A Hard Lit Mag’s A Gonna Fall!
Horror anthology canceled amidst accusations; news for Heavy Traffic, So to Speak, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction; jobs & internships; markets and more
Welcome to our bi-weekly news roundup!
Greetings Lit Magcyclists,
This past week saw quite the kerfuffle in the horror-writing scene.
As Mike Glyer reports on his site, a Kickstarter fundraising campaign was started for an anthology. New Demons Anthology was slated to have big names in the field, including Chuck Palahniuk, Owen King, Joe Hill and many others. Within a few days, the anthology raised over $25,000, which was five times its original goal.
Shortly after, however, people began voicing objections to the anthology:
The man accused of bullying and harassment, Patrick McDonough, posted a statement:
In another tweet McDonough denied all accusations and implored the public to “STOP SPREADING RUMORS AND STOP LYING!” Both his tweets have since been taken down.
Following the accusations and amidst intense pressure from the community, many writers pulled their work from the anthology.
Subsequently, Co-Editor Joe Lansdale decided to shutter the entire project, citing “too much Twitter Twitter.” He stated:
On her blog, where she appears to be responding to the demands that writers pull work and editors shutter the anthology and/or make statements, Mary SanGiovanni wrote,
I am trying very hard to address professionally and with all due sensitivity the regular tide of social media posts that badmouth Brian Keene, Chris Golden, and Gabino Iglesias, Joe Lansdale, or other folk because they assume that a) as “elder statesmen,” they should necessarily be involved in every problem in our genre, and b) that these guys don’t care about predatory behavior or that they are somehow amoral for thinking about contractual obligations and money.
…Between the lot of us, we have about 100 years of advocacy for people behind us. We’re always willing to listen and learn and do better. What I’m NOT willing to do is watch the health and well-being of people I care about suffer at the hands of people who don’t have all the facts. I’m getting really fucking tired of that.
On his Substack, Chuck Palahniuk wrote, “Yikes! Another Crowdfunding Thing Implodes!” In spite of Palahniuk being a high-profile author with a story slated for the anthology, he didn’t seem to have much information about what exactly happened. He wrote simply, “[I]t looks like another crowdfunded project has hit the skids. Does anyone know the alleged details behind this mass exodus? Spill the tea, people!”
I don’t have any further information than what I’ve shared here. But I did find this saga interesting insofar as it parallels situations we occasionally see in the literary arena. If you are part of the horror community or otherwise have any insights to share, go on and weigh in.
In other news, Heavy Traffic got some buzz this week. Writing for Dazed, Dominique Sisley calls the magazine “a radical new take on the literary magazine.” In the interview, Editor Patrick McGraw says,
When I read a piece of writing that I like, almost inevitably I get a sense of humanity within it that’s almost a reaction against the very rigid iron cage that is the world we’re living in, where you’re just constantly being fed things that you’ve already seen, already know, and are already supposed to like. There’s something inside of people that is reacting against this.
So to Speak is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Reports Sarah Holland,
Imagine: the early 1990s. Toni Morrison just won a Nobel Prize. The Soviet Union is dissolving. Amazon, an online bookstore, is about to launch on the brand-new worldwide web. And women are still, overwhelmingly, not being published.
But in 1993, a group of students in the MFA in creative writing program at George Mason plans to change that with the launch of So to Speak, a feminist journal for art and literature.
Brevity has made an announcement regarding the merger of craft essays with blog content. Writes Editor-in-Chief Dinty W. Moore:
Brevity has grown in size and scope over the past two decades and our flagship magazine of concise nonfiction exists now side-by-side with an active daily discussion of craft and the writing life on The Brevity Blog.
As we grew, we began to note that the Craft Essays we published with each new issue of Brevity often overlapped with the Blog content.
…For these reasons, we have begun to fold our Craft Essays into the Blog itself. The Brevity Blog has a large readership and active discussion, and we think this change will provide both clarity and energy to the Brevity enterprise.
