I am so excited to bring you this latest edition of WestWord. The theme for this edition was hope, and it feels so important that we bring this to our stories in the dark times we find ourselves living in.
From turkey farms to a post-apocalyptic wilderness, childhood dreams of a trip to the fair, and escape from small town life and minds, or a revolution started by a ska rhythm tapped out on an old paint pot, each of these stories shows hope in a myriad of forms. Moving on after grief, growing seeds of trees in urban slums and finding a way to cope when violence shatters a world, show how human resilience always shines through in the end.
I thank all of the writers for sending them to WestWord and giving me the chance to bring them to the world.
I hope you enjoy them and please share them with others if you do.
With love and hope,
Edition 4
The theme for the next edition of WestWord is FAITH. Submissions will be open for this from 1st to 31st January 2024.
There is one more submission opportunity in 2023 - the 1000 Word Photo competition deadline is 31st December. 10 winners get published in the anthology edition and win cash prizes.
There are now paid subscriptions to WestWord that include competition entries, submissions, craft articles and workshops.