Yellow Arrow Publishing Blog
Meet the 2021 Yellow Arrow Publishing Pushcart Prize Nominees!
The Pushcart Prize honors the incredible work of authors published by small presses and has since 1976. And since then, thousands of writers have been featured in its annual collections—most of whom are new to the series. The Pushcart Prize is a wonderful opportunity for writers of short stories, poetry, and essays to jump further into the literary world and see their work gain recognition and appreciation.
The Prize represents an incredible opportunity for Yellow Arrow to further showcase and support our authors. Our staff is committed to letting our authors shine. Every writer has a story to tell and every story is worth telling. We are so proud of everyone we publish at Yellow Arrow. Without further ado, let’s meet the 2021 Yellow Arrow Pushcart Prize Nominees!
Linda M. Crate
“i will never give this up,” the samurai
~when i first recalled her, i remembered who i truly was; a fierce, courageous fighter~
Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian born in Pittsburgh but raised in Conneautville. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, both online and in print. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks, the latest two which are the samurai (October 2020) and More Than Bone Music (March 2019). She also is the author of the novel Phoenix Tears (June 2018) and two micropoetry collections. Recently, she has published two full-length poetry collections, Vampire Daughter (February 2020) and The Sweetest Blood (February 2020). Linda is also a past Pushcart nominee. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
You can learn more about Linda from her July 2019 Yellow Arrow Journal .W.o.W. or by reading her written words in Yellow Arrow Journal’s COURAGE and FREEDOM, or in the samurai.
Courtney Essary Messenbaugh
“Our Hearth,” Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. V, No. 2 HOME
~Engorging itself to inspire / Howling monsters, thick with legend, while / Awaiting its next set of footprints.~
Courtney Essary Messenbaugh is a practiced dilettante and has been everything from a waitress to a political fundraiser to a bond analyst. She has climbed a big mountain in Tanzania, lived in Switzerland, New York, and Chicago, and loves to laugh and try new things. She currently lives in Colorado and delights in the blanket of neon blue sky there. She is mother to three wildling children, wife to one husband, and best friend to one Muppet-looking dog. Her work has appeared in FERAL: A Journal of Poetry and Art, at Motherwell, and of course, Yellow Arrow Journal.
Deja Ryland
“Sand,” Yellow Arrow Journal Vol. V, No. 3 (Re)Formation
~The sand reminds me that there are compositions—imperishable histories—that will always align our stories together.~
Deja Ryland is an emerging writer who has recently graduated with her BS in English from Towson University. With boundless curiosity, she writes to ask questions, reflect on experiences, and start conversations. She loves adventure which sparks her love for reading, writing, traveling, and eating. She currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland.
Taína
“Killing Ty,” Yellow Arrow Journal Vol. V, No. 1 RESILIENCE
~I’m killing her. Right here. Right now. This string of words is her final dagger. The Smithsonian calls it Paper Genocide, the destruction of my name.~
Taína is a Baltimore-based Higuaygua Taíno writer, on a mission to write the Taíno culture into existence the same way the colonizers have attempted to erase it: one word, one Taíno at a time. Find out more at TainaWrites.com.
You can learn more about Taína in her May 2020 Yellow Arrow Journal .W.o.W. or through VIRTUAL Voces Latinas.
Roz Weaver
“Smoke the Peace Pipe,” Smoke the Peace Pipe
~We, wild spirits, being all at once / in this one lifetime, / found here like some long lost siblings, / our everything alive.~
Roz Weaver is a spoken-word performer and internationally published poet living in West Yorkshire, England. She has been published in a number of journals, zines, and anthologies, including most recently with The Resilience of Being, Disquiet Arts, and Token Magazine. Her work has been on exhibit with Chicago based Awakenings Art Gallery and London Design Festival, and she has performed at Leeds International Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her first poetry collection, Smoke the Peace Pipe, was released by Yellow Arrow in August 2020.
You can learn more about Roz by reading her written words in Yellow Arrow Journal’s COURAGE, DOUBT, and FREEDOM, or in Smoke the Peace Pipe. Roz also taught a sold-out class for Yellow Arrow called Poetry as Therapy.
Thank you to everyone who supports these women and all writers who toil away day after day. Please show them some love in the comments below or on Yellow Arrow’s Facebook or Instagram.
Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. To learn more about publishing, volunteering, or donating, visit yellowarrowpublishing.com.
Shaping and Reshaping: Yellow Arrow Journal's (Re)Formation
“I think of the trees and how they simply let go . . .” From The Journals of May Sarton: Volume One: Journal of a Solitude, Plant Drawing Deep, and Recovering by May Sarton
Yellow Arrow Publishing, like many others, has had to adapt and reform during the current, tumultuous times we are living in. This (re)formation has been a challenge as well as a pleasure, and our contributing authors are prepared to share their experiences of formation and change with the world. The release of Yellow Arrow Journal’s (Re)Formation issue, Vol. V, No. 3 (fall 2020), is an opportunity for Yellow Arrow, the included authors, and all our readers to come to terms with the state of the world along with the state of ourselves. The theme (Re)Formation holds a certain duality that sets this issue apart from previous journals. Through varying takes on formation as well as reformation, contributors express the ways they have been formed and reformed over time. The era we are living through renders this theme especially pertinent and we at Yellow Arrow hope you will find some peace within this issue from the comfort of your own HOME.
