September 11, 2025

Baltimore Review News: Amazing how many writers love the micro form. Since September 1, we’ve received 385 micro submissions (max of 400 words). I expect to see a burst of micro submissions on the deadline, September 14. We still plan to respond to everyone who submitted in this special category by the end of September. So far, we’ve had three Zoom meetings to review them—along with BR editors reading them on their own, of course—and we’ll meet again right after the deadline.

And we’re still reading in all the other categories.

A busy weekend ahead with the Baltimore Book Festival. Hope to see lots of reading and writing friends there, and get acquainted with lots of other people, too.

A confession, because we have to admit the ridiculous things we do, right? And I hope this gave a contributor a funny story to tell. I have a mix of personal and business billing methods and shipping names/addresses in my Amazon account, and I’m usually super careful to get my orders right. A few days ago, I slipped. So one contributor got, along with her copy of Baltimore Review 2025, a size-medium navy-blue sweater and a case of Instant Breakfast drink (intended for a family member). I emailed her and said she could do with it as she liked. Never heard back. Oh well. Hope she has a sense of humor. I’d like to say that was the only time I’ve done something like that, but I’d be lying.

On a personal note: I’m spending a lot of time reading others’ work lately, in various writing groups. Providing feedback to others—aside from being something writers should do as good citizens of the literary community—is also enormously helpful in improving one’s own writing. You learn what works and what doesn’t. You learn from reading others’ drafts and from the critiques of fellow workshoppers. The benefits are enormous. So there’s a good sort of selfishness in workshop participation. But I have to be careful to protect my own writing space. Something to work on in the coming week, after the Baltimore Book Festival!