New Lit on the Block :: Hot Pot Magazine
Hot Pot Magazine is a new open-access online monthly lit mag of prose, poetry, and visual art as well as experimental work like comics, audio spoken word, or music files. Founder and Editor-in-Chief Emily Pedroza says she started Hot Pot Magazine because “I just wanted to create a hub for literature and art that makes people feel less alone. To amplify the stories and voices that lie within literature and art.”
Pedroza (she/her) [pictured] is a teen writer from the Bay Area and is currently a sophomore in high school. Her writing has been recognized by the New York Times, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Hollins University, Best of SNO, and elsewhere.
The inspiration for the name Hot Pot Magazine, she shares, is “from my mother’s side. There’s a cultural dish called hot pot. From this one meal, crafted by a skilled chef, we were brought together by a warm dish we all circled. It seemed that our tension and conflict would disappear, the hot pot’s ability to bring us closer as people, sharing experiences, thoughts, ideas. I think that writing and art can bring together communities in the same way, so short, but so life altering. A reminder that we’re never alone on something, ever.”
Joining Pedroza on the masthead are Poetry Editors Abbie Howell, Zoe M. Gungon, and Caitlin Villacrusisl; Prose Editor Denzel Joyson A J; and Project Lead Reo Santerri.
So far, the work has been rewarding, as Pedroza expresses, “Every time an issue comes out, I’m so awe-struck by the incredible writers and artists, their courage for submitting. Also, by all of the support on social media accounts, everyone is so welcoming.”
For writers looking to submit works, Hot Pot Magazine accepts submissions through email and always provides feedback when prompted with a two-week response goal. There are “soft themes” for each issue, so far including Comfort (Issue 2), Healing (Issue 3), and Migration (Issue 4).
For readers, expect to find “incredible, raw writing and art,” Pedroza says. Some recent contributors include Dawn Sands, Angeline Ajit, Phoenix Ning, Landen Parkin, Kelli Simpson, Savannah Jones, Erin Clark , Gabriela V. Everett , Zoe Gungon, Nia Mahmud, Emily Neuges, Cheryl Rebello, F. C. Andrews, Paul Smith, Tejasvee Nagar, Huda Ismail, Km Bezner, Stephen House, Angelica Mabubay, Zary Fekete, Aisling Ní Choibheanaigh Nic Eoin, and Annie Yao.
Hot Pot Magazine has regularly open submission cycles, and Pedroza hopes the publication will continue to grow its audience of readers and contributors. “Hearing back from the community brings so much joy,” she says.
