devil are published by Bookland Press. Her first collection of short stories, Feasting Upon The Bones was published by Potter’s Grove Press in 2021, and her new collection of short stories, At The End Of It All published in February 2023. Suzanne is also founder and editor of DarkWinter Literary Magazine, an independent publication from Ontario, Canada that focuses on short fiction and poetry. Take a look at their mission statement:

"We want your weird, your traditional with a twist, your humour, your dark thoughts, or your elation. We’re open to anything—just make it interesting."

I submitted a rather dark story about the death of two young dinosaurs, and Suzanne chose my story, “New River Gorge” for DarkWinter's January issue. In this interview, we talk about what draws us to dark stories, her new collection of short stories, and advice for authors waiting to hit “submit.”

WOW: Suzanne, welcome to On Submission! I am so excited to talk with you. You published my fiction story, “New River Gorge” in DarkWinter’s January issue. That was my first fiction submission, and my heart leapt when I got your acceptance email! What does it feel like to make a writer's dream come true?

Suzanne: It's an incredible feeling. I was a ‘first reader’ for another magazine and was responsible for the initial screening of submissions. On numerous occasions, I sent a submission to the next stage, something that I would have published myself, only to see it rejected. So I thought, why not start my own literary magazine where I can publish the things I like, the things that make me say, “Wow!” and even the things that maybe need some polish but have potential, and work with writers both emerging and established to get their ideas publication-ready? It’s been amazing, really—we had so many outstanding submissions that we had to take a hiatus from mid-October to January 1st because we were booking writers so far ahead. Whenever I accept a submission and the writer says, “You’ve made my day!” I know I’m making a positive contribution to the writing world.

WOW: That must be so rewarding. Clearly, from the tremendous number of submissions to DarkWinter, your sense was correct. As a reader, I was drawn to DarkWinter because the pieces don’t shy away from the hard subjects. What draws you to stories that can be difficult to read? What do you think we can learn from the dark?

Suzanne: I think we need the dark—we can live vicariously through it without becoming dark ourselves. There’s a certain catharsis in reading about things that make us feel emotions, particularly the painful ones, without having to experience the pain firsthand. Or maybe you HAVE experienced the pain first-hand but reading about someone else’s experience makes you feel less alone. I always go back to one of my favourite writers, Stephen King, in his essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” where he says that it’s “lifting a trap door in the civilized forebrain and throwing a basket of raw meat to the hungry alligators swimming around in that subterranean river beneath.”

WOW: Leave it to Stephen King for the perfect metaphor of how our brains crave fear! Your preface reminds me of Tina Fey’s comments about her family: “They say that funny people often come from a difficult childhood or a troubled family. So, to my family, I say, they’re giving me the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor! What did you animals do to me???” 

Suzanne: I’m extremely fortunate to have come from a very loving and supportive family, which makes things interesting when I do readings. Many of my stories are written in first-person so I often preface a reading with “for the record, my own family is lovely and nothing at all like the parents in this piece” or something to that effect. A lot of my writing stems from childhood incidents, but they’re usually things that I’ve twisted to make strange or happened to someone else. My favourite part of writing is the ‘what if?’—taking something completely ordinary and then imagining ‘what if there was a regular painting of a guy but then it came to life, and he killed people?’ or something like that.

WOW: What a great writing prompt idea. Look around you and ask, “What if?” I wonder what the cow in the painting across from my desk would say if he could talk. I love it! 

Your novel, The Dome is a story about teenagers surviving together in a post-apocalyptic hellscape; and yet your blog, aptly titled "mydangblog" is filled with humor. How do you balance humor and horror? 

Suzanne: I love writing both, to be honest. I have a very twisted sense of humour as well as a strange imagination, and I think that lends itself to both comedy and drama. And while The Dome certainly has its dark moments, there’s a lot in there about love, the importance of family, and even a touch of humour. My third novel, The Seventh Devil, would be considered a supernatural thriller, but even within that, there’s humour, friendship, and love; even more so in the sequel The Devil You Know, which will be out late this spring. As for the humour blog, I try to find something funny each week to focus on, and that really helps keep my head above water.

