Tessera
Folgen

Lit Match Collective

@litmatchcollective.com

A writers’ community led by editors 🔥 Helping members connect and grow. Join us ➡️ litmatchcollective.com Discord: https://discord.gg/cxSdvE2EfN

206 Posts351 Follower1021 Folgt
Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · 3d ago

We’ve got another month filled with free events, from a generative workshop using tarot to guided writing studios, a public readaround, and Happy Hours every Friday with AFB. But most importantly: all LMC plans are 60% off through the 31st! Check out the full August schedule at buff.ly/Au2ufax

AUGUST EVENTS at Lit Match Collective 8/7, 8/14, 8/21, and 8/28 at 8-9 pm ET: Friday Happy Hours with AFB. Chat & connect with fellow writers every Friday, hosted by Allison Field Bell. Open to everyone. 8/12 at 9-10 am and 8-9 pm ET: Guided Writing Studio. Generative group writing sessions. Open to everyone. 8/16 at 8-9 pm ET: Craft Chat: Transformative Exposition. Writing backstory that reframes what writers thought they knew, with editor Steve Chang. Open to everyone. 8/23 at 8-9 pm ET: Workshop: Tarot As Storytelling. Crafting the major arcana as characters in our lives, hosted by Samantha Borek. 8/30 at 8-9 pm ET: Firelight Readaround. An online community reading series: Share your work + hone your stagecraft!Bild
Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · 2w ago

Tuesday marked another public Q&A with *another* fabulous writer, Jinwoo Chong! Using his recent novel, “I Leave It Up To You,” Jinwoo discussed how he balanced publishing pressure with his joy for writing and even told us his fave sushi dishes. Read the whole Q&A in our Discord at the link in bio!

How do you balance external publishing pressures with maintaining a joy for the art of writing? “In pouring so much of my hope into I Leave It Up To You, because I had nowhere else to put it, that’s what made the book and process so joyous... and if the book never went anywhere, I aimed to just write something that I’d be happy to go back and keep re-reading.” -Jinwoo ChongWhat did writing this novel teach you that you'd like to carry forward into future works? “I gave myself more license to look into my own life and see what was there that I could write about... I felt afraid of my novels being a fictionalized version of [myself], so I kept a big boundary up between my life and what I was writing about for the longest time. But I broke that boundary down with this book, and it wasn’t painful; it made my writing more true. I learned I could do more of that in my writing in a safe and productive way.” -Jinwoo ChongWhat are the steps to writing a Jinwoo Chong story? 1. Go with your first idea 2. ??? 3. ??? 4. Write at (???) 5. talk yourself up when writing (write with joy and self-affirmation!) Learn what the (???) are in Discord!And as a bonus... here are Jinwoo Chong's favorite sushi dishes to order! Chirashi, Kaisendon, & Temaki + Check for a Kimchi Jjigae recipe in the back of Jinwoo's book!
Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · 2w ago

Lit Match Collective’s very own Justin Gibson is a Pushcart Prize WINNER!!! His winning story, “Rasputin Loses Employee of the Month,” was published in The Pinch last year. LMC’s Firelight Readaround Host and Social Media Associate, Emily Afifi, asked him all about it.

