Delighted to have my story “Red Boots” published in Mom Egg Review’s print issue this month. It’s a quality magazine with interesting cover art. The story was accepted last July, so it’s been a long wait but I’m thrilled to be able to hold it and to know that even if the online mag should one day disappear, I’ll always have this copy.
Yes! A printed copy is good. For online publications, I print them off because Michigan State's Special Archives at their library collects all my work and work-related products.
Thank you, Donna. Love it! A wonderful retelling from the character most often ignored. Also, a clear-eyed celebration despite the danger. Take that, Perrault.
I sent the essay to a total of five places. I had two rejections from an October submission and then in January, I sent the piece to The Manifest Station, where I've had a few essays published before. It seemed to be the right place to me, and they accepted it. I withdrew from the remaining journals.
Also, this month, my poem, "The Paper Hanger," appeared in the responses to the Ekphrastic Review Challenge. Scroll down to the responses to Rene Magritte, April 5:
And finally, my prose poem, "So Still, I Can Hear My Ancestors' Moans," appeared this month in Last Stanza Poetry Journal. This is a poem from my WIP full-length poetry collection. I sent it in response to a themed call and received an acceptance within two weeks. I had sent the poem to two other lit mags in 2023 and received rejections.
Has anyone submitted to The Inquisitive Eater? I submitted to them late last year and have heard nothing.
I loved the food in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges every time I've been over there. French quality, Dutch quantity. Oh, and the beers I love at home in bottles were on tap. Het was verbazingwekkend! My own little foray into Belgian food is here: https://writewithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Streetwalker-Stew.pdf
As a native Belgian (I've lived in the US for 26 years now), I thoroughly enjoyed your tasting odyssey. One (or 2 things) you should try if you go back. I crave them and miss them: croquettes de crevettes - fried croquettes stuffed with the little gray shrimp from the north sea. They have an incredibly strong flavor (my husband thinks they're too strong). You can also eat them on their own, peel them on a piece of newspaper, quite a chore, they're so small, and have them with a cold beer (I'm not a beer drinker, so give me a glass of wine!). Also the cheese croquettes, same principle, served with a garnish of fried parsley. Mmmmhhh. If it had been the season, you could also have tried the rabbit stew (in beer, with prunes) - Lapin a la Flamande! Or "Chicons au gratin": Chicory wrapped in a slice of ham, with béchamel and cheese gratin on top. That is to die for! OK, now I'm hungry....
Thanks, Martine. I'll be back in Belgium within the month and will look for the croquettes, although I'm on a new diabetes med, and will probably stay away from fried foods.
"The Paper Hanger" is beautiful, Barbara. Congratulations! Looks like you're interested in food narratives. You're probably already familiar with the litmag, Ruby. They've been on submission hiatus for awhile, but I've read lovely food-inspired work there.
Looking forward to reading "A Tasting Menu", and "The Paper Hanger" touched me deeply; although my grandparents' experiences were different, the sensory memories of their presence, and their home, voices, artifacts, rest right at the surface.
Congrats, Marianne. “the hammering injury that never heals.” Struck me and I enjoyed the interview in Salvation South - a nice way to follow up those poems.
As I've mentioned before, when I returned to essay writing in 2021, I hoped to publish a handful. As of this posting, I've had 70+ pubs or acceptances (including some reprints). Ideas just keep coming....
Thanks, Dave. My parents introduced us to fine art when we were young with regular visits to the Guggenheim, MOMA, and The Met. One of my favorite trips before the pandemic was a weekend art visit to the Neue Galerie and The Frick. That whole stretch of Fifth Avenue is amazing.
Love reading these! My story "The Hunting Vest" appeared in the Kenyon Review on Friday, which was a huge bucket list pub for me and cause for lots of celebration! I submitted the story to their Short Fiction Contest last year, it got runner-up in mid-2023 (I think) and then published now. The other runner-up and contest winner's stories are also fantastic!
Weird story, Cate. I liked it. I liked the familiarity of sliding on ice, not knowing exactly what was going on, and I liked Clara's persistence. Her accepting the vest was like making it her own, whether they meant to tease her or not. I'm not sure what was going on in the story. She had a stalker it seems and the vest added security and ironically should have distanced her from her colleagues, but she made it her own and felt comfortable in its protection. It's like the emotional resonance is complete but the reader can fill in the scaffolding to participate in the story's creation. Well done, unique. Congrats on getting into KR. I've entered their contests for fiction and essays and never placed. What someone else said--huge achievement.
