A few days ago I was contacted by L. Sue Durkin of Weaving Dreams Publishing, a small press in Illinois, and politely asked if I would post the following letter. As regular readers of this blog know, Criminal Brief does not generally allow promotional messages, but I will always make an exception for a legitimate publisher calling for submissions, and this case seemed particularly appropriate given our special relationship with Dick Stodghill.

—JLW

Dear Friends of Dick Stodghill,

Wanting to keep Dick’s memory alive in all of us, Marie Pacha and I have decided we wanted to honor him with an anthology based on the things Dick liked and disliked most: from broccoli to mysteries. In keeping with that theme, we are inviting you to submit short stories and poems on topics of interest to Dick.

The tentative title is: Broccoli to Writing: and Everything In-between. In addition, on the front cover it will read: A tribute to the man, mentor, and friend of aspiring writers.

The proceeds of the book will go directly to an established charity of Jackie’s choice, in Dick’s name. We will be announcing the charity she selects soon.

Please adhere to the submission guidelines put forth in this letter. Submissions are open to all levels of writers of short stories and poems. Your submission can be fiction or non-fiction, in any genre. Any submission must be the original work of the individual submitting it, and rights for publication in this anthology must be clear.

Word count must be 1,000 to 7,500 words for short stories or essays. Poetry of any length will be considered. Again, the topic should be one of interest to Dick. Since he had intense opinions on everything from broccoli, hamsters, and cats to writing, please focus your submissions on topics in those or similar areas.

Submissions are to be received by January 10th. The same rules apply as if you were submitting to an agent or publisher. Short stories should be formatted in Word doc with 1” margins on all sides. It should be double-spaced and the pages numbered in the lower right-hand corner. A cover letter, with the title, the name you want used on the story, your contact information, and any other relevant information, should be included. Poetry should follow the same guidelines, minus the double-spacing.

We will edit and proofread all accepted submissions!

You will retain the rights to your submission. Once a piece has been accepted you will be asked to sign a release giving us the right to use it for the anthology and any advertising or marketing used for promoting that anthology.

Projected release date of this anthology is sometime in late spring or early summer. A definite date will be decided when we receive all the submissions.

Please submit your submissions to:

submissions@weavingdreamspublishing.com

or mail to:

Weaving Dreams Publishing
P. O. Box 194
Watseka, IL 60970

Marie and I look forward to working with you, Dick’s friends, to honor this fine man.

Regards,

L. Sue Durkin and Marie Pacha