Congratulations to Boulevard on its 100th issue of fiction, poetry and essays. Special to this issue is a craft interview with Jane Smiley in which she discusses the “necessary ingredients” that went into the structure of her Last Hundred Years trilogy, what she was “obsessed with” when writing, and the impact of winning the Pulitzer. Also included is the Boulevard’s regular Symposium feature on the topic “Writing In the Donald Trump Age.” Contributors include Shara McCallum, Phong Nguyen, Daniel M. Mendoza, René Martínez, Meron Haredo, and Robert Zaller.

The Fall 2018 Still Point Arts Quarterly is a special issue titled “Four Freedoms Reinterpreted.” Editor Christine Brooks Cote writes in her introduction that the concept was inspired by Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 speech in which he specifically identified freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. She explains:

“Two years later The Saturday Evening Post  published four paintings by Norman Rockwell, each devoted to one of the Four Freedoms. There were accompanying essays written by respected writers of the day. Now seventy-five years later, it seems appropriate to revisit these ‘essential’ freedoms and think about where we stand today. . . This special issue is filled with art and writing from people who have something to say about freedom. It is both a celebration of who we are as a country and a cry for attention to the ways in which the foundations of our country are threatened. I hope you will be moved by this outpouring of love for our country and concern for our future.”

Readers can view a generous sample of the publication here.

Edify Fiction is seeking submissions for two upcoming themed issues. For the December 2018 issue, they are accepting pieces surrounding the topics of Christmas, holiday, and winter. Their January 2019 issue looks at all things teen – from teen writers to bullying, peer pressure, emotions, first love, best friends – and more.

When I asked Edify Fiction Editor Angela Meek [pictured] about the teen-themed CFS, she replied, “I was inspired recently to make a themed issue about teen concerns because of a story we recently accepted that incorporated the author’s own experiences as a teen and how those challenges shaped him. As a mom with a teen who is starting to stretch those wings and find her way in the world, I thought it would be a good time to have a dedicated issue.”

The call is a broad one, and Meek says they want it that way: “We’re pretty open as long as it is has a teen flavor to it – growing up, relationships, bullying, sports, siblings, dealing with parents, dealing with living in a divorced family, acceptance, school – you name it. As long as it is related to teens in some manner, any topic is welcomed. We also would love to feature as many teen writers as possible – from never-been-published to those writers who know their way around the writing world.”

For more information, check out Edify Fiction on Facebook and Twitter. Their general submissions guidelines can be found here, which apply for the themed issues as well. Deadline for both these themed issues is October 31, 2018.

I think most of us know some old home – a beautiful relic of an era long gone by that we believe holds family stories as well as secrets. And, sadly, we also watch many such structures rot away, lost in court battles or just cost of upkeep, often times being razed with whole histories erased with them. Georgia-based writer and documentary photographer Kathleen Galvin followed one such home for over a decade and tells the story of her attempts to salvage its history in Temptation to Trespass: A Photo Essay published in Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments. Though the end result may not provide all the stories and secrets, such efforts give a last chance, perhaps a final story, to these great community structures.

Wordrunner eChapbooks publishes an annual themed anthology, taking submissions just prior to publication, but also then publishes two e-chapbooks of fiction each year. While they have a submission fee, they are also a paying market (with a better return than I’ve been getting for playing the lottery lately). “Our aim is to make high quality writing available free or at very low cost, much like the original chapbooks that were hawked in the streets of 18th and 19th century London for pennies,” the editors note. Yet web publishing opens up all kinds of new options for digital-aged readers: “In many issues, hyperlinks to photos, videos, background articles, maps, poetry, and artwork add new dimensions to the online reading experience.”

The current chapbook is Ovenbirds and Other Stories by Dorene O’Brien, with a full archive of previous e-chapbooks and anthologies going back to 2008. Submissions for the spring anthology will open January 1 with submissions for the e-chapbook fiction series running from May 1 – June 30. Lots of time to get your manuscripts ready!

