Martha Morrison Archives - London Writers Society

Martha Morrison

2025 06 16

The Anthology Journey, Part 2: Out of the Woods and Onto the Page

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When the Anthology Committee Zoom meeting ended, I paused to admire the woodland behind my house. The title Out of the Woods was still dancing through my mind. The theme encompassed a diversity of ideas, from a fantastical piece with a forest setting to a metaphorical interpretation. I also loved that it was a nod to London’s moniker as “the Forest City.”

I glanced at my phone. My mother was calling. Our family was facing multiple health challenges, so I quickly swiped “accept,” because a phone call meant news, lately mostly bad news. But this call was different. This news was hopeful.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” my mother said as we ended the call. Out of the woods! The words shot through me as I felt the creative force that I hadn’t felt in so long. Some committee members were sure they were going to submit to the anthology, others had decided not to. I was on the fence but, hearing my mother’s words at that moment, I knew I was going to quote her, write about the experience, and submit a piece.

With the vision and title in place for the anthology, it was time to get back to the ever present “to do” list. At the top? How to fund the anthology. We researched different grant opportunities and applied to the London Arts Council. Donna Costa, with her background in holistic health and a steady, grounded energy took the lead, completing hours of research and paperwork, collecting writing samples, bios, and signatures Then she hit “submit.” These grants are competitive, and we weren’t sure we would be selected, so, in the meantime, we also started formulating a plan to solicit sponsorships.

It’s here that I will pause to thank Marco Muzzi, whose technical help was ever present. He was always in the background, making a landing spot on the anthology website, and creating our own anthology email address. Throughout the creation of the project, there were dozens of tech questions solved by Marco.

Have I mentioned that none of us had ever put together an anthology before? Research needed to be done! I poured over the half dozen anthologies on my bookshelf (ordering more in the process) and together the committee analyzed different literary contests and other anthology publications. LWS member and prolific author, Elaine Cougler, joined us for a meeting to offer her expertise. Justine Dowsett from Mirror World Publishing, with her vast experience publishing anthologies generously answered our questions and shared judging rubrics to ensure an equitable process.

As we wrote the ‘Submission Guidelines,’ in addition to being mindful of modern inclusions such as certifying that work is AI-free, we wanted to keep the emphasis on local writers while recognizing that London serves as the literary hub for the surrounding rural areas (shout out to my fellow rural folks!). We settled on southwestern Ontario as the boundary for entrants and judges. In my research of the region, I came across a newspaper article that described ‘Souwesto’ as an area of considerable interest artistically, but also of psychic murkiness and oddity. Perfect.

The next challenge was to find a judge not connected to the LWS. It was evident we would need a longlist to give to that person, so the judge wouldn’t be inundated with potentially hundreds of pieces. We settled on a model based on a few anthologies we studied: a panel of First Reader judges who were experts in their fields (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) would create a longlist to pass on to the Finalist Judge who would then curate the entries for publication.

Committee member, Anne Kay, had just published her debut historical fiction novel The Salt Man, and took the lead on the panel of First Reader judges. With her contacts in the industry and the Writers’ Union of Canada, we assembled a wonderful team: Anne Kay and Margaret Whitley for nonfiction; Barbara Haworth-Attard and Kym Wolfe for fiction; and Andreas Gripp for poetry.

We needed a Finalist Judge. A celebrity judge, if possible. We started working up a list. “Did you know Emma Donoghue is a London resident?” Anne asked.

“The author who wrote Room and The Pull of the Stars with a literary CV the length of a novel?” I asked, thinking it would be amazing, but assuming she would be too busy to participate in a community anthology.

With a few clicks, Brenda pulled an email address from her website. “We could ask?” And so, with palms sweaty and a bit breathless, I hit “send” on our request.

In the meantime, I began writing my piece to submit to the anthology.

