What is Table Rock?
Named for the mountain within sight of our annual gathering of writers, the mission of Table Rock is:
To provide a generous, supportive environment for adult writers at all levels of experience to focus on improving their craft. (This journal showcases writing from our workshop community.)
To offer first-rate instruction across genres with an emphasis on identifying, shaping, and polishing each participant's distinctive voice and material. (The instruction happens at our annual workshop.)
To foster a spirit of community where all participants may receive an honest and sensitive appraisal of their works in progress. (The community connects all year long through social media.)
Table Rock Writers grew out of the 30-year-old Duke University Writers Workshop which was discontinued in 2010. We are an ongoing community of friends and colleagues. Please subscribe to this journal to get full access to news and special learning opportunities. Check out our website to learn more about the August workshop which is almost full for 2021.
What is Table Rock Journal?
Once a month we’ll publish a writing prompt and accept submissions from subscribers to this journal. For now, submissions for publication must be limited to 100 words of prose or poetry. The idea is to get your juices going with the prompt, and we hope you’ll keep writing beyond the 100 words for yourself or the project you are working on. Our aim is to stay connected and inspired. Submissions must be connected to the prompt and you must be a subscriber to submit.
Do I have to pay?
No, you don’t have to pay. But we do ask that you hit the subscribe button, which makes you officially on the mailing list and guarantees that you’ll get the monthly prompt and published submissions from the previous prompt. We may eventually add a paid subscription option that would include additional material, such as a weekly prompt, guest articles from our faculty, book reviews, or other sources of inspiration. We hope you’ll help us shape this journal with your best ideas. Please join our community!
The fine print on submissions.
By submitting your 100-word piece to this journal, you agree to allow Table Rock Journal to publish the submission on line through Substack, granting first North American serial rights to Table Rock. You are free to publish it elsewhere thereafter as part of a longer or altered work without our permission. You can also list Table Rock Journal as having published your work.
We will not edit with a heavy hand. We will contact you if your piece is selected for publication and discuss edits, if any. Since this is an experiment, we don’t know how many pieces we’ll have room to print per edition. We don’t want to overwhelm readers. You can only submit one piece per month and it must be from that month’s prompt. The idea is to do the exercise and have some fun. Send your submission of 100 words by the deadline specified to tablerockwriters@gmail.com.