“Rejection doesn’t have to be the end of the line” according to Carve Magazine. To which end, they include the coolest column in each issue: Decline/Accept, with commentary from a writer whose work, originally declined by Carve, has been accepted elsewhere. The author writes about their rejection/revision/acceptance, a snippet of the original work is included with Carve editors’ comments as well the snippet revised (if applicable) along with editors’ comments from the publication that accepted the work.

The Summer 2018 issue features Kelly Hill, whose story “The Bearded Loon” was published in the July 2017 issue of Upstreet. Hill comments on the rejection and subsequent acceptance, “I’ve been doing this writing thing long enough to understand that the story I set out to tell is not always the story I write or the story that others ultimately read. I’m always thankful for good feedback from insightful readers, although any feedback can be useful if it helps you mentally justify your stylistic choices.”

Decline/Accept is a great craft component for readers and writers alike, and you can see a full listing with links out (when available) to the final published work here.

IKEA CHOICES
by Ryan Thorpe

The family of three examines
the dining table for four,
calculating out their marriage
prospect. They are unsure
of the wood’s soft shine,
doubting it will survive past
two winters. . . 

[Love the way this poem ends. Read the rest in the Apple Valley Review online Spring 2018 issue.]

After nearly 30 years of continuous publication, Glimmer Train has announced that they will be closing shop after this next year of publication. Submissions are still being accepted to finish out with issue #106, but after that, sisters Linda Swanson-Davies and Susan Burmeister-Brown – or as we call them, The Glimmer Train Sisters – plan to retire the publication entirely.

While they have received many offers and inquiries to let others take over the renowned journal, The Sisters had already decided against this option. In a form letter response to such inquiries, The Sisters. . . 

Continue reading “Goodbye Glimmer Train”

In addition to celebrating its tenth anniversay of publication, the newest issue of Canada’s Hamilton Arts & Letters (11.1) is also a celebration of Bertrand Russell and the 50th Anniversary of the Russell Archives.

Guest Editor Rick Stapleton [pictured] writes in his introduction, “In 1968 McMaster University purchased the first instalment of the archives of Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), a vast collection of letters, manuscripts, photographs, books and other personal material of one of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers, writers, and peace activists. At the time, the 96-year-old Russell was in need of funds to support his peace work, and McMaster’s university librarian, William Ready—renowned for his ‘buccaneering’ style of acquiring collections—was able to bid successfully for the archives. Now, 50 years later, we celebrate that event with this special issue of Hamilton Arts & Letters magazine, devoted to Bertrand Russell.”

The issue is packed with poetry, artwork, and articles, including an Interview with Kenneth Blackwell, the original Bertrand Russell archivist by Wade Hemsworth; “’I Have Never Been a Complete Pacifist’: Bertrand Russell on Peace and War in the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Bone; “Bertrand Russell and The Revolution in Twentieth Century Philosophy” by Nicholas Griffin; “A Rivalry? – Russell’s Lovers, Lady Ottoline Morrell and Lady Constance Malleson” by Sheila Turcon; “Hanging out with Bertrand Russell” by Terry Fallis; and “Bertrand Russell: Remembering a Public Intellectual for Our Time” by Henry A. Giroux.

Hamilton Arts & Letters is an online publication; the full issue can be accessed here.

The Aquifer, the online journal of The Florida Review, is now accepting film and video work as they expand their visual arts and new media offerings for readers. 

“We are looking for experimental works of film or video that are 15 minutes or less and utilize moving images as a means to poetic expression, formal exploration, or abstract and open-ended narratives. Compelling, personal works that push the boundaries of cinematic convention will also be considered for publication.”

For more information, see the Aquifer announcement.

[The Florida Review 42.1 2018 cover art: Dengke Chen, “Tank Man,” digital illustration]

The Florida Review is seeking submissions from Latinx / Latina / Latino writers for a special feature. Work submitted to this category will be considered for both the digital and print editions of this feature. Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, graphic narrative (color or black-and-white), hybrid writing, visual art, and digital media are all welcome. Edited by Nicole Oquendo [pictured]. Submissions accepted through September 1, 2018. For more information, click here.

