Hi, Okay Donkey friends! First things first: If you’ve encountered this issue on social media, make sure you’ve subscribed so you can get every issue in your inbox:

We’re as busy as ever at OKD, highlighted by the onboarding of new Fiction Readers! This issue also features an insightful feature by OKD Fiction & Poetry reader Jessica Heron about confronting the vast literary world when you’re new to the greater writing community. Plus, as ever, stay tuned for a recap of our March publications and learn what our alumni and staff are up to these days!

As always, thanks so much for being here. You’re awesome.

🫏 OKD Updates

• We’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new Fiction Readers! Eleonora Balsano, Justin Gibson, Kyla-Yến Huỳnh Giffin, Ilana Lindsey, Jordyn Damato, Rina Palumbo, Miranda Steinway, Catherine Buck, Alyssa Asquith, Mileva Anastasiadou, Joseph Linscott, Tiff M. Z. Lee, Casper, Damilola Omotoyinbo, Keri Miller, and Meagan Arthur are new to OKD and we’re so excited to have them. We’re also happy to announce that Jessica Heron is now doing double duty as a Fiction Reader and a Poetry Reader (and wrote this month’s feature below!). Read more about the team on our masthead.

• And, of course, we’re coming up on one month of being on Discord! Join our community and meet new people, talk about reading and writing, and keep up with the latest OKD news. Our Discord is a social extension of OKD — joining won’t impact your chances of your submission being accepted for publication. All of our updates will still be posted to our social channels and newsletter as usual, so you don’t have to join in order to stay up to date on OKD happenings. (P.S. If you’ve never used Discord before, here’s a beginner’s guide to the platform.)

🌟 Writerly Investigations: Finding Your Forte

by Jessica Heron, OKD Fiction & Poetry Reader

In the beginning of my writer life I was overwhelmed by the amount of really cool and interesting publications and talented writers seemingly everywhere. It was a good kind of overwhelm, but I needed to make the community smaller, small enough so I could feasibly became an active member. Previously, I had no idea any of this #writingcommunity existed, nor had I ever submitted anything, but I wanted to become a part of the community with other active writers whom I’d eventually call my peers.

For me, the way into the writing community was through my writerly investigations that began with one author: Donna Dallas. I liked her style, so I found all of her published work by searching her name on the interwebs. At the same time, I read her author bios, then read through all the publications where her work had been published. This is all pretty simple stuff, but it took a lot of my time, and I was very purposeful in my investigations. Fortunately, I didn’t want to be doing anything else, so I made the time and stayed motivated and goal-oriented: get published, get friends, get happy.

While I was learning about this one author, I was also learning about how lit mags and submissions worked, and where my own writing might fit in. Crucially, I was learning more about where I did and didn’t want to fit in, which helped me improve my writing and clarify my goals. I still do all of this today, so you can change all those past tense verbs to present tense and it’s all still true.

There are so many great writers who are actively writing and publishing in lit mags that allow you creative freedom and take your work seriously. I often wonder why anyone wants to be related to the BIG FIVE — what a snoozefest. Literary spaces like Miracle Monocle, Dishsoap Quarterly, Collide Zine, and here at Okay Donkey, provide so much love to writers that your writerly investigations will become an obsession and a joy. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by choices as a new or veteran writer, or looking for a new place to belong, try focusing down on one author, or one lit mag, and do your writerly investigations. The hours of effort will reward you.

📚 March at OKD

• “Two Stories,” flash fiction by Lavina Blossom

• “Breaking News: Barbie Eats Trump During Baltimore Pride Fest,” poetry by Chrissy Stegman

• “Now I Turn Myself into Origami,” flash fiction by Susan Israel

• “Animal Relief,” poetry by Rachel Becker

🔎 Check Us Out

We love when past contributors keep us updated on their lives! If your work has ever appeared in OKD, reach out and tell us about your new book, project, album, etc. We’ll give you a shoutout on our socials and here in the newsletter.

• Amy Stuber and Janelle Bassett were named to the longlist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection. Stuber’s book is Sad Grownups, while Bassett was nominated for Thanks for This Riot. (OKD pubs: Stuber’s “Togetherland” and “Dead? Yes, Dead”; Bassett’s “Missing Enough to Feel All Right” and “The Right Light.”)

• Lauren Parker has had two books release in 2025: Spells for Success and a poetry collection called Dark Way Down. (OKD: “Fehler,” Nov. 2020)

• OKD Poetry Editor Carolene Kurien was longlisted for The Poetry Society’s 2024 National Poetry Competition.

• OKD Fiction Editor Steve Chang is a Loghaven Fellow as part of the April cohort. (Steve’s story “She’s Been Living in the Attic for Who Knows How Long” was published in OKD in 2019 before he joined the team!)

• OKD Associate Fiction Editor Heidi Marjamäki has a piece called “Scorpion Eggs” in ergot.

• OKD Fiction & Poetry Reader Jessica Heron has a poem in the latest Collide Zine called “ask anyone for directions” and a short story called “NURSE!” in Horror Sleaze Trash.