Celestial Shine: Yellow Arrow Vignette LUMINATE

‍Welcome to the fifth issue of Yellow Arrow Vignette, Yellow Arrow Publishing’s online creative series. This issue showcases our theme LUMINATE. To be shaken, electrified into vivid color. To blare with welcome, to embrace and celebrate the self that has been contained for too long. To buzz with audacity, to seep into darkness, to call others like you to find their home. LUMINATE is elemental, existential. Without a light source, there is only darkness. This is why we want to shine a light onto Baltimore creatives this year, exploring the voices of women writers connected to or living in Baltimore, showcasing the brightness of our city and the strength of their artistry. You can find Yellow Arrow Vignette LUMINATE on the Yellow Arrow website at

yellowarrowpublishing.com/vignette/luminate-2026

The authors of LUMINATE move from the earth to the heavens with their words, bringing light to the everyday and extraordinary. The included works explore the natural world, reveal connections, and spark reflection. The cover art, The Window by Mollye Miller, brightens the issue at first glance. According to Miller,

“As a photographer, light is my life. I’ve always loved light and been sensitive to the effect it has on a room, a landscape, and my mood. Like most, I feel comforted by soft-filtered sunlight and drained by overhead fluorescents lights, for example. But in my career and art as a photographer light takes on new powers. Light means opportunity. Opportunity for a story to be told, a mindset to be shared. When sunshine pours through an old upstairs church window it’s a gift to the senses. It’s a pleasure to be illuminated just right by our giant, hot, bubbling star.”

Mollye Miller is a Baltimore artist working in photography. She creates work that helps people, and the world we affect, feel seen. Specializing in documentary, portrait, and street photography, her work has been featured in publications including BmoreArt, Baltimore Magazine, and Anti-Heroin Chic. Mollye also volunteers as the visual art editor for Fatal Flaw Literary Magazine. Explore her photography at mollyemiller.com and on Instagram @mollyemillerphotography.

We thank every writer who trusted us with their work. The breadth and depth of submissions were striking, and we trust that your pieces will find their homes. Thank you to the amazing writers whose work makes LUMINATE: Abby Reese Asimos, Amber August, Alyssa Crogan, Emily Decker, Barbara Westwood Diehl, Maddie Dolan, Madeline Graham, D Larissa Peters, Catharine Robertson, Shahrzad Taavoni, Cynthia Via, Linda D. Voss, and Chloë Williams-Garcia.

We extend our deepest gratitude to the Yellow Arrow Vignette team: Sydney Alexander, Kristen Caruso, Lindsay Chudzik, Rita Collins, Arrieonna Derricoatte, Laura Duarte-Hazan, Kat Flores, Barbara Frey, Meg Gamble, Emma Harding, Zoë Huettl, Kelsey Hyeri Ko, Kapua Iao, Alexa Laharty, Siobhan McKenna, Sophia Nguyen, Kait Quinn, and Mel Silberger. Thank you for your attention to every submission, your care in edits, and your thoughtful feedback.

The reading for Vignette LUMINATE will be held on Wednesday, August 19, at 6:00 p.m. EST at Bird in Hand in Charles Village. We hope to see you there.

Enjoy the issue and while you read: Listen to the author- and staff-curated LUMINATE playlist on Spotify.

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‍Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women-identifying writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we LUMINATE a path for women-identifying creatives this year by purchasing one of our publications or a workshop from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, for yourself or as a gift, joining our newsletter, following us on Facebook or Instagram, or subscribing to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.