Yellow Arrow Journal continues to support and inspire women in the literary arts by featuring poetry, creative nonfiction, book reviews, and cover art from any and all who identify as women. This issue of the journal serves as a collection of thoughts upon the way identity is shaped and perhaps reshaped throughout the hardships and joys of life. And by including synonyms for formation and reformation at the end of each piece, Yellow Arrow Journal authors are able to convey a sense of what these terms mean to them and just how much duality this theme holds in and of itself. Through stories of tragedy, hope, and soul-searching, we at Yellow Arrow hope this issue will inspire you to continue to evolve and to never stop pushing forward.
Paperback and PDF versions of (Re)Formation are now available at the Yellow Arrow store. You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal or Yellow Arrow Publishing on any e-book or anywhere you purchase books. We would also like to invite everyone to our prerecorded A Reformative (Re)Formation Reading, which will be released on our YouTube Channel (and shared through Facebook and Instagram) November 25 at 6:00 p.m. The reading will feature several of our authors from this issue and will be hosted by our poetry editor, Ann Quinn.
Finally, if you would like to share any encouragement for our incredible staff or the (Re)Formation authors please do so through Facebook/Instagram or even in the video comments when the reading is released.
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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. Thank you for your continued support.
the samurai by Linda M. Crate: discovering your strength within
Yellow Arrow Publishing is overjoyed to kick off the fall with the release of a new chapbook, the samurai, by Linda M. Crate. Since its establishment in 2016, Yellow Arrow has devoted its efforts to advocate for all women writers through inclusion in the biannual Yellow Arrow Journal and a multitude of writing workshops, community events, and volunteering opportunities. We at Yellow Arrow are excited to continue our mission by supporting Linda in all her writing and publishing endeavors.
The word ‘samurai’ can loosely be translated into meaning “those who serve.” In Linda’s chapbook, illustrated by Ann Marie Sekeres (annmarieprojects.com), this interpretation is especially pertinent. This collection of poems speaks of rebirth, reincarnation, and lessons from the past as a means to a better future. For Linda, this is through a past life discovered in a very vivid dream that had both awed and confused her.
Within this dream, Linda was visited by a strong, courageous woman—a samurai—who showed her how to listen to her past, learn from her mistakes, and inherit the future she deserves. The Onna-bugeisha (female martial artist) were female samurai. They were a type of female warrior who mostly belonged to the Japanese nobility. This collection was titled “the samurai” because this is what the woman in the dream wished to be known as. She was a fighter and a survivor, as is Linda.
The 21 poems included in this chapbook encourage readers to dive deep within themselves and to use the past as a tether to the right path for the future. The cover art was inspired by the 19th-century Japanese woodcut tradition and several prints by artists such as Utagawa Kunikiyo that focused on rooftop fighting and falling warriors. Butterflies represent the souls of the dead which inspired Ann Marie to include them both in the cover and interior illustrations.
Linda is a Pennsylvanian born in Pittsburgh but raised in Conneautville. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, both online and in print. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks, the latest of which is More Than Bone Music (March 2019). She also is the author of the novel Phoenix Tears (June 2018) and two micropoetry collections. Recently, she has published two full-length poetry collections, Vampire Daughter (February 2020) and The Sweetest Blood (February 2020). Linda is also a two-time Pushcart nominee.
Paperback and PDF versions of the samurai are now available from the Yellow Arrow Publishing bookstore! You can also search for the samurai wherever you purchase your books including Amazon and most distribution channels. Connect with Yellow Arrow Publishing, Linda, or Ann Marie on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to share some love for this chapbook. To learn more about Linda and the samurai, check out our recent interview with her.
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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. To learn more about publishing, volunteering, or donating, visit yellowarrowpublishing.com.
Yellow Arrow Journal Submissions Now Open!
Yellow Arrow Publishing is excited to announce that submissions for our next issue, fall 2020 (Vol. V, No. 3) are now open September 1–30 on the theme:
(Re)Formation
Spending the time to create something—to give shape to a place, a person, yourself, or an idea—is a significant step in life. Then imagine needing to reform it, make an improvement.
What does it take to shape or form something? Ourselves? How do we sustain what we form? Why is it meaningful?
How do we know when reformation is necessary? Why is it necessary sometimes? What can we gain through such a transformation?
Can a personal (re)formation become a community act? How? Why might this be necessary at times?
For more information regarding all journal submission guidelines, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions. Please note that our guidelines have recently changed; read them carefully before submitting. To learn more about our editorial views and how important your voice is in your story, read About the Journal. Every writer has a story to tell and every story is worth telling.
The journal is just one of many ways that Yellow Arrow Publishing works to support and inspire women through publication and access to the literary arts. Since its founding in 2016, Yellow Arrow has worked tirelessly to make an impact on the local and global community by hosting literary events and publishing writers that identify as women. Creating diversity in the literary world and providing a safe space is important to us. Yellow Arrow proudly showcases the voices of women from around the globe.
You can be a part of this mission and amazing experience by submitting to Yellow Arrow Journal, publishing full-length creative nonfiction and poetry chapbooks, joining our virtual workshops and events, volunteering, or donating today. Publications are available at our bookstore, on Amazon, or on any eReader. Click here for information about current and future changes to the Yellow Arrow family.
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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. To learn more about publishing, volunteering, or donating, visit yellowarrowpublishing.com.
Closed Doors, Open Hearts
Dear Yellow Arrow friends,
We are writing today to let you know about the conclusion of Yellow Arrow House. While the doors on our dream of creating a physical, communal space for writers to gather, learn, share, and create have closed, we assure you that our work supporting women writers and artists continues.
After a final blessing of the House last week, in gratitude for all the good energy and passion you all brought to the space, our Board of Directors gathered to reimagine, refine, and breathe life back into our original vision, which was to create a refuge for writers. This time, in a different way.