WOW: One of the sections in your first collection of short stories, Feasting Among the Bones, is entitled “Be Careful What You Wish For.” As a reader, I love dark twists. When you are crafting a story, how do you balance keeping the reader in suspense and yet engaged? Do you start from the ending and work backward or follow an outline?

Suzanne: It really depends on the story. I sometimes start with an idea, let it germinate, then just sit down and write until I feel the story is done. But I also like to have endings that are powerful and twisty or wrap things up in just the right way; so often, the idea might simply be the last line, and then I build the story around it. In my new short story collection, At The End Of It All (that just published on February 7), the anchor stories are called “Nomads of the Modern Wasteland”—there are three stories, one at the end of each section. The idea for all of them came from a single image—I was driving down a street and saw three people walking single file across a parking lot. Immediately, I wanted to know who they were and where they were going and started filling in their backgrounds until I had the three pieces that anchor the collection.

WOW: How did you put this collection together? Did you write the other stories alongside “Nomads of the Modern Wasteland” or did you have previously written stories around that found a home in this collection?

Suzanne: I had four stories that I’d previously written, but I mostly started this collection from scratch in the summer of 2021 and finished it in spring 2022. You’ll find a couple of characters who’ve “crossed over” into the new collection, as well as one that was prominent in both Feasting Upon The Bones and The Devil You Know—Mr. Death, also known as Mort Sterven. He’s a favourite, and I’m already working on a third book in the Seventh Devil trilogy that features him as more of a main character.

WOW: I love cross-over characters! I’ve been binging Jasmine Guillory’s romance novels and she does this so well. So, how do you know a story is complete? When do you put your pen down?

Suzanne: Oh, I’m the worst for this as both my publishers will tell you, asking for revisions right until the 11th hour! Even now, I look back at some of my books and say, “Why didn’t I add that?” or “Ooh, I used the same word twice in two paragraphs” (I’m a little fanatical about varying my diction). I suppose for me, it’s done when I’m completely happy with the ending. The Seventh Devil, for example, originally ended with Chapter 20, but I had so many ideas swirling around in my head that it didn’t seem like it was done yet. So, I added a last chapter, more of an epilogue, that leads into the next book.

WOW: You recently celebrated The Dome being translated into Arabic. Tell me about the behind the scenes of that opportunity. How did you negotiate foreign rights?

Suzanne: My Canadian publisher, Bookland Press, negotiated the foreign rights with Arab Scientific Publishers, a very large publishing company out of Lebanon—they actually publish translations of some big-name authors like Stephen King and John Grisham and it was a thrill to see my book cover on a splash page alongside theirs! Unfortunately, I don’t speak Arabic, but I’m so proud to share the book with an Arabic audience and hope anyone who reads the Arabic version of The Dome enjoys it.

WOW: From an editor’s perspective, what advice do you have for writers who are waiting for the right publication for their work or the right time to submit?

Suzanne: First, read content that the publisher or journal has accepted and their submission guidelines, so you know what they’re looking for. Get a couple of beta readers to give you feedback. Then edit for grammar, spelling, usage and so on. At DarkWinter, we work with authors when a story has potential but needs help with structure, formatting, or style, but other publications want a completely polished piece. Then, just hit ‘submit.’ What’s the worst that can happen? You might get rejected? Everyone does at some point, but eventually you’ll find the right place for your work. Remember that many publishers get thousands of submissions, and it just depends on who’s reading on any given day. Last year, I found a rejection letter for a poem that I’d written when I was about 21 (back in the days when you had to send your work by mail and received a handwritten response). I reread the poem and still thought it was pretty good, so I sent it to an online journal, and it was accepted—three and a half decades later.

WOW: On Submission always ends with something fun. If you’re up for it, I’d like to do a lightning round of what keeps you warm during the long Canadian winter. Are you ready? 

Suzanne: I’ll take sitting in front of a fireplace wrapped in one of the quilts my husband’s grandmother made, with a cat on my lap, a glass of white wine in my hand, and a plate full of poutine on the side table next to me that my dog is staring at and hoping I’ll share. Idyllic.

