Kane Howard ‘25 Travels Cross-Country to Do a Reading of His Published Story
In the early summer of 2025, Kane Howard traveled to Portland, OR, to help promote an anthology that included a story he had written.
Kane Howard ‘25, a Literary & Textual Studies major with minors in Creative Writing and Film Studies, has steadily been working toward creating a name for himself in the writing field. Having already self-published two books and submitted stories to the York College of Pennsylvania literary journals, Kane began exploring ways to submit his work to outside publishers.
He found his opportunity to do so with an Oregon publication house. Not only was Kane’s piece accepted into their upcoming anthology, but he had also been invited to come down for their Portland tour to read several excerpts of his story.
“It was amazing,” Kane said. “I hadn’t imagined that when I had submitted my piece, but they were able to bring us all there. I came from the furthest, and I was the youngest person in the anthology.”
Reflection on Identity
Kane’s piece, “Running Off the Pages,” has been a story he has been working on for quite some time now. Typically a fiction writer, Kane’s story was a venture into nonfiction writing, focusing on his personal identity.
“It was something that I was loosely thinking about,” Kane said. “So, I had decided that I wanted to do something with it eventually, but nonfiction isn’t usually my forte. I definitely stepped outside of my comfort zone with that.”
Kane submitted his story to Our Bold Voices, an indie publisher in Portland, Oregon. It is known for publishing works by authors from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented communities and for creating connections through storytelling and collaboration.
Their latest anthology, Defiant Moments, opened a call for submissions for stories from LGBTQIA+ writers, focusing on loosely defined moments of defiance. This was the third book they had published.
Kane submitted a pitch for his story, “Running Off the Pages,” which highlighted his journey and struggles with the different intersections of his identity, specifically with being transgender, neurodivergent, and an older transfer student. It also focused on navigating his life with the idea that hiding who he was would be for the best and safest for him.
“But coming to college immediately seemed to challenge that, and I decided I wanted to be open with who I was on day one,” Kane said. “So my 'defiant moment' was more of defying systems as a whole in our society. Ever since that first day at YCP, I have always felt embraced for exactly who I am. I feel like returning to school has helped me defy a lot of things—it's changed my life.”
After Our Bold Voices accepted Kane’s pitch, he began working on a draft. The anthology’s editor provided feedback on Kane’s work and involved him in the publishing process. After several rounds of improvement and feedback from the publisher’s beta readers and peer reviewers, Kane’s story and the others included in the anthology were ready for publication.
Travel Impacts
Our Bold Voices held several events to promote the release of Defiant Moments, including a Portland tour from May 29 to June 1. Kane was invited to join the tour and read short snippets of his story at three of the five events held in Portland. In preparation, he practiced presenting in scheduled Zoom meetings with the team.
“[After] getting feedback on that, I had to practice over and over in my own time to be able to feel like I could hit all those beats and get that perfectly,” Kane said. “I think that it was a really good experience.”
His time spent away not only gave Kane the opportunity to engage with other authors before and after the events, but he also learned a lot from them. Many of them were older members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and Kane had the chance to connect with and receive advice from them.
Seeing the publication house’s impact at the events allowed him to learn much more from the editors and writers involved. Being able to share his personal story and how it impacted his identity and the person he is today was something he will continue to take with him.
“To be standing up there and reading my story all the way from Pennsylvania, talking about my experiences in South Central Pennsylvania as it relates to my identity, and seeing people sitting there, holding that book from the whole way across the country, I think that all of it was just a big learning experience for me,” Kane said. “It made me really glad that I reached out, and I decided to submit something.”
Preparing for New Chapters
Kane will continue writing while keeping in touch with Our Bold Voices. They will publish another anthology next year and are looking for submissions.
After college, Kane plans to attend graduate school at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania next year. His time with the publisher has given him the confidence he needed to pursue new opportunities, including a communications fellowship he participated in with PA Stands Up, which he completed this past summer.
Kane recommends that any writers looking to submit their work should have faith in it. If they find that their work could fit in a magazine or publication, they shouldn’t hesitate or allow their doubts to stop them from pursuing a potential opportunity.
“Make sure that your piece is suited for what they’re looking for, but at the same time, don’t tell yourself that you’re not ready yet,” Kane said. “Don’t tell yourself that you’re not good enough yet. You should give it a chance.”
