October 17, 2025

Baltimore Review News: I’m one day late with posting here. Why? All the last-minute tasks that need to be taken care of to publish an issue. We’re wrapping up the proofreading phase of fall issue preparation, and we’ll make the fall issue live on Sunday, October 19. A big thanks to the group of BR editors who reviewed each piece—looking formatting glitches, typos, missing words, weird punctuation, etc.—before I sent the issue link to the contributors. Then the contributors have an opportunity to review their work and make sure it’s exactly the way they want it presented and the way they want it to appear in the annual print compilation.

And thanks to all our contributors, of course, for being so wonderful to work with.

We also have another batch of BR staff member meetings (via Zoom) happening at different days and times to accommodate people’s schedules and time zones. It’s always good to see everyone outside of Submittable, catch up, discuss any concerns, and look at submissions together. We really do learn from each other.

I mentioned the Baltimore Writers’ Conference on November 15 earlier—always an excellent opportunity for writers. We’ll have a table there, so stop by and say hello if you’re there. A heads-up that early-bird registration ends October 24, but whether you register early or after that deadline, the conference is still a bargain.

On a personal note: The TELEPHONE Project is now live. I posted the link last week, but now I’ve had a little time to explore the site. What an awesome ekphrastic art project it is. Seriously. Here’s an idea: Use the visual art or music on the site to inspire your own story or poem. There are so many ekphrastic art possibilities.

I got the loveliest postcard from the Sky Island editors today, thanking me for contributing to the issue that will be released on October 25. This is a first for me. I think I need to up my kindness game. That’s what kindness does, right? Makes you want to pay it forward.