A Newsletter With A View of One’s Own-12

Dear Readers,

We completed a full circle of our Sun and we’re here at edition 12 of my monthly newsletter! YAY!

I’m doubly thankful for y’all sticking by me and for your wonderful response to the March edition. As always, I’ll jump straight to what’s important!

what writers are talking about?

Topmost, about Artificial Intelligence in writing. Recently, writer-editor Becky Tuch posted an excerpt from a New York Times Modern Love column on X which went viral. Writers had many different opinions on this–AI or not, and a flood of comments followed. I do not see if NYT responded. Interestingly, Vauhini Vara, author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age, referred to Tuch’s post in “How AI Is Creeping Into The New York Times” (The Atlantic; March 25).

The other side, and I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately: what if, you, as a writer, found out that your writing was rejected not on merit but on the false suspicion of having been AI-generated. You, as the writer, aren’t even aware of this suspicion/accusation, and never get a chance to defend yourself.

Interestingly, a tweet that went viral suggested that the AI-text detector being used by them confirmed the opening of chapter 5 from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as “100% AI generated”!

closed!

Libre Mag closed own. Mary Buchanan, Editor-in-chief / founder announced this in early March. The site is no longer available and I guess my piece published there is now orphaned (“Behaviour Patterns”; LIBRE MAGAZINE Plath Special: Issue 02; December 2024).

submission opportunities

(ALL FEE FREE)

Beginning April 2026, Space & Time will move from biannual publication to a monthly format. Accepting submissions from April 1, via Duosuma. (PAYS)

Cutleaf Journal is open until they hit submissions cap. (PAYS)

Brick too is open for submissions twice a year: from October 1 to October 31 and from April 1 to April 30. (PAYS)

Three Penny submissions close on April 15 for the year. (PAYS)

The Four Faced Liar Issue 5 submissions are open until April 6. (PAYS)

Moonflake submissions are themed and open until April 25.

Cast of Wonders is open until April 5 for a special themed issue. (PAYS)

The Forge Literary Magazine accepts no more than one free submission per month. Opens: April 1 (capped at 200 submissions). (PAYS)

Okay Donkey accepting one flash fiction OR one poem, opens April 1 (capped submissions). (PAYS)

And, of course, there are hundreds more at For Writers: 10 Easily Usable and FREE Sites to Find Submission Calls in 2026

heck! Grammarly controversy

Grammarly’s $12-a-month “expert review” tool, which launched in August, allegedly told users it would read their text, find “experts” to review it, and then critique it by applying “ideas” from those experts — including journalist Julia Angwin, best-selling writer Stephen King, journalist Kara Swisher, and former Federal Trade Commission member Julie Brill. Angwin sued Grammarly and “Grammarly suspended the feature” and “apologized for “falling short.”” (MediaPost article; March 13, 2026)

good news story

Released in March, Han Kang’s first book since winning the Nobel, Light and Thread is a collection of essays, poems, diaries. The Guardian called it “a tantalising book of reflections” in its review.

opinion: do agents charge authors?

I’ve never had an agent but this tweet was alarming to me, as it was to many others. I wonder if more writers who have had similar experiences will speak out. It is clear that this is a subject actively brushed under the carpet and needs more discussion.

best of the net 2026 announced!

The 2026 Best of the Net Anthology was announced on March 25. Check out all of this year’s award-winning poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art here. Fiction category inclusions were selected by Andrew Porter, and were as follows:

Lauren Barbato’s “The Great Renunciation” from American Literary Review

Angie Ellis’s “The Sisters” from The Masters Review

Kathleen Field’s “The Harvest” from So to Speak

Kira Homsher’s “Year of the Rat” from Cutleaf Journal

Sofia Sears’s “Baby Teeth” from Solstice

The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers 2025 announced!

In late February, 12 winners were selected by a committee of three judges for their debut short stories published in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website. Each received a $2,000 cash prize and inclusion in the annual anthology, Best Debut Short Stories: The PEN America Dau Prize. FULL LIST.

“let’s ignore the personal!”

My brain has been saying this to me on repeat mode. Things aren’t normal and yet I can’t help feel surprised that most writers seem to be unaffected. I’m embarrassed to post acceptances/publications in these times, and shared this feeling. Yet, I understand that editors and publishers have worked hard to bring my pieces out in the world and I have an obligation. Two publications in March, both micro prose, in New Flash Fiction Review (this piece is part of my series of micro prose inspired by Kafka, Plath, Lydia Davis & Robert Olen Butler. Pieces published in OxMag 55 last month were also part of same series!) and Rat Bag Literary. Hope they serve as tiny distractions.

Also, I’m happy to share that this site is getting eyeballs. In the week March 20-26 alone, readers from 24 countries visited. I’m grateful for the community we have here.

beyond writing

I watched Kasumi Arimura’s 2023 movie Call Me Chihiro after being impressed with her J-dramas Meet Me After School and Beyond Goodbye. Her acting and presence, the kind of storytelling and the story themes are fascinating in all three! I watch movie primarily to learn about storytelling and I am always processing why this frame, why this dialogue, why this angle, why this plot point, and so on, while watching, and even weeks after. I agree this is not the way one is supposed to enjoy movies but I can’t help it. In Call Me Chihiro, there is basically no story. Narrative never moves from point A to B (as we’ve always been told to do in case of our fiction-writing) in a strict sense, instead it lingers over a tiny part of Hiroshima and concentrates on the lives of multiple charcaters only linked coincidentally. Do you watch movies in this way? Or am I alone?

I’m hopeful

Some of you are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to my Substack (where I’ve ceased posting), or were contributors over the years to this blog as guest post writers. I believe, by subscribing/contributing, you wanted to hear from me (I share one monthly newsletter and the occasional craft essays such as these). I’m hopeful these posts will not be a waste of your time. If otherwise, feel free to unsubscribe, and you’ll not receive any more of these.

happy poetry month

Wishing HAPPY POETRY MONTH to all poets out there. Over the years, some posts published on this blog celebrated poetry and poets. I’M SO HAPPY TO LINK THEM BELOW:

How Poetry Inspires Fiction Writing: A Craft Essay (APRIL 20, 2025)

10 Things About Poetry You Didn’t Know (BLOGPOST 19; AUGUST 27, 2022)

LET’S KNOW OUR POETS BETTER with SAM SZANTO, OORMILA VIJAYKRISHNAN PRAHLAD, TANYA SANGPUN THAMKRUPHAT, LAWRENCE MOORE (APRIL 30, 2024)

ONLY POETRY ALLOWED (BLOGPOST 14; APRIL 24, 2022)

POETRY: EXPERIRI, EXPERIMENTAL, EXPERIENCE (BLOGPOST 13; APRIL 17, 2022)

This blog is a monthly newsletter published on the first week that is truly a newsletter–updates from the literary world, open windows, a few personal updates, some tips, opinions and conversations, and a round-up of recent work I truly recommend. If you enjoyed this, please share with your friends. Consider subscribing, commenting and/or liking this post. Thanks!

MANDIRA PATTNAIK