Please join us to share your accomplishments, questions, anecdotes, and comments as we discuss the craft of writing.

Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 1:00pm – Annual Flash Prose Contest

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 wrangles a stubborn pen from the rural reaches of the American west. You can find her words in Gooseberry Pie, Switch, Cleaver Magazine, The Corvus Review, Booth, SoFloPoJo, Collateral Journal, The Bath Flash Fiction anthology, and other places. MaxieJane has an MFA from Bennington Writing Seminars. She founded Mighty Mule Editing. Follow her on BlueSky @maxiejanef.bsky.social, Instagram and Threads @maxiejanefrazier and on Facebook @MaxieJaneFrazierWrites. Learn more at maxiejanefrazier.com.

Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at 7:00pm – Writers Discuss Craft

Join us for what is always a valuable learning session with literary agent, Tracy Crow.

Coming Up

Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 1:00pm – Writers’ Morning Out Semiannual Slush Pile

Submission Guidelines:

The quickest way to get rejected when submitting anywhere is to ignore the guidelines!

• Deadline: Tuesday, October 7, 2025, by midnight

• Entries will be read in order of receipt. We may not get to all submissions, so submit early.

Format:

• Prose: One page, 300 words or fewer, with one-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and the first line of each paragraph indented by half an inch.

• Poetry: One page, at least one-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font.

• Identify your primary genre—fiction, creative nonfiction, nonfiction, or poetry—at the top of the manuscript.

• Do not include your name or identifying information in the manuscript.

• Submit via email: Send your manuscript as a .doc or .docx file to info@writersmorningout.org with the subject line: Slush Pile (Title of Work).

• Include your name, title of work, and contact information in the body of the email.

If you’re unfamiliar with the slush pile format, please see the recording of our April 2023 Slush Pile. We encourage you to submit—this event is a valuable opportunity to receive constructive feedback on your work!

News from the North Carolina Writers’ Network

Save the Date:

2025 Fall Conference – November 7-9 at Wrightsville Beach – Registration opens September 3. Click here for more information.

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/.

Postscript:

WMO’s programs and meetings are a collaborative effort with Penny Cottrell, Tracy Crow, Tom Dow, Catherine Duncan, George Kauffman, Carol Phillips, and Judith Stanton—plus our ex-officio member and IT wizard, Josh Cottrell—all contributing.