 I'll be a guest at Armadillocon this weekend! Come say hi!
I'll also be in the dealer room for Interstellar Flight Press!
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 “These tiny poems are large with insight, making me remember certain things I was sure I had forgotten. There’s a range of topics from love/romance, queer sexuality, religion, death, demons/ghosts, and more. Some of these poems will be ones I think of often. And one I already made a copy of and put it on my book cart. I want to look at it every day.” — Ladies of Horror Fiction I’m honored that my first full-length collection of poetry, THE SMALLEST OF BONES, published by CLASH Books (2021) is nominated for the SFPA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association) Elgin Award for best speculative poetry collection! About The Smallest of Bones A haunting ossuary of tiny poems covering a wide range of topics such as love, romance, relationships, queer sexuality, religion, death, demons, ghosts, bones, gender, and darkness. The Smallest of Bones guides those on an intimate journey of body acceptance, with sparse words dedicated to peeling back skin and diving bone-deep into the self. Raw, honest, and powerful, this collection is an offering to those struggling to find power in the darkness. “Over the years, Walrath has easily cemented herself as Houston’s premiere horror poet, and The Smallest of Bones is her best work yet. Just watch out for splinters.” — Jef Rouner, Houston Press I am also delighted that this book was picked up by Kipple Press — an Italian publisher who does beautifully translated versions of books from English to Italian. You can purchase an Italian version of this book from Kipple Press!  Il più piccolo fra le ossa
Leggere la raccolta di Holly Lyn Walrath, “Il più piccolo fra le ossa”, mi ha fatto pensare alle mie ossa. In antropologia culturale si uso il termine “heritage”, da “heirs”, eredi. Le mie ossa sono i miei eredi e per la prima volta ho pensato a loro. E, grazie o per colpa loro, ho pensato non solo alla mia morte ma a ciò che accadrà dopo la mia morte. Ciò che accadrà della mia discendenza ossea. Forse alla fine di questo libro servirebbe una pagina bianca. Un foglio in cui il lettore o la lettrice possano scrivere, o anche solo pensare di scrivere, delle loro ossa e lasciare una traccia. Lasciare una traccia su ciò che lascia una traccia.  Queer Poetics (Poetry Barn) Dates: June 6 - July 3, 2022 Format: Online Workshop (asynchronous, more info) This workshop is an intersectional primer on LGBTQIA+ writers throughout the history of poetry. We’ll explore poets like Walt Whitman, Adrienne Rich, Allen Ginsberg, and Audre Lorde, but also the contemporary queer poets who have catapulted into the mainstream like Jericho Brown and Danez Smith. We’ll write poems alongside and inspired by the voices of queer poetics. This class is meant both for writers who want to explore their queerness and for writers who want to learn more about the history of queer poetry.  Writing Speculative Short Fiction (Writing Workshops Dallas
4-Week Online Workshop, Starts July 11th, 2022 The world of speculative short fiction is a highly competitive but welcoming community where a new writer can make a start in their career. In this workshop, we'll explore the fine art of writing short stories for genre markets, with an exploration of the main tropes of each genre from science fiction to fantasy to horror.Picasso said, "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist." This workshop dives into the rules of speculative fiction and how to break them while honing your writing for pro markets. Course Outline: Week 1: Tropes and Learning Your Genre Week 2: The First Page Promise: What Editors Expect Week 3: Worldbuilding, Setting, and Character-based Action Week 4: Revision and Submitting to SFF Magazines  April 4-May 1, 2022 (+ 2 week archive period)
Format: Online Workshop (asynchronous, more info) Have you ever wanted to try writing a poem a day for a month? Join us in April for NaPoWriMo and 30 days of poetry prompts. 30 poems is about the length of a chapbook. Whether you’re writing to a specific theme, want to try writing a longer work of poetry, or just want new ideas, this workshop is meant to guide you through NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month). Each week we’ll dive into generative content and experiences to get you creating new work. Are you feeling like it's super hard to write lately? You're not alone. That's why this year my schedule is CHOCK FULL of amazing workshops that I am so delighted and honored to share with you. Keep an eye on my socials for more info as I update this list!
