I had a great writing month! On August 1st I had my first ever publication, also at BULL. They have a great website and are so supportive in their acceptances.
Thank you!!!! It means a lot. This community and these threads specifically are how I stayed inspired during the months and months of rejections. It's a reminder the dream is still possible.
Congratulations, Becky! I loved that piece and wouldn’t have known I was your first personal essay published or that it needed to find the right lit mag. BULL is an excellent publication.
I had a month that I probably won’t match for a while. On Monday I had two pieces published - happy coincidence! I also had two different pieces published earlier this month - spoken word and creative criticism.
First, my micro about second guessing appeared in Suddenly and All At Once. They were so enthusiastic and wonderful to work with. This was accepted so fast no place else could weigh in. I wrote this in SmokeLong Fitness.
Second, my flash structured by the New Jersey Turnpike appeared in Heavy Feather Review. They were also enthusiastic and quick to respond. I benefited from several revisions thanks to my SmokeLong fitness workshop. I had the hermit crab inspiration from Jo Gatford’s May Write or Die substack check her stack (https://substack.com/@jmgatford)
Earlier this month my book review / creative criticism appeared at The Books that Made Us Substack. The substack is changing direction, so I was lucky to get in. I wrote it specifically for that stack and I just had to pitch it first, but I wrote it before I pitched because I that’s what I know.
Finally Dipity published my recording of poem I wrote. At the end I discus my inspiration - a poem I read in AGNI 99. lol. I thought I might re-record but the went with the original. As a written poem it was rejected several times. I knew it sounded better out loud - even in the sound of my own voice which I usually can’t stand.
I've been following your success on Twitter, Dave. The Smokelong Summer is nothing to sneeze at, right? Congratulations on placing so many of the results.
Congrats on a stellar month, Dave. I’m sitting down with coffee to read all these pieces now. I’m looking forward to starting Smokelong Fitness next week too.
I’m a little terrified. I haven’t been exercising my literary muscles a lot this summer because family trauma has paralyzed me. But I know I need this.
I had a short essay about my encounter with a dolphin published in The Common. I've known about them for years, but was reminded how they mesh with my own sensibilities in your interview with them a few months ago. So I submitted "Brace Cove" to their Dispatches column. It was the only place I submitted this piece to. It took a few months, but was accepted and then quickly published. The editor was just lovely. My own photos accompanied the piece.
I always stop whatever I am doing to read about dolphins! This was a beautiful piece. I admire how you took something so sad--something that would have me just turning away in grief and regret--and really faced it.
What a great piece. Thank you for sharing. Your words together with the photos create such an intensity, I have a big sense of loss. I don't think I will forget this.
Congrats Becky and everyone else i will be reading as today progresses… attached is an assignment i had been given by a big glossy with a large readership over a year ago and kept getting bumped https://www.easthamptonstar.com/east-magazine/202478/small-town-nonsense and an an interview that ran in The Rumpus moments before i started my role there in another dept (I’m currently Prose Book Reviews Editor) I cannot say enough positive about The Rumpus, as a contributor and as a (now) insider — they walk the walk — here’s the interview https://therumpus.net/2024/06/03/morgan-talty/ and looking forward to coffee and reading all your work! If anyone has an upcomibg book review to pitch or submit, pls consider sending it my way at j.brooke@therumpus.net
Big congratulations to you! I've never cracked The Rumpus - - but I keep swinging my bat in that direction.
If you have (by any chance) any reviewers looking for an unusual book (release date Oct. 1, 2024), mine has won an award and has superb full-page illustrations: "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems." My poems were inspired by true horrors - - such as some brutal Hallowe'en homicides in NYC that were never properly investigated, or crazy fashion journalist Peter Braunstein who costumed himself as a fake firefighter on Hallowe'en to terrorize a woman for 13 hours, etc. etc.
"Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" can be read for free here:
Thank you for these two poems, Gary! They are fabulous! And I love the twist of the youngest as a neuroscientist! If our nervous systems can't be regulated by our parents, we learn to regulate them, and then we go out and try to save people just like them...
I feel so sadden to read this about Steve Cawte--he published my work multiple times and and I had been in contact with him those months he spent in hospital awaiting a transplant. After he got it, I thought all was well,
Wow-zaaa! A bumper crop of successes here, Gary. Rock the Casbah!!
Still shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Impspired Press's publisher Steve Cawte, age 42. I've always paid close attention to their releases. Oh, mercy me! Quite a loss.
My poetic response, ”Urban Planning, 1941,” to an abstract work of art, “Farfalla,” by Emilio Pettoruti, has been published by the Ekphrastic Review Challenge. Exclusive submission.
Since the last brag, I’ve seen the following acceptances:
My flash fiction submission, “Self-Satisfaction,” in response to Iron Horse Literary Review’s 2024 Photofinish prompt, has been named a finalist, the editor noting it was her favorite prose piece. I consider this my first successful flash fiction piece. Only one submission of this essay exclusively to this prompted challenge. It will be published along with the other nine entries selected for publication (a winner and nine finalists). This acceptance balances the rote rejection from The Sun for a Readers Write submission. Note: I do have a couple of small changes to make to the essay in the next week.
My poem, “The Cat,” has been accepted by Last Leaves Magazine for its themed “Feral” issue in October. I saw the theme and remembered I had written a poem about a cat in a 24PearlStreet workshop about Rainer Maria Rilke with Mark Wunderlich. Exclusive submission.
