Today marks the first day of May and with that the opening of submissions for the inaugural issue of Yellow Arrow Vignette—Yellow Arrow’s new online creative nonfiction and poetry series. As a team we settled on the name “vignette” or “little vine” in French because in literature vignettes are described as literary sketches—highly detailed snapshots. In a vignette there may be a bit of dialogue or plot, but the senses are heightened to focus on the emotions and smallest elements of a scene.
Submissions to the the first issue of Vignette are open from May 1 to 31 on the 2022 Yellow Arrow yearly theme AWAKEN:
: to make someone or something aware
: to awake, become aroused or conscious
Aligned with the notion of pausing to observe the details, choosing AWAKEN as this year’s Vignette theme was fitting because to truly be awake means to be conscious of your surroundings. To be awake necessitates acknowledging the spectrum of emotions: to savor the sliver of morning light warming your foot as you wait for your coffee to brew, to feel the low hum of the traffic while scrubbing the dishes, or to curl up with your coziest blanket and embrace the pain. With the stories that come from the Vignette, we hope to paint a feeling of interconnectedness by giving our readers a window into brief, but poignant moments of awakening.
Although Yellow Arrow is planted and cultivated in Baltimore, Maryland—also home to our executive editor, Annie Marhefka—Yellow Arrow’s roots extend to Bosnia where our founder, Gwen Van Velsor, sends love and support; to the streets of Montréal and soils of Greece where our editor-in-chief, Kapua Iao, splits her time; to wherever Vignette’s Managing Editor Siobhan McKenna calls home as a traveling nurse, currently in Seattle, Washington, but soon Alaska; and to numerous other cities and localities that our community calls home. By publishing Vignette online, we look to expand our community’s reach even further by making the words of our writers easily accessible. By making the voices of women heard even more.
For Vignette, we are looking for creative nonfiction and poetry by writers/artists that identify as women on the theme of AWAKEN. Submissions can be in any language as long as an English translation accompanies them. For more information regarding submission guidelines and how to submit, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/vignette/submissions. Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting. Vignette will begin its release in July 2022.
Through Yellow Arrow Vignette we will increase the number of stories that we publish annually furthering our desire to provide a platform for voices that may otherwise not be heard. Yellow Arrow Publishing may be a small press but like a small vine steadily moving toward the sun, we hope that the Yellow Arrow Vignette will grow our mission of sharing captivating stories from an array of backgrounds.
We look forward to reading the submissions for Yellow Arrow Vignette and sharing these stories with you. Since its founding in 2016, Yellow Arrow has worked tirelessly to make an impact on the local and global community by advocating for writers that identify as women. Yellow Arrow proudly represents the voices of women from around the globe. Creating diversity in the literary world and providing a safe space is deeply important. Every writer has a story to tell, every story is worth telling.
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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts.
You can support us as we AWAKEN in a variety of ways: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 102, Glen Arm, MD 21057). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.