Happy Friday, Grow Appalachia collective! Holly from HQ here, and it’s February already! What?!

Back in November of 2014, our then-HQ VISTA Jeffrey Helton launched Pollen, an online literary publication showcasing the creativity of Appalachia, where Grow Appalachia participants and non-participants alike submitted pieces of poetry, short fiction, and photography. Out of an impressive selection, seventeen pieces total were compiled into the first edition, which made its debut on Earth Day 2015, April 22. It was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews and generated some sizable buzz on our social media pages. So, having said all of that…

 

We’re doing it again!!

 

From now until February 29, we are accepting submissions for the second edition of Pollen! For the sake of avoiding further complications and headaches, we are adhering to the same submission guidelines and categories:

  • Prose (Flash fiction, short nonfiction, personal essays), 2500 words or less- You may submit one piece
  • Poetry- You may submit up to three pages 
  • Visuals (Photography, illustrations, cartoons, paintings/drawings)- You may submit up to three pieces

There are absolutely no limitations on who can submit, regardless of whether or not you are affiliated with Grow Appalachia! All submitters must include their name, age, city/state, and partner site (if you are a Grow Appalachia coordinator or participant). Additionally, if your work is accepted for submission, we’ll also ask for a brief biography (approx. 75 words) to accompany your piece, although you may submit it at the same time you submit your piece as well.

Biographies don’t have to be elaborate, something like what follows will do: Holly Korb works at Grow Appalachia at Berea College and is an amateur coffee snob and mother of two four-legged children (cats). She graduated from Berea in 2012 with her B.A in Biology. Outside of work, she enjoys Netflix binging, knitting, spending time with her twin sister and new boyfriend, and seeking out the next scarf to add to her collection. 

Ok, maybe not so ridiculous, but you get the idea.

We would prefer digital submissions, to pollen@growappalachia.org, but if you are submitting a hard copy piece, please address it to the following: 

Grow Appalachia
101 Chestnut Street CPO 2122
Berea, KY 40404

 

Once again, the deadline to submit is February 29! We are not certain of a confirmed release date as of yet, but we anticipate it will be sometime in the spring.

If you would like to review a copy of the first edition, send me an email (holly@growappalachia.org) and I will get it to you! Lastly, if you would like to review the original submission guidelines, you can do so here.

Let’s get the creative juices flowing! Happy Pollen-ing!