The Jewish Writing Project accepted my poems, “I Cannot Scrub Your Blood from My Bones” (submitted to three lit mags—one rejection, one acceptance, one withdrawal) and “Henoch: An Inventory,” (exclusive) for early 2025 publication. I hadn’t submitted to this project since maybe 2013. I don’t know why I waited so long to sub again.
Caesura accepted my poem, “Nightshade,” for publication in its annual print issue. Exclusive submission to this themed “Neighborhoods” issue.
An essay, “Home-sewn: A Narrative of Self-Construction,” has been accepted by the Bookends Review for publication in January. Shout-out to Erik Harper Klass and the SubmitIt service for helping me improve this piece which had been rejected by eleven or twelve lit mags prior. This response came just a week after submission.
Finally, Moss Piglet accepted my poem, “Dance Lessons,” for its 1970s-themed issue in September. Exclusive submission. I learned about this lit mag in Lit Mag News!
I particularly admire the opening lines in "Night Visitor," and agree with another commenter here that the art pairing is excellent. Congratulations on a great month, Barbara!
Wow, Barbara, what a wonderful month! Congratulations! I enjoyed your poems very much (and the art pairing in Hyacinth Review is lovely.) In "Tabula Rasa," I especially liked the line “the beauty is in the arrangement, not the object.”
As for me, after a lean, not to say anorexic July, my muse, having spent a month in intensive care, resuscitated briefly in August. First of all, I had a small poem that, in essence, sings the praises of my much loved younger wife: “Love of the Old” appeared in the Summer issue of Macrame Literary Journal,
https://macramelit.com/articles/love-of-the-old/ Then, after a wait of two years, Johnny M. Tucker finally published the anthology “Love Is: Love Poems Vol II”, which contains a couple of poems of mine. If anybody is interested in reading them, Chance Encounter (1990) originally appeared at:
Unfortunately, August also brought bad news. The editor of Impspired who had gone out of his way, even when he was seriously ill in hospital, to help me compile two of my slim poetry collections, “Musings” and “Reflections in a Dirty Mirror”, died in mid-August, four months after receiving a heart transplant. He was less than half my age. Life just isn’t fair. I shall miss him.
Tony, a big round of applause for your poetry placements. Cheers!
What a shock to hear that the EIC for Impspired died in mid-August, not long after receiving a heart transplant.
When my poetry collection "A Route Obscure and Lonely" won an Elgin Award, SFPA wrote to the publisher - - and it was the executrix of her estate who congratulated me. My publisher Ginger Mayerson had died quite suddenly - - ten days before. Ginger was 61. My book had been the first award winner Ginger's imprint had published. Life is not fair.
Thank you, Tracie. What an uplifting thing to say. I never really think of myself as being much good and am invariably flabbergasted when my stuff gets accepted. I shall now enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling your comment has given me. 😊
Steve published my writing in multiple issues and I had been in contact with him as he was in hospital awaiting his new heart-- which I thought had gone well. I feel so sad-- he was a family man, and a good man. May I ask how you learned of his passing?
In mid-July I sent a number of poems to Steve for his consideration and as he didn’t reply, I wrote to him on 28 August asking him why he hadn’t got in touch with me. It was then that his wife wrote to inform me that Steve had passed away on 21 August. I was mortified.
Between traveling a great deal in May and June and the one-two punch of getting COVID for the first time and losing my beloved dog of ten years in July, I missed a few months of posting, so I hope it's okay if I play catch up.
In June I had "On the Table," my first ever CNF piece, published at oranges journal--and this past month it received a Best of the Net nomination! Becky, I totally know what you mean about it feeling more vulnerable to submit writing that comes directly from your own life, without the scrim of fiction to distance you from how it's received. This was a nice bit of validation for stepping outside my comfort zone. You can read the piece at https://www.orangesjournal.com/lifestyle/on-the-table
I'd been submitting this piece FOREVER, had done several drafts and gotten some good feedback but no luck. The Pigeon Pages crew had me do a revise and resubmit, and I felt their feedback really helped me address some issues with the piece and get it to a place I was happy with. They were great to work with, and I'm so happy to finally have this piece out in the world!
Congrats on cracking Tahoma! After a lovely personal rejection on a story of mine years ago, I've kept trying but can't seem to get anything into their pages.
Brava for your Bull piece, Becky! I loved it and was so moved by it. It was heartbreaking and funny; you really brought your father to life on the page and I was glad to learn about Bull. I had a short essay published in August in Brevity Blog, Writing About My Father, https://brevity.wordpress.com/2024/08/26/writing-about-my-father/. I wrote it in response to a question a student had asked about an essay I published in July in The Girlfriend, How I Finally Discovered My Late Father’s Vulnerability, https://www.thegirlfriend.com/relationships/how-i-finally-discovered-my-late-fathers-vulnerability. Love Lit Mag News and thank you for giving us the chance to Lit Mag brag.
Congratulations on your piece in Brevity - it's such a great essay on writing through/about/with/from trauma, I hope more people will read it! I love how you write about setting a timer! I counsel all my writers to do that, especially if they are writing about (etc) trauma. It creates a frame as a kind of limit for safety and a way out.
I have a poem in the new Rattle #85--Musicians. The poem had moved on from the version Tim accepted, but when I reread his version, I liked it just fine.
Becky, your personal essay about your dad had such an emotional impact. For all of us navigating the strange world of caring for aging parents, it hit home. I’ve published essays about my own experience with making decisions and caring for elderly parents. Writing helps process those complex feelings that come with the daunting challenges of making life-altering decisions for another person. There is no weight so heavy as that line between personal autonomy and safety, dignity and responsibility. You honored your father with this piece.
