Writing About Current Events
Writers need to care about and pay attention to what’s going on in the world
There’s been a lot of talk online about how angry people are at our government, as well as a lot of criticism over the state of affairs. Military veterans are starving and homeless. Low-income families working jobs that pay very little are struggling to make ends meet. Funding for education has been cut. So why bother celebrating America turning 250 this year?
That’s the feeling a lot of people have right now. It doesn’t change the fact that America is still turning 250. This country’s semiquincentennial is STILL going to happen, and it’s not exactly something we can refuse to recognize this year.
Not if you’re a writer.
As a writer, I have had to write about this event, even though I am not excited about it. Our government is corrupt and Americans are losing more protections and benefits by the day. There really isn’t much to celebrate here.
Even so, as a writer, I have had to write about it – because that’s what writers do. Writers write about current events as well as whatever is important going on in the world right now.
Because if you’re a writer, you need to give a damn.
That’s not to say that, as a writer, you should blindly follow the masses and repeat all the lies spoon-fed to the media. No. That would be a disservice to your readers, and put you into a negative light. It would make you look fake.
Write about current events, but be authentic about it.
As for me and what I had to write, I shared about events in New York celebrating the occasion that were accessible to people with disabilities, because even as I refuse to celebrate America turning 250, I know that there are other people out there who want to. And for people living with disabilities, they will want to know what kind of events are accessible in their area.
I also wrote about books that were published just for this occasion. That article will be published later this month. This one is for the booklovers out there interested in what kind of new books were published this year to celebrate America’s independence from a governing nation.
And, finally, I am reading books that are about this time period, because I want to learn about everything involving the people, places and things that necessitated the decision to fight for independence from England. And as I read these books, I can’t help but notice parallels to what we are dealing with today – except that, 250 years later, we are under the thumb of a corrupt president instead of a corrupt king. (And let’s not forget that our corrupt president WISHES that he was our king.)
Learning all about the time period surrounding the creation of the Declaration of Independence has helped me to understand what it was that drove the colonies to fight for independence, as well as make me wish that, two hundred fifty years later, we could fight for independence from our president. (Of course, the only way to do that is to have him impeached for all of his crimes and abuse of power while in office, but nobody is willing to impeach him.)
These acts of writing about a current event do not mean that I am happy or excited about the current event. I can write about something that I don’t support or wish to take part in.
Writing about people, things and events which I do not support means I am doing something for the people, who a writer serves.
When a writer takes it upon themselves to write for the people, then they must separate themselves from all forms of personal biases and write FOR the people, not for themselves.
In my case, I have two different audiences expecting me to provide them with information about a current event that they wanted to know about. So I wrote for the people with disabilities who are interested in attending events that offer accessibility that will make it possible for them to attend these events. I wrote for the people who LOVE to read books and want to know what books are out there related to a current event. I did this because I had an obligation to my readers, and to those audiences, to provide them with the information they wanted to receive.
Because, as a writer writing for publication, you should keep your audience in mind. And you shouldn’t make what you are writing about a list of your personal complaints, grievances, and rants. That’s what other platforms such as blogs and social media accounts are for. As well as personal journals. THOSE places are where you can air all of your grievances and share your feelings about current events. But not in places where you are writing for an audience.
Write about current events but do so in a way where it’s something your audience will appreciate. Save your personal feelings for your personal platforms.
That’s what I’m doing as a writer writing about America’s semiquincentennial. Make no mistake, I do not support our current president, but I still love America. My love for my country is not dependent on my politics. But I am making it clear that even though I wrote about books and events celebrating America turning 250, I myself am not celebrating the occasion. It’s hard to celebrate independence in a country whose president is destroying democracy.
I have now made my feelings about this particular current event clear. This, too, is your obligation to your readers. Say what needs to be said in your own way and in the right place to say it. As for me, I feel this is the right place.
What’s New This Week
My short story “Something Fishy” was published in the new anthology, Strange Vibes Vol. 2. Check it out here.
My article “New York Libraries Celebrate America’s 250 Years of Independence” was published in the July/August issue of Able News. Read it here.
Book Reviews
I recently reviewed the memoir Fractured: A Deep and Intimate Memoir by Deb Morgan at Reader Views
I recently reviewed the fantasy novel T.V. Holiday’s Catclysm by T.V. Holiday at Reader Views
I recently reviewed the mystery novel Olivia and the Door-Dash Cats by Patricia Fry at Reader Views
What’s New at SPARREW?