If you have a specific workshop you'd like me to teach, you can drop me a line at hlwalrath(at)gmail(dot)com. Love y'all! Science Poetry: Writing about Our World (Poetry Barn) Dates: March 7 - April 3, 2022 Format: Online Workshop (asynchronous, more info) Science poetry uses fact to inform and delight the reader. From geography to nature studies to space—science poems dive into a wide variety of topics. As Jane Hirshfield says: “The work of a poet and the work of a scientist share many things. Both are investigations, both set out to answer a question that has not been framed in exactly this way before. The questions of poetry are not frameable by any other form of thinking than that of poetry, just as the questions of science cannot be framed without the techniques, ethics, and instruments of science.” In this workshop, we’ll discover ways to get inspired by science and create poems based on our wonderful world. Journaling for Poets - LIVE VIRTUAL WORKSHOP Date: Saturday, July 9, 2022, 10:00am - 11:30am CST Location: Virtual, hosted by Nebraska Poetry Society Poets are observers. One way to keep track of your observations and ideas is through a writing journal. In this workshop, we'll cover the basics of journaling for poets, not just as a method of processing and keeping track of your thoughts, but as a method of improving your writing life and working towards a career as a writer. In this workshop, you'll cover how to manage large ideas or projects, track submissions, create goals, revise, and more, all while exploring popular methods of journaling to find the one that works for you. If you feel out of sorts or disorganized in your writing life, this workshop is for you! Monday, April 4, 2022: NaPoWriMo Write-Along (Poetry Barn) 4-Week Workshop, info TBA Monday, June 6, 2022: Queer Poetics (Poetry Barn) 4-Week Workshop, info TBA Monday, July 11, 2022: Speculative Fiction (Writing Workshops Dallas) 4-Week Workshop, info TBA Monday, September 12: Micro and Flash Fiction (Writing Workshops Dallas) 4-Week Workshop, info TBA This generative workshop explores flash fiction in all its forms—from the dribble to the drabble to the micro-story—up to 1500 words. Writing flash can enhance your skills as a writer because it teaches you how to be concise and what makes a (very short) story. We’ll cover beginnings and endings—and what should lie in-between. We’ll discuss the details of rhythm, voice, and structure. Learn how to craft flash pieces that pack an emotional punch and leave the reader breathless, in the briefest of words. Monday, November 28th: Journaling for Writers (Writing Workshops Dallas) 4-Week Workshop, info TBA Do you feel lost in your writing process? Get organized by journaling! In this workshop, we'll cover the basics of journaling for writers. Not just as a method of processing and keeping track of your thoughts, but as a method of improving your writing life and working towards a career as a writer. We'll cover tracking your writing, how to manage large ideas or projects, tracking submissions, creating goals, revising in a journal, and more, all while exploring popular methods of journaling to find the one that works for you. At the end of the class, you'll set up your journal for the new year. Self-Paced Course: Journaling for Poets DATE: Ongoing TIME: Asynchronous, Self-paced via Poetry Barn PRICE: $99 Poets are observers. One way to keep track of your observations and ideas is through a writing journal. In this workshop, we'll cover the basics of journaling for poets, not just as a method of processing and keeping track of your thoughts, but as a method of improving your writing life and working towards a career as a writer. In this workshop, you'll cover how to manage large ideas or projects, track submissions, create goals, revising, and more, all while exploring popular methods of journaling to find the one that works for you. If you feel out of sorts or disorganized in your writing life, this workshop is for you! Self-Paced Course: Writing Resistance Through Erasure, Found Text & Visual Poetry DATE: Ongoing TIME: Asynchronous, Self-paced via Poetry Barn PRICE: $99 Hybrid poetry forms can be a powerful form of resistance. From Jerrod Schwarz’s erasure of Trump’s inaugural speech to Niina Pollari’s black outs of the N-400 citizenship form, contemporary poets are engaging with the world through text, creating new and challenging works of art. Heralded by the rise of the “Instapoet,” visual works are a way to take poetry one step further by crafting new forms and structures that often transcend the page.  I'm stoked that my short story "The Asylum" is in the Other Terrors anthology from the Horror Writer's Association, available July 2022. Here's some info on the anthology:
An anthology of original new horror stories edited by Bram Stoker Award winners Vince Liaguno and Rena Mason that showcases authors from underrepresented backgrounds telling terrifying tales of what it means to be, or merely to seem, “other” Offering original new stories from some of the biggest names in horror as well as some of the hottest up-and-coming talents, Other Fears will provide the ultimate reading experience for horror fans who want to celebrate fear of “the other.” Be they of a different culture, a different background, a different sexual preference, a different belief system, or a different skin color, some people simply aren’t part of the dominant community—and are perceived as scary. Humans are almost instinctively inclined to fear what’s different, as foolish as that may be, and there are a multitude of individuals who have spent far too long on the outside looking in. And the thing about the outside is . . . it’s much larger than you think. In Other Fears, horror writers from a multitude of underrepresented backgrounds will be putting a new, terrifying spin on what it means to be “the other.” People, places, and things once considered normal will suddenly appear different, striking a deeper, much more primal, chord of fear. Are our eyes playing tricks on us, or is there something truly sinister lurking under the surface of what we thought we knew? And who among us who is really of the other, after all? Pre-Order on Amazon and wherever books are sold . . .  I don’t think I’m alone in saying that writing right now is complicated. Well, it’s always been complicated, but in the midst of a global pandemic, it feels deeply different. Like apples and oranges. Or maybe a dumpster fire and a serene lake.
