"How Are We Serving Emerging Writers?" A Chat With Whitney Koo, Editor of Gasher Journal

Founder of online magazine committed to accessibility takes us behind the scenes

Another interview is in the books!

(And apologies, dear ones, if it feels like I’m flooding your inbox these days. There’s been a lot going on! Things will simmer down a bit in the months ahead, with not quite so many back-to-back interviews.)

Today I had the delight of speaking with Whitney Koo, Founding Editor of Gasher. “Gasher Press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary publisher committed to serving the literary community by the means of opportunities in publishing, editing, and scholarship.”

Whitney started the magazine in 2017, upon completing her MFA and looking for a way to grow her own literary community. The journal’s first incarnation was as a series of “micro-doses,” containing four-five short, easily consumable pieces in each issue. Since then, Whitney has expanded the magazine into a registered non-profit with a full staff overseeing multiple genres, regular contests, a book-publishing arm and an annual anthology.

Since Whitney created this magazine from scratch, I asked her what advice she would give to young editors launching similar projects. Among several helpful suggestions, she advised beginning editors to know where their magazines will fit into the literary landscape, to know “where you’re filling a gap.”

And how does GASHER see its role in the landscape? Whitney described her magazine as particularly invested in emerging writers. To this end, editors occasionally work rigorously with writers on submitted work, they offer editorial internships, and they are committed to ensuring that all submissions to the magazine are free.

In fact, Whitney was so committed to free submissions that she started the magazine by funding it out of pocket, and actually worked a second job in order to do so!

Of course, I did have to ask about the section of their mission statement that states, “We reserve the right to remove any works by authors who do not represent the inclusive, fair, and just community that Gasher supports.” What did this mean exactly? How does this relate to their mission of accessibility? Should writers who publish in the magazine be concerned about how editors regard their behavior in other contexts?

Whitney said no writer has ever had their work removed from the site. The statement is pre-emptive and meant to ensure the kind of welcoming community the magazine wishes to foster. For the remaining answers to these questions, you will have to watch the video!

As for the works, these editors are looking for “concision and surprise,” “juxtaposition,” “leaps of imagination,” lyricism in fiction, strong voice in creative nonfiction, as well as “parataxis.”

Don’t know what parataxis is? Don’t feel bad! I didn’t either!

Whitney explains this, plus how to make your submission stand out from the over 1,000 they receive each reading period, as well as her ideas for how to be active on social media without losing your mind, and much more, during this lively conversation.

Gasher is open for submissions twice per year. The next reading period will open November 1st.

To everyone who came out to watch today, thank you for tuning in! I love to see you!

And, of course, thank you to Whitney, for taking the time to peel back the curtain of another nifty little magazine.

Happy viewing!

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