My August has been fairly quiet. I had one publication—my personal essay “A Story For Another Day” is in Writing In A Woman’s Voice. The EIC was very responsive and helpful. I had submitted this piece to a few other mags before it was finally published.
Many congrats to Becky for finding an acceptance letter & a home for her CNF at BULL Magazine.
My "brag" is about winning an Award for Excellence" - - a "silver lining" story too preposterous and improbable not to share.
* * * FIRST: I've been submitting my forthcoming title "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" to sites that exist to review books. One site was listed as highly active & reviews were free.
* * * SECOND: Completed their excessively long intake form . . . unlike anything I've ever seen . . . which not only asked for normal info (summary of book, author bio) but also asked why I DESERVED a FREE review. (!!!!!) The form asked for my income, asked if I was homeless or illegally in the country where I was writing from . . . . . . . . . Yes, I was about to bail but "the sunk cost factor" weighed in - - since I'd already invested so much time filling out their peculiar questionnaire and uploading my ARC + Press Kit.
* * * THIRD: the site owners replied ASAP to my Review Request. This email was exceedingly odd. It informed me "all spots for free reviews had been absorbed in February 2024" - - - but never mentioned before! [I applied for a free review in July 2024.] Then they demanded $99 for a book review, threatening to wait-list "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" until the year 2025.
* * * FOURTH: I won't to be conned into paying $99. I deleted their obnoxious email.
* * * FIFTH: Days later I'm informed my "book review has been posted." And I almost don't click on the link, fearing a malicious soul-scorching critique awaits me. Instead . . . . a glowing review has been posted + my book has won their top award. Total astonishment.
* * * SIXTH: Days later they send me a link to all the global publicity they've done for my book + other award winners! What a thorough job they've done! My book with its gold award seal is everywhere.
* * * SEVENTH: I add this to my Press Kit: Critic Sally Majors wrote: "Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems is a significant contribution to the world of supernatural poetry. Its evocative language, hooking themes, and beautiful presentation make it a standout work that is sure to enchant and haunt its readers long after they have turned the last page. With its potential to become a Hallowe’en classic, this book is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the art of poetry and the thrill of the supernatural."
Yes, after tramping through their muddy questionnaire, answering strange questions such as why I DESERVED a FREE review, and was I engaged in criminality, and had I sneaked into a country illegally, comes a happy surreal surprise.
However, for all that, I'm not sure if I would approach this Southern Australian outfit again.
And what kind of people invent a questionnaire like that?
Maybe they'll join Becky Tuch's Lit Mag forum and see the light .....? :-)
Thank you very much, Lisa. I was not expecting this "silver lining" of a bright gold seal on my book from these strange people! Still can't figure this one out.
No one else knows the bizarre behind-the-scenes story - - - except for this forum.
And I appreciate the patience required to read it through, Lisa!
Thank you, Gary. Most writers will encounter scamsters who claim to provide free book reviews, then email you a "fee schedule" for reviews and coverage.
But these Australian book reviewers, first, sent a brusque $99 demand . . . then an email saying my "review was posted" (which made me suspect mischief, menace + a negative critique . . . . . . . . . then an AWARD! Yes, I got lucky - - but in a most unsettling manner.
I had to share my strange story!! I appreciate that you took the time to read it, Gary.
Hello, Doug! Their NAME is on the award link. Craziest route to an award, eh? Their intake questionnaire even asked if I were currently incarcerated......!!!
Hi Becky. Congratulations! What a heartfelt beautiful essay.
On my end I've just had two poems: Dandelions and Five Course Dinner published in The Zebra Ink Magazine's August issue. https://issuu.com/thezebraink/docs/aug24_zebraink_3 . Other than that, still plugging away. Again, congratulations on your piece finding a home :)
I found Sequestrum through a listing of themed submission calls. Also, all pieces are accompanied by a Q&A that includes my favorite question. The editor was diligent and the process was easy.
Congratulations, Lisa! This is such an ‘alive’ and complex story; which constantly takes us by surprise. The early image of the pantry clock is a perfect foreshadowing of the ruthlessness of time and the inevitability of change.
Hi Lisa, That was such an interesting way to tell the story -- with the two sections! I enjoyed this! ( I had a story at sequestrum a while ago too, and liked working with the editor. Fun to do the Q and A as well. https://www.sequestrum.org/fiction-mermaids-for-seahorses I didn't find a way to share it without having the person pay to be a subscriber, did you? I could read your whole story without logging in.)
Since I couldn't read your Sequestrum story, I found "Abeeku." Brief and beautiful and well-deserving of a prize. You have a keen eye for social movements--including their dark sides.
That was super nice of you to check out the Sequestrum story, which wasn't available, and then find 'Abeeku'! It was my first published story, actually- several years ago.
My pleasure. It's what I most enjoy about this monthly Brag, the mutual reading and commentary of other writers. Hope to see more of your work in the future.
Thank you, Joan, for your kind comment and for the link to your Sequestrum story--for which, I congratulate you! And yep, the full story is not available, though I enjoyed your Q&A. At publication, I asked the editor for my story to be accessible and he said it was--whether or not it was because I asked, I don't know.
Thanks for posting your lovely poem--and for introducing me to Szymborska. Hadn't previously read her. If you want to name the poem that inspired yours, please do. Otherwise, please just accept my congratulations.
I had a great writing month! On August 1st I had my first ever publication, also at BULL. They have a great website and are so supportive in their acceptances.
https://mrbullbull.com/newbull/fiction/canastota/
And a few weeks later my second came out in The Baffler.
https://thebaffler.com/latest/redemption-arc-costaris
Thanks to everyone in this community! This is my favorite post of the month, reading through this and I'm so excited to finally be able to contribute.