LMC Spotlight: Justin Gibson Pushcart Prize Winner! "Rasputin Loses Employee of the Month" published in The Pinch JournalWhat do you love about your story? "I don’t know if I can pick one thing! I love the premise first and foremost — just how weird and funny it would be to have Rasputin as a coworker in modern times (never mind at a used car dealership) is such a stellar bit. And then, both the humor and the heart of the story all throughout are humming at a perfect frequency if I do say so myself. Also, 'a 10-year-old blind mule named Pissy Debra' is maybe one of my favorite / funniest lines I’ve ever written. I still smile and chuckle when I read it." - Justin GibsonHow has your life changed since winning a Pushcart? "The first week after I won, I kept googling things like “pushcart prize” and “is pushcart prize big deal” and “pushcart prize trophy?” and rereading the results just to confirm to myself / internalize I won this. Now that the initial shock and excitement has worn off, I’m taking the grounded stance that it’s a nice little bonus, a feather in the cap. The main thing stays the main thing, and the main thing is still just the act of writing itself, and the enjoyment I derive from it. The most tangible change is I’ll probably update my author bio to mention that I won." - Justin GibsonAny last takeaways? "This really underscored for me just how subjective this craft / art form is. I submitted this to — and was declined by — seven lit mags or journals before The Pinch said yes (and they know who they are). But ultimately they were right to say no to it, because it wasn’t in their tastes or aesthetic. Never mind that in retrospect they turned down an award-winning story. I was just lucky that the editors at The Pinch vibed with it enough to publish it, and then doubly lucky that they liked it enough to nominate it, and then I was triply lucky that the Pushcart editors liked it enough on whatever day they happened to read it to select it. The whole thing confirms you gotta write what you wanna write — the work that only you could write — with the blind hope that there’re people out there who are on the same wavelength; who are going to appreciate it." - Justin Gibson
sarah clark (they)@sarahclark.bsky.social · 2w ago

These microgrants have been designed to have a super simple application process (brief personal statement, bio, writing sample!), because we want to give you money, we don't want to make you jump through hoops. Be queer, write about plants and get $$$!!!

ALOCASIA@alocasiamag.bsky.social · 2w ago

About two weeks to apply! ALOCASIA is now open for applications for the 2026 ALOCASIA Microgrant for Queer Nature Writers! Two recipients will receive $500 each to help incubate their future creative endeavors. Deadline: July 31st, 2026. alocasia.org/alocasias-mi...

Orchid on white background. Text reads: the ALOCASIA Microgrant for Queer Nature Writers. $500 award for two writers .
Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · 3w ago

Tomorrow at 9-10 am ET! Join through our Discord: discord.gg/cxSdvE2EfN

Join the Lit Match Collective Discord Server!

Check out the Lit Match Collective community on Discord - hang out with 170 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

discord.gg

Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · last mo.

Need writing inspiration? Join our free guided writing studio on July 14 at 9–10 am ET and July 15 at 8–9 pm ET. Led by Editor Autumn Watts @autumnwatts.bsky.social Invite your writer friends and sign up on Discord: discord.gg/cxSdvE2EfN

Lit Match Collective's Guided Writing Studio Tues, July 14th 9am - 10am EST & Wed, July 15th 8pm - 9pm EST Ignite your writing with generative prompts Open to everyone!
Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · last mo.

It’s the end of the month again, so let’s get right into our members’ wins for June! Two of our members, Eleanor and Joseph, will attend residencies this summer. Members also had three pieces published this month! We can’t wait to celebrate more of our members in July. 🎆

Joseph Linscott is attending the Sewanee Writers’ Conference for fiction in July. Eleanor Ball will be in residence at Sundress Academy for the Arts. Eleanor also has some deliciously slimy fiction in Surely Magazine titled “The Sunset” and a CNF piece in Stonecoast Review titled “Sempre Libera.” Dr. Suvajeet Duttagupta published “The Garden of Unfinished Stories” in The Anthropocene Epic by Beyond the Stars Press.
Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · 2mo ago

Ready to get social? Talk shop with other writers or just mingle at Friday Happy Hours! Totally free, no membership required Every Friday: just pop into our Discord any time between 7-9PM ET and pop out when you wanna. Link in bio!

Lit Match Collective@litmatchcollective.com · 2mo ago

We’re so excited to announce a new community offering! Starting Friday, June 12, @allisonfieldbell.bsky.social will host “Friday Happy Hours with AFB” every week at 7–9 pm ET in our Discord. These free, public 18+ events are low stakes chances to connect w/ other writers. We hope to see you there!