That sounds perfect! Thank you Suzanne Craig-Whytock for spending this time with me for your wonderful stories and for DarkWinter Literary Magazine. If your favorite reading chair and fireplace are beckoning, try something scary and feed those alligators. You can pick up Suzanne’s short story collection here. Or if you have a dark piece that hasn’t found a home, consider submitting it to DarkWinter. Check this page for their next round of open submissions.

Series are popular with readers, publishers, and writers. Wonderful series characters become treasured friends, with whom you catch up on a regular basis.

But, as a writer, how do you keep a long-running series fresh? A reader picking up a mystery wants it solved by the end of the book. A reader picking up a romance novel wants a happy ending, or at least a “happy for now.” How do you keep that momentum in book after book?

People change. Lives change. There's growth and loss and separation. One of the difficult, and yet wonderful, parts of writing a series is balancing the realities of growth and change with reader expectations and genre expectations.

Publishing changes. Authors have to learn how to trust their instincts while keeping up with the market and moving pieces of the profession.

Jayne Ann Krentz ties three series together with her Arcane Society books that cross over between Amanda Quick (historical), Jayne Ann Krentz (contemporary), and Jayne Castle (futuristic). Because their focus is on romance (with mystery and paranormal entwined), each book in her series features a different pair of protagonists central to the plot, who get their Happily Ever Afters (HEA), and then become supporting characters in other books. Nora Roberts uses different protagonists in an ensemble in her trilogies, too.

I do this in my paranormal romantic suspense series, Coventina Circle. The series is finite—nine books—built around a modern coven in a slightly alternate New York City. Keeping the focus on a different pair of romantic protagonists in each book, while showing the growth of familiar characters from previous books and characters who will be central in upcoming books, helps me keep it fresh while allowing the characters to grow and change over the course of the series.

Of the three series of mine under current contract, two are finite and one is open-ended. Coventina Circle’s fifth book, The Bard’s Lament, releases this fall. The whole nine book series is outlined, trying to strike a balance between the points I need to hit in the overall series, and room for characters to grow and change book to book. The Gwen Finnegan Mysteries (paranormal mystery with romantic elements) is capped at four books, currently: three focusing on the ups and downs of Gwen’s relationship with her younger lover Justin and the fourth book a prequel. The door is open on that series, thanks to reader support, for more Gwen-Justin in the future, but only the first four have a commitment.

My Nautical Namaste series, the not-quite-cozy yoga/cruise ship contemporary mysteries under the Ava Dunne name, is open-ended. Six books are in outline with a commitment for the first three. If they do well enough, there’s room to continue. I have rough notes on how I see Sophie evolving beyond the original six books, but I don't want to limit the way she evolves from book to book. If and as the series continues, at some point, we will have to deal with Covid-19 and how it’s reshaping the cruise industry. We are discussing that with the books under contract, and those discussions will continue. The shape of the series may well change. That becomes a discussion of then it dates the series, which eventually moves it out of “contemporary.”

The decision for the Coventina Circle was to keep it post-9/11 but pre-pandemic since all nine books fall within about a year and a half time period. How it will affect the Gwen Finnegan Mysteries is still under discussion.

Other books on submission or in negotiation will also have to face whether and how to deal with the pandemic, especially if they are series. Those discussions are seeds for future articles. The pandemic can be a pivotal point in a series, but certainly not the way I’d choose to keep a series “fresh.”

But keeping characters and situations lively from book to book is a challenge. So, I asked a trio of my favorite authors how they manage it.

Yasmine Galenorn has a huge body of work in multiple series in urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and paranormal mystery. Her Otherworld Series, which ended last year, consists of twenty-one books, with a trio of sisters as the central protagonists. Each book is told from a different sister’s POV: Camille, Delilah, Menolly, back to Camille, and so on. Since once I decide a book is going to evolve into a series, I make notes as far into the series as I can imagine, I wondered how far ahead Yasmine worked and how she managed to keep it fresh for twenty-one books.

“Ninety percent evolved and ten percent planned—that’s the way I write,” she said. “I’m not a writer who plots the book before I write—I write a short synopsis of the absolute highlights and go from there. I may have some very generalized idea of the series arc, but I seldom know much about the development of characters and novels before I begin to write them.”

