November features a couple of open mics (in addition to the WritersMic on November 21), and I’ve listed them here, with some places to submit your shorter work, and a link to a list of fifty publishers that accept direct submissions.
MoCa, the gallery and performance space located in Westport, CT, is planning an open mic evening to take place on November 10 from 6:30-8pm. The evening will include acoustic music, prose, poetry, and slam poetry. Open Mic night is free for MoCa members. General admission is $10 and the participation is fee $5. Register to participate here. You’ll need to fill out the application form in order to read/participate, and then email isabelle@mocawestport.org a copy of your work for review by November 1.
The 7th Annual Norwalk Local Author Festival takes place from November 3-5 from 10-5 at the Norwalk Public Library. In addition to 100 local authors who’ll be there talking about and selling their books, the three-day event will include Author Panels, Author Q&A, an Open Mic, Festival Bingo, a Community StoryBoard, and more. I’ll be there on Saturday, November 4, along with several Rendezvous authors, including Libby Waterford, Bette Bono, Diane Lowman, V.P. Morris, Paul Sargia, and Gail Ingis, among others.
Milford Arts Center, located in the old Ticket office of the Milford, CT Railroad station, is holding a season of open mic evenings, beginning on Wednesday, November 8, and continuing every second Wednesday, through June 2024. Performers include musicians and writers, and the auditorium is set up like a café, with tables and chairs. Performer sign-ups start at 6pm (free) and performances begin at 7pm. You don’t have to perform, come to listen, if you prefer. Audience, $5 at the door. Snacks and beverages are available for purchase.
Members Laurie and MarLou Newkirk are running a special webinar in advance of Thanksgiving: Heartache to Hugs – Having a Happier Thanksgiving with your Mom or Daughter. It takes place on Wednesday, November 15 from 7-9pm ET, on Zoom, and costs $34. They are offering a special $5 discount for their fellow writers! Promo code: Writers5. For more information, and to register, check here.
If you’re planning to try your hand at NaNoWriMo this November, Libby Waterford is offering free early-bird writing sprints on November weekdays to support writers. She’ll be hosting them on her Facebook page from 6:15-7am.
The Westport Writers Workshop is offering one free write-in with Libby to help you through the last-but-one day of NaNo. It’s on November 29, from 6-8pm. More info here.
The University of Connecticut’s journal of art and literature, Long River Review is also looking for submissions. They accept poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, translations, drama, hybrid pieces, and/or any otherwise uncategorized creative works. If submitting a translation, please also include the original text with your submission and cite the source of the original non-English piece. Limit 6000 words. Submission guidelines here. Deadline December 15.
Helix Literary Magazine is published by the Central Connecticut State University, but it accepts rolling submissions from all writers, including international ones. They combine different literary genres such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, along with art, into one magazine. They put out three online issues and one print issue per year. You can find submission details here.
They also run the Leslie McGrath Poetry Prize, with a prize of $1000 for the winner. Submissions open on November 4, and end April 30, 2024.
Storied-stuff publishes flash stories based on a photo of an object that has some meaning for the writer. They might include a grandparent’s draft card, or a favorite toy, or a pair of shoes you can’t bear to give away. Take a look at their website to get soe idea of what they’re looking for. They’re looking to publish two new pieces per week, so they’re looking for pieces up to 500 words. Submit here.
ProWritingAid, an editing software I’ve mentioned before, has published a helpful article about writing software that helps you structure a book. In addition to their own features (of course) it covers programs like Campfire, One Stop for Writers, Scrivener, LivingWriter, Dabble, and NovelPad. Many of these sound as though they’d be particularly helpful for people writing speculative novels, but even if you’re not, the article is worth checking out.
People often ask me for referrals to people who can build and manage author websites. While at the Women’s Fiction Writers conference in Chicago recently, I heard about authorBYTEs, who specialize in sites for both fiction and nonfiction authors. If you already have a site and need someone to keep it updated, they can do that too. Check here for some examples of their work.
Authors Publish’ latest list gives you 50 Specialized Manuscript Publishers that Accept Direct Submissions. The presses on the list meet all of their guiding principles, but most of them have such a specific focus that they haven’t written a full review, so they have included min-reviews. You need to do your own research, of course, but this is a great place to start.
Happy writing!