Congratulations Becky. Terrific story, I remember reading it in its first incarnation. And kudos to the publication. Very few pubs are willing to accept reprints. It would be nice if more publications were open to the idea. And I wonder, why is that the case. What do editors think about it.
My brag, I got a story accepted by Saranac Review. They actually pay, but they want you to print the contract, sign it by hand not electronically, re-scan and send back.
In 2017, I wrote three short stories I thought were worthy of publication. Before sending them off, I had writing coach Windy Lynn Harris take a look a them. She gave me great advice and I began submitting. Two of the stories were accepted not long afterward, but the third has hung around ever since. After some 20 submissions, I realized that the title just didn't fit the story and was likely driving readers off in the wrong direction from the outset. With a new title and a slightly revised ending, I submitted to Euphemism for issue 19.1. "A Father and Son Reunion" finally has a home.
That's so true--a title change can completely change how editors read your story, focus them differently, create a different mood and atmosphere. I changed the title of this piece as it got rejected several times and the last time, it was accepted within 24 hours: https://www.hackwriters.com/ZombiesLR.htm
I was so pleased to have a story selected for the spring edition of Raleigh Review. It’s out now in print. It features beautiful cover art and so many other writers I’m awed to be published alongside. I submitted it for the first time in January 2023. After a half dozen rejections, I did a pretty major revision in the fall and then did another series of submissions. Sent it to eight magazines that I did careful research on in late Oct/early November. Two rejections came in before the acceptance in mid December. It’s my second story in print and is called Primo if you subscribe or decide to find a copy. I’m so overwhelmed with my day job right now, I’m barely writing at all, so it’s nice to have this come out during an otherwise dry season of creative practice!
I had a short piece published in Witcraft. I didn't know about this journal until the editor, Doug Jacquier, mentioned it in comments here. Happy he accepted it!
Thanks for asking! This month, I published my interview with Mexican writer of literature of the imagination, Alberto Chimal, in Asymptote Journal, a well-known magazine about literature in translation. We talked about my translation of his book, Historia siniestra published this year as Scary Story by Pamenar Press, London and about the role of images in his literature. I proposed the interview to Asymptote editor Heather Streckfuss Green in response to a call for submissions on the Literary Translation Facebook page. The interview was conducted and edited to fit their theme. Heather was a good and helpful editor to work with and I am very pleased with the presentation, which includes a lovely slide show. I hope that it brings more attention to our book, more understanding of the book, and makes people want to purchase it, which was the point. Especially for work in translation, it is satisfying to generate documents that give potential readers a greater understanding of the author and his or her inspiration. It was also fun for me to learn more about Alberto even after my work on his book and to continue our conversation in a way that will be preserved. Folks can read it (without paywall).
Alberto Chimal’s Apparitions: Scary Story and Literature of the Imagination
It hasn't published yet -- and I'll share the link when it does -- but I had an acceptance from The Sunlight Press of a small story I wrote about reading Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking 20 years after it was published and 20 years after my own husband's death. I'm very excited because it's my first literary journal!
Congratulations on writing & getting it published but I’m sorry to hear the situation from which sprung your desire to write. Yet writing can be cathartic. For me, I write to escape my own life and it helps. Keep writing!
It got a personalized (slightly) rejection from SmokeLong Quarterly, and then eight more rejections from other places, before Flash Fiction Magazine came along.
I should add that working with October Hill Magazine is a wonderful experience. They make good suggestions and leave it up to the writer to choose the suggestions to make. The electronic journal is beautifully produced.
Delighted to have my story “Red Boots” published in Mom Egg Review’s print issue this month. It’s a quality magazine with interesting cover art. The story was accepted last July, so it’s been a long wait but I’m thrilled to be able to hold it and to know that even if the online mag should one day disappear, I’ll always have this copy.
Yes! A printed copy is good. For online publications, I print them off because Michigan State's Special Archives at their library collects all my work and work-related products.
Beautiful story Donna! Congrats on the publication! I have a poem in the issue too! :)
Thank you, Anne. Congratulations on your poem! I love the way you've recreated your grandfather's life so poignantly and succinctly.
Thank you Donna! As a mom of 2 daughters, your story caught my breath a few times.
Thank you! It is so rewarding to hear that.
Congratulations! Would love to read it, Donna! What's the best way?
Thank you so much, Lisa. If you wouldn’t mind sharing your email address, I could send you a pdf of the story?
Thank you, Donna. Love it! A wonderful retelling from the character most often ignored. Also, a clear-eyed celebration despite the danger. Take that, Perrault.
