E-Panel: October Literary Journal Editors

The following is the October Literary Journal Editor E-Panel, with interviews of editors of another 6 great Literary Journals.  There have now been 74 journals represented by their editors in these e-panels this year!  This is being sent to 878 readers.

Those participating this time around are:

Christopher Chamber – New Orleans Review
www.loyno.edu~noreview

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review
http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review (plus occasional responses from Rebecca Aronson)
http://info.nwmissouri.edu/~m500025/laurel/index.html

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon
www.thievesjargon.com

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review
http://hcl.harvard.edu/harvardreview

Dan:

Thanks for taking some time out of what must be a busy schedule to get the word out about Literary Journals!

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

I'm longing for the old busy schedule--have evacuated twice in the past month, and am writing from a library in Houston where I'll be trying to put together the next issue of NOR in exile on a seven year old laptop. My staff is currently scattered all over the country.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Thank you for helping us get the word out!

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

My pleasure!

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

It’s my pleasure.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

Diggit.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Actually, you caught us at a good time. The fall issue is at the printers, so we've got a little down time.

Dan:

I know some of you took over positions and others founded their journals.  What exactly led to your taking on the position you currently hold with your Literary Journal?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

I began working on the New Orleans Review in 1999, when I began teaching at Loyola University. I'd been editor of the Black Warrior Review for two years, and Loyola hired me with the expectation that I'd take over the NOR. I have some layout and book design experience, and redesigned the magazine inside and out. I also changed from a quarterly
publication schedule to a biannual one.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

I was working as a copyeditor and a production assistant for a university press before I was hired as managing editor of Colorado Review. My bachelor’s and master’s degrees both are in English, though I didn’t have a creative writing background, but I had extensive experience in both editorial and production management, which is what the editor, David Milofsky, needed. I worked with Milofsky for five and a half years, and I learned an enormous amount about the literary journal world from him, so when he stepped down I was in a good position to take on the editorship of CR.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

I like to write flash fiction, and I enjoy reading it, so I suggested to my wife that I could bring out a chapbook-sized quarterly, and, after trying her best to ground me in reality, she finally gave me her blessings to bring out a trial issue to see if I could afford the time
and the money.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

I've always wanted to work on Lit. journals, and have done so at every opportunity. Working on The Ohio Review with founding editor Wayne Dodd for the final few issues of its run was an amazing experience. I left there (I was a graduate student at the time) in 2001, and was eager to work on another journal.  It allows for a relationship to the art that isn't possible any other way.  Seeing work from writers I've admired for a long time, and from writers I've not heard from before, and being able to present them to the literary community is thrilling.  The Laurel Review has been around for a little over 20 years, and I've now been here as co-editor, along with Rebecca Aronson, for the last three, and we've been having a great time.

Rebecca Aronson adds:

I also had some previous experience working with lit journals and small presses-I'd worked a little with Blue Mesa Review as a graduate student at University of New Mexico, and served as poetry editor there for a student-run literary journal called Conceptions Southwest, and long before that, as an intern for Coffee House Press in Minnesota-so working on The Laurel Review offered a great chance to do more of this thing that I found so interesting. And it's been great-I think both John and I are really attached to the journal.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

It was all about revenge. As a writer, I had too many rotten experiences with editors who were thoughtless in their handling of their writers. When you send out some of your sweat, it really stings when an editorial staff can't even find the time to let you know if they received your submission. It made me wonder if some of these editors had even been a writer trying to submit someplace. Thieves Jargon was started with the idea of destroying all those other journals. We've outlasted a few of them.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

I was a journal editor in Australia before I became editor of Harvard Review, so it would be fair to say that this is the part of the publishing world that I know best. It's a small pond, to be sure, but I'm fond of it.

Dan:

I don’t know if you can hear the collective laughter over the internet, but is it safe to say you do this out of love, and it wasn’t some get rich quick scheme?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

Yes.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Well, Colorado Review is a university-based journal. And we receive support from CSU in the form of my salary and benefits, our office space and utilities (though we do pay “indirect costs” on these, so they’re not entirely “free”), and some operating funds. But we’re expected to support ourselves to a significant extent. So the money that comes in to this office goes entirely toward production of the magazine and the one poetry book we publish each year. Get rich? I don’t even know how that would be possible for a literary journal. Keep in mind that for consumer magazines, over half of their revenue comes from advertising—that’s just not really possible for the literary journal. Yes, it is a labor of love—some days more labor than love—but hands down the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

Have you been talking to my wife? Although I harbor fantasies about breaking even someday, I'm usually pretty rational. There are, however, very few print journals specializing in Flash Lit, and, in a niche with so few competitors, anything can happen!

