Pour Some Lit Mags on Me!
New Yorker union news, an editor assesses the state of lit mags, jobs and opportunities, summer contests and more
Greetings Lit Magdeleines,
Big news from The New Yorker union which, as of the most recent newsletter, was on the verge of striking for a fair contract. Now:
If you’re interested in learning more, this podcast at Dissent Magazine features a chat “with Gili Ostfield, a member of The New Yorker Union’s bargaining team, about what the union won, how they did it, and what other workers in media—and outside of it—can learn from their victory.”
In other news, way back in April, Ambit Magazine, a British magazine founded in 1959, issued an apology for a story they published. In response to this apology, Editor of Morbid Books Lev Parker has recently shared his own views on the state of lit mags today and whether words actually cause harm.
I haven’t raked through every single issue nor every statement Ambit editors have ever made, although I’m fairly sure “nepotism,” “conformity” and “brown-nosing” are never openly stated as core values. Although if they were being honest, as I am (often to my detriment), they ought to be stated as mottos not just for Ambit, but every literary and arts magazine in existence – including my own.
…Other magazines and institutions are the same, but they not only won’t admit it – they get really irate when you point it out.
Meanwhile, if you would like to get involved behind the scenes with some of these magazines, opportunities abound.
Giramondo seeks an Editor for new Australia-based magazine, HEAT. “The HEAT editor will work alongside the Giramondo team at our Redfern office, and will be involved in our discussions about publishing schedules, design, printing, promotion and publicity, and funding. Working remotely is also an option.”
Sledgehammer Lit is seeking “volunteer readers/editors/helping hands.” The magazine “was launched on a whim during the second Guernsey lockdown. Aside from a fairly nebulous vision of creating an inclusive space to showcase exuberant poetry and flash, our founding EIC had no idea what to expect from this fledgling literary magazine…In a few short months Sledgehammer has grown beyond our wildest expectations.”
Astra Magazine is seeking a Poetry Editor. “The Poetry Editor will be a practising poet with deep knowledge of and a proven record of engagement with international contemporary poetry.
BOMB Magazine is seeking a Program Director for Its Oral History Project. The Director will “lead the project’s expansion into New Orleans and Chicago, act as lead editor on new oral histories, oversee the incoming Program Managing Editor, work with an educational consultant, and establish partnerships with educational and arts institutions.”
Beloit Poetry Journal is seeking an Operations Manager. “The ideal candidate for this position is a person who seeks to use their managerial and organizational skills to further the mission of a progressive literary magazine.”
If you’re looking for new places to submit your work, you might be interested in some of these recent Firecracker Awards winners. CLMP has named Lucky Jefferson Best Debut and Mizna best for General Excellence.
Amazon has also announced a $7k grant to Mānoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing. The magazine “has featured writing in English and in translation, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region, and is among a list of 80 ALP recipients collectively awarded a total of more than $1 million. Mānoa will utilize the grant funding to support its program and operations.”
If the spirit is moving you to enter some contests this summer, here is a list of June & July deadlines. The Writer is offering a free guide to summer contests (you have to fill out the form to subscribe.) And Writer Unboxed has a list of Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Summer 2021.
For non-contest submissions, you may be interested in the responses to this question. (Just click it to view the comments.)
Finally, if there’s a loveable literary little in your life, let them know about this list of 16 Magazines that Publish Writing by Children and Teens. Note that some of these mags also accept submissions from grown-ups.
As for yours truly, some news is afoot! I have made an executive decision (fairly easy to do when you work alone) to unlock all my editor interviews. This means you can now access them regardless of whether you are a paying subscriber to the newsletter or not. You can view them here, by scrolling through this newsletter’s archives.
Or you can find them all gathered in my brand new YouTube channel. That’s right, pals. I’m officially a YouTuber now. And I’m here to provide you all the free behind-the-scenes looks at lit mags you need in order to keep your writing & submitting mojo ever strong.
The next editor interview will be Monday, July 12 @ 11am est, featuring Richard Krawiec, Editor of Jacar Press and the poetry journal One. (Details coming soon!)
Additional journals to be featured include Colorado Review, SmokeLong Quarterly, Barrelhouse, STORY Magazine and more! I’ll be sure to announce when these are taking place, so you can sit in and get to ask the editors all the questions you’ve ever wanted to ask. So be on the lookout for upcoming save-the-date announcements.
As for all you lovely subscribers, don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten you and your amazingness. There will be plenty of special exclusive goodies coming your way. Including, on Thursday, July 15, another Submissions Q & A session with me, where I happily answer all your lit-mag submitting questions. More info on that also coming soon.
And that you glorious lusters after lives unknown, you ravenous clutchers at the meanings and sub-meanings of all you can’t quite clearly decipher, you uncloggers of stuck drains and you masterful plumbers of silent depths, you shakers off of the shallows, you with your searing searching sea-swimming soul in want of ever more ways to wander and to wonder, you with your inner eye blinking open, you with your third eye humming loud, or else thrumming rumblingly low, you and you, everywhere, curious and curiouser, with your mouth open to chew, to taste, to savor, to devour all the ships that sail on by, is the news in literary magazines.
Have an unstoppable week, pals.
Fondly,
Becky
Can't wait for the interviews. They've all been very informative and have helped me navigate the valleys and slips of Planet Rejecton. Great behind the scenes info for all writers