Our Mission

It began mid-July of 2022, an open mic night at Simon’s Rock’s Young Writers Workshop. The sun set softly, and one by one, writers walked up to the podium to read their pieces out loud. Applause and laughter scattered through the room. In the back row of that chapel, a group of girls shifted in their seats and clutched the itinerary in their suntanned hands. One quote scrawled across the page in big brown letters read:

Somewhere in his journals, Dostoyevsky remarks that a writer can begin anywhere, at the most commonplace thing, scratch around in it long enough, pry and dig away long enough, and lo! soon he will hit upon the marvelous.

This was where it began, the first time we stood up in front of a crowd and shared the written material of our hearts. The first leap that would eventually lead to more readings, more publication submissions, more prizes, more sparkling feelings of creative joy. It was where, for the first time, we believed we might make it as writers. And while you might not be able to take that drive to Western Massachusetts and attend that summer workshop for three weeks, we hope to bring what we learned from Simon’s Rock to you.

In a world where creativity is constantly under the threat of extinction—from the difficulties of supporting oneself as an artist to the advent of new technologies—we strive to preserve the value of literature and poetry. Language, we believe, will hold value in society for as long as it exists, if not longer. This is why we chose to base our publication off of an inkwell—to symbolize the archaic function of the scribe, the commonplace beauty of ink.

As young writers ourselves, we understand the intimidation and inaccessibility that exist in the world of publishing and creative writing. We hope to help you make that leap, whether it is your first time submitting to a journal or your tenth time. From offering individualized feedback for each free submission to hosting online workshops available to all teens, the Empty Inkwell editors strive to promote the spirit of accessible writing and publishing.

With every issue that we publish, we shine a soft light onto the most brilliant, inventive, and beautiful voices of writers across the globe, blink in the constellation of creativity that exists in our vicinity.

Every soul holds the power of imagination, creativity, heart. Don’t forget that. You, with only a crisp sheet of paper and a pen, can compose something excellent. As Dostoyevsky said, you will hit the marvelous after scratching around long enough. So come on, reader, dip your quill into that inkwell until it empties, because when it does, you’ll have changed something inside you, and changed our world for the better.