Good story! -- it deserves to have found a place.
Congrats, Mike. Excellent publications!
Congratulations on your double-header!
Thank you!!
Big congratulations, Mike! I hope these publications will be the first of many.
Thank you!!!! It means a lot. This community and these threads specifically are how I stayed inspired during the months and months of rejections. It's a reminder the dream is still possible.
I agree.
Absolutely possible. You've just proved that!
Congratulations Mike!
Thank you!
Congratulations, Mike!
Thank you!
Hey, a big high five, Mike. I subscribe to The Baffler. I'll check out your piece. Very good credit!! :-)
Thank you!! Let me know what you think! I had almost given up on this story it had gone through so many rejections.
Congratulations, Becky! I loved that piece and wouldn’t have known I was your first personal essay published or that it needed to find the right lit mag. BULL is an excellent publication.
I had a month that I probably won’t match for a while. On Monday I had two pieces published - happy coincidence! I also had two different pieces published earlier this month - spoken word and creative criticism.
First, my micro about second guessing appeared in Suddenly and All At Once. They were so enthusiastic and wonderful to work with. This was accepted so fast no place else could weigh in. I wrote this in SmokeLong Fitness.
https://www.suddenlyandwithoutwarning.com/i-know-one-thing-for-certain/
Second, my flash structured by the New Jersey Turnpike appeared in Heavy Feather Review. They were also enthusiastic and quick to respond. I benefited from several revisions thanks to my SmokeLong fitness workshop. I had the hermit crab inspiration from Jo Gatford’s May Write or Die substack check her stack (https://substack.com/@jmgatford)
https://heavyfeatherreview.org/2024/08/27/turnpike/
Earlier this month my book review / creative criticism appeared at The Books that Made Us Substack. The substack is changing direction, so I was lucky to get in. I wrote it specifically for that stack and I just had to pitch it first, but I wrote it before I pitched because I that’s what I know.
https://apocryphaa.substack.com/p/getting-beneath-the-wheel-again
Finally Dipity published my recording of poem I wrote. At the end I discus my inspiration - a poem I read in AGNI 99. lol. I thought I might re-record but the went with the original. As a written poem it was rejected several times. I knew it sounded better out loud - even in the sound of my own voice which I usually can’t stand.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pWSZSzVqi9cyMFYkFEpTF
I've been following your success on Twitter, Dave. The Smokelong Summer is nothing to sneeze at, right? Congratulations on placing so many of the results.
That’s right, Liz! Thanks!
Congrats on a stellar month, Dave. I’m sitting down with coffee to read all these pieces now. I’m looking forward to starting Smokelong Fitness next week too.
You'll have a wonderful experience, Tracie. I just finished my first SL fitness and it's exhausting and so productive.
I’m a little terrified. I haven’t been exercising my literary muscles a lot this summer because family trauma has paralyzed me. But I know I need this.
Same here. Give yourself some forgiveness. Muscles need rest too.
You got this.
"Smokelong Fitness"!! Must check it out. Thank you.
Thanks, Tracie! Good luck next week!
Wow! These are fantastic- congratulations!!!
Thanks, Angela!
Dave, love your story, "Turnpike Dreams," for Heavyfeather Review.
Thanks, Laura!
"Suddenly Without Warning" is wonderful!
Thanks, Heather!
Congratulations, Dave! A great month!
Thanks, Lisa!
Congratulations, Dave. What a great month!
Thanks, Donna!
Congratulations, Dave!
Thanks, Carol!
I had a short essay about my encounter with a dolphin published in The Common. I've known about them for years, but was reminded how they mesh with my own sensibilities in your interview with them a few months ago. So I submitted "Brace Cove" to their Dispatches column. It was the only place I submitted this piece to. It took a few months, but was accepted and then quickly published. The editor was just lovely. My own photos accompanied the piece.
https://www.thecommononline.org/brace-cove/
I always stop whatever I am doing to read about dolphins! This was a beautiful piece. I admire how you took something so sad--something that would have me just turning away in grief and regret--and really faced it.
A lovely piece. Mesmerizing & sad but not tragic. You tell it well.
So poignant. Congrats, JoeAnn!
Beautiful and memorable. I particularly admire your recounting of how the dolphin had come to where you saw her. Congratulations!
What a great piece. Thank you for sharing. Your words together with the photos create such an intensity, I have a big sense of loss. I don't think I will forget this.
Congratulations, JoeAnn!
Love this
Congratulations Jo!
Such a beautiful piece! Thank you for sharing.
Loved this - a really beautiful piece!
This is beautiful. Congratulations, JoeAnn. 🎉
Congrats Becky and everyone else i will be reading as today progresses… attached is an assignment i had been given by a big glossy with a large readership over a year ago and kept getting bumped https://www.easthamptonstar.com/east-magazine/202478/small-town-nonsense and an an interview that ran in The Rumpus moments before i started my role there in another dept (I’m currently Prose Book Reviews Editor) I cannot say enough positive about The Rumpus, as a contributor and as a (now) insider — they walk the walk — here’s the interview https://therumpus.net/2024/06/03/morgan-talty/ and looking forward to coffee and reading all your work! If anyone has an upcomibg book review to pitch or submit, pls consider sending it my way at j.brooke@therumpus.net
Big congratulations to you! I've never cracked The Rumpus - - but I keep swinging my bat in that direction.
