February Publishing News…for Sadie!
Updated: 7 days ago
In the few days of December that we were home, as Sadie slept and we tried to find answers to her post-surgical symptoms — I spent a lot of time on the phone with the clinics and hospital we had been at in New Orleans — and seeking second opinions at others. This would lead to Sadie being accepted as a patient at St. Jude soon after, a blessing which we will always be grateful for.
Somehow, in the midst of all the research & phone calls, and my determination to get-the-Christmas-tree-up-or-else….I found time to do something more.
A couple months before Sadie’s diagnosis, she began writing short poems and prose. When she shared them with me, I was reminded of how I also began writing at fourteen, and of how writing had been a way to express my changing emotions and understanding of the world.
I encouraged her and told her that she could be published, and she replied at the time that she would like very much to be published when she grew up. And I told her — you don’t have to wait! There are many journals that publish work by kids and teens.
That day in December as she slept, I edited and submitted her poems to three editors, and soon we were off to St. Jude. Sadie understood through my own submission processes that rejections are the norm for writers, and with this in mind she did not expect an acceptance on the first go-round.
In late January, as we sat in the waiting room of Ophthalmology clinic, she got a big surprise.
One of the three editors replied with those wonderful words that every writer wants to read:
”I am pleased to inform you that your poem…..has been accepted and will be published in our upcoming issue!”
And so, without further ado, I’d like to congratulate Sadie on her first publication! Her poem, titled “It’s okay“ can be found in the February 2023 edition of Ice Lolly Review, Issue XIV.
Follow the link below or click the cover image above to read the issue, including Sadie’s poem! The artwork included along with the poems is lovely; she is very pleased with it and I hope, encouraged to continue writing and creating.
https://www.icelollyreview.com/issue-xiv-feburary-2023-new
Thank you for visiting my blog and supporting the arts. Be well & creative. Always here — in verses, art & song —
Stacie & Sadie
*Post Script* My daughter is currently a patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. If you’d like to follow our journey to her cure, please visit: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hopeforsadie