Residents of Vancouver Island Regional Library‘s (VIRL) service area are invited to submit original art and written works to Sea & Cedar magazine by Oct. 31 for the Winter 2022 issue.

Editor April Ripley said the literature and art digital magazine stepped in to fill a gap for in-person library programs for writers that was created by the pandemic. The magazine, fully sourced from submissions, published its inaugural issue in July 2021. That issue, along with submission guidelines can be found online at VIRL. The website also states that it welcomes submissions from "intersectional and under-represented communities," such as BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+ and low-income earners.

Poetry, short fiction and creative nonfiction are all welcome from writers of any background or level of experience. The editors will select one artist to feature for each issue, and there were 15 writers chosen for the Summer 2021 edition.

Carina Verhoeve, the founding organizer of Literary Afternoons on Cortes Island, has a current pool of more than 30 local writers who have read from their original works to an in-person or virtual audience. She said this is a great opportunity for someone who would like to get their creations out into the world.

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