Pens for Publication

Shortly after I discovered fountain pens, my husband offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. To encourage me to submit stories, he would buy me a fountain pen every time I got something accepted. Not published — accepted. That was key, because it can take a year or more after a piece is accepted before it gets published, and in some cases the project can get canceled. Or a story could get accepted as a reprint.

Because I like vintage pens and like to "try the pen I buy and buy the pen I try", I pick out my publication pens at pen shows. Which sometimes means a delay between when a piece gets accepted and when I get my reward. I also like to wait until a piece has been published to post about the pen, unless the publisher gives me permission to talk about the project. So the pens you see here aren't all the ones I've earned.