Trigger Warning: This installment is collaborative, and it touches on a sensitive topic. Although it does not include anything overt, the authors encourage readers to care for their safety and emotional well-being.
Hi Friends:
Because writer’s block can be insatiable, this issue includes:
A sip…
The Hungry Hungry Hipster predates the muse and isn’t the board game…
A shout out…
If one is the sum of all told, author, comic book creator, editor, essayist, podcast host, publisher, professor, and social critic and commentator, Roxane Gay, expresses her opinions with honest and powerful conviction.
The eldest of three raised by strict but loving parents of Haitian descent who began writing stories as early as age four, she is a cousin of Claudine Gay. Prolific across genres, she is acclaimed for her ability to directly analyze, and sincerely deconstruct complex issues surrounding privilege, gender identity, racism, sexuality, and weight bias.
A sexual assault survivor who discusses its impact on her body image and relationship with food in Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, she is an alumna of Vermont College at Norwich (BA, 1999), University of Nebraska – Lincoln (MA, 2004), and Michigan Technical College (Ph.D., 2010) and an early adopter of the independent literary community.
A self-described listener looking at why the center is so comfortable, she is the first Black woman to write for Marvel Comics, the recipient of the PEN Center USA Freedom to Write Award (2015), Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts (General Non-Fiction, 2018), and the PEN Oakland Gary Webb Anti-Censorship Award (2021) amongst others, and is the host of:
A sentence…
Prompts inspired by Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body:
“The body is not a fortress no matter what we may do to make it such.”
“There are so many rules for the body - often unspoken and ever-shifting.”
My rage is often silent because no one wants to hear fat girl stories of taking up too much space and still finding nowhere to fit.”
“My father believes hunger is in the mind. I know differently. I know hunger is in the mind and the body and the heart and the soul.”
“I believe it is so important for women to feel comfortable in their bodies, without wanting to change every single thing about their bodies to find that comfort.”
A few useful tips…
When writing about sexual assault:
Do the research.
Do not fetishize trauma.
Do not write from the perspective of the act fitting into neat and pretty narratives of redemption or survival.
A few contests/competitions…
Bacopa Literary Review Writing Contest
Fabula Press Short Story Competition
A few grants/fellowships/retreats/scholarships…
Humanitas New Voices Fellowship
Pen America US Writers Aid Initiative
A few freelance opportunities…
From Day One is seeking story pitches.
IndieWire is seeking freelancers.
A submission opportunity…
Broadview is seeking opinion/memoir pieces that touch on faith, ethical living, or justice themes.
Electric Literature is open for submissions.
Hearth Stories is seeking “speculative fiction slice-of-life stories.”
New Orleans Review is seeking submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and from around the world.
Observer is seeking themed book roundup pitches.
Toronto Journal accepts short stories from anywhere in the world.
Women Writers are Dope is seeking pitches for empowering stories from women writers.
A few sessions & workshops…
March 26th
March 27th
Embrace & Evolve: Journaling for Healing & Growth
Online Poetry Writing Workshop
Take a Tour into Creativity – Online Journaling
March 28th
March 29th
March 30th
April 1st
Ongoing
Historical Perspectives Writing Group
Virtual Journaling – Marvelous March Memoirs
A few virtual book clubs…
And a final thought…
This installment is a collaborative effort; the compelling and insightful,
suggested the author and writing prompts, and to obtain fresh perspectives on love and travel, subscribe to From the Desk of Rachel Leeke, here:It also contains an affiliate link; I earn commissions when you purchase books using that link, or may you please, buy me a coffee.
Thanks for reading,
This truly informational and helpful! Thank you for sharing
Thank you for these resources! I will be chewing on this for weeks.