Winter Write-a-thon 2020

THANK YOU FOR COMING! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

The 12 Hour Write-a-thon is an immersive day of writing filled with

Educational workshops from esteemed writers and poets
A themed contest with prizes and publishing opportunities
An exclusive literary magazine 24-hour response window from our partner magazines
Writing sprints, fun activities,, and writer networking sessions
Giveaways galore!
Open Mic
Publishing Submissions Panel
Announcements on TYWI's plans for next year!

Where: on Zoom
When: December 27, 9am-9pm CST

Get a ticket to this amazing free event here!
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE UNTIL December 26th!

How much are tickets?

Our 12 Hour Write-a-thon is a completely free event, we'd love it if you considered donating so that we continue to support you!

Is there a schedule?

The full schedule can be viewed on our Instagram and Twitter @tywiorg. We will update here shortly!

SPEAKERS

Nyeree Boyadjian's workshop is The Art of Sensory Poetry.
Nyeree Boyadjian is an Armenian-American, bisexual writer from Queens, New York who focuses in prose and poetry. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s International Writing rogram’s 2019 Summer Institute. Her poetry has been seen in PUnderground Pool, Red Cedar Review, and the University of Iowa Anthology: Multitudes. Nyeree is a two time winner of the University of the Arts Liberal Arts Prize in poetry. She was also the selected recipient for the Stephen Berg Memorial in poetry, in 2018. Nyeree’s fiction has been featured in Brine Literary Magazine, Underground pool, and was selected as a finalist for the Hollins Literary Festival. Nyeree is currently is a senior at the University of the Arts where she does a double thesis in poetry and fiction, and serves as poetry editor for the Underground Pool.
Alexie Basil's workshop is Dialogue and Screenwriting.
She is a graduated from NYU Tisch in 2016, earning her BFA in Film and Television Production. While in undergrad, her writing gained recognition through the Oliver Stone Screenwriting Award, the Willard T. C. Johnson Fellowship, and UGFTV SCRIPTS (the “NYU Blacklist”). Basil was also named a 2017 Richie Jackson Fellow.
Sarina Patel's workshop is Intro to Spoken Word.
Sarina Patel is a 17-year-old writer based in Florida. She is a 2021 Young Arts Finalist in Spoken Word, and a 2020 Scholastic Art & Writing National Gold and American Voices Medalist in Poetry. Her work is featured in BrownGirlMag, forthcoming in TeenVogue, and recognized by the New York Times’ Learning Network. When not writing, Sarina likes to draw, make music, and hide from Barnes & Noble employees at closing time.
Pascale Potvin's workshop is Style and Texture for Effective Fiction.
Pascale is Editor-in-Chief of Wrongdoing Magazine and an Editor at a few other publications, including CHEAP POP and Walled Women Magazine. She’s placed her own work in Eclectica Magazine, Maudlin House, BlazeVOX, Witch Craft Magazine and many others. She has a BAH from Queen’s University, and she is working on a budding book series. You can read more about her at pascalepotvin.com or @pascalepalaces on Twitter.
Ashley Hajimirsadeghi's workshop is Thinking Outside the Box: The Hybrid Poem
Ashley Hajimirsadeghi’s work has appeared in Into the Void Magazine, Mud Season Review, Rust + Moth, and The Shore, among others. She currently reads for Mud Season Review and EX/POST Magazine, is the Playwriting Director’s Apprentice at New Perspectives Theatre Company, and was a Brooklyn Poets Fellow. Her debut chapbook cartography of trauma is forthcoming from dancing girl press. Her website is http://ashleyhajimirsadeghi.squarespace.com/
Leta Patton's workshop is Giving Your Character's a Voice.
She graduated with honors with a BA in English Literature and is currently a graduate student pursuing an MFA in fiction writing. In 2018, her novel L'ANGE DE LA MORT was selected as a Watty winner in the contemporaries category. In 2019, she was awarded her second Watty for her novel THE CONSEQUENCES OF CHAMPAGNE AND MURDER in the category of historical fiction.
Jessica Kim's workshop is Poetry is the Era of Technology.
Jessica Kim is a young disabled poet from California. A two-time 2021 Pushcart nominee, her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Wildness Journal, Diode, Cosmonauts Avenue, Grain Magazine, Longleaf Review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and more. She is the founding editor of The Lumiere Review. Find her at www.jessicakimwrites.weebly.com and @jessiicable on twitter and instagram.
Riya Cyriac's workshop is Editing Your Fiction.
She is a novelist, poet, and writer. As well as the founder and executive director of TYWI. Cyriac has also been published in multiple literary journals/magazines. She's passionate about educating other writers and workshopping with them. She is very excited about the Write-a-thon and to teach a workshop on fiction, which will discuss over/underwriting, show not tell, and the process of revisions in novels.
AnaÏs Peterson's workshop is Editing Your Poetry.
anaïs peterson (name//they) is a mixed asian american blessing, aries, lover of pretty sunsets, prose poet, and lyric essayist currently occupying osage territories (pittsburgh pennsylvania). anaïs received a degree in english writing from the university of pittsburgh and is currently working as the digital content coordinator and reader for all female menu and a poetry reader for non.plus lit. anaïs is a queer climate justice organizer and abolitionist who writes about freedom in its many forms, often returning to dwell on sunflowers. anaïs’ words have appeared in mixed mag, all female menu, collision literary magazine, sampsonia way, the pitt news, fully lit, sage cigarettes, and teen vogue. they write in garamond size 11, black pen, and tweet from @anais_pgh.
Stephanie Escobar's workshop is Tone and Mood in Crafting Fiction.

