#NotJustPretty: A Literary Arts Open Mic & Showcase
Date: Saturday, October 4th, 2025
Time: 20:00 GMT
Duration: 90 minutes
Location: Online (Zoom)
Hosted by: Karen Pierce Gonzalez for The Broken Spine
About the Event
Join us for the launch of #NotJustPretty, a women-led initiative from The Broken Spine that centres unfiltered, unapologetic voices in poetry and the literary arts.
This 90-minute online event is built around an open mic for writers and performers who currently, or have previously, identified as women. Whether you are a poet, storyteller, spoken-word artist, or literary performer, this is your stage.
The evening includes:
Featured Sets:
- Rusty Rose — LGBTQ+ Poet Laureate of Long Island, reading from her collections Verandas of Sundown and Flower Poems.
- Lucy Heuschen — poet and translator, launching her debut collection Daughter of Fire (Yaffle Press).
Film Feature:
- Jenny Wong — screening two of her acclaimed micro-poetry films.
Open Mic:
- Twelve 4-minute slots, nine of which remain open.
Open Mic Details
We welcome writers and performers who: currently or previously identify as women, in any definition of the word; may or may not still live as women; and come from all backgrounds: trans women, queer women, working-class women, women of colour, disabled women, fat women, neurodivergent women, older women. If you’ve lived as a woman in any way, this space is for you.
Why Attend?
- Share your work at an international literary open mic.
- Hear powerful new writing from established and emerging women artists.
- Support a project committed to equity, visibility, and creative freedom.
This is a free event, with donations warmly welcomed.
Reserve your ticket now — and secure one of the final open mic slots before they go.
