Accolades was released on March 4, 2020, a week before the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 crisis a pandemic. Three days later, the Saturday before schools and businesses were forced to close in Los Angeles and when Women Who Submit was scheduled to meet, the indefatigable group pivoted to online programming. “We actually went online from day one, which I think is unique,” says Bermejo. “It’s wild, but the year 2020 was a huge year of growth for us. We never canceled or rescheduled a thing, so everything we had planned for 2020 still happened; it’s just that everything moved online.”
Today Women Who Submit spans North America, with submission parties in sixteen U.S. states and two countries, coordinated by chapters director Ryane Nicole Granados and the chapter leads. The organization is still growing, and its second anthology, Gathering: Celebrating Ten Years, will be released in December. The book’s editorial team comprises both Women Who Submit leaders and members, to foster leadership and editing skills in the community.
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