"Be Good! Be Good!" A Chat with Landon Houle, Editor-in-Chief of Raleigh Review

"It's always about the striking quality of the work."

Good day! I come with news of a brand new editor interview, freshly wrapped.

Today I had the joy of speaking with Landon Houle, Editor-in-Chief of Raleigh Review. From their site: “Raleigh Review is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit magazine of poetry, short fiction, and art, offering accessible works of experience that are emotionally and intellectually complex.”

We had our biggest audience turnout yet today but also a few moments of tech glitchiness. Additionally, to my utter embarrassment, while introducing Landon I discovered I didn’t know how to pronounce “Raleigh.” It a word I realized I’ve never actually said out loud.

No matter! Landon was forgiving and overall delightful to speak with. She took us through the editorial process, explaining how work is met first by a few readers. If the readers give a thumb’s up, the work moves along to the genre editors. The readers and editors represent a span of ages and a range of backgrounds. They live all over the world, though they communicate frequently and share a sense of community among them.

So what exactly do these editors like to publish in the pages of Raleigh Review? For prose Landon mentioned “good skill,” “language,” “narrative,” “craft,” and “strong characterization.” The editors are “looking to be surprised and left with something that lingers.” Poetry tends to skew toward the narrative, and ought to be “striking.” Fiction generally ought to be character-driven. They are not interested in genre work, though work that incorporates elements of the speculative or surreal is welcome. The magazine does not have a regional focus, in spite of its name.

Of utmost importance is that the work is polished and ready to be published. While this is true for all journal submissions, it is worth noting that the staff here don’t do much editorial work with writers, so submitters should not expect to be guided through multiple revisions on their pieces.

As Landon herself is also a writer, she emphasized how important it is that writers know that this is a magazine in which their submissions are really being read and considered. Regarding response time, Landon said they try to respond as quickly as possible. “We’re aware that when work is in Submittable, there’s someone on the other side waiting.” Yet writers should also understand that the wait is a result of work being carefully looked at, thought about and discussed.

What advice does Landon have for writers just before they hit Send? What themes do these editors see a lot of? What are common missteps writers make that lead to rejection? And how might a writer’s publication history (or lack thereof) come into play when considering work?

For all that and more, dear friends, you will have to watch the video!

Raleigh Review is open for submissions Jan 1st - March 31st and July 1st - October 31st. They also have a fee-free submission window throughout most of December and run three contests. While the magazine once began as poetry-only, they now publish fiction, poetry, nonfiction and flash fiction.

The magazine circulation is 400 print issue copies per year sold and delivered, and about 15,000 e-issues delivered. Acceptance rate is about 1%.

The editors also keep a running list of interested readers. If you would like to be a reader for this magazine, contact the editors.

To everyone who came out today, thank you for tuning in! Your faces are the cool steady calm in my windy winter afternoon!

And, of course, thank you to Landon for taking the time to bring us inside another lovely little magazine.

Happy viewing!