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

Love, I suppose, is the only possible answer to this question.  But just saying "love," is perhaps too easy. I heard Donald Revell say once that editing a literary journal is akin to putting together a dinner party.  I suppose what I like the most about it, then, is that Rebecca and I get to put the nametags on the table.  And then overhear the resulting
conversation.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

Love of revenge. There doesn't seem to be any way to make money as an online
journal, so I never even bothered.  Which isn't to say I'm not going to try to turn a profit with our new small press operation, but not with the idea of getting rich over any type of timeline.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

I took the vow of poverty a long time ago. Actually, I'm in for the freedom: the freedom to make decisions about things I think I understand and care about; the freedom to create something that I like without too much interference or commercial pressure. Plus I feel like I can do some good for younger writers by showcasing their work alongside that of
some of the literary world's heavy-hitters.

Dan:

In order to run a Literary Journal, do you believe you need to have knowledge of literature, or business, or some mixture of the two?  Would it be helpful if more truly business astute people were involved in the running of such journals?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

Of course some knowledge of publishing as a business is necessary. Unfortunately, lit mags tend to attract only those with a passion for the written word. I suspect if there were money to be made (see previous question), we might see more business types on mastheads.  I've been fortunate to have some student interns from our Communications department, who tend to be more business savvy than the average English major.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Running a literary journal takes more than just love and knowledge of literature, though that’s probably the first thing you need. But that’s what is seen as the fun, glamorous part—being the Editor. But there’s so much more than just selecting what you want to publish: contracts, mail permits, copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, working with the book printer, checking invoices, supervising staff, writing grants, fundraising, etc. Ideally, a magazine would have two or three people to share these duties.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

Business and literature do seem like opposite poles on the publishing spectrum, don't they? A practical MBA focusing on the bottom line vs. a visionary MFA hoping to elevate the masses. Obviously, the rational approach lies somewhere in between. As a writer who enjoys reading Flash Lit, I try to be writer-friendly while offering readers something worth reading.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

I would suppose one must have knowledge of literature, if only to keep interested in the project.  I can't imagine why someone with no knowledge of literature would want to edit a literary journal.  And yes, it would be wonderful, as well, if someone on the editorial staff knew something of business.  Unfortunately, I do not. Perhaps we'll grow into it.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

Being able to hustle like a champ is the key to it all.  That's the lesson I learned living in Hollywood.  You can keep an online literary journal alive on hustle alone, assuming you can pull some strings to get the site designed and can pay a small amount for any hosting fees you have.  Knowledge of literature will inform your taste, which will determine your style and audience.  Business savvy seems becomes much more important if you want to
keep a print venture afloat because printing and shipping costs will bury you in no time.  You gotta be good with organization, the ability to learn on the fly, and you have to have lots more of that hustle.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

I worried about that a lot when I was editing Meanjin, which was more precariously financed than Harvard Review. I remember one time when I went to try to raise some money from a guy in a big accounting firm. He said to me, "So, who are your stakeholders?" At the time I didn't even know what a stakeholder was; I had no idea how to answer the question. Suffice it to say that he didn't offer me a dime. So I certainly thought it would be helpful to understand better how to talk to people in business; to
understand better how to get money. But, at the same time, the most important thing is understanding writing. If you don't understand writing, if you don't love writing, if writing isn't your thing, you have no business running a literary journal. If you have some astute business people on hand to deal with the finances, the marketing, the fund-raising,
the bookkeeping, that is certainly an advantage.

Dan:

Where does the funding for your journal come from?  A university?  Patrons?  Subscribers?  Fundraisers?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We are funded by the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of English at Loyola University New Orleans, and by patrons, subscribers, and readers who buy our magazine at bookstores in New Orleans and around the country.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

All of the above.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

Essentially my "funding" comes from my bank account. The amount I charge for a 4-issue subscription--$15 per year--barely covers the cost of copying and mailing, let alone paying the authors. And now I've started a second journal, The Lone Flasher--a collection of works by a single author--which I send with the quarterly issue of A Flasher's Dozen, so annual subscribers will potentially receive eight journals per year. Apparently I'm not very near the MBA end of the spectrum.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

From the university and from subscriptions.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I won a good chunk of change off a Lucky 7 scratch ticket a few years back.  It was enough for me to quit my cubicle job and find some way to fully immerse myself in the words, which was the only thing I was really interested in at the time.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

We are supported by Harvard University, as well as by individual donors. We
also, of course, have sales (through bookstores) and subscription income.