Carolyn Howard-Johnson has a new Tricky Edits column published in the June 2026 issue of the SPARREW Newsletter!
Read it here.
The June 2026 issue of the SPARREW Newsletter is now online! It will stay online until July 30. Read the full issue here.
Call for Submissions!
Week of Terrors Anthology series
Twisted Dreams Press is now accepting submissions for a new anthology series! It is seven books with ten stories in each book.
The first anthology will be published in June. The others will follow in the subsequent months. Submissions of stories for all anthologies opens the beginning of April.
Open until each anthology has ten stories. We will announce when an anthology is no longer accepting submissions.
Series Name: A Week of Terrors!
Here are the themes:
Monster Monday: Creature Horror Stories
Terrifying Tuesday: Evil Clowns
Werewolf Wednesday
Thriller Thursday: Zombies
Frightening Friday: Mix of horror subgenres: psychological horror, eco-horror, cyberpunk horror, erotic horror, etc.
Slasher Saturday: Slasher horror
Spooky Sunday: Ghost stories
Payment: One print and digital copy.
Submit your stories today!
Length: 3K-10K words
Reprints welcome! Simultaneous submissions welcome but please let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Email your stories as a Word .doc or .docx file. Google Docs are okay as long as you grant Dawn permission for access.
No PDF submissions, please.
Stories written with AI will NOT be accepted!
When you submit your story, please put the following in the subject line:
Submission: WOT Anthology, (Title), (Day of the week your story is for)
Please include in your email if the story is a reprint as well as your bio.
Please send your stories to Dawn at submissions@twisteddreamspress.com
We look forward to reading your story!
An Update on An Old Anthology Call!
If you missed out on the anthology call for the Friday the 13th Summer Camp Horror anthology, you’re in luck!
This anthology is reopening to submissions!
Learn more about that on the Twisted Dreams Press blog here.
New posting on the Twisted Dreams Press blog about more anthologies open to submissions!
Twisted Dreams Press is thrilled to announce a brand-new call for submissions for THREE anthologies. These anthologies will be published in 2027. Learn more about them here.
NEW anthology call from Twisted Dreams Press and Dreamweaver Press!
Twisted Dreams Press is accepting submissions for three anthologies slated for publication in 2027! Read about them here.
Dreamweaver Press, a division of Twisted Dreams Press, is also accepting submissions for anthologies! Get the details here.
BONUS CALLS FOR SUBMISSION
“Red Raven is actively seeking short horror fiction for our upcoming anthologies. We’re looking for stories that unsettle, that linger, that leave the reader somewhere darker than where they started.
Dark crime, weird fiction, and speculative horror welcome”
Reprints welcome. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Mulyiple submissions allowed.
Length: 200-5K words
Payment: “Payment of £10 per accepted story, on publication”
Deadline: Ongoing
“Dirty Magick Magazine is open for submissions.
We will only be accepting 350 submissions. A counter on the home page will keep track.
We are now open for submissions for our Winter 2026 issue. Please submit Christmas/Hanukkah/Yule/Solstice stories.
We like a variety of stories but will only publish a few styles. Please read closely as these are the rules and they will not be broken.
First and foremost, we are interested in urban fantasy which we define as fantasy adventure fiction which takes place in modern settings. These places can be real or imaginary (although we prefer the former), but the story must have some combination of those typical elements: magic, other sentient races, enchanted objects, and mythical backgrounds. These all may be underground and hidden, but they must play a part in the story.
Next, we want sword and sorcery which we define as fantasy adventure fiction taking place in an ancient or alternative world where the protagonists must use their wits and weapons to survive. We contrast this with high fantasy (which we are not interested in) where quests taken on behalf of the rulers are world shaking. We are much more interested in the street level like the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tales of Fritz Leiber and the Conan/Bran Mak Morn tales of Robert E. Howard.
Finally, we will consider gothic and supernatural horror. We won’t define this directly, but this is a market to submit vampire, werewolf, ghost, and cryptid fiction. Be warned, it would be best to use these creatures in one of the previously mentioned genres as that would be a quicker path to publication.”
Original work only. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Only one short story submission per reading period.
