Weird Circular #20 May

The May Weird Circular

This month's Weird Circular is live with submission ideas, prompts, and more!

Welcome to the Weird Circular

Dear Fellow Writers of the Weird:

It's May, that month in Texas where we all start to remember what summer feels like...and it's not a good thing. 

But you know what is a good thing?

In April I went to the Futurescapes workshop in Utah. It's a SFF workshop for emerging writers and everytime I go to a workshop like this it is like a rollercoaster. One day I'm up, feeling pumped about my work, the next day I'm in a deep valley full of brain weasels. Which is to say, when you have good news, you gotta celebrate. And not just a little bit. So I am here to shout to the mountains that I am proud of my little chapbook. It's already been reviewed at

and is slated to be reviewed at several other amazing poetry markets. Many folks have kindly pre-ordered. I am grateful to everyone who has been supportive of me as I go through this first (albeit small) milestone. 

Oh, and since it's

this month, enjoy this watery-themed Weird Circular in anticipation of summer! 

- Holly 

Oh lovely swag, how I adore you.

If you're one of the first 50 people to pre-order my chapbook, I'll send you a beautiful lapel pin of the glass-winged butterfly that is on my cover. 

Submission Calls

: Theme: Midsummer Night's Dream (Summer). Fairy tale, folklore, or myth Fiction 700-2000 words. Comics 1-5 pages. 

Other Upcoming Submission Windows: 

Need more submission ideas? Check the

newest markets,

, Duotrope's

,

, or Literary Mama's

.

YOU SHOULD BE WRITING

Prompt #1: Write about an underwater dweller. It could be a mermaid story or it could be a poem about

or it could be an essay about the titanic's remains. Make a metaphor if you like. 

Bonus Round: Go through Wikipedia and find some fascinating

and add them to your piece. This can be used in multiple genres. You could create a realism story that uses the creatures as metaphors and intersperses information. It could be a hybrid personal essay with facts about sealife. 

Prompt #2: Where can you hide an island?

Bonus Round: How do you get it back?

Prompt #3: Write a piece in response to the above video. 

Bonus Round: Look back at your piece. Insert a section of dialogue. It could be between two people, or it could be between an object and a person, or a nonhuman. 

Editing tip of the month: Edit outside of your comfort zone. Take your piece, print it out, and carry it with you to the pool, the seaside, a creek, or somewhere in nature. Sometimes just getting out of your office or away from your desk can give you a fresh perspective on a piece. Carry it around with you for a while, spill coffee on it, show it to a stranger.

Inspiration from the Ether

♛ Weird Story of the Month: Parachutes by Sara Lippmann ♛

☢ Weird Inspiration from the Real World: Tumbleweed Takeover ☢

News From Your Corporeal Host

  • You can now pre-order my first-ever chapbook, Glimmerglass Girl. The first 50 to pre-order will get a limited edition lapel pin! Visit my website to learn more.

  • I have a new poem up at Isacoustics, "Espejitos." It appears in my chapbook as the lead poem. 

  • Glimmerglass Girl was reviewed at VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts. 

  • I edited the latest issue of Eye to the Telescope, SFPA's online journal of poetry. This issue is all about the theme of Time. Read it here!  You can also read my blog about the process of editing. 

  • I'm chairing the 2018 SFPA poetry contest! Read here about how to enter starting June 1.

  • I'll be at Writefest next weekend as a panelist and volunteer. Come say hi! 

Join the conversation

or to participate.