Dan:

How do you decide how many issues to publish of each issue?  Does the greater percentage get sent off to subscribers?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We print about 1,500 copies on average of each issue. Our distributor (Ingram) sends an allotment request for each issue based on the demand for the magazine from they bookstores they service. We will adjust our print run for the following issue in part based on this allotment request. About half of the magazines go to the distributor, half to subscribers, libraries, and other journals.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

We print enough copies so that we can cover subscriptions, distributor copies, and contributor copies, and still have about two to three hundred left over for single copy sales and to have on hand for the future. Most of the print run goes to subscribers.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

I copy, fold, staple, and mail as needed. Most copies go to subscribers, some go to MFA teachers to solicit manuscripts, and the rest go for registrations and reviews.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

How many copies to print? We see how many we can afford, and then guess.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

N/A, for the online journal portion of Thieves Jargon. For the first book we put out, I decided to print one out for every person who visits my site each week.  It's going to take a lot longer than a week to sell them all.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

We publish two issues a year. That is all we have the money for. The greater percentage are distributed to bookstores.

Dan:

How do you get bookstores to carry your journal?  Do you target independent stores, or big chains, or just regional stores?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

Ingram distributes us to bookstores nationally; we don't have any say in where the magazines go. As I understand it, they send them only to bookstores that request it. Locally, we sell the magazine on consignment in eight or so of the fine independent bookstores in New Orleans. All of which I hope to see reopening.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Our distributors, Ingram and Kent, handle that for us.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

Bookstore sales are a future activity for A Flasher's Dozen. I've applied for an ISSN number, and I expect to target independent bookstores around colleges and universities. I might consider asking my authors and subscribers to identify places in their regions for
distribution.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

We're still pretty new to that, although in the past The Laurel Review was distributed to bookstores.  Rebecca and I are thinking we should give it another shot.  Look for us down the road.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I'm trying to figure that out right now.  Paying personal visits to local independent stores seems to work pretty well, talking to the owners about books for a little while is a good way to convince them you're more than just some traveling smut peddler.  I'm getting started with local bookstores, and once I exhaust everything within easy driving range,
I'll start branching out.  Many of my readers were nice enough to send me names of some of their favorite independent bookstores, so I have a good list to work from.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

We are distributed by Ingrams. We also contact some independent bookstores directly. We are distributed nationally in the US, and a little bit in Canada.

Dan:

Do you consider your journal to be a regional journal or not?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We are a nationally distributed journal published in New Orleans. We publish the best work that we get, regardless of subject or style. We normally tend to stay away from work that uses New Orleans or the region as subject matter. We tend to reflect the place more in the artwork: our cover art and interior art are usually works by local or regional artists.

That said, in the wake of the recent disaster, we are doing a special issue on New Orleans by New Orleans writers, and holding all other submissions for our 2006 issues.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

No, Colorado Review is a national (sometimes international) magazine.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

Although a lot of my authors and subscribers are from my region, I also have subscribers in another dozen states as well as Australia, Canada, and Wales.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

Yes and no, but only in the most abstract of senses.

Rebecca adds:

Well, we don't especially look for writing that focuses on place or landscape, in particular; on the other hand, we're not uninterested in that. I guess that where a writer is from or where the writing is placed doesn't matter so much as if we find the writing interesting or exciting.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

There's a decent concentration of Boston writers who contribute to Thieves Jargon, just from people I meet out and about and spread the word to personally.  I'm always happy to meet up at Bukowski Tavern in Boston for a few pints and some barstool stories. Otherwise, our writers and readers are a diverse bunch from all over the world.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Absolutely not. Harvard Review is an international journal. We have had contributors from Korea, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Armenia, Israel and many other countries.

Dan:

With so much technology available these days, do you believe a staff member needs to live in the area the journal is published from?  Or is it possible to be productive and live elsewhere, maybe visiting once or twice per issue?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

I'll let you know. We just added a poetry editor who lives out of the area, and now we're doing this special issue with staff in California, Texas, Washington, Boston, and
elsewhere. We do all expect and look forward to being back in our offices at Loyola in January--for me, there's something important and pleasurable to meeting face to face
with fellow editors to put these magazines together.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Both of our poetry editors have always been off-site, and that works just fine. Between the phone e-mail, and snail mail, we’ve managed to work with each other fabulously.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

I edit, publish, and mail A Flasher's Dozen--a home-based venture--because it saves money, and I'm not very good at delegating. On the other hand, my co-editor lives in another state, and we've never met face-to-face.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

By and large the core editorial staff is local.  Makes things go a bit easier, if not necessarily all that much quicker.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I have two co-editors, one who lives in New York, and one who lives in L.A.  Words and the internet are a good combination.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Some functions at a journal can be performed long distance. I like meeting with the designer, but that could be done by email and snail mail. My proofreader lives on the other side of the country; I suppose I could work with my poetry editor at a distance. But it's really nice to have an office and a community of workers: editors, assistants, interns.