If you have (by any chance) any reviewers looking for an unusual book (release date Oct. 1, 2024), mine has won an award and has superb full-page illustrations: "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems." My poems were inspired by true horrors - - such as some brutal Hallowe'en homicides in NYC that were never properly investigated, or crazy fashion journalist Peter Braunstein who costumed himself as a fake firefighter on Hallowe'en to terrorize a woman for 13 hours, etc. etc.
"Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" can be read for free here:
NetGalley ―https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/437468
BookSirens ―https://booksirens.com/book/V2LHTGL/XKERWXX
LibraryThing―https://www.librarything.com/ner/detail/50740/Always-Haunted-Halloween-Poems
Congrats, J Brooke. It's nice to hear positive confirmation about the Rumpus. Both these pieces have heft.
Lots of rejections for me in August, but these two poems appeared in the August Verse-Virtual https://www.verse-virtual.org/2024/August/grossman-gary-2024-august.html and acceptances in MacQueen's Quinterly (four poems), and a poem will appear tomorrow in Salvation South. I guess I should have waited till the afternoon to post because here are the poems in MacQueen's http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ24/Grossman-Backflip.aspx http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ24/Grossman-Crush-Car.aspx http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ24/Grossman-Rising-547.aspx and Salvation South https://www.salvationsouth.com/the-wind-is-lovely-on-august-31st-poem-gary-grossman/ Other acceptances include a haiku in Cold Moon Journal and a poem in Panoplyzine, and four poems republished in Witcraft (thanks Doug Jacquier). Becky, if you're going to submit other memoir/CNF pieces, I've had good luck with both Meat for Tea: the Valley Review, and Bookends Review. I haven't submitted to Open Secrets but they look like a good candidate as well, but have a 2K word upper limit. I would echo Tony Dawson's comments about the passing of Steve Cawte who was only 42 IIRC and the head of Impspired Press which published two of my books. Steve was as kind hearted an editor as they come and a huge asset to the poetry/CW world. Such a tragedy. He is of blessed memory.
Thank you for these two poems, Gary! They are fabulous! And I love the twist of the youngest as a neuroscientist! If our nervous systems can't be regulated by our parents, we learn to regulate them, and then we go out and try to save people just like them...
Wise words...
Congratulations, Gary, on these poems and the acceptances (love MacQueen's Quinterly.)
Who knew such a wonderful poem could come from some old onions. And a less bruised apple.
Thanks Ann
Ahhh! Love both of these poems! 🙌🏽👏🏼
Thanks
I feel so sadden to read this about Steve Cawte--he published my work multiple times and and I had been in contact with him those months he spent in hospital awaiting a transplant. After he got it, I thought all was well,
Wow-zaaa! A bumper crop of successes here, Gary. Rock the Casbah!!
Still shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Impspired Press's publisher Steve Cawte, age 42. I've always paid close attention to their releases. Oh, mercy me! Quite a loss.
Thanks LindaAnn
I love the poems Gary.
Thanks so much Karla
Congrats, Gary. These were great - the rhetorical in Onions and the hope in How to Crush A Car.
Thanks Dave and congrats on your pubs.
It’s been a good month! Themed and prompt-based calls have been good to me.
First, my prose poem, “Night Visitor,” appeared in Hyacinth Review - https://hyacinthreview.org/barbara-krasner-night-visitor/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=barbara-krasner-night-visitor. This lit mag was the second of two I submitted to and on a themed call. The first lit mag submission resulted in a rejection. I love how Hyacinth Review pairs publication with a piece of art.
My poetic response, ”Urban Planning, 1941,” to an abstract work of art, “Farfalla,” by Emilio Pettoruti, has been published by the Ekphrastic Review Challenge. Exclusive submission.
The Ekphrastic Review also published my poem, “Tabula Rasa,” in response to “Composition” by Piet Mondrian. Exclusive submission to the lit mag’s Nine Lives project (a Facebook marathon in July). https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/nine-lives-marathon-poetry-responses
Since the last brag, I’ve seen the following acceptances:
My flash fiction submission, “Self-Satisfaction,” in response to Iron Horse Literary Review’s 2024 Photofinish prompt, has been named a finalist, the editor noting it was her favorite prose piece. I consider this my first successful flash fiction piece. Only one submission of this essay exclusively to this prompted challenge. It will be published along with the other nine entries selected for publication (a winner and nine finalists). This acceptance balances the rote rejection from The Sun for a Readers Write submission. Note: I do have a couple of small changes to make to the essay in the next week.
My poem, “The Cat,” has been accepted by Last Leaves Magazine for its themed “Feral” issue in October. I saw the theme and remembered I had written a poem about a cat in a 24PearlStreet workshop about Rainer Maria Rilke with Mark Wunderlich. Exclusive submission.
The Jewish Writing Project accepted my poems, “I Cannot Scrub Your Blood from My Bones” (submitted to three lit mags—one rejection, one acceptance, one withdrawal) and “Henoch: An Inventory,” (exclusive) for early 2025 publication. I hadn’t submitted to this project since maybe 2013. I don’t know why I waited so long to sub again.
Caesura accepted my poem, “Nightshade,” for publication in its annual print issue. Exclusive submission to this themed “Neighborhoods” issue.
An essay, “Home-sewn: A Narrative of Self-Construction,” has been accepted by the Bookends Review for publication in January. Shout-out to Erik Harper Klass and the SubmitIt service for helping me improve this piece which had been rejected by eleven or twelve lit mags prior. This response came just a week after submission.
Finally, Moss Piglet accepted my poem, “Dance Lessons,” for its 1970s-themed issue in September. Exclusive submission. I learned about this lit mag in Lit Mag News!
