The Writer November - December 2022

THE MOST CURIOUS THING ABOUT writing is how many different ways there are to go about it. Everyone writing in English works by arranging the same 26 letters of the alphabet on the page, but we all arrive at the same destination in such varied ways. For every nine writers who will tell you to never-ever-ever revise as you go, there will be one who must thoroughly polish each sentence before moving on to the next. For every staunch plotter, there will be a pantser, a plantser, or a platter. Some write short and add in revision, some go long and trim later, while others still aim for a perfect draft length right out of the gate. It’s a mad, mad writing world out there, and there are no right…

Superpresent: Food-themed submissions The winter 2023 issue of Superpresent will have a theme of food: “Food not only in the literal sense but also in the metaphorical sense. What feeds us? What feeds our mind? What do we feed others? What do we hunger for?” Open to a wide range of forms, including poetry, fiction, essays, art, video, asemic writing, and recipes. Submit by Nov. 15. superpresent.org Pensive: Spiritual writing Pensive: A Global Journal of Spirituality & the Arts, an online publication from Northeastern University, is open for submissions of poetry, prose, translations, and visual art for its spring issue. Although there is no theme, the issue will contain a “special section on spiritual responses to current events & voices from ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ (e.g. incarcerated, homeless, refugee communities, and…

THE YEAR OREGON TRAVEL WRITER Nancy Zaffaro attended the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) conference on Washington state’s Whidbey Island, she found herself on a barge with several other members learning about the life stages of mussels. “We got to watch where they grow and how they’re harvested,” she explains. “The public doesn’t often get this opportunity, but it’s important for writers to see things like this so they can go off and describe them for others.” Zaffaro is a longtime member of ​IFWTWA. It’s an international network of storytellers, offering professional development and networking for creators who represent food, wine, travel, and hospitality industries. Members include journalists, bloggers, and podcasters, videographers, and others. Online year-round as well as during in-person events, foodies network with adventure travelers,…

Jump-Start Your Memoir: Write it from the Heart. Jan. 29-Feb. 2, 2023. Nancy Slonim Aronie, NPR commentator and author of Writing from the Heart, teaches a five-day workshop designed to help writers launch the project they’ve been dreaming about, whether it’s a memoir, a collection of poetry, a screenplay, or stories for one’s family members. Using prompts and candid discussions in a safe space, Slonim teaches participants how to silence their inner critic and write with authenticity. Held at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, this workshop includes daily yoga classes and fresh organic meals, as well as access to the 100-acre grounds featuring walking paths and hiking trails and lakefront property conducive to quiet reflection and writing time. Participants return home with a solid sense…

APRIL BRADLEY WAS LOOKING through her grandmother’s recipes at Thanksgiving during the pandemic when she decided to launch a literary food magazine. “I was thinking about what it would be like to have a community cookbook from the flash fiction and nonfiction community,” she says, “and how I’d love to see what writers could do with the recipe form.” She spent some time researching scholarship on recipe interpretations as narratives and got on Twitter to test the public’s reaction to such a magazine. “I got so many responses from people who said they’d love to contribute,” she explains. And so, in June 2022, she launched Ruby – a biannual literary magazine that specializes in short-form stories about food. Tone, editorial content Bradley gravitates toward narratives that offer a memorable voice…

IN 2011, POET AND AUTHOR ARIANA D. Den Bleyker saw a need for publications catering to people without numerous bylines and launched Emerge Literary Journal to showcase their work. Over the past year, staff at the magazine expanded her vision to include established writers who want to attempt a new genre or form. “So, let’s say you’re a poet, and you want to try fiction, or you’re a fiction writer, and you want to throw in some magical realism and haven’t done that before. We welcome that,” says Diane Gottlieb, prose editor at Emerge, noting that the magazine’s tagline is “a journal of growth, change & experimentation.” “If you feel strongly that this is a piece that needs to be out in the world, send it to us,” she says.…