Who Reads Lit Mags? We Do! Spotlight on Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Joyland, The Ekphrastic Review...

"We share what we’ve been reading in lit mags."

Welcome to something new! Here is a regular monthly feature where we come together to highlight lit mags and the good work inside them.

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Hi, Lit Mag News readers. Jessica Miele here.

I’m thrilled to kick off a new series that will happen on the first Thursday of every month, where we share what we’ve been reading in lit mags. The idea for this series was spawned from Becky’s post Who Reads Lit Mags? from last month. I loved hearing about not only what people were reading, but how they discovered the lit mags they were reading, and I wanted to know more.

At the end of the week, I’ll update this post with a list using Bibliocommons, a tool that allows you to curate books, stories, and URL links. This way, everyone can easily find the stories, poems, essays, hybrid works, etc. mentioned in the comments without having to scroll through all of the replies.

Three lit mags I’ve been reading are: Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Joyland, and The Ekphrastic Review.

Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet (LCRW) is an old favorite of mine. I’ve been a subscriber for years, and I always look forward to reading the latest issue when it lands in my mailbox. I just received word from co-Founder Gavin Grant that a new issue is currently being shipped out, and it should arrive any day. Created by the brilliant Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, there are so many terms to describe the essays, poems, and stories found in LCRW: fantasy, science fiction, speculative, magical realism, slipstream... I used to just affectionately refer to it as “weird” fiction but you know using that word has become a bit tricky these days! One thing I find interesting about this lit mag is that the length of their accepted pieces vary widely. One issue will feature predominately short poems, while their November 2020 issue was almost entirely devoted to Sarah Langan’s dystopian novella, You Have the Perfect Mask. This is primarily a print issue, whose covers are stunning. Check out the cover of November 2020’s issue:

LCRW, November 2020

Another magazine I have a big crush on is Joyland, and I’m sure I’m not alone. I am always on the lookout for lit mags with fairy tale elements, because that is the mode I usually write in. I first stumbled upon Joyland through Steph Grossman's Likeness. The quality of the work Joyland publishes always has me going back for more. Another of my favorite stories on there is The Girl With Flies Coming out of Her Eyes by Sally Wen Mao—finishing that story is like that feeling you get when you burp after eating a deliciously satisfying meal.

September 2024 issue of Joyland

The Ekphrastic Review has become my go-to read during lunch breaks. I actually learned about this magazine through our Lit Mag News community, and I’m so glad I did. Ekphrastic writing—where stories and poems are inspired by works of art—was new to me, but I was quickly smitten by the concept. The magazine’s bimonthly challenges are a highlight for me, particularly the recent one inspired by Under the Sea by Glyn Philpot. Each piece stands beautifully on its own (like Caitlin Proutt’s poem Sea Change), but reading them together as a collection really brings out the different facets of the same painting to create a truly enriching experience.

Ekphrastic Review’s August writing challenge

So, that’s what I’ve been reading, but there is so much out there and I’d really love to hear what you all have been up to reading-wise. Please note that, while I look forward to reading our Lit Mag Brags each month and seeing what and where everyone has been published, I’d like this to be a resource for what we’re reading, not what we’ve written.

If you’re reading this after the week is up, feel free to continue sharing. But just a heads-up: if you want your recommendations to be included in the Bibliocommons list, please comment by Thursday, September 12th, when I will be curating this month’s selections.

I can’t wait to see what everyone suggests and to build a more well-rounded reading list together.

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