Definitely a wonderful month, Barbara! Congratulations! I also really enjoy the Jewish Writing Project...
I particularly admire the opening lines in "Night Visitor," and agree with another commenter here that the art pairing is excellent. Congratulations on a great month, Barbara!
Wow, Barbara, what a wonderful month! Congratulations! I enjoyed your poems very much (and the art pairing in Hyacinth Review is lovely.) In "Tabula Rasa," I especially liked the line “the beauty is in the arrangement, not the object.”
Congratulations, Becky, on your latest success.
As for me, after a lean, not to say anorexic July, my muse, having spent a month in intensive care, resuscitated briefly in August. First of all, I had a small poem that, in essence, sings the praises of my much loved younger wife: “Love of the Old” appeared in the Summer issue of Macrame Literary Journal,
https://macramelit.com/articles/love-of-the-old/ Then, after a wait of two years, Johnny M. Tucker finally published the anthology “Love Is: Love Poems Vol II”, which contains a couple of poems of mine. If anybody is interested in reading them, Chance Encounter (1990) originally appeared at:
https://londongrip.co.uk/2019/12/london-grip-new-poetry-winter-2019-20/#dawson
and Rita at:
https://cajunmuttpress.wordpress.com/2021/12/27/cajun-mutt-press-featured-writer-12-27-21/
Unfortunately, August also brought bad news. The editor of Impspired who had gone out of his way, even when he was seriously ill in hospital, to help me compile two of my slim poetry collections, “Musings” and “Reflections in a Dirty Mirror”, died in mid-August, four months after receiving a heart transplant. He was less than half my age. Life just isn’t fair. I shall miss him.
Tony, a big round of applause for your poetry placements. Cheers!
What a shock to hear that the EIC for Impspired died in mid-August, not long after receiving a heart transplant.
When my poetry collection "A Route Obscure and Lonely" won an Elgin Award, SFPA wrote to the publisher - - and it was the executrix of her estate who congratulated me. My publisher Ginger Mayerson had died quite suddenly - - ten days before. Ginger was 61. My book had been the first award winner Ginger's imprint had published. Life is not fair.
No, it ain't !
Congratulations on these lovely poems, Tony.
Thank you Donna. I always appreciate your positive comments.
Couldn’t be more correct. “Life just isn’t fair. “
Offering congratulations, and comfort for the sadness of your loss...
Tony, I always love reading your work.
Thank you, Tracie. What an uplifting thing to say. I never really think of myself as being much good and am invariably flabbergasted when my stuff gets accepted. I shall now enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling your comment has given me. 😊
Love "Love of the Old." Congratulations on your August bumper crop.
But you also had a harvest of bad news -- I'm sorry.
Steve published my writing in multiple issues and I had been in contact with him as he was in hospital awaiting his new heart-- which I thought had gone well. I feel so sad-- he was a family man, and a good man. May I ask how you learned of his passing?
In mid-July I sent a number of poems to Steve for his consideration and as he didn’t reply, I wrote to him on 28 August asking him why he hadn’t got in touch with me. It was then that his wife wrote to inform me that Steve had passed away on 21 August. I was mortified.
Tony, I can well imagine how Steve's poor widow felt, coping with her sudden loss and heartbreak - - and having to deal with emails.
RIP Steve Cawte.
Here is a fundraiser a kind friend organized for him with photos:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/have-a-heart-the-long-road-to-steve
Between traveling a great deal in May and June and the one-two punch of getting COVID for the first time and losing my beloved dog of ten years in July, I missed a few months of posting, so I hope it's okay if I play catch up.
In June I had "On the Table," my first ever CNF piece, published at oranges journal--and this past month it received a Best of the Net nomination! Becky, I totally know what you mean about it feeling more vulnerable to submit writing that comes directly from your own life, without the scrim of fiction to distance you from how it's received. This was a nice bit of validation for stepping outside my comfort zone. You can read the piece at https://www.orangesjournal.com/lifestyle/on-the-table
In July I also had a fiction piece, "A New Way to Want," published at Tahoma Literary Review: https://tahomaliteraryreview.com/selections/a-new-way-to-want/
No publications this month, as I've been focusing on novel writing, but I will have at least one more coming up later this year!
I forgot I also had one more in June : https://pigeonpagesnyc.com/small-deaths
I'd been submitting this piece FOREVER, had done several drafts and gotten some good feedback but no luck. The Pigeon Pages crew had me do a revise and resubmit, and I felt their feedback really helped me address some issues with the piece and get it to a place I was happy with. They were great to work with, and I'm so happy to finally have this piece out in the world!
Exquisite piece in Tahoma Literary Review, Sarah! I like that journal. Congratulations! I look forward to reading your CNF piece too.
Thank you!
Congrats on cracking Tahoma! After a lovely personal rejection on a story of mine years ago, I've kept trying but can't seem to get anything into their pages.
I was a bit shocked, tbh! Keep trying, you never know!
On the table: what a beautifully thoughtful piece.
thanks!
Sorry to hear about your dog
Congratulations, Sarah. Such fine writing!
Thanks Donna!
Brava for your Bull piece, Becky! I loved it and was so moved by it. It was heartbreaking and funny; you really brought your father to life on the page and I was glad to learn about Bull. I had a short essay published in August in Brevity Blog, Writing About My Father, https://brevity.wordpress.com/2024/08/26/writing-about-my-father/. I wrote it in response to a question a student had asked about an essay I published in July in The Girlfriend, How I Finally Discovered My Late Father’s Vulnerability, https://www.thegirlfriend.com/relationships/how-i-finally-discovered-my-late-fathers-vulnerability. Love Lit Mag News and thank you for giving us the chance to Lit Mag brag.
