My short story “Trees” was published today in a special issue of the New American Studies Journal on women and work in the nineteenth century. This is an abridged version of the story that won ScreenCraft’s 2023 Cinematic Short Story Competition and is one of the stories in the collection that won Launch Pad’s 6th Annual Prose Writing Competition.

From the issue’s introduction: “[S]ervice was required of women in the nineteenth century, but what it entailed varied widely according to class, ethnicity, and location. This special issue is meant to open a new field of research that must be expanded to include a diverse range of women’s experiences. A solicited short story by Leanne Phillips points the way by evoking the perspective of Native Californians compelled to serve in white settlers’ homes.”

Check publishing in an academic journal off my bucket list! I majored in English and minored in history, and I know publishing in an academic journal is hard–footnotes, bibliography, peer review. But I found a loophole, friends–no bibliography required if it’s a short story! 🙂