The community we’ve enjoyed being part of here in Baltimore, and especially in Highlandtown, has been truly restorative and inspiring. We want you to know the impact you’ve made on women writers everywhere by supporting their work. As our mission evolves, please know that we carry this same spirit of hospitality in our hearts and in our hands. And as always, we will let you know more about our shifts and transformations in the upcoming moments as transparency and inclusion always remain important in our hearts.
It has been a long and emotional road to finally let the dream of the House go. At the beginning of the year, we knew this was a risky endeavor with a high potential for failure. We did it anyway out of a desire to create a refuge for women writers. A place to gather and support one another. While the closing of the House is a combination of financial and staffing concerns, especially given the current worldwide pandemic, we also see this as a necessary opportunity to dismantle and start again as we have come to understand that we went about creating a “safe space” in a problematic way. We encourage you all, in your personal quests to support women, to embrace intersectional feminism as our lives and our hearts do overlap. If one of us faces a problem, we all must face that problem. We appreciate those that contributed to our collective wisdom process earlier in the summer, it has been extremely helpful and healing.
As our publication capacity expands, it is also changing. While our volunteer team will no longer be folding and stitching our publications by hand, we are excited to offer a full slate of chapbook releases through 2021 in addition to the biannual Yellow Arrow Journal. Learn more about self-healing from our first chapbook, Smoke the Peace Pipe by Roz Weaver, released earlier this month. Discover your inner warrior with Linda M. Crate in the samurai, to be released in the fall. Look also for our Writers-in-Residence 2020 publication as our four residents explore their year with pen and paper. And stay tuned for incredible heartfelt publications from our authors in 2021. As for the journal, we can’t help but feel we chose a meaningful theme for the next issue (fall 2020, Vol. V, No. 3; submissions open September 1-30): (Re)Formation. Especially now as everyone’s lives have been transformed, for better or worse, emotionally and physically, personally and communally. One final note about publications: we have decided to dissolve our journal subscriptions program (current subscriptions will be fulfilled) and focus on each issue, each group of authors. Check our website periodically as we begin updating and exploring our new options. Every writer has a story to tell and every story is worth telling.
Logistically, everything that is currently on our calendar will remain in a virtual context. All workshops will continue online through 2021, including “A Year in Poetry” with Ann Quinn and “Elements of Story” with Ariele Sieling. We are also looking into adding new online workshop opportunities, which we will share as they emerge.
At the housewarming gathering back in January, we shared a nondenominational blessing together that we find even more relevant today as our focus shifts. Written by Alyssa Kaplan, former Vicar at Breath of God Lutheran Church in Highlandtown, we hope you find some comfort and hope in the prayer below.
As we gather today to honor this new chapter in the life of Yellow Arrow, we recognize that this is but one piece of the story of this place.
We honor this place and the fullness of its history. We honor the different families and businesses of 335 S Conkling. We acknowledge the ways that this place was a sacred vessel for those in its past, holding grief and joy, peace and conflict, anxiety and possibility.
We acknowledge that long before this land was dominated, divided, and commodified with street names and numbers it was cared for and treasured by the Piscataway people. In inhabiting this place we again remember that we inhabit their land. And we pray that this acknowledgement would transform our hearts and make us better partners with and protectors of our earth.
And so as we seek to bless the community that will grow here and the stories that will be shared here, we ask that this place would also give its blessing to us.
May this be a space of radical welcome and grace for all.
May this be a place where all may come to know the vital importance, and Holy uniqueness of their own story.
May this be a house which is attentive and responsive to the realities of the pain and suffering of its neighbors.
May this space become such a powerful holder of Divine creativity that once one enters here, they cannot help but see themselves in that same way--as beautiful vessels of Divine creativity.
May the justice cultivated in this community be an antidote to the sins of patriarchy, queer and transphobia, white supremacy, greed, and violence which infect our neighborhood, city, and world.
May this home offer rest to the weary, comfort to the hurting, inspiration to the stagnant, direction to the aimless.
May this place radiate love, warmth, peace and goodness.
In the name of the Holy Creating Spirit which enlivens our world we pray.
Amen.
With love,
Yellow Arrow Publishing Board of Directors
Gwen Van Velsor, Kapua Iao, Sara Palmer, Gina Strauss, Kerry Graham
Hope and Healing
Smoke the Peace Pipe
Yellow Arrow Publishing Releases a New Chapbook!
Baltimore, MD
A new chapter opens in the story of Yellow Arrow Publishing with the release of our first chapbook, Smoke the Peace Pipe, by Roz Weaver. Since its establishment in 2016, Yellow Arrow has devoted its efforts to support all women writers through inclusion in the biannual Yellow Arrow Journal, our Writers-in-Residence program, and a multitude of writing workshops and community events. We at Yellow Arrow are excited to continue our mission by supporting Roz in all her writing and publishing endeavors.
Smoke the Peace Pipe is a collection of poems inspired by the author’s experience of trauma and how this settled in her body, sometimes as her own worst enemy. Through this chapbook, Roz encourages the possibility that we all can find hope and healing by showing up in the present moment, in the environment and with people around us, and through a shared appreciation of nature, spiritual exploration, and sacred connection with the Earth. By sitting and sharing a peace pipe with ourselves, we have an opportunity to bear what we thought was unbearable and make space for the possibility of a bigger picture. The 26 included poems bring every reader on a journey, from pain, trauma, and separation, toward recovery in the form of transformation, healing, self-love, and spirituality. The cover art by Joanne Baker was inspired by Roz’s poetry, the feeling of emotion, ideas and words, ebbing and flowing like an ocean. All-consuming but cleansing.
