The Manifest-Station: Permission Slips: Thank You, Annie Dillard Free

Some writers let us off the hook.

Annie Dillard gave us a way to look at the rawness of the ordinary world without a filter. No tidying up. Only words translated into images that rise into feeling.

The Manifest Station is seeking essays that finish the sentence:

Annie Dillard gave me permission to...

What did Dillard's writing give you permission to leave or begin? What did you finally stop apologizing for? What was the moment in your own life when her work opened a door? All count, even the forbidden ones. Tell us.

We want: personal essay and creative nonfiction, between 500 and 2,500 words. Quote Dillard if you must, but give us your experience alongside her work, not an examination of it.

• Simultaneous submissions: fine. Please withdraw if your piece is accepted elsewhere.
• Multiple submissions: one at a time. Once you've heard back, you're welcome to submit a new piece.
• Previously published work: considered case by case. Mention it in your cover letter.

All rights revert to you. If you republish, kindly credit TMS.

Please include a third-person bio of 100-125 words, with no review quotes. We'll trim anything longer.

On AI: We publish work that comes out of specific human lives. By submitting, you're telling us the writing and structure are yours, not a generative AI tool's. Spelling and grammar checkers are fine. Anything beyond that, tell us in your cover letter. Undisclosed AI use means rejection, or retraction if we've already published.

Permission Slips is an ongoing series. Next: Mary Oliver.