Richard’s Mummy

Richard isn’t at school today. He wasn’t there yesterday, either. When I get home, my mother seems sad. She crouches, looking into my eyes with hers. “Richard’s Mummy is – “ My mother has tears now. I don’t ask her why, I wait. I feel uncomfortable. “Richard hasn’t got a Read more

Judith Staff

Judith Staff’s background is in teaching and early years education. She still teaches occasionally, though now her main focus is in child welfare and safeguarding children. Her work includes delivering training, presenting at conferences, and engaging in collaborative projects with schools around child abuse awareness and sexual violence prevention. She enjoys writing blogs and poetry on topics she feels passionate about. Judith loves running, gym classes and karate. She is married to an art lecturer and they live in Northamptonshire, England with their three free-spirited children, a 12- year-old son, and daughters aged 11 and 9.

The Pain of My Sister’s Murder Gets Me Up in the Morning

The day he shot my sister, it was like any other day. Gold sun, warm breezes, and aqua air. It was perfect until it wasn’t perfect. The skies didn’t darken until 5:15 PM. This is when he pulled the trigger. This is when he changed our lives. Bang. Bang. Bang. Read more

Kim Sisto Robinson

Kim Sisto Robinson is a mother, lover, poet, writer, educator, obsessive blogger, lover of cats, cheese puffs, chocolate chips cookies, Sylvia Plath, addicted to books, women’s stories, walking with audio books ( Lolita was off the charts!), and powerful, transformative words. Her work has appeared in Scary Mommy, Bella On Line, Glass Woman, Migrations, Rebelle Society, and Feminine Collective. She created her blog, My Inner Chick, to honor her sister, Kay, whom was murdered by her estranged husband in 2010. Her mission is to give “Voice” to all women without one. She was honored the "Men As Peacemaker's Award" in 2015 for her work with domestic violence.

Re-Origin

you spat me out at the very top of the tornado where sky meets dust just high it was blurry-dizzying, nauseating most mornings chewing-gum- pin-balling between being wrong and being wronger, I know I was never wrongest I slithered, spiraled down that treacherous hole, it felt like years and honestly Read more

Tia Fishler

Tia Fishler has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Concentration of Poetry, with Honors, from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She has lived in Poughkeepsie, New York, for her entire life. Through Hobart and William Smith Colleges, she has been the winner of multiple awards, such as the Deborah Tall Prize in Poetry/Creative Nonfiction in English and Comparative Literature. Her poetry emphasizes the use of sound in language as a way to illustrate the personal tangibility of feminine rage as a result of relationship abuse. These themes are also brought to life through 'challenged forms', which aim to create feminine narratives from historically patriarchal forms such as sonnets, screenplays, and indexes. Tia hopes to become a voice for those who have undergone relationship abuse.

How to Prepare

Pull your hair tightly into a high pony tail Make it tighter still. There is something to be said for immaculate strands and their fraying roots.   Memorize the story of King Solomon and the baby so that the sensation of being severed in half becomes as familiar as breathing. Read more

Lydia A. Cyrus

Lydia A. Cyrus is a creative writer from Huntington, West Virginia. She has non-fiction work featured in several journals, including Luna Luna Magazine where she serves as a staff writer. Her poems can found in places like Quail Bell Magazine and Moonchild Mag. She is a proud Mountain Woman and loves her dog.

Social Media “Blackout” Proves Women Will not be Silenced

“Tomorrow, female blackout…” A writer friend sent the missive Saturday evening. The next day, women were to change their Facebook profile pictures to a simple, black square to illustrate to men what a day without women would look like. The scheme was billed as an effort to draw awareness to Read more

Mary Novaria

Mary Novaria's is a two-time Writer's Digest award winner whose work has been featured in Oprah Daily, Washington Post, Spirituality & Health, Cosmopolitan, Feminine Collective, FF2 Media, HuffPost, and elsewhere. She and her husband are empty nesters who live in the mountains of Colorado with their rescue dog, Rooney. She is currently working on a novel.

Leaving

I pull up to the stop sign Will I change my mind? I have done this before And returned once more I sit for a while and stare Remembering the care You so seldom gave You were always so angry Time and time again I made excuses back then Hateful Read more

Mary Penner

Mary Penner has written poetry since the age of ten. She has always enjoyed telling human interest stories through rhyme and has recently begun writing stories in prose form. For twenty-five, Mary was a social worker and educator specializing in family and school counseling. She taught in elementary schools and in universities where she designed and facilitated the Program Planning Course. Mary's poems have been published in three anthologies: including two of Polar Expressions Collections of Canadian Poetry: Let's Fly Away, in 2017; Overture, in 2016. Mary is also a contributing Author in We are the Wordsmiths: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry, 2017 (Albatross Publishing). Also in 2017, Mary was one of the adjudicators of the South Simcoe Arts Council's Creative Works Writing Contest. Most recently, Mary wast the Audience Prompter in the play Saving Grace: A Victorian Melodrama by a fellow Wordsmith member.

Maybe It Wasn’t My Fault

Lacey could tell something was off. “What’s wrong, Mom?” “Nothing, Honey. But we need to talk – all of us.” Her mother meant all of “the girls” She looked at her three daughters warily. “Something’s happened, and I don’t know how to tell you.” “What happened? Are grandma and grandpa Read more

Reagan Brooks

Reagan Brooks is a college student from Texas. She had a difficult upbringing and finds writing her experiences helpful for her healing process. She hopes her story can help others and bring peace to those that need it.

Why Did You Kill My Sister?

“To rise, first you must burn.” ― Hiba Fatima Ahmad Dear Mike, When you were alive, I never quite knew the day of your birthday. Kay had to inform me the day you were born–“Oh, did you know it’s Mike’s birthday today? I’m having cake and ice-cream later on. Pleeeeease Read more

Kim Sisto Robinson

Kim Sisto Robinson is a mother, lover, poet, writer, educator, obsessive blogger, lover of cats, cheese puffs, chocolate chips cookies, Sylvia Plath, addicted to books, women’s stories, walking with audio books ( Lolita was off the charts!), and powerful, transformative words. Her work has appeared in Scary Mommy, Bella On Line, Glass Woman, Migrations, Rebelle Society, and Feminine Collective. She created her blog, My Inner Chick, to honor her sister, Kay, whom was murdered by her estranged husband in 2010. Her mission is to give “Voice” to all women without one. She was honored the "Men As Peacemaker's Award" in 2015 for her work with domestic violence.