Gyroscope Review: Fine Poetry to Turn Your World Around has announced a call for submissions for The Crone Issue to feature contemporary poetry from poets who identify as women and are over the age of 50.

“Women over 50 are often underrepresented in poetry publications, so we are choosing to offer a space and a voice to the wise women out there. We want work that celebrates the ideas of crone, wise woman, matriarch, post-menopause, grandmother, elder, strength, experience,” the editors write in their CFS. They challenge: “Shake up our ideas of the female over-50 demographic. Show us something fierce, something powerful, something that cannot be ignored. Cast off the restrictions around what you have been told you can talk about. Break your silence.”

Submissions are open until September 15 or until the editors have accepted enough content to fill the issue – whichever comes first. So – don’t delay! Send your best work today!

The Summer 2018 issue of Sheila-Na-Gig online includes a special section of works by poets who are also editors (or is that vice versa?). Featured poets and their publications:

Glen Armstrong / Cruel Garters
Sarah Diamond Burroway / Jelly Bucket
Alan Catlin / Misfit Magazine
Rita Chapman / december magazine
Kersten Christianson / Alaska Women Speak
Sandy Coomer / Rockvale Review
AR Dugan / Ploughshares
Catherine Fahey / Soundings East
Lynne Marie Houston / Five Oaks Press
James Croal Jackson / The Mantle
Jen Karetnick / SWWIM Every Day
Sergio Ortiz / Undertow Tanka Review
Joseph Shields / Nerve Cowboy Magazine
Dan Sicoli / Slipstream Magazine and Press
Martin Willitts Jr / The Comstock Review
Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas [pictured] / The Orchards Poetry Journal

In keeping with Memoir Magazine‘s mission, “to be a witness to both factual and emotional truths that resonate with the human heart by supporting writers and artists in sharing their stories—whether personal, social or political– through publication, education, and advocacy,” the publication offers Memoir Magazine University, “a safe space dedicated entirely to the development of writers and stories that need to be heard.”

Two summer classes coming up are Anonymous Memoir Writing Workshop for Sexual Assault Survivors with Memoir Magazine Founder and Editor-in-Chief Mary McBeth (July 9 – August 20; open times) and Writing To Heal with Jerry Waxler [pictured] (July 10 – August 21, Tuesdays 7:30-9pm EST; July 12 – August 23, Thursdays 12 noon-1:30 EST).

Future classes will include Intro to Memoir and Memoir 101. For more information, visit Memoir Magazine’s website.

Celebrating ten years and thirty issues of Still Point Arts Quarterly, Founding Editor Christine Brooks Cote’s introduction to the Summer 2018 issue reads like an advice article for anyone with the idea to start up a journal.

Among the things she figured out along the way was what made for publishable submissions. She came up with these three criteria: “1) they have to be so interesting that I can’t stop reading until I get all the way to the end; 2) they have to be well written – I shouldn’t have to reread a paragraph or a sentence several times, or even twice, to figure out what is being said; and 3) they have to strike just the right chord inside me and make me feel that what I just read should be read by everyone.”

Over this years, she notes, this search for quality submissions has not changed, nor her “aim to present them as respectfully and tastefully as possible. Each journal is a creation, a work of art.”

Cote admits one thing that has changed over the years: “my respect, admiration, and gratitude for the artists and writers whose work we publish has grown exponentially. I never imagined when I started this work that I would have the pleasure of connecting with so many thoughtful and inspiring individuals who produce work that regularly stops me in my tracks. Truly, connecting with the people who contribute to this publication has been immensely joyful and fulfilling, and I’ve learned so much from them. That part I didn’t expect – indeed, unexpected gifts are the best.”

May Still Point Arts Quarterly enjoy another ten years – and more – of giving such beauty and joy to readers as well as receiving!