Thank you, Lisa. I'm delighted that you liked the story!
Lovely. Just emailed you.
Congratulations Donna!
Thank you, Dennis!
Congrats, Donna
Thank you, Dave!
congrats Donna
Thank you, Gary!
I just read your piece. Way to go!
Thank you, Jeanne!
This month my essay, "A Tasting Menu, Belgian Style," was published in The Manifest Station:
https://www.themanifeststation.net/2024/04/07/a-tasting-menu-belgian-style/
I sent the essay to a total of five places. I had two rejections from an October submission and then in January, I sent the piece to The Manifest Station, where I've had a few essays published before. It seemed to be the right place to me, and they accepted it. I withdrew from the remaining journals.
Also, this month, my poem, "The Paper Hanger," appeared in the responses to the Ekphrastic Review Challenge. Scroll down to the responses to Rene Magritte, April 5:
https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-challenges
It was an exclusive submission.
And finally, my prose poem, "So Still, I Can Hear My Ancestors' Moans," appeared this month in Last Stanza Poetry Journal. This is a poem from my WIP full-length poetry collection. I sent it in response to a themed call and received an acceptance within two weeks. I had sent the poem to two other lit mags in 2023 and received rejections.
Has anyone submitted to The Inquisitive Eater? I submitted to them late last year and have heard nothing.
"The Paper Hanger" is a very moving poem, Barbara.
Thanks so much, Donna! I am enjoying these ekphrastic challenges a lot.
I loved the food in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges every time I've been over there. French quality, Dutch quantity. Oh, and the beers I love at home in bottles were on tap. Het was verbazingwekkend! My own little foray into Belgian food is here: https://writewithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Streetwalker-Stew.pdf
Thanks, Lev. Love "French quality, Dutch quantity." I'll be back in Belgium and the Netherlands and France for the first time within the month.
Dat is sensationeel--c'est super! Bon voyage et goede reis!
Knowing French, Dutch, and even German helped me there since I could always ask somebody if I got lost.
As a native Belgian (I've lived in the US for 26 years now), I thoroughly enjoyed your tasting odyssey. One (or 2 things) you should try if you go back. I crave them and miss them: croquettes de crevettes - fried croquettes stuffed with the little gray shrimp from the north sea. They have an incredibly strong flavor (my husband thinks they're too strong). You can also eat them on their own, peel them on a piece of newspaper, quite a chore, they're so small, and have them with a cold beer (I'm not a beer drinker, so give me a glass of wine!). Also the cheese croquettes, same principle, served with a garnish of fried parsley. Mmmmhhh. If it had been the season, you could also have tried the rabbit stew (in beer, with prunes) - Lapin a la Flamande! Or "Chicons au gratin": Chicory wrapped in a slice of ham, with béchamel and cheese gratin on top. That is to die for! OK, now I'm hungry....
Thanks, Martine. I'll be back in Belgium within the month and will look for the croquettes, although I'm on a new diabetes med, and will probably stay away from fried foods.
I love the lines "his tears / salt the paste" and how the sound of the paste plays off the negative space below - what a beautiful, poignant piece!
Thanks so much, Emma!
"The Paper Hanger" is beautiful, Barbara. Congratulations! Looks like you're interested in food narratives. You're probably already familiar with the litmag, Ruby. They've been on submission hiatus for awhile, but I've read lovely food-inspired work there.
Thanks so much, Lisa!
The “Paper Hanger” is a beautiful poem, Barbara!
Thanks so much, Jackie!
Looking forward to reading "A Tasting Menu", and "The Paper Hanger" touched me deeply; although my grandparents' experiences were different, the sensory memories of their presence, and their home, voices, artifacts, rest right at the surface.
Thanks so much, Carol!
Well done.
Hello all, Thanks again, Becky for the brag space. I had two publications in April: In ONE ART (https://oneartpoetry.com/2024/04/03/the-singing-birds-by-marianne-worthington/) and several poems (and an interview!) in SALVATION SOUTH (https://www.salvationsouth.com/a-bouffant-stacked-toward-heaven-marianne-worthington-poems-and-interview/). I also had a poem published in a fabulous new anthology, BRAVING THE BODY, from Small Harbor Publishing (https://www.smallharborpublishing.com/anthologies/braving-the-body)
Congratulations, Marianne!
Congrats, Marianne. “the hammering injury that never heals.” Struck me and I enjoyed the interview in Salvation South - a nice way to follow up those poems.
Many thanks for reading!