LITERARY MAGAZINE SUBMISSIONS

We're partnering with twelve literary magazines to offer free expedited submissions during our writeathon! Submissions periods last from 9:00 AM CST-9:00 PM CST. Some of our mags will get back to you in 24-hours, others will get back in a week. Be sure to prepare your materials and do the following to qualify your submissions!

Prepare your submissions and follow the individual literary magazines submission rules
If you're sending an email, in the subject please put "WRITEATHON" in the subject along with other guidelines from the magazine.
Attach the literary magazine ticket (which will be given at the writeathon)
Double check to make sure that everything follows their guidelines, then submit! Try submitting works that fit the mags, and try as many as possible! There's nothing to lose!

HOW DOES THE LIT MAG MARKETPLACE WORK?

The Lit Mag marketplace is simple! Each breakout room will have a magazine in it. You will be able to chose which breakout rooms you want to enter and you can ask them questions about their mag, ask what their magazine is about, and any general questions to the editors/readers of the mag. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity! If you're a lit mag and still want to participate, shoot us a DM on twitter! @tywiorg

CONTEST

We wanted to add an optional competitive edge to the event, so we're offering a contest option too! The theme is Twisted Winter

What does Twisted Winter mean?
The theme is open ended, but we're looking for stories and writing that is out of the norm. It suprises us, takes us on a journey without a clear ending.

For fiction, we want to see your creativity. Your stories don't have to be dark. Maybe a twist on a famous winter song. Maybe Frosty the Snowman never becomes alive. Maybe Rudolph never had a red nose. We want to hear stories of a sad christmas, a human who becomes a snowman, and so much more. Keep us on the edge of our seat, and give us a new perspective on life.

For poetry, we also look forward to see your experimentation. How can you bring poetry to life? How can you tell a story through poems? How can you twist the norms of winter to make something uniquely you?

Where do I submit my entry?

Submit your entry through the form we provide throughout the writeathon and the discord! You must join the discord or attend the Writeathon to gain access to it.

RULES

It must adhere to the theme
It must be submitted through the form by 11:59 PM CST on Dec. 27th
You can submit only once to each genre (poetry and fiction)
Fiction can be no longer than 2000 words
Poetry can be submitted in a pack of 3-5, though we will only select one that wins.

PRIZES

There will be one winner per category
For Fiction and Poetry, the winner will recieve...

$25 through Paypal, Venmo, or CashApp
Working with us to polish your piece so we can publish it for the literary magazine
TYWI Merch Packet (Stickers and journals)

WORD OF ADVICE

We are not looking for perfection, we are looking for creativity, originality, and potential. Attend all the workshops and try to incorperate what you learned in all of them to refine your work. Attend the editing workshops so you can work on your work there, and spend the offperiods working at your entry and the submissions to all the literary magazines you're interested in. Try to take what you learned and show us how you've grown in your growth statement.

Got a question? Ask us on the Discord in the Writeathon Section!

GIVEAWAYS

Throughout the course of the Write-A-Thon, we will be distributing these prizes! They will be random and based off who attends each workshop. Times are in CST and can be converted easily online.

Nyeree (Poetry): 10:15-11 AM: Divine Blood
Alexie Basil: 11-11:45 AM: Cinders and SParrows
Sarina Patel: 12:15-1 PM: Divine Blood
Pascale: 1-1:45 PM: Divine Blood
Ashley H: 2:20-3 PM: Chapbook
Leta Patton: 3:05-3:45 PM: Sorcery of Thrones
Jessica Kim: 3:50-4:35 PM: Divine Blood
Riya Cyriac: 4:40-5:25 PM: Captain Moxley
Anais Peterson: 5:30-6:15 PM: Race to the Sun
Stephanie Escobar: 6:20-7:05 PM: A Song Beyond Walls
Literary Mag Panel: New Yorker Magazines
Open Mic: TYWI Merch