Roz is a current resident of West Yorkshire, England, working as a social worker and therapist while studying for her MA in Creative Writing at Teeside University. She began writing poetry in early 2017 as a solitary means of exploring her experiences of trauma and was subsequently published for the first time in January 2018. Roz then began developing some of her writing for spoken word. Her most recent work has been on exhibit with Awakenings, a Chicago-based arts collective of survivors of sexual violence, as well as the London Design Festival, and performed at Leeds International Festival and the renowned Edinburgh Fringe. Roz is currently teaching a (sold out!) Yellow Arrow workshop, “Poetry as Therapy,” in which classmates can explore the therapeutic aspects of poetry as a way of creatively expressing their thoughts and feelings. You can learn more about Roz in our interview with her from last month.
Paperback and PDF versions of Smoke the Peace Pipe are now available from the Yellow Arrow Publishing bookstore. You can also purchase paperback copies from Amazon and e-book copies from most distribution channels. You are welcome to leave reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, your own websites/platforms, or by sending us a direct email with your thoughts. Connect with Yellow Arrow Publishing or Roz on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to share some love for her chapbook. If you don’t have time to send a review, just know that we appreciate you.
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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. To learn more about publishing, volunteering, or donating, visit yellowarrowpublishing.com.
We are seeking collective wisdom
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” Maya Angelou
Earlier this month, we canceled our Home Sweet Home reading out of respect for the grief and suffering in our midst and in recognition of protests and community activities planned for that night. As part of the Highlandtown Art Walk and launch of our latest literary journal, our reading was meant to be built around the theme of HOME. Sadly, our shared home, our country, is torn apart by racism, violence, and injustice. The Yellow Arrow Publishing family wants to express our outrage at the killing of George Floyd by the police and our solidarity with the racial justice protest movement sweeping the country. We know that for some, America can be a hostile, dangerous place rather than the peaceful home we desire, based on ideals of liberty and justice. We are committed to continuing our mission to provide a safe and welcoming place for all self-identifying women and promoting opportunities for their voices to be heard.
The Yellow Arrow family welcomes women of all colors and backgrounds to be part of our community of volunteers, writers and readers, instructors and students. Our intent is to foster diversity in all of our work in order to create richer experiences and space to learn and grow from each other. Women writers have many obstacles to overcome to get their work published and all deserve to have their voices heard.
We’ve been working since 2016 to lift up women’s voices. While we made it a priority to reach out to writers of all backgrounds, we must admit we haven’t been systematically intentional about this. For example, we don’t have a way of collecting data on the racial or ethnic background of our writers or staff. We assumed that diversity would naturally work itself out. We were wrong. We do know that our organization is majority white. We realize that Yellow Arrow House, while intended to be a place of refuge, has largely become a white space. And we know that most people who submit their work to us for consideration are majority white.
We are actively working on ways to challenge ourselves to change, both in the short and long term. The Yellow Arrow Publishing family would love your feedback and input on how we, as a publishing company, can better involve and support all women. If you would like to add your collective wisdom, please send us an email at info@yellowarrowpublishing.com with your thoughts on how we can ensure Yellow Arrow House becomes the home we hoped for.
Thank you for your support of our mission.
The team at Yellow Arrow Publishing
New Release: HOME
Like the rest of the world in this time of pandemic, the volunteers of Yellow Arrow Publishing are experiencing Home in a new way now. However, they have mustered all of their resilience showcased in the most recent issue of Yellow Arrow Journal to push forward with the release of the new issue, HOME. As stated by Ella Peary in Authors Publish, Yellow Arrow sees “creativity as an act of service and a path toward communal empathy.” This connection and empathy is needed now more than ever. The theme—originally intended to represent the organization’s move into its own offices at Yellow Arrow House—has become impactful and relevant beyond what YAP’s board and editors could have imagined. As a result, this issue has become a masterful piece of collaboration among strong women working to create, illustrate, and define “Home.”
As always, Yellow Arrow Journal supports and inspires women in the literary arts by featuring poetry and creative nonfiction from women writers as well as one art piece per issue to serve as its cover, but the HOME issue introduces several new developments that promise to make this the best issue yet. It’s no secret that YAJ is growing in popularity, and in size as well. After receiving around 300 submissions—a record high for the young journal—Editor-in-Chief Kapua Iao made the decision to extend the journal so its readers would not miss any of the engaging pieces and promising writers connected to YAJ for lack of space. With creative nonfiction, one of our authors, Roberta S. Kuriloff, takes the reader through the experience of literally and figuratively building her home in “Unearthing Home.” Poets such as Paula Bonnell, Ann Howells, Stephanie Kadel Taras, Hannah Rousselot, and Cynthia Gallaher have contributed some of the issue’s poems sure to inspire conversation and community. In exciting news, the journal will include a book review for the first time ever, opening with local writer Kara Panowitz’s review of Landing on Your Feet and Putting Down Roots: 21 Rituals to Transform Your Life and Interior Space by Sherry Burton Ways. Her review inspires energy and persistence in the current world, making this a promising addition to the journal’s lineup and a form sure to be included in future issues. The amazing writers mentioned here are only some of those included in the issue. HOME features women writers from all over the United States as well as Canada, Germany, and Pakistan.
Perfect-bound and PDF versions, as well as our annual subscription, are available at the YAP store. You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal on any e-book device. Although Yellow Arrow traditionally produces a limited edition, hand-bound version of the journal in an effort to emphasize the humanness behind the writing, YAP trusts that this will shine through in the writing itself, despite the hand-binding process being on-hold for the moment.