Great imagery in your Salvation South poems!
Thank you for reading!
Two in a month - hats off!
March & April have been solid months for publishing a few more personal essays, some of them related to the arts.
Braided Way published a micro essay about an early important encounter with a Rembrandt: https://braidedway.org/my-first-house-of-worship-was-a-museum/
Sybil Journal published a short essay about singing: https://www.sybiljournal.com/work-2/2024/3/15/honey-from-the-rock-by-lev-raphael
Ekphrastic Journal published a piece about art + music + singing + writing: https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/notes-from-a-small-room-by-lev-raphael It was something brand new for me and they're the perfect journal, given their mission.
As I've mentioned before, when I returned to essay writing in 2021, I hoped to publish a handful. As of this posting, I've had 70+ pubs or acceptances (including some reprints). Ideas just keep coming....
Wait--I forgot this essay one about a bizarre experience in Italy: https://writewithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Freaking-Out-in-Florence.pdf
Congratulations, Lev! (The Ekphrastic Review is a particular favourite of mine; I'm looking forward to reading your piece there.)
I love their focus: it had me thinking in new ways.
Yes! And the painting you wrote about is beautiful and poignant. I enjoyed your thoughts about it.
The magazine inspired me to bring together several different worlds I live in.
A many-faceted life inspires many-faceted writing!
That's my life: 27 books published in nearly a dozen genres....
Congrats, Lev. All great pubs. I’m also a fan of The Ekphrastic Review, which fit nicely with your houses of worship piece.
Thanks, Dave. My parents introduced us to fine art when we were young with regular visits to the Guggenheim, MOMA, and The Met. One of my favorite trips before the pandemic was a weekend art visit to the Neue Galerie and The Frick. That whole stretch of Fifth Avenue is amazing.
Congratulations! I look forward to reading these later today!
Thanks, and I hope they speak to you.
Love reading these! My story "The Hunting Vest" appeared in the Kenyon Review on Friday, which was a huge bucket list pub for me and cause for lots of celebration! I submitted the story to their Short Fiction Contest last year, it got runner-up in mid-2023 (I think) and then published now. The other runner-up and contest winner's stories are also fantastic!
https://kenyonreview.org/piece/the-hunting-vest/
Congratulations! That’s a big achievement!
Wow--they are impossible to get into. Major congrats!
Congrats, Mary Cate - that’s amazing!
Weird story, Cate. I liked it. I liked the familiarity of sliding on ice, not knowing exactly what was going on, and I liked Clara's persistence. Her accepting the vest was like making it her own, whether they meant to tease her or not. I'm not sure what was going on in the story. She had a stalker it seems and the vest added security and ironically should have distanced her from her colleagues, but she made it her own and felt comfortable in its protection. It's like the emotional resonance is complete but the reader can fill in the scaffolding to participate in the story's creation. Well done, unique. Congrats on getting into KR. I've entered their contests for fiction and essays and never placed. What someone else said--huge achievement.
Congratulations Becky. Terrific story, I remember reading it in its first incarnation. And kudos to the publication. Very few pubs are willing to accept reprints. It would be nice if more publications were open to the idea. And I wonder, why is that the case. What do editors think about it.
My brag, I got a story accepted by Saranac Review. They actually pay, but they want you to print the contract, sign it by hand not electronically, re-scan and send back.
Congrats!
Bravo, and I like signing a contract for an essay or story. Reminds me of all the anthology and book contracts I signed before the pandemic. :-)
Congratulations!
In 2017, I wrote three short stories I thought were worthy of publication. Before sending them off, I had writing coach Windy Lynn Harris take a look a them. She gave me great advice and I began submitting. Two of the stories were accepted not long afterward, but the third has hung around ever since. After some 20 submissions, I realized that the title just didn't fit the story and was likely driving readers off in the wrong direction from the outset. With a new title and a slightly revised ending, I submitted to Euphemism for issue 19.1. "A Father and Son Reunion" finally has a home.
That's so true--a title change can completely change how editors read your story, focus them differently, create a different mood and atmosphere. I changed the title of this piece as it got rejected several times and the last time, it was accepted within 24 hours: https://www.hackwriters.com/ZombiesLR.htm
Congratulations on your acceptance and thanks for sharing about the expectation established by a title; I've had a similar experience.
