Don't You Forget About Lit Mags!
Lit Mag Reading Club; open letter from Apogee; new Whiting Award rules; interviews with editors of Taco Bell Quarterly, Zyzzyva, Bennington Review; volunteer opportunities, jobs, 100+ markets, & more
Greetings Lit Magomobiles,
A wild and exciting thing happened this weekend. First, I had an idea:
I expected, oh, ten or fifteen people to express interest. But lo!
Be still my lit-mag loving heart! That’s a lot of people eager to read and support little magazines. I’ve also had confirmation from many editors (including ones in Africa, Australia and the UK!) that they would like to participate.
So, friends, I guess this Lit Mag Reading Club is going to happen.
If you’ve just discovered this newsletter, welcome to the community! I’ll be sharing information about the club later this week. Stay tuned.
On to the latest news…
A recent issue of Apogee Journal, which contains work by incarcerated writers, has been blocked from entering the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Lakshmi Sunder, on behalf of the editors at Apogee Journal, has written An Open Letter to the Michigan Department of Corrections and Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
“In March of 2022, Apogee editors received notice that our issue featuring work by incarcerated writers, Inside Out, was rejected by the Michigan Department of Corrections because it ‘promotes violence.’ Because of this rejection, one of our contributors…could not receive a copy of the journal. For the first time, we were unable to share an issue with one of the contributors featured in it.
…As a literary magazine that was founded with the express purpose of uplifting marginalized voices, Apogee Journal views censorship, namely the rejection of the hard copy of Inside Out by the Michigan Department of Justice, as a gross violation of the rights of incarcerated individuals.”
Supporters are invited to co-sign the letter here.
The Whiting Foundation has announced changes to its annual lit mag prizes. Reports Publishers Weekly,
“For the last several years, prizes have gone to 15 magazines every three years, with five selected each year. Starting in 2023, prizes will be awarded every three years to eight magazines. The new three-year model will help establish a cohort of winners, who are then "in the program" for the next three years…
In addition, all nonprofit magazines, regardless of budget level, will now be eligible for the grants. The Whitings will also expand learning and development opportunities for its grantees, adding consultations with marketing and fundraising experts and peer working groups.”
The deadline for magazines to apply for a Whiting Foundation Grant is December 1st.
A handful of interviews and profiles caught my eye this week. In Taco Bell Quarterly and the Rebellious Poetics of Living Más, Jerard Fagerberg describes TBQ as “a magazine founded to subvert the too-serious writing world and encourage its gatekeepers to think outside the bun….”
An NBC news affiliate picked up a story about Megacity Review, “a literary arts journal for underrepresented voices [that has] launched its inaugural writing contest in fiction and non-fiction.”
At CLMP, you’ll find an interview with Laura Cogan and Oscar Villalon, Editors of Zyzzyva, who say, “By placing an unknown name among established writers…we’re hoping to pique the reader’s excitement about an emerging voice...”
Vermont Public Radio spoke with Bennington Review Editor Michael Dumanis. Says Dumanis, “[Bennington Review] is meant to be a high-production value, curated literary space — where you'll encounter innovative, intelligent and moving fiction, nonfiction, poetry and writing about film.”
And ChillSubs spoke with Stuti Desai, Editor of healthline zine. Says Desai, “We've been lucky to have received powerful submissions. Through these, I've learned about many peoples’ stories, and that's what this is about for me.”
If you’re looking for new ideas about places to submit, this month’s Poets and Writers Lit MagNet focuses on Talia Lakshmi Kolluri. “When Kolluri started submitting to journals, she felt daunted by the idea of searching for magazines receptive to work narrated by animals. Kolluri instead submitted anywhere open to simultaneous submissions.” Her stories have appeared in Orion, Ecotone, The Common, among others.
For those of you on the hunt for lit mag work, here is what’s out there:
From Janus Literary:
Neverland Lit, “an international youth literary magazine,” is seeking a Prose Editor, Poetry Editor and Social Media Director.
Words Without Borders, “the premier destination for a global literary conversation,” is seeking a Social Media Editor.
Passengers Press, a magazine for “work from marginalized voices that challenges, and even offends, societal and literary norms,” is seeking readers for poetry and prose as well as narrators for audio issues.
Oxford American, “a magazine of the South,” seeks a Multimedia Editor.
Apogee, “a journal of literature and art that encourages the thoughtful exploration of identity and its intersections,” is looking to fill a bunch of positions.
And for all you out there looking to place your latest and greatest:
KidPressRoom has a list of 5 Unmissable Teen Literary Magazines to Submit Your Work Today.
Erika Dreifus has a too-many-to-count list of contests, grants, and lit mags open for submissions now.
Erica Verrillo has 91 Calls for Submissions in September 2022 - Paying markets and 54 Writing Contests in September 2022 - No entry fees.
Authors Publish has Opportunities Open to Submissions From Historically Underrepresented Voices This September
As for us, I’ve been yukking it up with some lovely editors these past few weeks. In case you missed them, you can check out my conversations with the Editors of Hypertext, South Asian Avant-Garde and Barren Magazine all here.
There are a few more events coming up soon, which you can learn about and register for here.
And that you jumping jacks and mountain climbers, you deep lungers into the great unknowns, you who are not afraid to walk out, sit up, chin up or push up, and you, too, in all the ways you strive to be low-impact, you who lift, you who bench, you whose muscles gleam like salted butter dripping down the curve of the sun, you in your cross-trainers, you doing your lateral squats, you who cannot stand, utterly cannot stand, and resent, quite frankly, that you are being told to do yet another burpee, because really? Haven’t we all just done enough burpees for the time being? Aren’t we all just a little sick and tired of burpees right about now?, and yet you do them, yes, ugh, yes, you do your burpees, you do, you must, and there you are, working hard, perspiring much, efforting in all the ways that bring you closer to your most secret song and your highest self of selves, and also you, there, just, you know, standing by and slowly drinking a glass of water, is the news in literary magazines.
Have a most exuberant week, pals.
Fondly,
Becky
As always, your posts are invaluable. Thank you, Becky.
Oh Zyzzyva. Did you just throw out the manuscripts that were trapped in your office during Covid lockdown? Who knows? Well, it was a tough time — and it’s not over! Keep publishing the occasional unknown. :-)