New Lit on the Block :: Clover + Bee
Clover + Bee Magazine is – can I just say this? – a GORGEOUS digital publication of fictional prose (in all genres), narrative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. Clover + Bee Magazine has been publishing at a rate of 3-4 issues per year, with “no set-in-stone schedule as of yet,” according to Editors Alex Campbell and Cara Copeland.
At its inception, Campbell and Copeland say they found themselves at “the perfect intersection of our own creative journeys, our places within our respective online literary and art communities, and our desire to create a platform for emerging and established creators to showcase their work. A literary and visual art magazine just made sense as something that we could do to contribute to the larger creative ecosystem.”
Founded in 2021, the name Clover + Bee comes from the Emily Dickinson poem, “To make a prairie (1755)”:
To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
The editors’ own backgrounds are steeped in a variety of experience and expertise, not necessarily all directly related, but feeding into the culmination of the publication. “Alex is our Literary Editor. When not writing and working on Clover + Bee, he is a corporate attorney for a large health care provider. Alex has been literary-minded for as long as he can remember and has dabbled in writing fiction over the years. His formal editorial experience was on the staff of an academic journal in law school; his informal experience includes many years of editing legal briefs, memos, and motions. Cara is our Visual Art Editor. When she’s not in her art studio painting landscapes, she’s a public school teacher. Cara has always been creative and grew up surrounded by fine art. She earned her BFA in Painting some years ago and was inspired to revisit her love for painting in 2018.”
This combination creates a truly unique experience for readers, who can expect to find “beautiful and imaginative poetry, prose, and visual art, as well as information about our creators – their approach to their work, their creative processes, and more.” Recent contributors include Mark Blackburn (IG: mdhblackburn); Aniyah Veal (IG: aniyahwrites); James Dupree (IG: jamesmdupree); Amanda Knight (IG: a_k_inspired); Denisse Zamora (IG: narrativeconnections).
For writers interested in submission opportunities, the editors share, “Until recently, submissions were accepted only during specific open submission periods that were specific to each issue. We have since started accepting submissions at any time, even between issues, in addition to maintaining issue-specific submission windows. It is $10 to submit, and each submission can include up to five pieces. Creators are notified of acceptance shortly after the close of the submission window, and then the real fun begins. In addition to the accepted pieces, each issue of Clover + Bee includes personal information provided by each creator during the submission process. We also feature each creator on our blog, with a separate Q&A piece. We pride ourselves on our collaborative production process, which includes sending each creator a proof of their spread prior to publication to ensure all information is correct and the spread is satisfactory. Interested creators are encouraged to review the submission guidelines on our website.”
The start-up process for any literary publication can create joys and woes, but the editors attest to the joys alone: “We have been so touched by the feedback we have received from our featured creators so far. Even as we have set out to support our creators who have entrusted their work with us, we have also been supported by them in our endeavor, both with kind words about how positive their experiences have been, as well as truly helpful suggestions on how to improve our submission and production processes.”
The future of Clover + Bee Magazine is focused on growing a supportive community around the publication. “Our primary goal at this time,” the editors say, “is to continue to expand both our readership and creator base. In the long term, we are hopeful to someday be able to offer our issues not just as a digital publication but as a printed magazine.”
Clover + Bee Magazine is available for PDF download at a per-issue price, and the issue-specific submission window is currently open until September 24, 2022.
Welcome, Clover + Bee Magazine! And revery!
