I’m so excited to have a piece in Briefly Write with some amazing writers!
I actually wrote this as a story for Visual Verse, so I wanted to share the original picture by Olga Naida. I was bummed when it wasn’t accepted for that issue because I thought it fit well – and wouldn’t stand on its own. But I’m so glad Briefly Write picked it up!
If you read it without seeing the picture, what did you think? Does seeing the image change your interpretation?
Another fun thing from 2023, besides the writing publications I previously mentioned, was starting Shorter is Better book club with Chelsea Stickle and Suzanne Hicks.
We started in April with After the Rapture by Nancy Stohlman. The rest of the books were as follows:
We took December off, and will do the same in 2024. We’re also taking February off in consideration of AWP and so many authors and small presses being swamped that month! However, we already have our January book picked: The Anchored World by Jasmine Sawers. Grab a copy from Rose Metal Press and join us on January 16th at 7:30 pm ET.
You can find us on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with our reading progress and join in on the meetings!
This year felt like a slow one to me, but when I look at my submissions spreadsheet and publication track record, it was pretty great! I did take it a bit slower in terms of workshops. I love the prompts and feedback in workshops, but this year was a rollercoaster in terms of my paid writing work, so not having the pressure (or expense, yikes!) of many workshops was a necessary break. (That said, I took seven workshops total, though many were in the spring when my work life was still running smoothly!)
I like the goal of submitting to a certain number of places a month because I like marking accomplishments off my list. However, I don’t like the pressure of submitting just because. So for 2024, I’m going to take a small step back. I’m going to focus more on the ideas I have for collections and novellas-in-flash and strive to finish those instead of writing one-offs for submission. I think having a few bigger projects on my plate will be a nice change of pace from these past three years.
Anyway, my 2023 stats meet the goals I set for myself at the end of last year. I submitted 62 times, compared to 63 written in 2022 (I also submitted photography that year) and 44 in 2021. I had 16 acceptances, compared to 13 written acceptances in 2022 and 5 in 2021. Six stories are still out/under consideration.
I also wrote blurbs for two amazing collections: Winter Dance Party by Brett Biebel and Awakenings edited by Diane Gottlieb.
Two of my 2023 acceptances are for anthologies coming in the future from Reflex Press and Stanchion, but the rest are online and linked below:
Ladyfingers published by Visual Verse 9/2023
The Hand, The Remorse of Conscience in The Ekphrastic Review’s Lucky 8 Marathon 8/2023
Precarious Pile published by Visual Verse 8/2023
Nectar published by SoFloPoJo 8/2023
Waiting in the Rain published by Visual Verse 7/2023
Blue Monkey published by Ellipsis Zine 6/2023
Crosstown Traffic published by The Write-In 6/2023
Moving Day published by The Write-In 6/2023
Trick or Treat published by The Write-In 6/2023
She’s Where the Sky Meets the Water published by The Write-In 6/2023
Dreamless Reality published by The Write-In 6/2023
Close Your Eyes published by Visual Verse 5/2023
Midway shortlisted for the Brilliant Flash Fiction Contest 5/2023
Mother of Pearl published by Visual Verse 4/2023
501 published by Spartan 4/2023
Death of an Influencer published by Visual Verse 3/2023
Bank Balance published by Friday Flash Fiction 3/2023
“Shining Light” photograph in Rock and a Hard Place Issue 9 2/2023
Related Posts:
I’m thrilled that my creative nonfiction micro was accepted for the September image prompt at Visual Verse!
The artwork made me think of a ring my grandmother had since childhood.
And my memories flowed from there!
Last month I took part in the Ekphrastic Review‘s Ekphrastic Marathon and wrote several pieces based on amazing works of art. I’m excited that my story inspired by “The Hand, The Remorse of Conscience” was featured in the Marathon Showcase!
Read it, and many other wonderful pieces, here.
Yes, Visual Verse only publishes one image prompt per month, but I forgot to update when they accepted my piece last month, and they’ve just posted my submission for August, so you get two here!
Read my July story, “Waiting in the Rain”
I’m so happy that South Florida Poetry Journal accepted my micro fiction “Nectar” for publication! I wrote this in Nancy Stohlman’s “Courting the Muse” workshop, which truly let me unwind and chase story fragments wherever they led me. I loved getting a chance to explore the magical realism of this story and hope you enjoy it, too!
Read “Nectar” here! Also check out all the other amazing writers in this issue.
I’m so excited that my flash piece, “Blue Monkey,” was published today at Ellipsis Zine!
I wrote this in a Sarah Freligh workshop that centered around place. After drawing a map of a street in my city, I realized there were tons of stories I could write… so I did! And this is the first to find a home, so I hope you read it and love it and demand someone publish my chapbook centered around midtown Memphis.
As my last post mentioned, I had a great time writing and submitting to The Write-In on National Flash Fiction day. I’m thrilled that five of my submissions were published! I’m sharing the links here, along with the prompts to give an idea of the guidelines/constraints.
Crosstown Traffic: A triptych where each section takes place in the same moment of time.
Moving Day: A story in which the action happens backwards.
Trick or Treat: Flash without a full stop or period as a punctuation mark.
She’s Where the Sky Meets the Water: 24-word flash with a seven-word title.
Dreamless Reality: A version of a fairy tale set in modern times.
I’m so happy that Visual Verse shared my May submission, “Close Your Eyes.”
Allison Renner Writes 