Lucy Burdette, who writes the Key West Food Critic Mysteries, shared, “I don’t actually plot very far ahead, but I’m always thinking about what might happen next in the characters’ lives—both physical and emotional. I was a clinical psychologist before I became a writer, so the psychology of these people is most interesting to me.”

“Besides a general idea of how I'd like my sleuths to evolve, I prefer their arcs to grow organically with each book,” Alyssa Maxwell told me. She is the author of two historical mystery series: The Gilded Newport Mysteries and A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mysteries. “Sometimes they do things that surprise me, and I don’t want to stifle that by over planning.”

“A huge problem in writing a series with an amateur sleuth is believability,” added Lucy. “There is no rational reason why a food critic should be involved in crime-solving. But ... if she gets pulled in because someone she cares deeply about is involved in a murder, then she has a believable motive to nose around. Hayley has developed into a curious, gregarious, loving person, and it’s both fun and a challenge for me to think about what characters from the background chorus might move forward and take a more central role. When I worked as a clinical psychologist doing long-term psychotherapy, I understood that people revealed themselves slowly. My characters are like that, too, and I love getting to know their rich inner lives. As long as they are growing and changing, I am interested in writing about them. Some writers do a lot of work before they start a book, character sketches and deep dive outlines. I tend to start out knowing very little and gradually learn about the characters as they appear. Someone once said they don't expect much from a first book because the writer is just getting to know the characters. And that feels about right to me.”

Alyssa keeps her series fresh for herself “by challenging myself with new settings, circumstances, and themes. In my Newport series, each house and family who owned it helps shape the tone and themes of that story. In my Lady & Lady’s Maid series, I’ve used some varied locations to keep them fresh, as well as featuring different members of the Renshaw family. And for both series, I look to historical events from year to year to help provide a unique focus for each book.”

That historical context for Alyssa’s books shapes the arcs, especially for the characters. “Although my sleuths are progressive, assertive women, their expectations about life still remain within the parameters of the society in which they live. They’re very much aware of the limitations placed on women and understand the consequences of challenging those limitations. Their arcs involve summoning enough courage to achieve their goals despite the obstacles.”

Lucy took a courageous risk when she changed Hayley's love interest in the series. Personally, I can’t count how many times I’ve been told that I “can’t” change a character’s love interest in a series and told that at least two options have to be presented at the top of the series, and it needs to be obvious which one the protagonist ends up with early on—even if it’s not a romance. I disagree with this position, and I was delighted when Hayley’s growth meant one relationship ran its course, and she had room for another relationship to grow. So, of course, I asked Lucy about any worry that it was a risk to make that change and how it came about.

“Readers who remember the first book, An Appetite for Murder, will recall that food critic Hayley Snow’s romantic choices can be suspect. She met a man in a New Jersey bookstore before book one begins, and they fell in love or maybe lust. He invited her to move in with him in Key West; and while that relationship flamed out quickly, she was there long enough to fall in love with the island. She had a truncated dalliance with a police detective; but by book four, Murder With Ganache, she began to get involved with her boss at Key West Magazine. One of my devoted fans wrote me around then and told me that man was not right for Hayley; and if I persisted in writing them into the next book, she was done with the series. After my shock wore off, I realized she was right. There was absolutely no chemistry between these two people! Hayley might have occasional troubles with her new guy, but a lack of fire is not one of the problems. All that to say the change was not something I forced; it arose from the characters themselves with an assist from a thoughtful reader.”

I wondered if there was ever a point in Otherworld where Yasmine felt the stories or the characters were getting stale and how she made choices in freshening up any aspect. “Not stale so much, just so complicated that it felt overwhelming because I write a series with ‘a cast of thousands’. I just trusted that what needed to get tied up, would be tied up, and most of it was,” she responded.

I also wondered how other writers know when to end a series. One of my fears is that I’ll keep on going too long, and readers will get bored. Or that my publisher will decide not to continue because the sales don't support it. That’s one of the risks that binge-reading escalates—when readers refuse to support a series during its creation, wanting to read the whole series once it’s finished. It doesn’t give the author the support necessary to actually write the series to completion.

