In this six-week workshop, you’ll learn the important do’s and don’ts for how to submit your fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction to literary journals for publication.

We’ll cover important topics such as...

How to tell when your work is ready to submit

How to find and research literary journals

How to write an effective cover letter and bio

How to properly format your submissions

How literary journals evaluate your work

Common mistakes that drive editors crazy

How to keep track of your submissions

How to deal with rejection — and acceptance

This information will be covered during a weekly 1-hour video chat on Google Meet led by the instructor to share best practices, answer questions, and celebrate publishing successes. Please ensure you are available to attend these video chats, as they will not be recorded or transcribed. If you miss the video chat, you miss that week’s material.

In addition, students will be given weekly assignments, providing them with several opportunities to try out the new techniques they’ve learned. Each week, students will submit their assignments online. The instructor will then review their assignments and post her feedback and suggestions.

This workshop is taught by Janelle Drumwright, the production editor at Carve Magazine, who also serves on the contest reading committee, and is a former reader at The Masters Review. Her work has appeared in Necessary Fiction, Mulberry Fork Review, and Naugatuck River Review, and has been performed live as part of So Say We All’s VAMP Showcase. This class is open to all writers who wish to begin submitting their work for publication.

"Since taking your class, I've been able to place 25 pieces of poetry and prose with various literary journals. Thank you, I couldn't have done it without what you taught us." —Veronica Bettencourt

I'd been taking workshops at The Writers Studio for a couple of years, but didn't know anything about the literary magazine world. By the end of the workshop, I had all the practical tools I needed to start submitting work, and I understood how literary magazines function from an editor's perspective. I started sending short pieces out as soon as the workshop ended, tentatively at first, and then as a regular part of my writing practice. Nine months later, I've had nine poems and essays accepted for publication, and my first work of fiction has been shortlisted. One of those poems was nominated for a 2025 Pushcart Prize. I now have a publication CV: something that seemed out of reach at this time last year. With a history of publication I've been able to apply for residencies and fellowships, and have recently been awarded a fellowship for a manuscript intensive in 2024. I feel like my writing career is underway. Thoroughly grateful to Janelle Drumwright and The Writers Studio for this class, and I highly recommend it. —Petra Chambers-Sinclair

Instructor

Writers Studio Teacher

Janelle Drumwright

​​Janelle Drumwright has been teaching with The Writers Studio since 2012 and is the former Assistant Director of The Writers Studio Tucson (she now lives in San Diego). Her work has appeared in Moon City Review, Necessary Fiction, and Naugatuck River Review, among others, and she has received two Pushcart Prize nominations. She’s been the Production Editor at Carve Magazine since 2019 and was on the reading committee at The Masters Review. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona and a certificate in narrative medicine from Columbia University. Find her at janellewrites.com.

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