I remember a few years ago I would write with a kind of wild ferocity. Lately, my writing has felt softer. My schedule has been upended with the constant shift from in-person work (poets have day jobs too) to at-home. Before the pandemic, I was a freelance editor. Now I freelance while working a more stable job, partly because of the stress of the pandemic. Oh, and I have a spouse at home now too. At the beginning of the year, we look back on what has come before us. We reflect on where we’ve been and why. But this feels extremely traumatic and difficult to do in a time when the last two years have felt dystopic and many of us have lost loved ones, jobs, livelihoods, houses, or any number of casualties to the world. Read the full article . . .  Shout out to Heavy Feather Review for this amazing, stunning review of my new poetry book, The Smallest of Bones. Reviewers are absolutely my favorite people in the whole wide world and I am so grateful for the kind words about my poetry <3
If you haven't grabbed your copy yet of my book, it's available at all major booksellers and at CLASH books. Read the full review here . . .  As a freelance editor, one of the main problems my writers face is the ideal of perfection. I struggle with this myself as a writer. If my project isn’t complete, it feels utterly imperfect, and that creates a mental block. I can’t write.
Or else, I look at the work of other writers and think: They wrote this perfect thing. I’ll never be good enough to compete with them. Putting aside the idea that writing is a competition (News Flash: It’s not.), I think this is a perfectly natural desire — the desire to be perfect. After all, as humans, we are always striving toward something in our lives. Writers are a special type of human in that we are striving towards creating — and we have high levels of perfectionism because we care about our work! Read the full article on Medium . . .  Thousands of business owners have dived into publishing as a way to reach more customers and engage their clientele. Whether it’s Standard Baking (my favorite little bakery in Portland, Maine), who put out a book of their best recipes, or Ryder Carroll, the super-famous creator of the Bullet Journal, or Marie Kondo, organizer extraordinaire. Writing about what you do is a fantastic way to grow your business. Read the full article at Write Weird . . .  Right now, I think we’re all struggling to get by as writers. When I poll my writer friends on their current writing life, everyone says that it’s a struggle to get words on paper. So keeping a journal ABOUT your writing might feel counter-intuitive. How can I write about my writing when I’m not getting much writing done? Read the full article at Write Weird . . . I wanted to make sure you saw these upcoming events I'll be at (in-person events pending black death). Come say hi!
Fencon September 17-19, Dallas, TX Panels TBA I'll be hosting a table at this con for Interstellar Flight Press! Come say Hi! Armadillocon October 15-17, 2021, Austin, TX Panels TBA I'll be hosting a table at this con for Interstellar Flight Press! Come say Hi!  As a freelance editor, many of my clients are respected business leaders and community civic leaders. I’ve seen how they’ve taught themselves to succinctly summarize an idea — boiling it down to its essence so that it’s easy to understand. The most successful leaders use writing as one of many tools to succeed and focus their thoughts. Business owners and leaders already spend a lot of time writing. From emails to orders to proposals — professional writing skills are essential. You may notice that the most successful leaders are often articulate, quick-witted, and shrewd communicators. Read the full article here . . .
Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Smallest of Bonesby Holly Lyn WalrathGiveaway ends September 13, 2021. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.  Thank you for age sixteen when I, bashed apart by loneliness,
curled up in your dark hair and white skin and the spaces between your crooked teeth... Read the poem at The Junction . . .  I take up ashes
like taking up space. I am dis-embodying my body or what I once called skin, its remnants rounding out, the insides of a blue funeral urn whose curves make sense... Read the full poem at Storymaker . . .  You’ve just finished a first draft of your novel. It may have taken you a few months or a few years. But what’s the next step? How do you approach revising a novel when it feels so huge?
As a professional editor, I deal with hundreds of clients a year who are eager to submit their books to agents and publishers. The process I use for editing a book involves three steps. Not all books need all of these steps, but knowing the difference between them can help you edit your own work. Read the Article at Feedium . . .  White-tendriled weed
in bloom, cotton shrouds a hundred of your hearts each one a white world sweet, unruly, unknowable... Read the full poem at The Junction . . .  Poets who have been writing for several years end up with lots of unfinished drafts and notes. As a freelance editor, I often work with clients who have tons of old drafts and no clue how to process them. For myself, I often write 100+ poems in a year, resulting in a massive amount of poem clutter.
After all, you don’t want to abandon those poems that are older, because they feel like your babies. But it is necessary to sort through them, to choose poems for publication or to just decide how to categorize them. As Paul Valery said, “No poem is ever ended, every poem is merely abandoned.” Poems that don’t work now might work later. Poems that aren’t published in a journal or magazine might make it into the later draft of a book. As I was thinking about this process, I wished there was a good method for sorting through old drafts. Then I remembered one of my favorite Netflix shows and a woman named Marie Kondo. Read the full article here . . . 
“The writing of poetry is not a craft. We are making birds, not birdcages” –p.47, Dean Young, The Art of Recklessness
Revision is one of my least favorite things to do as a writer of fiction, but when it comes to poetry, I absolutely love it. As an editor, I work with many poets who are struggling to understand what a poem is and how they can improve their poetry. They see other poets succeeding (getting poetry acceptances, writing full-length collections, etc.) and want to know how to be a better writer of poetry. In her MasterClass, Margaret Atwood says, “Revision means re-vision — you’re seeing it anew, and quite frequently when you’re doing that, you see possibilities that you didn’t see before and that light up parts of the book in a way that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t done that.” Read the full article here . . .  This might seem like a hot take, but no one wants to read your opinion about a book. No one cares. We don't read books so we can learn what critics like or dislike about them. We read books to escape our lives, to be enriched, to enlarge our imagination.
Book reviews are vital to the book publishing world. They help readers determine whether they will want to read a book. They're a major factor in book sales. If you want to be a successful book reviewer, you have to look beyond just your own complaints. Read the full article here . . .  Have you ever thought about memory? It's such an important tool in writing poetry, and yet we remember things without even realizing it. Every moment of every day, we're remembering our grocery lists, our tasks, but also the memories of emotion and love and wonder and fear. Memory gets us through our day.
Mary Oliver said the goal of revising is to write "memorably." So what makes a reader remember a poem? As children, we were taught to memorize poetry. But most readers usually only memorize poems they love as adults. Read the whole article here . . .  I am stoked that Stephanie Wytovich, Bram Stoker Award-Winning Poet, asked me to interview for her blog! Stephanie was also kind enough to write this blurb about my forthcoming full-length book of poetry, The Smallest of Bones, now available for pre-order from CLASH Books. "A striking meditation on the body and its ghosts, this collection is a blossoming of bones and the trauma we hold inside, a gorgeous homage to the fever dreams and nightmares we collect, break, and survive with each and every day." —Stephanie M. Wytovich, author of The Apocalyptic Mannequin Read the interview here . . .  I stand here today holding the hands of the dead.
How I was given voice I cannot say. The unborn chose me to speak because I alone among us, the unbirthed, have grown. Untamed by the shackles of statuary and gravestones, my spirit roamed free above the Hudson River for the first sixteen years of my unlife. Truly unwanted, as they say, my parents did not get to bury me... Read the full story at Write Wild . . .  I have a new poem up at Barely South Review. This poem also happens to be part of my new book and debut full-length book of poetry forthcoming from CLASH Books in September of 2021. Stay tuned for more boney weirdness, y'all.
Read the poem here . . . |
About the AuthorHolly Lyn Walrath is a freelance editor and author of poetry, flash fiction, and short fiction. Find her on Twitter @HollyLynWalrath
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