ANNOUNCING MY FIRST PUBLICATION!
and the next one.
Ahh! You read that right; I’m getting published. I’ve signed the contracts and can share that I have two stories coming out in the next few months.
I began sending off stories at the end of 2022 and while I still don’t write enough of them, it has been rejections after rejections. It can get pretty disheartening. Good thing I love writing, and have found such a supportive community.
But entering 2024 I was determined for it to be my year. And February responded with not just one but two acceptances!
‘wet words’ is a magical realism short story in response to Divinations Magazine’s siren sub call. I was working on its edits when I got that horrible cold that was going around. It knocked a couple days out of my schedule, meaning I ended up with two days before the deadline to get it polished. I sat myself in front of that screen until I forgot what commas were. I sent it off, and was ready for the rejection. It was a bit off theme, and I was worried that it was not very good either. This was probably from living and breathing the story for two days.
Then days later, as I was getting into bed the acceptance came! Divinations Magazine loved the story and wanted to publish it in the third issue. April 1st! I hope you all love it too.
But if you’re thinking, wow I can’t wait till April then you’re in luck. I sent a story off back at the start of December, a story that I have received rejection after rejection on but was very proud of, and not long after the ‘wet words’ acceptance, this other one came back to my email with some of the most beautiful feedback that I can’t stop thinking about. ‘griefling’ is a haunted house-esque horror short story (with a lot of dark topics) that will be on the moth eaten mag website on March 10th! And once you’ve read the story you’ll know how perfect that date is for it.
I can not explain how happy and excited I am for these stories to come out! It has always been my dream to get my words out there and the hard work is finally paying off. Not only will I be a published writer with a growing portfolio in two beautiful magazines, but I will be able to share some stories with everyone that’s heard me gush about writing. I hope this is the beginning of a year full of writing and publications.
I’m planning to write mini commentaries for each story, just short conversational pieces about my inspiration and process etc, that will be shared through my Substack on the day (or a few days after). I can’t wait to share those since I have missed journaling the writing process; there is nothing I love more than talking about writing and my own ears can only hear it so many times.
So before I go, just a reminder of where to find these stories and on what dates:
‘griefling’ will be on the moth eaten mag website on March 10th.
‘wet words’ will be in Divinations Magazine’s third issue Siren which can be found on their website on April 1st.
If you want to keep more up to date with my writing I am scarily active on my twitter oliviahlawrence.
But for now, I will be eagerly awaiting these publications and look forward to sharing more updates!