For those of you have may not have seen the announcement on my author's Facebook page, my short story "Ashes" has been accepted for publication by the James Dickey Review of Reinhardt University.
While this is not my first short story published (it will be my third), it is a first in its own way:
-This is the first time I've had a story accepted "close to home" - both of my previous stories having been published through New England Universities.
-This is the first time that I submitted a story to people I know. While I don't know everyone on the James Dickey staff personally, I do know some of them. Sending your story out into the ether to be read by strangers is one thing; sending it off to coworkers who you respect is another. I am very pleased that they thought it good enough to represent our University.
-This will be my first published work after getting married. As some of you who follow this blog may have noticed, I changed my name on my personal facebook account, but not here or on my author's facebook page. Back a few months ago when I was figuring out various wedding and post-wedding logistics, I decided that I would keep Elizabeth Ivey as my "pen name" and go by my new married name in my personal and (non-writing) professional life.
While the formal notice that "Ashes" had been accepted came on Monday, I was actually kind of expecting it. Last Friday, the head of Reinhardt's MFA in Creative Writing program came by my office to drop off something for one of my coworkers. On his way, he stopped by my desk to say that he really enjoyed my story. He had more praise to offer, but I won't share that until after the story is published, as it spoils the ending : )
The same night, I ran into the Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities in the grocery store. He told me congratulations; we are friends on Facebook, and this was the first time he'd seen me in person since I'd gotten married, so my initial instinct was that he was congratulating me on that. But then thinking about it later, I wondered... Given that he is also involved in our MFA and literary magazine, was he referring to something I didn't know about yet? (Equally curious, as he is actually the managing editor of the JDR and was the one who officially informed me of my acceptance on Monday.)
I also now have an update as to publishing. The 2017 edition of the James Dickey Review goes to press in December and will likely be available to the general public in January. I will update everyone once it's actually available, and I will also let everyone know once I am allowed to post it to my personal website. In the meantime, since some of you have asked, the easiest way to obtain a printed copy is to subscribe to the James Dickey Review using the form below. (Just as a security reminder, do not include a credit card number if you plan to email the form. If you are emailing the subscription form, you can call the Reinhardt Business Office to make a secure credit card payment over the phone at 770-720-5520.)
In the meantime, if you would like to read my previously published works, and other pieces besides, you visit the "My Works" page on this website.
