"A story can be like a mad, lovely visitor, with whom you spend a rather exciting weekend."
Lorrie Moore
News of the Month
Happy September, dear writers!
What inspiration will the fall colors bring you this month?
If you haven't had a chance to check out our website, visit: https://www.writersmorningout.org.
While you're there, be sure to check out our community page! This is a place for you to engage with other WMO members. Looking for a beta reader? Wanting to meet up in person with folks in your area? This is your spot to connect with other writers, be it to form writing groups, find readers, ask questions, share publications, or simply to make new friends who share a love of writing. The community is an optional feature. You can provide as much or as little information as you'd like, and no information extends beyond the community.
As our website is still new-ish, we may still encounter wrinkles to iron out. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
Upcoming Events
All WMO events are virtual via Zoom. Links will be sent out two days prior to each event.
Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 1:00pm ET - Writers Discuss Writing
Please join us to share your accomplishments, questions, anecdotes, and comments as we discuss all things writing. Think of this as a writers' support group.
NEW EVENT!
Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 1:00pm ET - Writing Cave
Many of us write in our own "caves" apart from the outside world. Why not spend an hour writing together? Join us every other Thursday via Zoom to write in community. Each session, I will offer a prompt, which you can use, or you can spend the hour on your own work in progress - it's up to you! The writing cave is a generative session to use as you like and to create accounability with other writers in our community.
Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 1:00pm ET - Annual Flash Prose Contest
Our annual three-hundred word Flash Prose Contest was the diabolical brainchild of WMO’s founder, Al Manning. He wasn’t trying to be difficult. Instead, the exercise is designed to illustrate the importance of word choice and proofreading.
Writers’ Morning Out will accept submissions for the annual Flash Prose contest beginning September 1.
Contest rules encourage writers to read and follow guidelines when submitting. Publishers and agents assume writers who cannot follow guidelines will be hard to work with. Who wants to work with someone who’s difficult?
So, follow the guidelines! While numerous, the following guidelines are commonly used, in whole or part, by agents and publishers. Use the guidelines as a checklist before clicking the submit button.
Submissions to the Flash Prose Contest that do not follow the guidelines below will be rejected.
Submission guidelines:
Submission Period: September 1 through September 11, 2026.
Genre is any type of fiction or creative nonfiction.
Manuscripts must be no longer than 300 words, including the title, as calculated by Microsoft Word.
Words can have any number of syllables.
Manuscripts must have one-inch margins, be double-spaced, and use 12pt Times New Roman
Manuscripts must be emailed to info@writersmorningout.org as .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachments. No PDFs.
Manuscripts must not have author’s name or contact information.
Author’s name, manuscript title, word count, and email address must be in body of email.
Email subject line must be in the format: Flash Prose Submission: [Title of work] [state fiction or creative nonfiction]
Tracy Crow and MaxieJane Frazier will read and discuss the winning submissions.
Tracy Crow, a former Marine Corps officer, is a literary agent and the
president/publisher of MilSpeak Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to the creative writing endeavors from within the military community through writing workshops and a traditional publishing pathway for books authored by military veterans and family members.
She is a former assistant professor of journalism and creative writing and the author/editor of six books to include her award-winning memoir, Eyes Right: Confessions from a Woman Marine, and the historical biography with co-author Jerri Bell, It’s My Country Too: Women’s Military Stories from the American Revolution to
Afghanistan, earning a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to her role as an online MFA adjunct at SNHU, Tracy teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina.
Currently, as a work-for-hire author, Tracy is writing the first historical biography of women in Air Force special forces from 1990 to 2022, scheduled for release in 2027 from Air University Press.
She lives in central North Carolina on ten storybook acres with her husband—a Major League Baseball lifer—and their three pups, Rocky, Hope, and Fenway.
MaxieJane Frazier wields a stubborn pen from the Tunk Valley in Washington State where wide skies and farm animals keep her grounded. A writer, editor, and instructor, she teaches graduate creative writing for Southern New Hampshire University. With a Ph.D. in literature and an MFA from Bennington Writing Seminars, MaxieJane writes across forms, with a particular love of flash. She co-edited Necessary Turbulence: Fifty Years. One Unbreakable Sisterhood Forged in the Crucible of the Air Force Academy. You can find her shorter work in Gooseberry Pie, Switch, Cleaver Magazine, The Corvus Review, Booth, SoFloPoJo, Collateral Journal, and other places. She founded Mighty Mule Editing where she edits myriad fiction and nonfiction manuscripts. She loves summertime hummingbird wars, long mule brays, crazy blue heelers, and Okanogan Highland sunsets.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at 7:00pm ET - Writers Discuss Craft
Join us for what is always a valuable learning session with literary agent, Tracy Crow, a true expert in the field. Learn more about Tracy at https://tracycrow.com.
News from the North Carolina Writers' Network
Is it time to renew your NCWN membership?
Check the top of the NCWN newsletter to see when your membership needs renewal.
Not a member? You’re missing out on discounts on Network-sponsored programs and events.
What are you waiting for? Membership is open to writers of all experience levels and genres, across the state and beyond. Join now at https://www.ncwriters.org/
Fall Conference 2026 will take place November 6-8 in Asheville.
Registration is now open. Visit https://www.ncwriters.org to register.
The 41st Fall Conference of the North Carolina Writers’ Network won’t look the same as the first 40.
The 2026 NCWN Fall Conference–scheduled for November 6 – 8 in Asheville–will follow a new format and schedule, giving registrants more flexibility and freedom while costing them less to attend. Hurray!
Doris Betts Fiction Prize
Submissions open September 15.
Postscript:
WMO’s programs and meetings are a collaborative effort with Penny Cottrell, Tracy Crow, Tom Dow, Catherine Duncan, George Kauffman, Carol Phillips, Louise Dolan, and Judith Stanton—plus our ex-officio member and IT wizard, Josh Cottrell—all contributing.
Wishing you all the best in your writing endeavors!
Penny Cottrell, NCWN Regional Representative, Central Piedmont