For Otherworld, Yasmine said, “I did know, at about book fifteen, that I needed two more three-book cycles to finish. It was just an inner feeling. So, I ended up with a twenty-one-book series. I ended up writing the last three indie because my ex-publisher decided to drop the series three books from the end.”

Asked about current series, whether there’s a pre-determined endpoint for them or just going on until her gut tells her to close, she said, “No, I do know how many books I have planned; but if the Wild Hunt continues to do well, I think I’d be quite happy to write more. In a sense, this series is easier than Otherworld because I don't have one mega overwhelming series arc that I’m working toward. I think there will be a point where I'll know the characters are ready to wrap it up—they’re good about talking to me like that.”

Alyssa agreed. “I’ll happily keep writing these series as long as readers are happy to read them.”

In terms of how far ahead to plan books? Those opinions ranged far and wide, too.

Yasmine replied, “Not to sound flippant, but ... half a book? Right now, I do know what’s happening vaguely in the next book, as I wrap up editing this book; but that’s only because the story flowed from one into the next. It’s rather exciting because I get to find out like my readers do—only instead of reading the story, I find out as I’m writing. It’s worked for me for over sixty-five books, so I’m not going to try to fix what isn’t broken.”

“And unfortunately, some of the thinking is driven by the publishing world,” added Lucy. “If I have a contract for two books, I think that far ahead. Although it’s always fun to imagine what could come next. . .And if I’m not sure there will be more books, I try to write the one I might be ending with in a way that would satisfy devoted readers rather than leave them hanging.”

As far as advice to writers to keep their series fresh?

I like working on more than one series at a time. It keeps me fresh and allows me to return to each world with an enhanced perspective and not get bogged down. I’m also heavily reliant on my series bible (I taught courses and have a workbook about creating and sustaining a series bible). I listen to my characters, trust them, and let them grow rather than keeping them stuck strictly within how I interpret genre expectations. I try to keep it balanced. By trusting my characters (aka my subconscious), I do my best work.

Alyssa revealed, “I believe giving your main characters an active and complex personal life, with new challenges and lots of conflict to work through in each story, will help keep the series alive and interesting for both the writer and the reader.”

“Write more than one series at a time, so you get a break,” Yasmine advised. “That’s a big one. And for me, writing so many books a year now, I am still loving the world as I write it. When Otherworld dragged out year after year with one-two books a year, it got difficult to get back into the swing of it.”

“Here’s my take,” said Lucy. “With a series, readers will come back for the people you create. They might expect a mystery in each story, but they’re choosing your books because they want to see what happens to the protagonist. Have your sleuth grow and change, realizing truths about herself with each story. Her relationships should fluctuate, mature, and expand like in real life. Your suspects should also have connections to each other because it’s these hidden secrets that your sleuth will uncover. Thus, the focus of your stories should be on character relationships rather than crime scene details.”

Growing with the characters! As a reader, that’s why I keep returning to a series. As a writer, that's what I want to give my readers.

By Sue Bradford Edwards

When a reader picks up a fantasy novel, a rom-com, or a cozy mystery, they come to the book with certain expectations. A fantasy reader expects magic. Rom-com fans want both romance and laughs. Cozy readers want to watch someone just like them catch the bad guy.

By Renee Roberson

Before I decided to create my own podcast, I put in numerous hours listening to others. As I explored the various genres in my podcast app, I paid close attention to the format of each show.

By Cathy C. Hall

For the last few months, I have not been a happy writer. At least, not in that “joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart” way. But I have been a busy writer and so I didn’t notice. Until the start of February, and as we say in the story-writing business…AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED.

By Nicole Pyles

With February now upon us, I considered my goals for this month and even the remainder of the year. What would I focus on next? I love the idea of writing new stories, but the truth is, I have to face my writing weakness which is always looming and lurking in the corner: revising.

By Kelly Sgroi

Spending money on something that is not making money can be difficult to justify. Trust me, I know better than anyone what it’s like to feel guilty about spending money on books and writing when essentially, it’s a hobby. Or is it?

By Nicole Pyles

Avione Lee was born and raised in Texas, as indicated by her excessive use of the word y’all. She is a graduate of the summer 2022 Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop, a Madeleine Milburn Fellow, and a Pitch Wars alum. Her debut novel, about a boy who discovers he can turn music into colorful magic, will be published by Simon and Schuster in 2024, and she cannot wait for you to read it.