YAP’s founder Gwen Van Velsor states in her introduction to the issue, “It is our mission to always bring hope and positivity to our publications and to our work. And now, more than ever, we offer this issue to you as a font of goodwill during a time when great healing must be our task.” Yellow Arrow would like to encourage its readers to support small businesses, literary magazines, and presses as we all struggle through this tough moment in history together. They hope they can count on your support and look forward to the day when their other programs can resume and allow everyone to gather again in creativity and community. Buy HOME and join us for a virtual reading on June 5th from 6 to 7PM featuring authors from the issue and hosted by writer-in-residence Stephanie Garon.
2020 Highlandtown Writers-in-Residence
Meet the 2020 Highlandtown Writers-in-Residence!
This residency program is sponsored by Yellow Arrow Publishing, the Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk, Highlandtown Arts, the Southeast CDC, and Highlandtown Main Street.
Yellow Arrow Publishing is based in Highlandtown and loves supporting our neighborhood events. A large tenant of our mission is to support other writers by providing opportunities to gain visibility in the community. This residency was created for those what want and need time to work on their writing, but aren’t able to leave home for weeks or months at a time.
You can meet them during the Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk, furiously scribbling at Yellow Arrow House, or perhaps wandering around Highlandtown in an inspired daze.
2020 Highlandtown Writers-in-Residence
Annie Marhefka is a freelance writer, HR consultant, and mother residing in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her BA in Creative Writing from Washington College on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and an MBA with a concentration in HR Management. Her career includes 15 years as an HR executive & COO overseeing all HR functions, operations, and communications for a leader in the education technology industry. Annie serves on the Board of Directors for St. Francis Neighborhood Center in Reservoir Hill, and is the Vice President of the board for The Barbara J. Dreyer Cares Foundation. She lives in Canton with her husband John and their daughter Elena. Her love of writing was shared with her late mother, who inspired her to write about the complexities and intimate nature of the mother/daughter relationship.
Annie will be the writer-in-residence for March and April.
India Kushner is a writer with a BA in Communications/Journalism from Goucher College. Fueled by tea, poetry, and her love of Harry Potter, India has always believed in the power of words to create positive change. She has previously published work at TheTempest.co and in The Corvus Review.
India will be the writer-in-residence for May and June.
Barbara Perez Marquez was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Manhattanville College. She writes short stories and fiction, usually using coming of age and LGBTQ themes in her work. During her career, she has also been an editor for several publications and projects. Her work was first featured in a student collection in the 7th grade, the same year she decided she wanted to be a writer. Since then, she's been featured in Manhattanville College's Graffiti and Tinta Extinta. Her latest work, The Cardboard Kingdom, is a graphic novel about a neighborhood of kids having a summer adventure and is out now from Knopf Books for Young Readers and Random House Children's Books. Book two, The Cardboard Kingdom: Roar of the Beast, is due out in 2021. Barbara lives in Baltimore, MD with her fiance and their dog, Eliot.
Barbara will be the writer-in-residence for September and October.
Stephanie Garon received dual science degrees from Cornell University, then attended Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Her environmental art has been exhibited internationally in London, Colombia, and South Korea, as well as across the United States. Her writing, a critical aspect of her artistic process, has been published in international literary journals and performed adjacent to her artwork. When she’s not in her studio, she’s jumping across river beds to comb through pine needles.
Stephanie will be the writer-in-residence for November and December.
We are RESILIENT!
It’s time to celebrate the launch of the latest Yellow Arrow Journal, RESILIENCE. As a Baltimore-based nonprofit, Yellow Arrow Publishing prides itself on supporting women writers and ensuring their voices are heard.
Yellow Arrow Journal features poetry and creative nonfiction from women writers as well as one art piece per issue to serve as its cover. The works included showcase feelings of optimism and hope and proudly represents voices of women from around the globe.
This issue features work by: Margie Deeb, Stephanie Garon, Haadia Hyder, Sandra Kacher, Kimberly Knowle-Zeller, Martha McLaughlin, Rissa Miller, Meesh Montoya, Sarah Nelson, Ariele Sieling, Gina Strauss, Taína, Claire Taylor, Naomi Thiers, and Gail Thomas
Cover art by: Megha Balooni
To purchase an issue or subscribe annually, visit the YAP store. Yellow Arrow Journal issues are also available on your eBook.
The journal is just one of many ways that Yellow Arrow Publishing works to support and inspire women through publication and access to the literary arts. Since founded in 2016, Yellow Arrow has worked tirelessly to make an impact on the community by hosting literary events and publishing local writers, because of the importance of sharing the underrepresented voices of women in literature. To Yellow Arrow Publishing, creating diversity in the literary world is deeply important work. Furthermore, creating space in which women can participate in the literary arts gives an opportunity for social change and the expansion of literary norms. The RESILIENCE issue, as with all Yellow Arrow projects, is about contributing to the voice of the community by sharing the voices of women in the hopes of creating a cultural ripple effect of empathy, compassion, and understanding. As it states on the Yellow Arrow website, “Expressing who we are and sharing our experiences, strength, and hope, deepens the understanding of the human condition, allowing us all to better empathize with one another.” You can be a part of this mission by subscribing to Yellow Arrow Journal. Each subscriber gets a limited edition hand-bound copy of the journal twice per year.
If you are in the Baltimore area, please come celebrate the launch of RESILIENCE at Yellow Arrow House on February 7th. Many of our contributors will be reading their work and discussing what resilience means to them. Full details on the event here.
RESILIENCE
Yellow Arrow Journal Announces New Theme
Submissions open November 1st and your voice is needed!
