Everybody's Got a Lit Mag Heart!

Worker abuse at SPD, new magazines, submitting advice, lit mag lists, job opening and more.

Greeetings Lit Magtelope,

The saga continues at Small Press Distribution, a literary book distributor which carries over a dozen literary magazines. The story began in December, with a statement of abuse and wage theft put forth by the anonymous Damaged Book Worker. Ten other employees subsequently came forward, citing abuse, bullying and harassment at SPD and putting forward a list of demands. Since then, several presses have discontinued business with SPD, posted statements, and called for board members not committed to a fair investigation to resign.

Most recently, one former employee has come forward, stating, “When Damaged Book Worker’s piece was published, I was devastated, and rightly so…Their experiences made me realize that so many of the things I experienced myself were not isolated events…”

Another former employee has provided testimony:

damaged book worker @damagedbookwrkr

New testimony from a former Small Press Distribution worker & volunteer on the demeaning treatment of warehouse workers at @spdbooks:

In response, SPD has posted an update on recent developments, noting, “We have heard the ongoing calls for immediate action to be taken against SPD Executive Director Brent Cunningham, and we continue to read and process new information that comes in from members of the SPD community. Each of us on the board appreciates your understanding that we need to complete the assessment process.”

In other news, even in these wild times, new lit mags spring forth. At the University of Arkansas, M.F.A. student Samantha Campbell has launched Black Moon Magazine. Say the editors, “Like the black moon—an absence of the full moon, its silent imprint persisting in your memory —we desire writing that impresses language, imagery, and experience on our readers…”

Columbia has shuttered three lit mags, but has opened a new one. Says Prof Reichert Powell, “MFA students entering Columbia next year will be allowed to work across all genres and will no longer be required to declare a specific genre to study, which influenced the department’s decision to create Allium.” The magazine aims to publish “diverse creative voices, recognized and emerging writers, and a variety of forms and genres from the traditional to the experimental.”

If you need ideas on where to submit, Poets and Writers’ Lit MagNet is always a good source. In their Jan/Feb issue, Dana Isokawa spoke with Matthew Salesses, who says, “You value your work by valuing your growth—both as a writer and as a person. Each submission is a chance for revision; each publication is a potential friendship.” Salesses recommends Pleiades, Electric Literature and others.

In their most recent issue, Isokawa speaks with Threa Almontaser, who “published poems in twenty outlets and says she submits to publications after ‘looking to see if they represent the same thing I am trying to represent, how rounded their voices are, if they focus on special issues, and recognize the levels of language a poem can hold.’” Almontaser recommends The Adroit Journal, Beloit Poetry Journal, and more.

What, you might be wondering, is considered a “previously published” work, and where can you submit such pieces? Trish Hopkinson’s article on the subject caught my eye this week. Says she, “If you have poetry or other writing which has been previously published, but the readership was low or perhaps it was only in print and not online, you may want to submit it to literary magazines and journals that accept work as a reprint.”

And Authors Publish never disappoints with lists. S. Kalekar has posted 20 Poetry Markets Seeking Submissions Now. And Zebulon Huset offers 35 Journals Publishing Very Short Prose & Poetry.

Looking for a job in the biz? The Paris Review is seeking a Managing Editor. “This is a great opportunity for a detail-driven, well-organized literature lover to help shape the next chapter of the magazine’s literary story. The managing editor oversees production on the quarterly, works closely with the EIC on acquisitions and shaping the Review’s iconic Writers at Work interview series, and contributes to special editorial projects (including Paris Review Editions).”

Lastly, one more week to take advantage of this nifty offer from One Story!

Subscribers to this Lit Mag News Roundup can now receive a 10% discount on the One Story writing class, Character: A Craft Intensive with Patrick Ryan. “Over the course of six days, you’ll delve into physical description, build dynamic settings, sharpen dialogue skills, play with point-of-view, explore motivation and change. The methods taught in craft lectures, exercises, and in group discussions on the online message board will be ones that you can put to use long after the class ends.”

One Story, Inc. is an award-winning, not-for-profit literary publisher committed to supporting the art form of the short story and the authors who write them—through One Story, One Teen Story, education, community, and mentorship.

To take advantage of this offer, please become a paying subscriber to this here Lit Mag News Roundup. (You’ll also get full access to the archive and exclusive access to live editor roundtable chats, a new feature coming soon!) Then just reply to this newsletter with your name and contact info, so we can get you registered.

And that you pounders of pavement and hopping hounds of hustle, you sticking to your schedule with the rigid discipline of a star-guided sailor, and you who for whom there is no schedule but crunch, no order to things other than manic frantic panicky squeeze, you who in your miraculous magic of everydayness manage to dot out a few squeaky little i’s, and you who must carve out tunnels of time just to curve out a few dear u’s, you finding poetry amidst the painstaking work of plainly daily plodding, and you who don’t write, hardly at all, certainly not enough, good heavens not nearly enough, but still, it’s okay, because some days survival is creativity enough, and it’s fine, really, you’re doing fine, you are, you, and you, truly, being here, just continuing on, with your heart still sweetly searching, is the news in literary magazines.

Have a magical week, pals.

Fondly,

Becky

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As always and ever, thank you for reading.