"How Can Literature Be Large?" A Chat with Wayne Miller, Editor of Copper Nickel
Lit Mag Reading Club editor Q & A
Ahoy! I come with news of a brand new editor interview, freshly in the books!
Today I spoke with Wayne Miller, Editor of Copper Nickel.
Copper Nickel—the national literary journal housed at the University of Colorado Denver—was founded by poet Jake Adam York in 2002. When York died in 2012, the journal went on hiatus until its re-launch in 2014.
Work published in Copper Nickel has been reprinted in the Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, Best Small Fictions, Best Literary Translations, and Pushcart Prize anthologies, and has been listed as “notable” in the Best American Essays anthology.
Formerly an editor at Pleiades, Wayne began at Copper Nickel in 2012. The magazine operates as “a learning tool for students” enrolled at the University of Colorado. As such, about thirty undergraduates are involved in every stage of the process, from screening works to the journal’s final production.
Since it can be disconcerting to know our work is being screened by undergrads, I asked Wayne how they account for age bias, and what sort of training the students receive generally. Wayne said that age bias in the literary world is, in fact, “a big concern” of his. When students learn to read work for this magazine, they are encouraged to look past their own biases and choose work that reflects a range of perspectives, experiences, settings, not to mention conveys intelligence and skill.
As this was part of our Reading Club, I could attest that the latest issue, number 39, features such breadth. Here there are translation folios, essays with elements of research and folklore, apocalyptic stories, traditional character-driven stories, re-imaginings of Moby Dick from new vantage points, narrative poetry, and more.
Regarding fiction, Wayne had tremendous insights about the craft. (He used a perfect phrase to describe how moments are conveyed in fiction— “the accordion of time.”) Insofar as what they look for in stories, he mentioned “problem, conflict, mystery.” “Why is the character doing this?”
For poetry a key element is “surprise.” For nonfiction they look for work that is “a springboard into an intellectual question.” They also especially appreciate work with “sociohistorical context.”
What are these editors’ six overall considerations when reading a work of fiction? What are “the keys to unlock fiction and poetry”? What does Wayne mean when he says his goal is to “build relationships with good writers”? What can writers do to make sure their work has the best possible shot at this magazine?
For all that and more, dear ones, you will have to tune in.
Copper Nickel publishes poetry and prose, and has two reading periods per year. They receive about 3,000 stories per year and publish about 12; receive about 15,000 poems and publish 50-60; receive about 700 essays and publish 4; receive about 100 translations and publish 6-8. They respond to submissions generally between 2 weeks - 3 months.
To everyone who came out to participate today, thank you for showing up! Your faces are the burning bright sun rays on my rainy November day!
And, of course, thank you to Wayne for taking the time to take us behind the scenes of another lovely little lit mag.
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Views expressed by any editor during an interview do not necessarily reflect my own.