Silent Lit Mags, Holy Lit Mags!

Small press actions, new lit mags, lit mag rankings, hot job and volunteer opportunities and more.

Dear Lit Magicorns,

In our last newsletter, we reported on the grievances of workers at various literary institutions. Following up on that, the staff at Small Press Distribution (which services literary journals and books), have put out a statement. They write, “We cannot lose sight of SPD’s mission: to bring readers independently published literature, emphasizing small press values — equity, experimentation and access. The failures described above harm SPD employees, but they also harm our organization’s purpose and those we serve. When SPD fails, it also fails hundreds of presses and our community.”

As of this week, several publishers have written statements of solidarity and support with SPD workers. These include Game Over Books, whose owner, Josh Savory writes, “Everyone at Game Over Books cares deeply about labor rights. We care because we are workers who have been and are still exploited. We cannot stand by and be complicit;” Aunt Lute, whose team writes, “We are also currently working to own and repair our own internal structures that have caused harm;” Foundlings Press, whose publisher Aidan M. Ryan writes, “I encourage all current board members not committed to good-faith participation in the important process ahead to resign immediately;” and others.

Moving along, Clifford Garstang has released his yearly list of Pushcart Prize rankings. If you’re unfamiliar with the list, it is a wonderful resource where Garstang breaks down the frequency with which certain journals are represented in the Pushcart Prize anthology. He writes, “About fifteen years ago—honestly, I’ve lost track—I was writing a lot of short stories and had no idea where to send them. The idea of a tiering system, in which writers would send to the top magazines first and then work their way down a list, made a lot of sense to me, but what were the top magazines? I looked for lists, but I didn’t find anything that worked for my purposes. So I made my own.”

Also in the realm of lists, S. Kalekar has posted 24 Creative Nonfiction Markets Open in December. And James Murua Literary has posted 7 literary journals from Africa to read over the holiday period.

Several new magazines caught my eye this week. One Grand Books has launched a literary magazine. They say, “The mission of One Grand Books is to inspire people to pick up books that might not have wound up on their radar were it not for our curated lists by celebrated artists and thinkers. The magazine is designed to support some of that content, as a place where we can have conversations with our literary curators and writers while simultaneously offering a showcase for new writing.”

Here is a radio interview with Todd Robins, who recently launched Vautrin, “a literary magazine for gritty urban fiction.”

And Auroras & Blossoms is a new literary magazine that accepts work from adults as well as creative kiddos. Writing and art is open for 13-16-year-olds. The editors seek “Art that is constructive, optimistic, confident.”

If your new years resolution includes getting more involved behind the scenes at a lit mag, opportunities abound. Across the pond, renowned lit mag Granta is “looking for an energetic, organised and creative Publicity and Marketing Assistant to join our busy campaigns team based in our West London office…Salary – £23,500 p. a. with 25 days holiday plus all public holidays.”

Adroit Journal is seeking volunteer poetry readers. “main duties are (unsurprisingly) reading + commenting on poetry submissions.”

Gordon Square Review is looking for volunteer readers. Readers will “Read and respond to GSR submissions from January through April; Help decide which pieces to accept by voting through Submittable; Work with GSR's editorial staff; Learn the behind-the-scenes process of selecting work for a literary journal; Help with our Issue 8 launch party in May. Please note that volunteer readers must live in Northeast Ohio.”

Triquarterly is “seeking volunteer poetry and fiction readers to review submissions for our biannual magazine. Volunteer readers commit to an average of 10-15 submissions (with some variation between genres) every two weeks. Readers work in small teams under the guidance of TriQuarterly's genre editors.”

Craft Literary is seeking readers. “If you enjoy literary fiction and nonfiction, and the exploration of writing craft, and three to four hours each week of reading submissions sounds like fun, we encourage you to apply.”

And that you reluctant revelers in ho-hum holiday cheer, you socially distanced singers of sweet carols and you visitors of preposterous Santas poised behind Plexiglas, you for whom the days are a drag and you who have discovered ways to dig deep to encounter delight regardless, you who find laughter no matter how quotidian the details and you for whom silliness is endless, even and especially when you least suspect it, you now awaiting a brand new year, you now leaping long distances like the electric light you ultimately are, you who are a firework, you who are exploding, you who emanate colors that burst daily into a single sky touched by the entire world, you and you and you, everywhere writing, reading, creating, or trying to anyway, while thinking thoughts both shallow and deep, both simple and complex, thoughts that feel like nothing, but which, truly, are everything and then some, is the news in literary magazines.

Have a fabulous, safe, magical time, pals. See you in the new year.

Fondly,

Becky

P.S. Got a question you’d like me to ask in a discussion thread? A question for editors or for writers? Just reply to this email and drop me a line!

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