Length: 2K-12,500 words
Payment: $50 for original stories, $25 for reprints
Deadline: Until full
“We consider fiction stories between 500 and 7000 words with horror elements. We take a broad view of the horror genre, from the conceptual and ethereal to the visceral and gory. We look for prose style and thematic complexity over commercial formula.”
Original work only. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Only one submission per writer per deadline. They want thriller and horror stories. “Do not submit any material generated by AI.”
Length: 500-7K words
Payment: “Payment: $500 USD / $600 CDN for each story we publish”
Deadline: July 8, 2026
“We will be accepting submissions for Issues 7 and 8 via the submission form (linked at the bottom of the page), from July 1-15, 2026.
What we want:
· That sweet spot of horror comedy that is genuinely funny but also genuinely scary. Can be as goofy, gory, or smutty as you like!
· Work that punches up, not down. (“If the person on the gallows makes a grim joke, that’s gallows humor. If someone in the crowd makes a joke, that’s part of the execution.” – Alexandra Erin, Twitter.)
We love being surprised. Send us something we’ve never seen before!”
Original work only. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Writers may submit one flash fiction and one short story submission at the same time. Requires two months exclusivity.
Length: “Up to 1000 (flash), 1001-5000 (shorts). We tend to prefer stories less than 3000 words long, and have a soft spot for the ever cursed 1000-2000 word region.”
Payment: “ayment: Token ($10 for flash – 2 per issue, $25 for shorts – 4 per issue). Pending support we hope to increase payment in the future.”
Deadline: July 15, 2026
Sweet Screams: A Taste of Darkness
Grimalkin Press
“For Sweet Screams, we’re looking for horror stories centered around themes of sweetness, baking, cooking, desserts, and the unsettling things that can exist beneath comfort, nostalgia, celebration, or indulgence.
This can include baked goods, bake sales, bakeries, candies, pastries, recipes, cafés, diners, holiday treats, cooking competitions, trad wife aesthetics (when meaningfully tied to cooking or baking), strange ingredients, hospitality, obsession, family traditions, celebrations, or anything else that fits within the thread of sweetness colliding with horror.
We’re especially interested in stories that approach these themes in creative, unexpected, emotional, unsettling, atmospheric, or deeply human ways. The horror can be literary, psychological, gothic, folk, surreal, quiet, darkly comedic, or grotesque, but this anthology is not a fit for extreme horror, splatterpunk, or stories that rely heavily on exploitative shock value.
Most of all, think of your story as the dessert itself. Sweet Screams is the bake sale from hell, and we want every story in this anthology to feel like its own terrifyingly irresistible confection; the kind of sweet treat a reader knows they probably shouldn’t touch, but would die to take a bite out of anyway.
Submissions for this publication are only open to women and gender diverse people to spotlight the voices of those in these marginalized communities.”
While this is a charity anthology, I have confirmed that it is a paying opportunity. Original work only. Accepts simultaneous submissions. Absolutely no AI.
Length: 1K-5K words
Payment: 8 cents per word plus a copy of the book
Deadline: August 15, 2026
This Week’s Book Promo
This week, I promoted my poetry book Wandering Soul. This is the poetry book I wrote for people who love to travel, explore, and crave taking the road less traveled. Growing up, I was on the road a lot, as my family moved from one house to another. I have lived in more than one state, and have traveled to as well as through several U.S. cities. The poems in this book were inspired by these travels, as well as some of the things I observed during my time on the road.
Here is the book’s blurb:
“For some people, home is the wide open road, where they feel the call to travel or explore the road not taken. For these wandering souls, their life is about journeying from one place to another and seeing the world for all of its beauty. Wandering Soul is a collection of poems capturing that vagabond spirit and the experience of travel. The poems in this book are meant for anyone who answers the call of the road, or who yearns to explore unknown territory.”
And here is the excerpt:
Just an Average Vagabond
I’m just an average vagabond
With no real place to go.
I’m just an average vagabond
Who travels very light and small.
I sleep in caves
And rest at inns and in rooms.
There is no schedule stressing my life,
No one to answer to but me.
I’m just an average vagabond
And I think my life’s all right.
I’m just an average vagabond,
Sleeping under the stars at night.
So many places to go and visit,
So many new people to meet.
No matter where I go, I take life each day at a time
As an average vagabond.Thanks for reading! See you next weekend!
Another fine column, Dawn. Happy Fourth of July.