Leaning into the Author's Voice and Small Press Publishing

Victoria Waddle believes that the literary world is like a library—there is a place for all sorts of voices and genres (even genre-defying books) in the collection. But finding that place can be hard. She has had work published by three small presses in Inland Southern California. She’ll talk about her experiences including topics: choosing the right POV, editing work, selecting book covers, and practicing good literary citizenship.

Victoria Waddle is a Pushcart-nominated writer, with work published in literary journals and anthologies, including Alaska Quarterly Review and Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. Her publications include a collection of short fiction, Acts of Contrition (Los Nietos Press) and a chapbook, The Mortality of Dogs and Humans (Bamboo Dart Press). Her novel, Keep Sweet, about teens escaping a patriarchal cult, was recently launched from Inlandia Books. Her recent essay on the harm of sexual purity culture went viral on HuffPost and was reissued on Buzzfeed. Previously the managing editor of the journal Inlandia: A Literary Journey, she helped to establish a yearly teen issue. She was formerly a high school English teacher and a teacher librarian. She can be found on the Substack Be a Cactus, (https://VictoriaWaddle.Substack.com) where she writes about book bans and other literary topics.