By Tracey Buchanan

Inspiration. One of those words hovering around creative arts like a shimmering gold ring that’s only sometimes close enough to grasp. As a journalist, early in my professional career as a writer, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting until inspiration hit. Writer’s block wasn’t an option—a newspaper would be coming out and my inches of column space could not read “catch you next time.”

Thank you to these six women writers below who shared their inspiring successes with us! Each one is so different: from publishing a chapbook of flash fiction to self-publishing a novel, from poetry to essays to romance in magazines and other publication outlets. These success stories will give you some ideas of ways you can get your writing out in the world; and we hope when you do, you will let us know about it by sending your success to me at margolynndill@gmail.com and also cc margo@wow-womenonwriting.com. This assures that nothing lands in the junk folder!

We want to hear from as many of you as we can, and this includes those of you who are meeting your writing goals—whether you are gauging that by word count or weekly sessions with your butt in the chair! Did you have a book signing, win a contest, or revamp your website? Show it off to this overly supportive community at WOW! and send us your success story.

I’m happy to share an interview I did with Canvas Rebel, which is a site that highlights small business owners, artists, and creatives in our communities who deserve more coverage, more platforms and more opportunities to share their stories and insights. My interview is here https://canvasrebel.com/meet-margo-dill/, and in it, I discuss a risk I’ve taken, which is starting my own independent publishing company Editor-911 Books and a book I recommend that helped me have the courage to do it! I’d love you to check it out and see the photo with my daughter at her last musical, Newsies, Jr.!

Now on to the success!

Myna Chang (mynachang.com) writes: “My collection of interconnected flash fiction was published on February 1. The Potential of Radio and Rain is the winner of the 2022 CutBank Chapbook Award. Rooted in the unforgiving landscape of the shortgrass prairie, these stories are about poverty and isolation, youth and mortality, and the stubborn characters trying to make their way in trying times. Several of these stories have placed in the WOW Flash Contest! Available now from CutBank books.”

Sally Basmajian (sallybasmajian.com) writes, “An essay of mine was recently published by Canada's newspaper, The Globe and Mail (circulation: approximately 300,000). It was one I'd submitted to the WOW nonfiction contest, and I'd received some encouraging and useful notes from the judge about it, even though it didn't win. Here's the link: 'The thrill of performing (and a strapless bra) was all we needed at 14.' It's a good example of ‘success comes to those who are open-minded enough to listen, then revise, revise, revise!’ Okay, so that's not an actual saying, but it's a personal policy that hasn't failed me yet. As a matter of fact, my first romantic-comedy novel, So Hard to Do, has just been published (by Creative James Media, Maryland), and it wasn't precisely an overnight slam-dunk, either. Never give up, I tell myself constantly, and learn from the experts!”

Beach Access 1 (Theresa Loder) had two poems published:

1. A poem, “Nature’s Nurseries,” was published by Tampa Bay Estuary Program

2. “Trading Spaces” (poem) was also chosen for the Embracing Our Differences exhibit at Island Park in Sarasota Florida

Carol Stoos Kalmes writes, “A romance published in Woman’s World magazine last month!”

@cmillinerwrites writes, “Self publishing my debut novel, Meet Clay Brown, on March 3rd!”

@allyhubb writes, “I received my first acceptance for a short poem. 😊 Thanks to Angela @wow_womenonwriting for the encouragement to submit!”

Author: Linda and Charlie Bloom

Now more than ever, couples need guidance for navigating conflict wisely and skillfully. Drawing on insights from their work with couples since 1975, the Blooms offer practical tools and strategies that apply to all relationships. An End to Arguing convincingly shows how destructive conflicts can be avoided, and provides stimulus for individual and interpersonal growth. They use compelling examples from their clinical work and their own fifty-year marriage, which has had its share of challenges.

An End to Arguing doesn't just provide a way of preventing differences from turning into painful conflict; it gives the reader an insight into what qualities are inherent in argument-free relationships. The way of getting there may be simpler than you think!

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