With the official start of Autumn, Yellow Arrow Publishing has turned its attention to production of the upcoming winter issue of the Yellow Arrow Journal with the announcement of its new theme: Resilience. As a Baltimore city-based nonprofit, YAP prides itself on supporting women writers and ensuring their voices are heard. This cannot happen, however, unless they have the work of women to share. Submissions will be open for “Resilience” from November 1st through November 30th.
The Yellow Arrow Journal features poetry and creative nonfiction from women writers as well as one art piece per issue to serve as its cover. The works included showcase feelings of optimism and hope. Creative nonfiction submissions must be between 500 and 5,000 words upon submission and only one submission per author is accepted per issue. Poetry, on the other hand, can be any length and five submissions per author are accepted for each issue provided they have all been compiled into one document for submission. Yellow Arrow proudly represents the voices of women from around the globe and accepts works in languages other than English as long as the author also provides an English translation for their piece. When it comes to the cover, the Yellow Arrow Journal excitedly welcomes paintings, drawings, prints, photos, graphic design, comics, and anything else related to the theme of “Resilience,” that women artists are able to dream up. As a special thanks, all contributors receive $10.00 USD and one free hard copy of the issue in which they are featured. More information regarding the submission guidelines and process can be found on the Yellow Arrow website at https://www.yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions.
The journal is just one of many ways that Yellow Arrow Publishing works to support and inspire women through publication and access to the literary arts. Since being founded in 2016, they have worked tirelessly to make an impact on the community by hosting literary events and publishing local writers, because` they see the importance of sharing the underrepresented voices of women in literature. To Yellow Arrow Publishing, creating diversity in the literary world is deeply important work. Creating space in which women can participate in the literary arts gives opportunity for social change and the expanding of literary norms. The upcoming “Resilience” issue of the journal, as with all Yellow Arrow projects, is about contributing to the voice of the community by sharing the voices of women in the hopes of creating a cultural ripple effect of empathy, compassion, and understanding. As it states on the Yellow Arrow website, “Expressing who we are and sharing our experiences, strength, and hope, deepens the understanding of the human condition, allowing us all to better empathize with one another.” You can be a part of this mission by contributing to the Yellow Arrow Journal.
FREEDOM is here!
Cover art by Amber Sliter
We are delighted to announce the release of the latest issue of the Yellow Arrow Journal, FREEDOM. A talented group of women and identifying writers submitted their creative nonfiction and poetry for Vol. IV, No. 2 of our biannual literary journal. Below is more detailed information about each writer. You can purchase a hand-bound copy here, sign up for an annual subscription here, download a PDF version here, or look for it on your eReader.
Each copy is lovingly hand bound and printed in small batches.
Thank you for supporting independent publishing.
Editor-in-Chief
Kapua Iao
Editors
Meredith Eilola, Eleanor Hade, Alexa Laharty, Mindy Stokes, and Gwen Van Velsor
Contributors
Katherine Anderson Howell is a 2018 Pushcart Prize Nominee from Washington, D.C. A mother of two children and a recovering academic, she currently studies esthetics, skin care, and makeup at the Aveda Institute in Washington, D.C. and is the editor of Fandom as Classroom Practice: A Teaching Guide (2018). Her poems can be found in Stillwater Review, Beltway Poetry Quarterly,e Account, Misfit Magazine, and Mojave He[art] Review among others. Other work is forthcoming in Whale Road Review. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@genKatieOrgana.
Raga Ayyagari is an emerging poet who is inspired by nature, family history, and identity and enjoys learning from conversations with strangers. Her work has previously appeared in Stanford University’s Leland Quarterly Journal. She works as a public health research analyst in Washington, D.C. and enjoys both technical and creative writing.
Linda M. Crate’s work has been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has six published chapbooks: A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press - June 2013), Less an A Man (The Camel Saloon - 2014), If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications - 2016), My Wings Were Made to Fly (Flutter Press - 2017), and splintered with terror (Scars Publications - 2018), more than bone music (Clare Songbirds Publishing - 2019), as well as one micro-chapbook Heaven Instead (Origami Poems Project - 2018). She is also the author of the novel Phoenix Tears (2018).
Margie Deeb’s passion for beauty is the heartbeat of the art she creates and writes. She has published five books on color and beading, one of which the Library Journal voted the Best Craft How-To book of 2009. She has published countless print and digital articles on design and color and is a professional art director, graphic designer, illustrator, and color expert. She conducts design, color, and writing workshops for artists online and throughout the United States and Canada. Her art has been featured in galleries across the United States and in many books and publications.
Jenny Fraser is an artist from the east coast of Australia. She has a background in art and media education spanning over two decades. After completing her undergraduate degree, she taught art and film and media in high schools. In 2009, she then completed a Master of Indigenous Wellbeing at Gnibi, Southern Cross University. In 2017, she also graduated with a Creative Research PhD in ‘The Art of Healing and Decolonisation’ through Batchelor Institute in the Northern Territory. Her current focus is in native foods, body work, floral arts, and being able to use their raw energy to benefit healing and to help people to help themselves.
Betsy Housten is a Brooklyn-based queer writer and massage therapist. She earned her MFA at the University of New Orleans where she won three awards and served as Associate Poetry Editor of Bayou Magazine. Her work appears in Rogue Agent, The Hunger,Lunch, Bone & Ink Press, Longleaf Review, and elsewhere, and has been nominated for Best New Poets, Best of the Net, and the Pushcart Prize. Find her at betsyhoustenwrites.com.
M. Kanani Milles is a Native Hawaiian writer who has been living and gardening in Connecticut and New Hampshire since 2003. She shares a small plot of land (stolen from the Quinnipiac) with her husband and two young daughters, a dozen chickens, two goats, and a hive of bees. She is writing her way to healing as her mind–body struggles to come to terms with a stage IV cancer diagnosis.