In other nonfiction news, Founder of Creative Nonfiction Magazine Lee Gutkind sent a message to readers today, announcing that the CNF Foundation will no longer be able to support the publication of Brain, Child. Did we know Brain, Child was still around? I did not! Did we know that Brain, Child had been “launched and supported” by the CNF Foundation? I did not!
At any rate, it will no longer be supported or around. Narratively remains active and will be a partner to CNF going forward. From Gutkind’s message:
For those of you seeking work in the lit mag biz:
Los Angeles Review of Books seeks a Managing Editor.
Oxford American seeks an Associate Editor.
One Story is seeking paid interns.
Boston Review seeks paid interns & editorial fellows.
Hub City Press seeks a Poetry Editor (for book-length works).
Solarpunk Magazine seeks a Poetry Editor.
For those of you seeking homes for your latest bedazzlement, please see my newsletter earlier this month for suggestions. (I’ll only be listing these once per month from now on.)
As for us, thanks to everyone who came out for this month’s Lit Mag Chat & Study Hall. I promised we would have fun…AND WE DID. (I did, anyway.)
Coming up this week: Tuesday at 11 am est we will be discussing a few recent stories from One Story as part of our Lit Mag Reading Club. Writers of any genre are welcome to join the discussion!
On Thursday at 12pm est we will be joined by One Story Editors Lena Valencia and Patrick Ryan to discuss what goes into the decisions at this journal. The conversation will be recorded.
Learn more and register for these events here.
Our next month’s Reading Club selection is Florida Review. We will be reading the brand-spanking-new spring issue. Editor David James Poissant has generously offered us a discount on this issue. I do not yet have the discount code. I will share it as soon as I have it!
As a reminder, our Lit Mag Reading Club is open to all paying subscribers of Lit Mag News. Writers in any genre, with any experience level, are welcome to participate. More info here:
And that you mamas and papas staring into the abyss of another week-long school vacation (while the week-long school vacation stares back at you), you swashbuckling swordspeople struggling your way through thorns and thickets of all forms of thought-destroying distraction, you rollers across rooftops leaping high over cities of creativity sink pits, you burly bushwhackers winding your way through the rushing panicky feeling of making your art on borrowed time, you eating words for lunch, you snacking on sentences in the break room, you combing your hair with a brush whose bristles are made of metaphor and you clawing through caves of chores that never end, you piled high with dishes, you laid low with the feeling of your needs met always last, you whose life is a jigsaw puzzle into which writing is both one piece, and also every piece, and also the puzzle itself, and also the cardboard on which the puzzle is printed, not to mention the factory in which the puzzle was made, you and you, everywhere, out there, finding time—you know you will!, carving out space—you know you can!, claiming your vision—you know you deserve it!, and writing for no other justification than the fact that birds, likewise, sing, is the news in literary magazines.
Have a most splendid and productive week, pals.
Fondly,
Becky
I may be in the minority, but I won’t shed a tear about a fiction anthology called “New Demons.” We already have enough real demons in this world.
I am part of the Horror community, most frequently on Twitter/X and it was very strange to watch the rise and fall of the New Demons anthology. At first there was big excitement, lots of big names, and some really cool prizes offered to supporters of the anthology. Nifty book trailers and ads were popping up with the popular authors speaking warmly about the project. I even looked into supporting the anthology myself. But just as I was about to do that, people that I respect (I'm a writer and book reviewer who supports diversity and safety in the community) started speaking out about Patrick, who has a past record of bad conduct in the Horror community. I, and apparently some of the contributing authors were not aware of this. The interactions I've had with Patrick were positive ones about being proud of his children, helping search for a lost friend, and praise for Joe R. Lansdale as a writer and good human being. New Demons would've been a great anthology, but the horror writing community has to remain a safe place for all of us. Any sort of predatory behavior or bullying is wrong. Women have a hard enough time getting the equal recognition they deserve as writers without being treated inappropriately. That being said, it's super important that we keep our facts straight when looking into misconduct and don't just lash out at anyone involved with the project.