Now that Eid has formally been announced, a very happy Eid to all our members and to the readers of this blog, if you celebrate it that is! Otherwise, it’s just another celebration.

In other news, polls have officially closed and votes will be tallied up along with holding an independent ballot by our moderating and editing board. Results of that will be discussed at length, a finalized list of pieces compiled and the associated authors contacted. Of course, just because you’ve made it into one phase of the polling stages, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be in the e-zine. It simply means you’ve made it into that phase. 🙂 We’re very picky, and with each e-zine issue, our focus on quality becomes more acute and more necessary. Striving for publication for our members is a very real dream, and we know all what’s needed to get there. To that extent, we ask our writers to work with their assigned editors. For the next two months, these people are going to be your confidantes, your friends and the dragons breathing down your necks all rolled into one!

We know: it’s not a pretty process. It never is. But we guarantee it’s going to be one helluva ride, and the end result…well now, that’s just going to be dandy!

– TPTB

Polls will be closing on September 30, so now’s the time to vote. So far, we’ve received a very healthy response. A lot of people have been voting in terms of what they’d like to see in the e-zine. Nice to know democracy still works.

The recent attack on Marriott in Islamabad, has a lot of us worried for the safety of our friends and loved ones in the capital city. However, from the reports we’ve been receiving, all of them are (thankfully) safe. We just wanted to give a head’s up to any concerned party.

Meanwhile, if you haven’t called the people closest to the accident (F-6, F-7 and F-8 sectors in particular), now’s the time to call and ensure their safety.

We hope everyone is safe and sound, enjoying the comforts within their homes.

– TPTB

We, at the Desi Writers Lounge, otherwise known as “The DWL Mod Squad” are patting ourselves on the back for an intelligent foresight. What is this amazing realization, you ask? Submissions for this half’s e-zine and fourth issue, are closing today (September 15, PST). With over 9 pages of poetry and three odd pages of prose to go through, our work is cut out for us.

In other news, we’re going to scour all present and past material for possibilities of publication. Yes, that’s right…we’re thinking of compiling all the really brilliant content together, into a book or collection of short stories, and approaching local publishers; thus realizing the dream we dreamed a little over four years ago, of having our names as a collective, in print. In addition, we’ll be living up to our mission statement on our frontpage!

Who knows? Maybe somewhere down the line, we’ll actually own our own writers cafe? Baby steps, though, baby steps.

That’s it for this week’s update…apologies for it coming after two weeks, but things have been hectic. That’s a good thing, in case you were wondering!

– TPTB