2010 skirt!® Print Themes 

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JANUARY: No Regrets  (Published)
Spent the night in jail, but it turned your life around? Went over your credit limit, but it forced you to look for a better job? Your husband of 20 years left you for a 20-year-old, but you went back to work and ended up starting your own business? What are the decisions, events, choices in your life that may have seemed disastrous at the time, but in retrospect were turning points or milestones in your life that you don’t regret?

FEBRUARY: I Heart Issue  (Published)
Heart’s desires, grand passions, love, lust, temptation, jealousy, broken hearts and mended hearts, letting your heart rule your head, the dating game, the mating game, unrequited love, self love. Funny relationship stories. Getting jilted. Think about different types of love, not just sexual or marital or romantic. Avoid predictable happy-ever-after courtship stories or my-ex-is-a-jerk diatribes. Go deeper!

MARCH: The Ka-Ching! Issue  (Published)
How money affects our lives … not having it, having it, saving it, donating it. Pay inequity. Clipping coupons. Bargain hunting. The shopaholic. Losing jobs, losing homes, losing families. What does money mean to us? What does it bring to our lives? And when we don’t have it, how do we cope with that? Being a wage slave. Cubicle life. Saving vs spending.

APRIL: The X Issue (Published)
All of the titles must have “ex” in the title. (Sex is already taken!). Get out your dictionaries and pick an EXtravagant or EXtraordinary word to fit the topic of your essay.

MAY: Friends & Family (Published)
Tribes. Family relationships. Sisterhood. Sibling rivalry. Apron strings. Roots and traditions. Imaginary Facebook friends. Friends we’d like to make. Friends we’d like to dump. Family ties and family trees. Trust and friendship. The worst friend ever. The friend who dated your boyfriend. Your gay friend. Faux friends. Avoid Chicken Soup for the Soul kinds of essays. We are looking for a different edge.

JUNE: The Destination Issue (Published)
Losing direction in life. Finding the right path. Detours and dead-ends. Actual and armchair travel. Going on pilgrimage. Your emotional G.P.S. Maiden voyages. Hair-raising adventure. Spiritual journeys. Restlessness. Fear of travel. Getting off the straight and narrow. The road less taken. Life maps and road maps.

JULY: The F Word (Published)
Feministas and fashionistas, independent women, closing the gender divide, redefining norms, girl power, what we were wearing when we changed the world and other atypical fashion-related essays, how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go, trail-blazing. Reclaiming the F Word: Should we keep “feminism” or find a new way to describe the movement? Raising feminist children. Random acts of feminism. What made you realize you were a feminist? Your feminist aha! Moment.

AUGUST: The Numbers Issue (Published)
Every essay must have a number in the title. Otherwise the theme is wide open.

SEPTEMBER: The Finish Line (Published)
Athletic feats or failures. Winning and/or losing (contests, jobs, relationships, life). Endings, happy and otherwise. Getting what you thought you wanted. Winning the battle, losing the war. Making, breaking, attaining goals. Reaching too far or too high. Ambition.

OCTOBER: The Smile Issue (Published)
Humorous essays – make us smile or make us laugh. Think David Sedaris, Kathy Griffin, Wanda Sykes.

NOVEMBER: The Comfort Zone (Published)
Giving and receiving comfort. Retreats. Sanctuaries and havens. Grieving and recovering. Creating a refuge. Asking for help. Places that bring comfort. Going outside your comfort zone. The family table. Sleep. Food. Home.

DECEMBER: The Leap Issue (Published)
Believing in yourself. Taking risks. Overcoming obstacles. Winning and losing, failure, success, career moves, choices, adventure, leap of faith, jumping in feet first.

*These are suggestions only intended to inspire writers interested in submitting for a particular month. We recognize that you may have ideas for other variations on theme of the month and look forward to reading your submissions.