I was so pleased to have a story selected for the spring edition of Raleigh Review. It’s out now in print. It features beautiful cover art and so many other writers I’m awed to be published alongside. I submitted it for the first time in January 2023. After a half dozen rejections, I did a pretty major revision in the fall and then did another series of submissions. Sent it to eight magazines that I did careful research on in late Oct/early November. Two rejections came in before the acceptance in mid December. It’s my second story in print and is called Primo if you subscribe or decide to find a copy. I’m so overwhelmed with my day job right now, I’m barely writing at all, so it’s nice to have this come out during an otherwise dry season of creative practice!
Fantastic!
The local community college included one of my poems in their annual lit mag. It's a student-led project, and I'm alwayays impressed by the professional look of their publication. The image they paired with my poem is genius. https://issuu.com/cedarvalleydivide/docs/kirkwood_cedar_valley_divide_2024/20
Congrats! I especially like the title. Lovely poem. And the image is a perfect pairing!
I had a short piece published in Witcraft. I didn't know about this journal until the editor, Doug Jacquier, mentioned it in comments here. Happy he accepted it!
https://witcraft.org/2024/04/19/the-central-high-scarf-scandal/
Congratulations. I love Witcraft.
Thanks!
Thanks for the plug, Elizabeth. Your piece got a great response.
Thanks for asking! This month, I published my interview with Mexican writer of literature of the imagination, Alberto Chimal, in Asymptote Journal, a well-known magazine about literature in translation. We talked about my translation of his book, Historia siniestra published this year as Scary Story by Pamenar Press, London and about the role of images in his literature. I proposed the interview to Asymptote editor Heather Streckfuss Green in response to a call for submissions on the Literary Translation Facebook page. The interview was conducted and edited to fit their theme. Heather was a good and helpful editor to work with and I am very pleased with the presentation, which includes a lovely slide show. I hope that it brings more attention to our book, more understanding of the book, and makes people want to purchase it, which was the point. Especially for work in translation, it is satisfying to generate documents that give potential readers a greater understanding of the author and his or her inspiration. It was also fun for me to learn more about Alberto even after my work on his book and to continue our conversation in a way that will be preserved. Folks can read it (without paywall).
Alberto Chimal’s Apparitions: Scary Story and Literature of the Imagination
https://www.asymptotejournal.com/visual/apparitions-scary-story-and-literature-of-the-imagination-alberto-chimal/
Looking forward to reading!
Congratulations.
It hasn't published yet -- and I'll share the link when it does -- but I had an acceptance from The Sunlight Press of a small story I wrote about reading Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking 20 years after it was published and 20 years after my own husband's death. I'm very excited because it's my first literary journal!
Congratulations on writing & getting it published but I’m sorry to hear the situation from which sprung your desire to write. Yet writing can be cathartic. For me, I write to escape my own life and it helps. Keep writing!
Congratulations!
Yay!
Congratulations on your first lit pub! I love The Sunlight Press-- a great home for your piece.
This month, I got a micro published in 50 Word Stories, titled "The Way You Look Tonight" : http://fiftywordstories.com/2024/04/15/chelsea-allen-the-way-you-look-tonight/
And a flash -- this is in particular a darling child of mine :) -- "Smoke Trails", published in Flash Fiction Magazine. https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2024/04/26/smoke-trails/
It got a personalized (slightly) rejection from SmokeLong Quarterly, and then eight more rejections from other places, before Flash Fiction Magazine came along.
Nothing in April (yet) but I have two micros coming out in MacQueen’s Quinterly next week.
Congrats. Clare McQueen at McQueen's Quinterly really cares about writers.
She’s been fabulous!
Susan, how exciting! Congratulations!
Thank you!
I love micros.
Love Macqueen's Quinterly.
Congratulations!
Congratulations, Susan. MacQueen's Quinterly is a great magazine.
I'm happy to share that my short story, "Pour Your Own Joe," is included in the spring 2024 issue of October Hill Magazine.
https://www.octoberhillmagazine.com/archives
Congrats, Ann. I liked the details and last line.
I should add that working with October Hill Magazine is a wonderful experience. They make good suggestions and leave it up to the writer to choose the suggestions to make. The electronic journal is beautifully produced.
Great to know!
Great story on the end of a marriage.
Thank you SO much for reading! I really appreciate it.
My story came out in LitBreak Magazine on 4/22. https://litbreak.com/the-way-i-remember-it/
https://litbreak.com/the-way-i-remember-it/ This link should work. Congratulations on this lovely tribute to imaginative power, Sylvia!
Thank you!
Congratulations, Sylvia—but couldn't get the link.
https://litbreak.com/the-way-i-remember-it/
Painful, beautiful work, Sylvia.
Thank you!