Ann Quinn is the author of the poetry chapbook Final Deployment (Finishing Line Press - 2018). Her poetry has appeared in a wide variety of publications including Potomac Review, Little Patuxent Review, Broadkill Review, Haibun Today, and Snapdragon, and is included in the anthology Red Sky: Poetry on the Global Epidemic of Violence Against Women. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and her poem “Three Years after my father’s Final Deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin” won the 2015 Bethesda Literary Arts Festival poetry contest, judged by Stanley Plumly. Ann is a graduate of the Pacific Lutheran University MFA program. She teaches reflective and creative writing and music and lives with her family in Catonsville, Maryland. Please visit online at www.annquinn.net.
Amber Sliter is an artist and activist living and creating in Buffalo, New York. Amber studied painting and art history at the University at Buffalo where she received several awards and scholarships. The Rumsey Scholarship funded participation on a Minoan archaeological dig in Crete, Greece. Her art explores natural and synthetic relationships, relating to her experience as a woman living in the Anthropocene era. Her work ranges between sculptural paintings, installations, and murals to activist prints and performances. Amber is currently apprenticing in a woman run woodworking shop.
Ashley Stimpson is a freelance writer based in Baltimore, Maryland. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Longreads, Johns Hopkins Magazine, Potomac Review, Little Patuxent Review, and elsewhere. See more of her work at www.ashleystimpson.com.
Sarah Van Sciver is a freelance writer, artist, mother, personal chef, and a FEEL practitioner residing in Baltimore, Maryland. Her passion for writing stems from the healing and recovery from PTSD she has experienced through working with horses. She is currently working on a memoir about the healing effects horses have on humans who experience trauma. To find out more about Equine Experiential Learning, to view her artwork, and to read other essays, please visit https://untetheredmare.com/.
Nancy Wade is a Colorado native who has lived in Boulder since 2002. She earned a BA in Communications in 2000 and an MA in Spiritual Memoir in 2009. Her career includes 15 years in legal word processing and 20 years as an employment administrator in the Human Resources Department of a scientific research organization. Retired since 2015, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two grown children, two stepsons, and especially with her two lively grandsons, ages 6 and 9. In retirement, she has more time for reading and writing, mostly in the memoir genre.
Roz Weaver is a spoken word performer and internationally published poet living in England. She has been published in a number of journals, zines, and anthologies, including most recently with Snapdragon, Voice of Eve, and Cultivate. In 2018, her work was displayed at the annual Rape Crisis UK Conference, as well as being displayed and performed at two further exhibitions in London— ‘Th Sunlight Project’ and ‘Testimony,’ the latter as part of a conference hosted by UN Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson. More recently, her work has been on exhibit with London based ‘What You Saying?’ and performed at Leeds International Festival.
Matilda Young is a writer working for a civil rights nonprofit with an MFA in Poetry from the University of Maryland. She lives in Washington, D.C. with a poet, an environmental lawyer, and an angry ginger cat. She has been published in several journals, including Sakura Review, The Golden Key, and District Lit.
Meet the Highlandtown Writers-in-Residence
We are pleased to introduce the inaugural cohort of writers-in-residence for the Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk. The art walk season extends from April until December and these three talented writers will immerse themselves in all things Highlandtown during their three month residencies. Be sure to seek them out while browsing the venues during the art walk.
Kerry Graham, April - June
Kerry Graham lives, teaches, writes and runs in East Baltimore. Her vignettes have appeared, or are forthcoming, in borrowed solace, The Citron Review, Crack the Spine, and Gravel. She is a regular contributor to Role Reboot, and runs a collaborative weekly newsletter called In This Together.
Jessica Gregg, July - September
Jessica Gregg is the editor of Baltimore Style magazine and also oversees Baltimore's Child and Washington Family magazines. She is a Baltimore booster, proud rowhouse dweller, the mother of two teenagers, and an avid poetry reader. Her poetry collection "News from this Lonesome City" will be published this year by Finishing Line Press.
Laura Hazan, October - December
Laura Hazan is a librarian with the Enoch Pratt Free Library where she runs the bimonthly Light Street Writers Exchange. She completed her first novel, Little Boxes, and is seeking representation for publication. She attended the “Your Novel Year” program at Arizona State University’s Piper Writing Center where she was instructed and mentored by best-selling novelists Michael Stackpole and Jean Rabe, among others. In addition, her work has been published in Natural Bridge, Kirkwood Patch, Sauce Magazine, and Not A Pipe Publishing #yearofpublishingwomen anthology Strongly Worded Women available at Amazon.com and other booksellers. Laura is a resident of Baltimore and lives with her son, her husband and their one-eyed dog, Boh.
Highlandtown Writer-in-Residence Opportunity
Writer-in-Residence Opportunity with Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk and Yellow Arrow Publishing
What: Enjoy a three month daytime writing residency in Highlandtown. Get inspired by the First Friday Art Walk and work on your own writing at various venues in Highlandtown. Great opportunity and exposure for Baltimore writers who want to engage with and inspire a passion for the literary arts in the community. Residents will be featured in a reading event on August 2nd during the “Summer Reading” themed art walk as well as in social media promotions with both Yellow Arrow and Highlandtown marketing efforts. Yellow Arrow will also publish a zine featuring residents' work at the end of the 2019 art walk season.
When: We are looking for three writers each year. Each writer will be assigned to either the Spring (April, May, June), Summer (July, August, September), or Fall (October, November, December). During their season, each writer will attend all three Art Walks on the first Friday of each month, and will be provided a minimum of six days to work in various venues in Highlandtown. If more than six work days are desired during the assigned season, we will coordinate this with the venues and writer.
