Write Bloody has long been a dream press for me. I first learned of them back in 2013 – Megan Falley was on tour for her first book with the press, After the Witch Hunt, and she did a reading in DC. I went to that reading and fell in love with her words. A few years later, I took a one-on-one workshop with Megan and fell further in love, with both her writing and the press.
I bought other books from the press and fell in love with the poetry they published – Jeanann Verlee, Jon Sands, Seema Reza, Clint Smith, Arhm Choi Wild – and so many more.
I submitted to Write Bloody for the first time in 2016. I was rejected. I submitted again in 2017 and 2019. Rejected and rejected again.
I applied to, and completed, my MFA in poetry. I had two chapbooks published (both now out of print) and two full length collections published, Beautiful & Full of Monsters and Exquisite Bloody, Beating Heart. I kept writing and submitting. I took workshops with Jeanann Verlee and Seema Reza and Jon Sands. I kept writing and writing.
And then in end of 2021, Write Bloody opened their submissions again. I sent in my poems. And then in early January, they announced their finalists and my name was on the list!
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I saw the post on Instagram and screamed, literally. I scared both my dogs with my exuberance but I couldn’t contain it, this was a dream come true.
Of course, now I still have work to do. I have to pull together a packet for the next submission – 20 poems and a video. And then I’ll have to wait again, to see if I make the cut, if I become a Write Bloody poet. No matter what happens, I’m elated to have made it this far. And while I really, really, REALLY want to have a book published with Write Bloody, I also know being selected a finalist is a huge accomplishment and I’m so proud of the work I’ve done to get this far. But I’m not done yet, I’ve got so much to offer and I hope Write Bloody agrees.