Indie Blu(e) Publishing’s 5th Anniversary Creativity Prompt Challenge

In November of 2018, Kindra M. Austin and I took a leap of faith and launched Indie Blu(e) Publishing with the publication of our first anthology, We Will Not Be Silenced: The Lived Experience of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Told Powerfully Through Poetry, Prose, Essay, and Art. We Will Not Be Silenced would not have been possible without the invaluable input and able assistance of poets Candice Louisa Daquin and Rachel Finch who partnered with us on the project. Over the years, Kindra and Rachel have moved on to focus their energies on other priorities, but Indie Blu(e) has survived, primarily due to Candice’s unceasing passion and energy for what Indie Blu(e) does and the additions of Victoria Manzi, Promotion & Marketing Specialist and Elijah Carney, Editorial Assistant to Indie Blu(e) team.

At the end of September 2023, Indie Blu(e) published its 25th title, my third collection of poetry and prose, Darker Objects, which includes the artwork and writing of 45 incredible creatives from around the world. Twenty-five titles in five years. That may not sound impressive to you, but to me it is astonishing. Candice, Kindra, and I all live with chronic invisible illness that is often debilitating. Candice and Victoria both have high-demand full-time jobs and often take on side gigs. I still have young adult children living at home, including an autistic 22-year-old who was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) ten years ago and who had unrelated surgery in April of 2023. We also have partners who would like to see us occasionally. Add in a pandemic, heartbreaking wars across the globe, and loss of reproductive rights we thought were inviolable, there have been days that it was amazing that we got out of bed at all, let alone publish 25 books, including 7 substantial anthologies.

In honor of its 5th anniversary, Indie Blu(e) Publishing and I are teaming up this November to sponsor a series of 30 daily creativity prompts, comprised of the titles of our 25 published books and four upcoming titles, along with a couple fun phrases to round it out. We think our book titles are pretty damn cool and we hope they spark your creativity. You are welcome to respond to as many that inspire you.

It is an honor and a pleasure to publish your prompt responses on Indie Blu(e) Publishing and Brave & Reckless. We welcome poetry, prose, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, and high-res original art inspired by the prompts.

There is only one rule to the prompt challenge: the book title or phrase should serve as the title of your piece OR all the words in the title should be integrated into your piece somehow.   

Note: Some of IB books have fabulous subtitles. Want an extra challenge? Try integrating the subtitle into your response

How to Submit

• Email your submission to indieblucollective@gmail.com
• Writing can be submitted in the body of the email or as a separate Word document or PDF
• If you are submitting writing, please include a suggested image to accompany your work. Unsplash and Pixabay are two of my favorite sites for royalty-free images. Yes, we know this is a pain in the ass, but please remember that some days I do not have enough spoons to find an image for you
• Your email should include your name EXACTLY as you want it to appear on Indie Blu(e) Publishing and Brave & Reckless, a short biography, and any links you want shared.

We will start accepting responses to the Indie Blu(e) Publishing’s 5th Anniversary Creativity Prompt Challenge immediately, but we will not start publishing them until the day that particular daily prompt is published. For instance, writing and art inspired by the book title Through the Looking Glass will be published starting December 1, 2023.

Peace & Light,

Christine E. Ray, Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief, Indie Blu(e) Publishing

Alt Text for First Image:

Indie Blu(e) 5th Anniversary Creativity Prompt Challenge

November 15th -December 15th, 2023

1. We Will Not Be Silenced
2. The Myths of Girlhood
3. Arclight
4. Season of the Sorceress
5. The Lithium Chronicles
6. Conversations With My Higher Self
7. A Sparrow Stirs its Wings
8. All the Beginnings of Everything
9. Composition of a Woman
10. Smitten
11. Force of Nature
12. Softly Glowing Exit Signs
13. Pantheon
14. Crimson Skins
15. As the World Burns
16. The Kali Project
17. Through The Looking Glass
18. Dirty Words
19. Some Words Never Sleep
20. The Killing Holiday
21. But You Don’t Look Sick
22. Hospital Poems
23. We Are Not Okay
24. Fairy of Disenchantment
25. Darker Objects
26. Moonglow on Mercy Street
27. Book, Untitled
28. More Animal than Human
29. Porcelain Doll Man
30. Indie Blu(e)

Submit by email to indieblucollective@gmail.com for consideration for publication on Indie Blu(e) Publishing & Brave & Reckless (WordPress)
Social Media: @IndieBlu(e)Publishing | @stitchypoet | #IBP5thAnniversary