"I Want to Read Stuff That Makes Me Feel Alive." A Chat With Brian Mihok, Editor of matchbook

"We love publishing people for the first time.”

Ahoy, friends! I come with news of a brand-new editor interview, freshly wrapped.

But first, a quick announcement that yesterday’s interview with Matt Daly of Jackson Hole Writers was canceled, as Matt had an unexpected emergency. Thank you to those who came out. Hopefully we can have this discussion later this year.

Now, on to the next! Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Brian Mihok, Co-Founding Editor of matchbook. This “is an online literary journal that publishes one piece of short prose accompanied by an author’s note every two weeks. Its initial run was from 2009 to 2021. It reopened in 2024.”

Brian joined us from his office at the Bronx high school where he currently teaches. He spends several mornings each week writing in his office, before classes begin. Naturally, in addition to talking about matchbook, I also had questions for Brian about this routine, as no doubt the challenge of balancing day-job-work with writing, plus other literary projects, is a concern for many among us.

As for the journal, Brian took us through the history of the magazine, its closing and then re-opening with an expanded staff. Currently, matchbook is open for one week only, every few months. They accept fiction and non-fiction of up to 1,000 words. They publish about 26 pieces per year, and sometimes receive as many as 1,000 submissions in a reading period.

In terms of what makes a piece right for matchbook, Brian used terms like, “strong voice,” “density,” “contemporary” and “urgency.” Nonfiction should be not too research-oriented. They like personal essays and are open to a range of styles. Regarding how they approach the editorial relationship, Brian discussed his “respect for writers,” and “attempts for transparency.” They view publishing as “a collaboration.” He also emphasized, “We love publishing people for the first time.”

For submissions, writers may submit up to three pieces. Typically the magazine will only accept one of the three. Brian and I had an interesting discussion about this, as I’ve often wondered why magazines ask for multiple submissions when they only plan to publish one. Brian’s answers might intrigue you!

Also, how should a writer arrange these works? Should the multiple submissions relate to one another? Is a writer who only submits one work at a disadvantage? Plus, other questions—Does Brian have pet peeves as an editor? What are common reasons for rejection? Do these editors work with writers on revision? How does Brian guard against editor burnout? And more!

To catch it all you will have to tune in! This video is available for all readers.

Thank you to Brian for taking us behind the scenes of another lovely little magazine.

Happy viewing!

Two texts mentioned in the video:

Deep Work by Cal Newport

The Algorithm (A Love Story) by Erik Fatemi

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