As a new year and new decade looms, I’m reflecting back on the writing and publication success I’ve experienced. I still can’t quite believe that my childhood dreams came true this past decade! As you can see from the photo below, I’ve been dreaming of being a writer for a long time … check out that dreadful handmade Word Art cover in Papyrus font on my self-bound “first” book. Pretty sure my mom brought me to Staples to have that bound. In 2016, I became a published author. Now, I have two books of poetry, Crumb-sized: Poems and On that one-way trip to Mars. And I’m working on more books! So, stay tuned.
Left: Holding up my “first book,” The Strength. 
Right: Featured reader for November 2019’s the lowercase, holding up my book Crumb-sized.
In 2019, I’ve had a quieter year for creative writing publications. This is mostly as a result of focusing on writing and revising a short story collection focused on climate change. Sometimes, some years, different aspects of writing take the front seat. And that’s all part of the process.
Below are the creative writing pieces I’ve had published in 2019:
- “Ode to the Eastern Shore” a poem in Little Patuxent Review, Winter 2019
- “Concerning Craft: Ode to the World Before Climate Change” an essay in Little Patuxent Review, June 21, 2019
- “The Interplanetary Sanitation Workers Get Sent to Kepler-186F” a flash story in Paper Darts’ Cleanliness micro-fiction contest, January 5, 2019
I’m grateful that the Little Patuxent Review continues to be a home for my work. It was one of the first literary magazines to accept a poem of mine for publication, back in 2014. This year, guest editor Anthony Moll solicited me for their Winter issue — the first time I’ve been solicited for my writing. And I’ve got such a writing crush on Paper Darts — its staff is full of rad women writers and editors, and they publish such fun, eerie lit.
For my day job at World Resources Institute, part of my role is writing and editing blogs. These stories range from interviews with Goldman Prize winners to explainer pieces on complex topics like tracking climate adaptation spending or responding to Day Zero equitably. I also freelance articles for Electrical Contractor Magazine, which I’ve been doing now for seven years (time really flies!). I interned with the magazine back when I was still in undergrad and have written stories on renewable energy ever since.
Below are the articles I’ve had published in 2019:
- ‘A Madison, WI Tradition’: Electrical Contractors Put On 31st Annual Holiday Light Show in Electrical Contractor Magazine, November 2019
- Responding to Day Zero Equitably: Water Crisis Lessons from Cape Town and Chennai in World Resources Institute, October 31, 2019
- Airport Solar Farms Improve Air Quality, Reduce Emissions in Electrical Contractor Magazine, October 2019
- App Prototype Identifies Design Hazards on Construction Projects in Electrical Contractor Magazine, August 2019
- For Texas, Energy Is Blowin’ in the Wind in Electrical Contractor Magazine, August 2019
- Solar Power for All: Madison, Wis. Provides Solar Grants for Low-Income Residents in Electrical Contractor Magazine, June 2019
- PODCAST: Why Securing Land Rights for Indigenous People Can Accelerate Sustainable Development in World Resources Institute, May 7, 2019
- Goldman Prize Winner Alfred Brownell Stopped Palm Oil Companies from Destroying Liberian Forests in World Resources Institute, May 1, 2019
- Tesla Slashes Solar Panel Prices in Electrical Contractor Magazine, May 2019
- Puerto Rico’s ‘Green New Deal’ Promises 100-Percent Renewable Energy by 2050 in Electrical Contractor Magazine, April 2019
- Civil Society Organizations Are Learning to Track Climate Adaptation Spending to Ensure it Reaches the Communities Who Need It Most in World Resources Institute, April 26, 2019
- China Plans to Build Space-Based Solar Power Station in Electrical Contractor Magazine, March 2019
- Penn State’s 70-MW Solar Project to Reduce Emissions, Power School for 25 Years in Electrical Contractor Magazine, February 2019
- Longest Federal Shutdown in U.S. History Costs $11 Billion, CBO Says in Electrical Contractor Magazine, February 2019
- Peru’s Indigenous Communities Manage Their Forests. Others Should Follow Their Lead in World Resources Institute, January 23, 2019
This year, I served as an interim editor for Split This Rock’s Poem of the Week, helped plan and put on OutWrite 2019, attended and participated in several panels at AWP 2019, was invited to be a featured reader at reading series and open mics, participated in AWP’s Writer to Writer Mentorship Program as a poetry mentor (you can read more about that in a recent blog post), tabled at DC Art Book Fair #3, and attended many Split This Rock writing workshops. I met new writer friends, read great books, and found new projects to focus on.
Here’s to 2020 and a new decade — along with all the writing, revising, rejection, and hopefully publication success that comes with it! We’ve got this, writers. Let’s keep writing and submitting, because the world needs your voice.
Happy New Year,
from Marlena