I didn’t win NaNoWriMo this year – if I had, surely I’d have
plastered this milestone of writerly success on every blog, Facebook and
twitter feed possible. Alas, I missed the 50,000 mark by just under half.
I’m not ashamed. The goal was to increase my word count, and
I did that. And while I didn’t finish the novel I’d set my sights on for the
month, I did write a few thousand words on various other projects. Perhaps my
most successful writing month since June.
I’m just a few chapters shy of completing the book I started
for NaNo, and I promise to go back to blogging this month. Based on some of
your emails, I know I’m not the only one who has missed the weekly muse avatar.
But this Monday, I’m more excited to announce something more
important than the muse – the launch of the first “Best of” Vine Leaves Literary Journal Anthology.
It seems just yesterday that Jessica Bell approached me about
starting an online journal dedicated to the vignette. As Jessica notes on her
blog today, in the past year, we’ve read approximately 1000 submissions. And
out of those 1000 submissions, we published
around 160 online in our quarterly issues. From those 160 that were
published online, we chose 'the best' pieces for our annual print anthology. In
our very first anthology, The Best of
Vine Leaves Literary Journal 2012, we showcase 108 different
authors and artists.
Impressive, right?
This anthology launches today in partnership with eMergent
Publishing – and we couldn’t be more thrilled, and proud.
Thank you to all who were involved in putting this anthology
together, especially Jodi Cleghorn at eMergent Publishing, for
agreeing to partner with us for our annual anthologies, and Nick Panagiotopoulos for
his amazing design skills. We couldn't have done this without you. And a
special thanks to my partner, Jessica, whose exemplary talent, dedication and
work ethic truly keep Vine Leaves progressing.
If you would like to support the vignette, please help
spread the word about this anthology today. Here are some quick ways you can
help:
Share on Twitter:
@VineLeavesLJ Best of #Anthology, #NewRelease out today!
Awesome vignettes, incredible talent. Great 4 #xmasstocking! http://bit.ly/VdvIKj
Share on Facebook:
And of course, pick up a copy for the readers and writers in
your life. It’s the perfect stocking stuffer!
- Dawn
