Writing Update: August 2024
This girl's second skull. College dreams really do come true.
Of all the months this year, August passed us by the quickest and, interestingly enough, included some of the fastest acceptance-to-published pieces I’ve had in a while.
What was published in August
Summer is for fast reads and so I’ve got two flash fictions and a micro (fifty words) for you!
This Is What We Mean When We Say Friends Forever - Fifty-word stories
Read time: <1 minute (50 words)
I originally wrote this piece for a different publication’s prompt focused on summer nights, but it found a home with this lovely daily publication instead.
It Could Have Been a Moose - HAD
Read time: <3 minutes (300 words)
HAD is one of those quirky zines with a cult following. Its submission calls hit you fast and hard, sometimes with only a day warning and an open slot of 1 - 2 minutes. Their acceptances are called “skulls” and this piece, written in a Smokelong Workshop earlier this year, was lucky to nab my second. Like the main character, I too have never seen a moose.
For The Pilgrims of Mary Magdalena - Apex Magazine: Strange Locations
Read time: <2 minutes (200 words)
I’ve been submitting to Apex since I was in college and was absolutely floored to find my short piece included in their Dark Travel Anthology titled Strange Locations. 2024 is apparently the year all of college Salena’s writing dreams come true. While the anthology is only available through their kickstarter, I’m always happy to do a personal reading.
My favorite reads of August
Non-fiction: Black Mass by Dick Lehr, Gerard O’Neill
You’ve probably seen the movie, but the book gives you an undiluted look into the deep level of corruption within the FBI that harkens back to Killers of the Flower Moon. The journalistic detail with which the authors go into relationships, backstories, and the harsh, verbatim truths behind South Boston’s organized crime (and corrupt government official scene) is next level.
Fiction: Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang
I was definitely late to the party on this book; it came out to far-reaching accolades in fall of 2023. The premise was not necessarily a new one: the world’s wealthy, during a time of climate crisis, retire to a secluded mountaintop to enjoy all the rare and luxurious things that all others no longer have access to - interestingly enough, just a few weeks before, I finished The Future by Naomi Alderman which offered a semi-similar vision. Where it took that premise, however, with its obsessive attention to the role of food in this post-apocalyptic world, was the differentiating factor. I could even forgive the focus on French cuisine (meant to be ironic and nauseating for the storyline) simply for the way in which the author played with language to illustrate what loss of biodiversity would mean to us. Anyway, read it.
Favorites from the archives:
Since we’re on college Salena’s writing dream publications, here’s a throwback to earlier this spring: Maybe We Can Just Be Two People Talking.
And, if you’re looking for something even further back in time, read They Called It Fever, from Full Mood Magazine’s December 2022 music-themed call.
Other things of note & the look ahead
I have a longer piece coming to your inboxes in September! Otherwise, the writing continues, still focusing on shorter form work and hoping that the longer form fairies tap me on the shoulder.
If you have any reading recommendations you’d like to send my way, feel free to DM me via substack.
Until next time!