Latitudes, the literary journal of Hawaii Writers Guild, was first conceived on Hawaii Island in 2019, and emerged from collaboration among our members. Under the guidance of founding editor Laura Burkhart, the first edition was published in 2020.

Over the next three years, managing editor Bob Lupo and webmaster Duncan Dempster donated untold hours and exceptional energy to developing and expanding Latitudes’ editorial team. Each year they made possible the publication of more submissions, and more-culturally-diverse member contributions, to our unique literary oeuvre. Editions II, III, and IV were published in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.

Margaret Zacharias, after serving as editor-at-large with Bob and Duncan for the previous two years, stepped up as managing editor in 2023, to coordinate a team of 12 volunteer genre editors in preparing Edition V for publication in 2024.

Sadly, Edition V was our beloved webmaster Duncan’s ultimate legacy for his fellow Guild authors. Rapid technological advancements, along with Duncan’s passing, created a situation that required a new website before we could begin preparations to publish Edition VI.

Guild officers Diane Revell, Carol Prescott, and Cheryl Ann Farrell took on the challenge. They’ve been busy for more than eighteen months to develop a new website for Hawaii Writers Guild. This team of Guild representatives has benefited from valuable professional assistance by talented local web designer, Carolyn Jakielski.

Because the full costs of building an entirely new website could not be covered by member dues available in the Guild’s routine operating budget, more than one dedicated Guild founder came forward with additional personal philanthropy, to help make this new website possible.

Submissions for consideration to publish in Latitudes are accepted only from members of Hawaii Writers Guild. The submissions window for Edition VI is anticipated to reopen in September/October 2026.

Why does Hawaii Writers Guild publish Latitudes? Our literary journal enhances the Guild’s mission as a non-profit organization in the State of Hawaii: “To support writers connected to the Hawaiian Islands to hone their craft and engage with the public to heighten community appreciation for literature, creativity, and the written and spoken arts.”

Latitudes provides educational opportunities for published authors and experienced editors among our membership. They help nurture and encourage younger or less-experienced writers, by sharing and demonstrating what they have learned about craft.

As an online publication, Latitudes also gives Guild members an opportunity to share original perspectives, by carrying our stories, poems, and essays beyond Hawaii itself through the internet, like messages in a bottle, perhaps to touch other waiting hearts on distant shores.