All the Single Lit Mags!

Abuse allegations, unionizing at The New Yorker, editor departures, publishing advice, lit mag lists and more

Greetings Lit Magquakes,

Over the weekend, a writer posted a document describing her assault by another writer. The latter is a widely published poet, whose poems “feature speakers who are victims of sexual abuse,” thus “his publications uplift him as a voice of victim's advocacy, which in turn provides him access to vulnerable individuals.”

The victim has reached out to several lit mags who have published the work of her abuser in hopes that they will “reconsider giving him this platform and granting him this place of power.” She notes, “The Adroit Journal's response devastated me…” while praising Massachusetts Review for “the [their] kindness and integrity.” She also thanks New Orleans Review and Kenyon Review “for reaching out to me to assure me I was seen and heard, and that change will occur.” Several writers and editors are calling for lit mags to cease publishing the work of the accused.

Meanwhile, The New Yorker union returned to bargaining last week, as they seek fair wages and equitable treatment.

The New Yorker Union @newyorkerunion

On pay inequity at @NewYorker and @CondeNast:

The union says, “This is just a sampling of the experiences that many of our members, past and present, have faced. @newyorker and @condenast must do better, and we expect to see serious movement at the bargaining table.”

News was also announced last week of several departures. Emily Nemens has announced that she will be stepping down as Editor of The Paris Review. “I’m glad that we are able to support writers early in their careers—few things please me more than an emerging writer landing a book deal off of the strength of their Paris Review story—and concurrently give space to voices I have admired for decades.”

The magazine’s online editor, Nadja Spiegelman, is also leaving. Spiegelman will become the Editor-in-Chief of Astra Quarterly, a new lit mag from Astra Publishing House. She says, “I am delighted to join the Astra team in its deep desire to uphold voices across borders. The new generation of readers—from New York to Lagos, Paris to Shanghai, Mexico City to Berlin—has more in common than ever before.”

Eliza Borné, Editor of Oxford American is “leaving the Conway-based literary magazine March 19.” Danielle A. Jackson will serve as Interim Editor. Says Jackson, “The Oxford American is the pinnacle of literary publishing and a definitive voice of our region…Contributors like Alex Mar, Kiese Laymon, Jesmyn Ward, Zandria Robinson are the best in the world, and have shaped my tastes and vision of a future that is beautiful and wondrously complex.”

Also last week, news from PEN America: “PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers and the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction named today, uplifting 13 authors representing the best of emerging fiction.” Magazines featuring award-winning writers include Barrelhouse, The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Porter House Review, adda, Midwest Review, and others. Congrats to all!

Speaking of all the lit mags, have you heard of Flock? Flock is “a Mighty Network specifically for the purpose of Indy Presses, Zines, and Lit Mags to share their work with the readers who love them in a centralized location specifically curated for that express purpose.” It’s free to join, and already features a few editor interviews and calls for submissions.

And speaking of tech-y things, have you heard of Shuffle? “Shuffle Collective organizes both live and online events that aim to foster community and creative growth across disciplines, and to create positive social change.” They offer regular Creativity Circles and recently featured a Publishing Prep & Submission Circle, saying, “Whether you are submitting a book to publishers or one off piece of writing to a literary magazine, come do it together.”

Henry Rochelle Lamont also has some supportive words. In the wake of a recent lit mag scam, Lamont offers tips on “what to watch out for when looking at a literary magazine.” Lamont advises, “[A] magazine’s masthead should list the full names of its editorial staff along with a brief bio for each..It’s not the substance of the masthead that matters—what you’re looking for is enough information to independently verify that these are real people who won’t just vanish into the wind. If a mag is legit, its editors have no reason not to identify themselves.”

If you are the editor of a lit mag and want to promote your wares, the Fall Lit Fest in Ohio is looking for book fair participants. “Welcome, presses, journals, programs, organizations and literary businesses! We look forward to hosting you.”

If you need some ideas for where to submit, here are 7 Up and Coming Lit Mags To Submit Your Work To. Here is a List of the Best Literary Magazines for New Writers to Submit To. And here is a list of 70 Calls for Submissions in March 2021 - Paying markets.

Finally, I am kicking off a new series of editor interviews! These will be live discussions where subscribers to this newsletter will get a chance to ask editors all about their magazines. The first of these will take place this Wednesday, at 11am EST. I will be speaking to Lynn Domina, Editor of The Other Journal. I hope you can join us!

And that you Keto consumers and Atkins aficionados, you participating in Paleo and you sucking up all the sweetness of a series of attempts at South Beach, you duking it out with the Dukan, you honing in on the Zone, you who live the life of the mind, sure, yeah, you know you do, but who hasn’t thought about wanting beautiful abs? You going hella bodacious with the Beverly Hills, you hoping against hope with the Whole 30, you who tried to the raw food thing and made it through exactly one meal, and you who are low-carb, or slow-carb, or no-carb, or Foucault-carb, you and you, yes, you, everywhere, with schedules and plans, goals and routines, a whole vision of self-improvement when no! lo!, it’s fine, really, you’re fine, I am here to tell you you’re fine, great, even, and quite already beautiful, with cells worth celebrating and muscles mighty and magnificent, you, perfect, true, and more than already ready, is the news in literary magazines.

Have a delicious week, pals.

Fondly,

Becky

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