Mining the complexity of your father's letters, you bring up gems.
Congratulations on the courage to do it & the insight it required.
Thank you, Meg!
Congrats, Laura. I remember loving the Brevity piece when I got the email earlier this week.
Thank you, Dave Nash. I am going back to your read the pieces you published this month now.
Congratulations on your piece in Brevity - it's such a great essay on writing through/about/with/from trauma, I hope more people will read it! I love how you write about setting a timer! I counsel all my writers to do that, especially if they are writing about (etc) trauma. It creates a frame as a kind of limit for safety and a way out.
Emma, thank you and obviously, totally agree.
I have a poem in the new Rattle #85--Musicians. The poem had moved on from the version Tim accepted, but when I reread his version, I liked it just fine.
https://www.rattle.com/product/i85/
Congratulations Jeff, well done!
Congratulations, Jeff!
Becky, your personal essay about your dad had such an emotional impact. For all of us navigating the strange world of caring for aging parents, it hit home. I’ve published essays about my own experience with making decisions and caring for elderly parents. Writing helps process those complex feelings that come with the daunting challenges of making life-altering decisions for another person. There is no weight so heavy as that line between personal autonomy and safety, dignity and responsibility. You honored your father with this piece.
My August has been fairly quiet. I had one publication—my personal essay “A Story For Another Day” is in Writing In A Woman’s Voice. The EIC was very responsive and helpful. I had submitted this piece to a few other mags before it was finally published.
https://writinginawomansvoice2.blogspot.com
Wow, powerful. Congrats, Tracie!
Lovely work—and agree, EIC of WIAWV is very responsive.
Many congrats to Becky for finding an acceptance letter & a home for her CNF at BULL Magazine.
My "brag" is about winning an Award for Excellence" - - a "silver lining" story too preposterous and improbable not to share.
* * * FIRST: I've been submitting my forthcoming title "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" to sites that exist to review books. One site was listed as highly active & reviews were free.
* * * SECOND: Completed their excessively long intake form . . . unlike anything I've ever seen . . . which not only asked for normal info (summary of book, author bio) but also asked why I DESERVED a FREE review. (!!!!!) The form asked for my income, asked if I was homeless or illegally in the country where I was writing from . . . . . . . . . Yes, I was about to bail but "the sunk cost factor" weighed in - - since I'd already invested so much time filling out their peculiar questionnaire and uploading my ARC + Press Kit.
* * * THIRD: the site owners replied ASAP to my Review Request. This email was exceedingly odd. It informed me "all spots for free reviews had been absorbed in February 2024" - - - but never mentioned before! [I applied for a free review in July 2024.] Then they demanded $99 for a book review, threatening to wait-list "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" until the year 2025.
* * * FOURTH: I won't to be conned into paying $99. I deleted their obnoxious email.
* * * FIFTH: Days later I'm informed my "book review has been posted." And I almost don't click on the link, fearing a malicious soul-scorching critique awaits me. Instead . . . . a glowing review has been posted + my book has won their top award. Total astonishment.
* * * SIXTH: Days later they send me a link to all the global publicity they've done for my book + other award winners! What a thorough job they've done! My book with its gold award seal is everywhere.
* * * SEVENTH: I add this to my Press Kit: Critic Sally Majors wrote: "Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems is a significant contribution to the world of supernatural poetry. Its evocative language, hooking themes, and beautiful presentation make it a standout work that is sure to enchant and haunt its readers long after they have turned the last page. With its potential to become a Hallowe’en classic, this book is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the art of poetry and the thrill of the supernatural."
* * * * * LINK: https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/2024/07/23/book-review-always-haunted-halloween-poems-by-lindaann-loschiavo/
* * * * * Award Notice on Pinterest: https://ca.pinterest.com/pin/book-review-always-haunted-halloween-poems-by-lindaann-loschiavo-the-chrysalis-brew-project-in-2024--459015387038792136/
* * * * * Press Release (one of many): https://www.newsnetmedia.com/story/51134515/the-chrysalis-brew-project-announces-the-recent-winners-of-the-brew-international-blog-and-book-awards
* * FYI: "Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems" is on NetGalley, if anyone would like to review it.
― https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/437468
Wow! Now there's a cautionary tale with a happy ending!
Congratulations!
Thank you so much, Meg.
Yes, after tramping through their muddy questionnaire, answering strange questions such as why I DESERVED a FREE review, and was I engaged in criminality, and had I sneaked into a country illegally, comes a happy surreal surprise.
However, for all that, I'm not sure if I would approach this Southern Australian outfit again.
And what kind of people invent a questionnaire like that?
Maybe they'll join Becky Tuch's Lit Mag forum and see the light .....? :-)
Full of surprises! Thanks for posting. Congratulations on a happy ending.
Thank you very much, Lisa. I was not expecting this "silver lining" of a bright gold seal on my book from these strange people! Still can't figure this one out.
No one else knows the bizarre behind-the-scenes story - - - except for this forum.
And I appreciate the patience required to read it through, Lisa!
Congratulations on another beautiful book, LindaAnn! Goodness, what a strange and unsettling journey to the award.
Thank you for your kindness, Donna, and empathy. Deeply unsettling experience - - - and just when you think this Lit Mag forum has heard it all!
Amazing story!
Yes, Carol, totally unexpected. What's that old saying? "Truth is stranger than fiction."
Wow, as you said, a strange trip indeed, but glad it worked out well.
