"Bringing Some Whimsy to the Table." A Chat with Sarah Strickley, Editor of Miracle Monocle
An online magazine for tradition and experimentation
Good day! I come with tidings of this month’s first editor interview, freshly in the books!
Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Strickley, Editor of Miracle Monocle.
Miracle Monocle is an online journal of innovative literary and visual art. Published bi-annually, the journal features poems, short stories, literary nonfiction, and a broad range of experimental works. We pride ourselves on serving as a home for flash and micro fictions of all varieties, as well as works with genre indeterminacies, fresh collaborations, and re-invigorations of more traditional forms.
Founded in 2009 and re-launched in 2015, Miracle Monocle publishes poetry, prose up to 10,000 words, as well as experimental pieces, hybrids, and reviews. Sarah has served as Editor since 2017, after stints at other lit mags including Barrelhouse, Iowa Review and Quarter After Eight.
In today’s conversation Sarah took us through the magazine’s editorial process, its history as well as her own perspectives on literary craft. I love it when editors dig into craft, not only because it sheds insight on what they’re looking for in submissions but because they’ve often given the matter so much thought and have such a unique vantage point from which to share insights.
Sarah talked about the different planes of a story, the plot and the character, and how they may or may not overlap, intersect, and move in the same direction. The best stories achieve “synthesis.” Works that are rejected at Monocle often do not cohere by the end, thus failing to synthesize and pull off the ultimate “magic trick” that is a great piece.
For creative nonfiction, Sarah talked about the “poles” of great pieces—the language, the personal experience or reportage, and the cultural context. She also repeatedly came back to the subject of imagery, and in fact used an image to describe good imagery which, well, once you hear it you won’t forget it.
Miracle Monocle is dedicated to experimental work, though they consider realist pieces too. As far as experimental pieces, some of what Sarah described made me laugh out loud. Who ever thought of writing a story in the form of AITA (“Am I the Asshole”) listings? Or a piece about being a new mother in the form of a recipe? A screenplay where the lead roles are famous dogs?
As the magazine is tied to University of Louisville, Kentucky, readers here are students, grad students and faculty editors. Each piece is carefully read, often several times, by about six people. Sarah reads every submission. For each issue they aim to publish a balance of experienced writers along with those publishing for the first time.
What else? What do these editors see a lot of in submissions? What genres are they actively seeking more of? What is Sarah’s “favorite category” of submission? What are common missteps and how can writers improve their chances of getting an acceptance here?
For all that and more, dear ones, you will have to tune in!
Miracle Monocle publishes two issues per year. Their next reading period begins in August. They “never hold submissions for more than one semester.”
To everyone who came out today, thank you for tuning in! Your faces are the extra sunshine on my already sun-glorious spring day!
And, of course, thank you to Sarah for taking the time to take us behind the scenes of another lovely little lit mag.
Happy viewing!
Views expressed by any editor do not necessarily reflect my own.
Student-run journals are a real crapshoot (combination of inexperience and revolving door in readers), so it’s nice to hear it’s a broad panel of readers, and always includes the editor. (Also seems good pedagogically, so it can be about quality/character and not just process.)
Disappointing that it has reading fees, as noted above. (I pull up short of “scam”, but I am convinced it’s fundamentally the wrong direction.)
The basic tenor and approach (fees aside) seem both balanced and refreshing for a university journal, so I’m glad to have read this and will check it out. I remember the name a bit, but did not have a definite idea before now.
It was stated that the university was not a real source of income. MM seems to be in an evolution process. Support to contributors can be quite valuable ie: reviews, award nominations, prize money etc. As for me, I will explore this journal. Nice interview.