To be continued…

Photo of Martha Morrison, Chair of the LWS Anthology Committee Martha Morrison is honoured to have served as Chair of the Anthology Committee for the London Writers Society’s inaugural anthology project Out of the Woods. She holds a BSc in Biochemistry and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction writing. Her work has been published in various literary anthologies and she was shortlisted for the International Amy MacRae Award for Memoir. Her previous careers include flight attendant and professional ballroom dance instructor. Martha lives on a farm outside London with her family, dogs, cats and chickens. Most days, she gets up before the rooster (and the kids) to write in the quiet early mornings.

2025 06 10

The Anthology Journey, Part 1: The Seed of an Idea

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The London Writers Society (LWS) inaugural anthology began with the seed of an idea; the collection’s creation was suggested many times over the years, but lay dormant, waiting for the optimal conditions to grow. That time came in 2023 when, under the leadership of President Ron Cougler, the membership expanded and brought a variety of new skills and expertise to the Society. The soil was warming up, watered regularly with maybes: Maybe we could? Maybe we should?

Irene Nevill, the LWS secretary at the time, suggested now was the time! In the next Society newsletter, a call went out to form the first-ever anthology committee. The seed germinated.

I read that newsletter on a sunny afternoon with my two-year-old son asleep for his nap and my infant daughter happily enjoying tummy time. A few months before her birth, I had set aside the memoir I was writing about my time working as a flight attendant to give myself a break, and be in the postpartum bubble with all the messy chaos it entails. But I missed writing and the creative process. While I didn’t think I could return to the mental load of writing a full book, I wondered if I could help with the behind-the-scenes process of pulling together an anthology. Could I organize nap schedules around committee meetings? Maybe I could? Maybe I should?

I thought of my former LWS critique group (oh, hey!), our camaraderie, and the stories that were still haunting me. I remembered the diverse voices I read over the years, purchasing books at LWS events and member launches. I thought of my own dreams and ambitions as an author. I had been published in various anthologies, and the thrill of seeing my name in print, I knew, was another step toward my dream of book publication. I could be part of a project that could give a publishing credit to other deserving writers and aspiring authors.

Thanks largely in part to work I produced in LWS critique groups and letters of support from members, in 2022 I graduated with my MFA in creative nonfiction writing. As writers, we all want to focus on our writing, right? Well, to sum up two years of study with a quote from one of my profs: “If you want to be a published author, you need to be mindful of your literary CV.” In short, your literary CV is what you submit to potential agents and publishing houses along with your manuscript. Unless you’re an absolute literary genius (spoiler alert: I’m not), folks in the biz want to see that you can handle the hard work. Aside from awards and publishing credits, a volunteer role on a committee or devoting time to the LWS Executive are great positions to include on a literary CV (and, a great way to meet new friends).

With that in mind—and the reality that the majority of my current creativity was focussed on making up silly songs, games, and new fun ways to serve vegetables—I put my name forward for the committee. As a bonus, I was excited by the prospect of spending a few dedicated hours each month talking to other literary-minded adults!

The first pre-planning meeting took place in the fall of 2023. Many were interested at first, but by early 2024 the committee had four core members: Donna Costa, Anne Kay, Brenda Martin and myself, affectionately dubbed the ‘A-team’. I was honoured to be nominated as Chair.

The quartet gelled instantly and I looked forward to our meetings each month. Before finishing his term as President, Ron had proposed the timeline of publishing in June 2025, and now it was up to us to figure out how to make that happen in 18 months. The ‘A-team’ shared a common vision for the anthology: to showcase LWS members, to provide them with an opportunity for a publishing credit—a plus for authors hoping to be traditionally published down the road—and to promote the Society by attracting more writers and readers from the community.

With our vision in place, we needed a theme. In one of our early meetings, Brenda suggested, “What about, Out of the Woods?” We all agreed it was perfect. The Zoom meeting ended just as my little ones were waking up from their naps. I was content with my decision to take a behind-the-scenes role, thrilled that we had the title in place, and felt confident our committee was going to do a great job.

And then the phone rang.

To be continued…