Thank you, Gary. Most writers will encounter scamsters who claim to provide free book reviews, then email you a "fee schedule" for reviews and coverage.
But these Australian book reviewers, first, sent a brusque $99 demand . . . then an email saying my "review was posted" (which made me suspect mischief, menace + a negative critique . . . . . . . . . then an AWARD! Yes, I got lucky - - but in a most unsettling manner.
I had to share my strange story!! I appreciate that you took the time to read it, Gary.
Name and shame, LindaAnn.
Hello, Doug! Their NAME is on the award link. Craziest route to an award, eh? Their intake questionnaire even asked if I were currently incarcerated......!!!
Interesting that I can't find a single individual's name associated with this outfit, which always makes me deeply suspicious.
Doug, the email demanding $99 may have had a name - - but I deleted it.
* * * * * FYI: the company is in your neck of the woods: Australia.
Location: Reynella, South Australia, Australia
Contact Number: +61414864246
Organization: The Chrysalis BREW Project
Contact Person: Rachelle Pryce
Great to see your essay about one of the great issues of our time finally make it into print, Becky.
Congrats to all for your successes and commiserations for your rejections (which I no longer count, given their similarities to raindrops).
This month:
- a double acceptance of 'Signing Off' and 'The Contract' from 'Does It Have Pockets' https://www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/doug-jacquier
- Pena published my memoir piece 'An Old White Man in Asia' in their 3rd edition 'Feelings Made Flesh' https://drive.google.com/file/d/11p_yR-auBbGflrUMBtDMQh15gMlyx6LX/view
The piece recounts several anecdotes from my time travelling Asia on behalf of a US charity.
- Vernacular Journal published 'Speaking Ill of the Dead' https://vernacularjournal.com/Speaking-ill-of-the-dead
Doug, I loved "The Contract," and laughed out loud during portions of "An Old White Man in Asia."
Many thanks, Colette. Great to hear.
Congratulations, Doug. I liked "The Contract" so much; it kept me wondering until the end.
Thank you, Donna. Much appreciated.
Hi Becky. Congratulations! What a heartfelt beautiful essay.
On my end I've just had two poems: Dandelions and Five Course Dinner published in The Zebra Ink Magazine's August issue. https://issuu.com/thezebraink/docs/aug24_zebraink_3 . Other than that, still plugging away. Again, congratulations on your piece finding a home :)
Sara, lovely to hear your good news. A big round of applause for you!! Yes, keep plugging away.
I found Sequestrum through a listing of themed submission calls. Also, all pieces are accompanied by a Q&A that includes my favorite question. The editor was diligent and the process was easy.
https://www.sequestrum.org/fiction-sorry-but-i-cant-take-you
I love the way it took the whole story to get a grounding. I read it again.
Congratulations!
Thank you, Meg, for reading and commenting! I wanted to play with the ways past, present, and future talk to each other.
Gripping story, Lisa. I liked reading about your process in the Q&A too.
Thank you, Dave!
Wonderful story, Lisa - congratulations! I loved your Bambi answer, by the way!
Thank you for reading my story and Q&A--and scoping out my favorite question! Much appreciated.
Congratulations, Lisa! This is such an ‘alive’ and complex story; which constantly takes us by surprise. The early image of the pantry clock is a perfect foreshadowing of the ruthlessness of time and the inevitability of change.
Such a thoughtful observation--thank you, Donna!
I worked with Sequestrum twice and I agree that the editor is great to deal with. They are just super supportive about the things they like.
Hi Lisa, That was such an interesting way to tell the story -- with the two sections! I enjoyed this! ( I had a story at sequestrum a while ago too, and liked working with the editor. Fun to do the Q and A as well. https://www.sequestrum.org/fiction-mermaids-for-seahorses I didn't find a way to share it without having the person pay to be a subscriber, did you? I could read your whole story without logging in.)
Since I couldn't read your Sequestrum story, I found "Abeeku." Brief and beautiful and well-deserving of a prize. You have a keen eye for social movements--including their dark sides.
Hi Lisa,
That was super nice of you to check out the Sequestrum story, which wasn't available, and then find 'Abeeku'! It was my first published story, actually- several years ago.
My pleasure. It's what I most enjoy about this monthly Brag, the mutual reading and commentary of other writers. Hope to see more of your work in the future.
Thank you, Joan, for your kind comment and for the link to your Sequestrum story--for which, I congratulate you! And yep, the full story is not available, though I enjoyed your Q&A. At publication, I asked the editor for my story to be accessible and he said it was--whether or not it was because I asked, I don't know.
Congratulations Becky, and everyone else. https://thirdwednesdaymagazine.org/2024/08/11/i-prefer-to-leave-early-carla-schwartz/ My poem, I prefer to leave early, curated in Third Wednesday magazine, August 11th 2024. Carla Schwartz
Stay a while longer, please. Beautiful work.
Thank you so much Emma. This was our persona poem inspired by the voice of my father. Hopefully I will be around a little longer.
Glad to hear it!
Wonderful! Love Szymborska. You are an inspiration.
Thank you so much Barbara
Thanks for posting your lovely poem--and for introducing me to Szymborska. Hadn't previously read her. If you want to name the poem that inspired yours, please do. Otherwise, please just accept my congratulations.
Thank you so much Lisa. The poem is called Possibilities. Here is a link https://www.szymborska.org.pl/en/wislawa/selected-poems/possibilities/
Thank you, Carla. Love both poems and admire yours all the more. Thanks for the link!
Loved the poem, Carla!
Thank you so much, Carol.