so very virtual - 07.08.2025
disaster preparedness & a forest ball 🪩
so very virtual is a free weekly-ish newsletter featuring opportunities, events, and resources that are fully virtual, remote, or hybrid with an online option.
🔍 Please look into events and opportunities to decide whether they are right for you. Send any concerns to theeclarel@substack.com.
📋 To submit a listing, fill out this form.
📚 If you’re new, start with this pandemic resource roundup.
Virtual Events 🎟
Gatherings that are either fully online or hybrid with an online option
Joy? More Serious Than You Think with Sundress Academy for the Arts — Wednesday, July 9th from 6:00-7:30 PM ET // Free with donations welcome
URSA Live: A Night of Storytelling with Deesha Philyaw, Dawnie Walton, and Kiese Laymon with The Center for Fiction — Wednesday, July 9th from 7:00 to 8:15 PM ET // $5
Read Like a Writer with Carolyn Huynh with Permission to Write — Thursday, July 10th from 5:00 to 6:00 PM PT // Free
The Creative Courage Writing Intensive with All the Many Layers — Begins July 10th // $480
Space & Time for BIPOC Writers with GrubStreet — Begins July 11th // Free
The Creator’s Playbook: Pitching Without a Gatekeeper with Black Film Space — Tuesday, July 15th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM ET // $15
Free Draft Generator with GrubStreet — July 16th from 12:00 to 1:00 PM ET // Free
Staff Writer Bootcamp Weekend Intensive with In the Cut — July 19th and 20th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM PT // $49
You're So Jealous I Bet You Think This Episode Excludes You with Intrapology — July 20th from 2:00 to 4:00 PM ET // £10 GBP or £3+ pay-what-you-can
Disaster Preparedness for Parents with Disabilities with Lurie Institute for Disability Policy — July 21st at 12:00 PM ET // Free
Our Right to Thrive: Webinar with Dolly Sen with Disability Arts Online — July 22nd from 9:00 to 10:00 PM ET // Free
July Forest Ball: A Virtual Dance Party & Fundraiser for Jodie Kirschner with lauren samblanet — Thursday, July 24th at 6:30 to 8:30 PM MT // Pay-what-you-can
Summer 2025 Town Hall with The Sick Times — July 24th at 7:00 PM ET // Free
2026 Writers' Access Support Staff Training Program Info Session with The Writers Guild Foundation — July 24th at 9:00 PM ET // Free
July Poetry Xfit with Sundress Academy for the Arts — Sunday, July 27th from 2:00 to 4:00 PM ET // Free with donations welcome
(DG) 2025 Summer Salon with Directors Gathering — Sunday, July 27th from 5:00 to 6:30 PM ET // Free
Writing as a Restorative Practice with The Writer’s Center — Sunday, July 28th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM ET // $60
How to Submit: Publishing Your Writing with Literary Magazines and Small Presses with GrubStreet — August 2nd from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM ET // $85 with scholarships available
Read Like a Writer with Bernice L. McFadden with Permission to Write — Thursday, August 7th at 5:00 PM PT // Free
Contemporary Craft Series: Sentence-Making for Storytellers with Jennifer Haigh with GrubStreet — August 11th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM ET // $35 with scholarships available
Good Grief: Writing Poems About Loss with Button University — Begins September 7th // $125
The Gotham Writers Fiction Conference with Gotham Writers — October 4th and 5th // $95+
Online Opportunities 🛋
Fellowships, jobs, programs, and more
Submissions with a new zine about disability, care + resistance — Submit by July 17th.
Communications Associate with Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund — Apply by July 18th.
Social Media Coordinator with Words Without Borders — Apply by Sunday, July 20th.
Gentle Effort Summer Club with Literary Liberation — Begins Monday, July 28th.
ISSUE 03: SURREAL Submissions with RUNWAY Magazine — Submit by July 31st.
I’m Obsessed Contest with Gotham Writers — Submit by Sunday, August 31st.
Free Basic Membership with Directors Gathering
Remote Resources 📘
Support and info for these pandemic times
A Writer's Guide To Understanding ICE Raids from Define American
Q3 Resource Roundup from Black Remote She
caregiving, a documentary revealing America’s caregiving crisis through intimate stories and expert insight, from PBS
August 2025 Artist Opportunities from Fractured Atlas
About Justin
Justin Clarel is a Black queer writer, performer, and educator creating vibrant stories for a better world. They are most proud of their work with sketch comedy team The Rhubarbs, original works for stage and screen, and love for musical theatre. Keep up with their adventures at @theeclarel and theeclarel.com.