Where: The Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk consists of various art galleries, restaurants, retail locations and other businesses within the Highlandtown neighborhood. Writers-in-residence will become familiar with the venues during their orientation and will be assigned places in the neighborhood where they can work throughout their residency block.
How: Selected writers will create three blog posts in total (minimum 500 words) to be submitted one week after each Art Walk occuring in their designated season. The blog post must be related to the art walk, the participating venues, or Highlandtown in general and will be featured on ihearthighlandtown.com.
Why: Yellow Arrow Publishing is based in Highlandtown and loves supporting our neighborhood events. A large tenant of our mission is to support other writers by providing opportunities to gain visibility in the community. During this residency you will have the opportunity to meet and engage with writers and supportive community members in the arts. Our hope is that you will be inspired by the arts district here in Highlandtown as well as the diverse community we enjoy.
Who: We are looking for Baltimore writers interested in community building and growing their network in the arts. Emerging to career writers are invited to apply. All genres welcome. Perfect for writers needing a little extra time and inspiration for an ongoing project they are already working on, such as a manuscript. Also great for writers who are looking to get inspired and start working on something new.
Ready to apply?
Residency application due by March 8, 2019
Yellow Arrow Publishing seeks to support, nurture and inspire writers identifying as women. We provide writing related opportunities for writers in the Baltimore community and beyond through publication, workshops, and an interactive reading series.
Yellow Arrow Journal: Winter 2019
The Winter 2019 edition of the Yellow Arrow Journal is now available as a hard copy, PDF, or an ebook on your Kindle.
This season we explored the theme of "Doubt" through creative nonfiction and poetry by T.J. Butler, Jessica Cappelluti, Diane Finlayson, Jessica Gregg, Tami Lauteren, Edele C. Morgan, Ann Quinn, Mindy Stokes, and Roz Weaver.
Thank you to our hard working editorial staff, to the talented writers, and of course to you, our beloved readers.
Support independent publishing through an annual subscription to the journal. Our hard copy editions are printed in small batches and bound by hand.
Submissions open
Submissions open OCTOBER 1st to NOVEMBER 30th 2018 for the winter 2019 issue of the Yellow Arrow JournalGuidelines:-The theme is "Doubt." We leave it up to authors to interpret the theme however they choose.-Submissions of creative nonfiction and poetry by women and identifying authors welcomed.-Submissions for cover art by women and identifying artists welcomed. Must supply a high resolution image. Cover art can be a painting, drawing, print, photo, graphic design or anything else you dream up.-Submissions of creative nonfiction must be no more than 5,000 words, however any piece between 500 and 5,000 words will be considered. You may submit up to 5 poems per author.-Please send your submissions in the body of an email to info(at)yellowarrowpublishing.com. Cover letters are not necessary unless you need to explain how your piece relates to the theme. Attachments are not accepted.-We are seeking pieces of writing with an optimistic or hopeful vibe.-Multiple submissions are fine, but please do let us know if your piece gets published elsewhere in the mean time.-Please no previously published work aside from blogs and personal websites. If you're not sure, just ask.-Accepted submissions may be edited for content and grammar. We will seek your permission before editing.-Submissions are $.99 per piece of creative nonfiction and $.99 for up to 5 poetry submissions. Payment accepted here. If you are unable to pay for your submission, please explain this in your submission email and we will permit scholarships on a case by case basis.-You will hear back from us by December 17th, 2018 regarding your submission.-If your piece is selected, you will receive payment of $10USD and one free hard copy of the journal.Send submissions to: info(at)yellowarrowpublishing.com
Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. III, Courage
Dear Yellow Arrow Family,Volume III of the Yellow Arrow Journal is here and we couldn't be more excited and proud to share it with all of you. The theme this time around is "Courage." Inside you will find a collection of poetry and essays by writers who identify as women from all over the world.We hope you consider supporting independent publishing by subscribing to the journal, purchasing a single hard copy, downloading a PDF, or reading it on your Kindle.A very special thank you goes out to our volunteer staff Kapua, Leila and Maggie who spent hours and hours sifting through submissions, editing, formatting and looking over many revisions with a close eye. We so appreciate your dedication to this project.If you happen to get a copy of this journal in your hands you'll notice it is hand bound with string. That's right, we sat and stitched them with needle and thread, because we love you. Also because we wanted to produce a product that was entirely in-house. In the past we had printed copies made through Amazon because it was cheap and easy. Cheap and easy isn't a bad thing, but we just really wanted to give you a journal that was touched by our very own hands and made special for each of you.We hope you enjoy this volume,Gwen Van Velsor
Yellow Arrow Journal, Volume II, January 2018
We are proud to present the second volume of our biannual literary journal. The theme is Time.Thank you to all the courageous writers who offered their precious time to this edition.To read the journal as a PDF, please click the link or image below. To purchase a hard copy for $7.00 (including shipping), please email info@yellowarrowpublishing.com with your name, mailing address, and preferred payment method. Or, purchase on Amazon for $10.00. You may download the ebook version for $.99 on your Kindle or ereading device.
Cover art by Marie Hassell Doctorchik
Yellow Arrow Journal: Volume I, July 2017
We are proud to present the first volume of our biannual literary journal. The theme is Journey. Creating this compilation was a journey of its own, and we are very grateful for your support and readership.Thank you to all the talented and brave writers who submitted their hearts and souls to this enterprise.To read the journal as a PDF, please click the link or image below. To purchase a hard copy, please email info@yellowarrowpublishing.com
