An Intermittent Series on Writing and Writers Lidia Yuknavitch is the author of six books. Her works range from a groundbreaking memoir, The Chronology of Water —currently optioned for film by the actress Kristen Stewart — to short stories and empowering, inspirational texts like The Misfit’s Manifesto, on the role…

Testing, testing…1…2…3…Is this mic on? Am I…here? In 2015, Reuters printed the decisive headline: “It’s Official! Many Women Become Invisible After 49”. It all sounded so exciting! A previous New York Times headline, back in 1981, shouted with equal conviction, “Older Women: No Longer ‘Invisible’”! Wow. Trends come and go…

These days I have three books out and three more in the works, along with essays and stories in various publications, many which I’m proud of, working with editors I adore. This hasn’t come easily, at all. …

A worst case scenario for what happens to your literary mag submission — I submitted a story to a well known lit mag, where I knew a few of the editors personally. I’d been to parties associated with the magazine, and supported their workshop in its first year by writing about it at length in the local paper. It was a magazine where…