New Lit on the Block :: LIBRE
Whenever I hear someone kvetch, “Just how many literary magazines does the world really need?” a publication like LIBRE comes along to respond that there is room for this much-needed resource for the literary community.
LIBRE is a new online journal of prose, poetry, and art with three main goals: to uplift the marginalized voices of the mentally ill and those whose lives are affected by mental health; to celebrate the excruciatingly nuanced boundaries and expressionistic approaches that magical realist literature and artwork bring to our otherwise mundane realities; and to explore the oftentimes overlooked intersection that quietly, but stubbornly blooms between fabulist and health-oriented writing.
Editor Mary Buchanan Sellers [pictured] explains her motivation for this startup, “As a writer who wrote mainly prose poems and essays about mental health, I found it disconcerting how few publications were dedicated to mental health writing, which is why I decided to start my own. I want this magazine to function as a safe haven for mental health-based artwork and writing.” The name, Sellers adds, “encompasses my feelings towards mental health advocacy. I chose LIBRE for its Spanish meaning: free. Liberty.”
Experienced Masthead & Streamlined Submissions
Sellers brings both a depth and breadth of literary and organizational expertise. She holds an M.F.A. Creative Writing (Fiction) from Louisiana State University having first earned a B.A. English Literature, Religious Studies Minor from The University of Mississippi Honors College. She works as a freelance book editor and lead humanities teacher at Methodist Children’s Center in addition to experience from working with The Fire Weeds Presents: Tennessee Williams Festival, The Daphne Review, New Delta Review, The Southern Review, Big House Books, Split Lip Press, Deep South Magazine, Click Magazine, and touts a full list of her own publication credentials.
For writers looking for that safe haven for their own works, LIBRE “wants to publish writing about mental health, whether that takes the shape and structure of surrealist short story, true-to-life flash fiction, micro CNF memoir, brief essay, or visual art, and especially writing with a lyrical turn of phrase and writing that reddens with prophetic wisdom. LIBRE aims to be a repository for stories and art that walk the genres’ tightrope between insanity and illumination.”
In terms of the submission process, Sellers details, “I’ve done my best to get responses out within a week, but thanks to a massive influx of submissions as of late, I may have to widen that to one month or more. Recently, I’ve onboarded two new editors [Tayla Naden and D.W. Baker] to help with submissions. We offer line edits for most prose pieces and accept art as-is. In the future, I would love to see us providing editorial feedback and shorter response times for folks.”
For Readers: Breaking Stereotypes
For readers coming to explore LIBRE, Sellers says, “expect to find a wide array of lyrical writing that grapples with mental health in some form. I look for writing and art that aims to break stereotypes.”
Recent contributors include Charlotte Cole, Robert Nersesian, Patty Somlo, Harold Lehmann, E. H. Jacobs, Mona Angéline, Victoria Garcia, Mark Antony Rossi, T.A.R. Wallace, Marc Shapiro, Terry Sanville, Colin James, R. M. Davenport, Lauren McGovern, Reed Venrick, Tayla Naden, Jianna Heuer, Edward Michael Supranowicz, Ivan de Monbrison, Na Asheley Ashitey, László Aranyi, and Kushal Poddar.
Healthy Boundaries Set the Future
Sellers reflects on starting LIBRE, advising the importance of “maintaining a healthy sense of compassion” and learning “that time is of the essence.” As well as this insight: “I firmly believe we are in the midst of a mental health crisis, and receiving work from international writers and artists has confirmed this.”
The future for LIBRE is positive, and Sellers comments, “My main goal is growth. Other plans include the aforementioned ‘Best Of’ Issue One, which will be themed. Going forward, I want us to begin accepting work for themed issues and publishing those every 3 to 6 months.”
When asked, “Why mental illness?” as the focus for the publication, Sellers reaffirms her view, “There have been times when my work wasn’t accepted due to its difficult content. I’d like to provide an outlet for writers and artists who’ve been marginalized or misrepresented, to provide a source of hope that doesn’t glamorize or refute the paramount importance of this subject matter. It’s a tricky balance: how does one celebrate the profound pain of another’s struggle without minimizing it? Without cutting off its corners in order for it to fit neatly into this prefabricated box of what’s acceptable subject matter? LIBRE is for the outliers and the outcasts and for those creatives who carry a heavier burden than most.”
LIBRE currently accepts submissions for publication on a rolling basis, no word limits, and simultaneous submissions are encouraged. LIBRE is proud to offer a nominal payment for published works.