Dan:

Does the journal solicit stories/poems/essays?  If so, have you ever had to kick back a story, poem, or an essay for editorial reasons?  If so, how difficult is that to do?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We occasionally solicit work, and have had to return solicited work. It is difficult to do, but it's important to try to maintain the standards of the journal. We have also returned work by well-known writers who have sent work that is not up to their usual quality.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Yes, I have solicited stories and essays both. And, painfully, I’ve had to turn some of those things down. It’s hard, but professional writers are gracious about it.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

Although we only publish prose, I've received several poetry submissions. Generally I just return the work and suggest that the author consider reformatting it into paragraphs before re-submitting.  Quite a few of the pieces that we've published were originally "poems." In fact, two of the authors in The Autumn Issue finished among the top ten for Non-rhyming Poetry in the Writer's Digest 2005 contest.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

Should poetry be added to that list?  We have asked several writers we admire to send things to us, and yes, we have not taken everything sent.  It's hard, only in that we're returning work to writers whose work we greatly admire.  Anyone to whom we've returned work has been quite gracious about it, though.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I solicit fiction from writers who appear in Pindeldyboz a lot. They run some of the best fiction on a regular basis, and since they won't link my page, I try to get some of their more interesting writers to submit a new story to the Jargon. I've had to return a handful of solicited stories, and I feel like an ass doing it.  But I learned that if the story comes in
right away from a solicited author, it's usually something they've already had rejected from some other place. We do what we can to sleep at night...

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Yes, I solicit about three-quarters of what appears in the Review (including the book reviews, all of which are solicited). I have knocked back work that I solicited from well known writers, but it wasn't pretty. I don't like to have to do it, but if the work is an embarrassment, what else can you do?

Dan:

Does the journal actively search the slush pile to look for new writers?  Does the journal consider it a priority to discover newcomers to the world of being published?  What sort of percentage of stories, essays and/or poems published come from previously unpublished writers?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

Yes, yes, and 95% or more. One of the biggest thrills of this job is finding a remarkable story or poem, publishing it, and discovering it is the writer's first publication.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

When manuscripts come in, they are logged into our database and the cover letters are turned over; the staff readers are encouraged to read a manuscript before they read a cover letter so they are not persuaded (or dissuaded, as the case may be) by anything—we are evaluating manuscripts rather than writers. So, no, we’re not searching the pile for new writers—or for anyone for that matter. I love playing a role in a writer’s first publication, but that’s not a factor in whether I accept a piece. Our mission is to publish both new and established writers—meaning, we’re not looking to publish ONLY established writers; new (which is not necessarily unpublished) writers are welcome too. Every issue is different, but I might guess that about 10 percent are previously unpublished. But a higher percentage could still be considered “new” writers with not many previous publishing credits.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

We don't have much of a slush pile, and, if the author bios are correct, about 20% of our stories come from authors who have never previously published fiction. A couple of our submissions have come from high school students, and I once found a first-time author when I stumbled across her amusingly written blog. Also, I usually send a dozen or so samples to MFA teachers to solicit submissions.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

"Slush pile" is such a messy sounding thing. I send work to journals as well, over the transom, into that pile.  We need that pile for at least 75% of our contents, and we actively comb through it.  It does get to be fairly daunting though.  With a small staff, it takes some time.  And the more time it takes, the bigger the pile becomes.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I try not to care where a person has been published, but maybe it does make me raise an eyebrow before I crack open a new submission.  We still publish our share of first-time authors, which I think is important. Updating weekly, we have room for all sorts of contributors, and I'd guess about 25% of them are previously unpublished writers.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Yes, we always publish material from the slush pile. We have published a handful of previously unpublished writers. But mostly the material we take from the slush pile is by people who have been published elsewhere, sometimes people with a book out, but usually other journal publications.

Dan:

Does it help an author at all to have an agent when it comes to publishing in your journal?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

No.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

No. I’ve turned away a number of agented pieces.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

I can't imagine an agent seeking out my journal ... at least not yet!

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

No. We read everything with the same attention.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

That’s never happened for me.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

No. Most agents are not terribly interested in having their clients publish with us since we do not pay our contributors.

Dan:

How does your journal pay those who are published?  In copies?  In cash?  By page?  Or simply with the privilege of being published?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We pay $50 per story, $25 per poem, and two contributor copies.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Each writer receives two copies of the issue (and a 40 percent discount on additional copies or subscriptions), five dollars per printed page (or the equivalent in additional copies).

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

I pay subscribers $15 on publication, give them an extra copy, and extend their subscription by one issue. I pay non-subscribers two copies of the issue in which their story appears.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

Copies and a two-year subscription.  We're hoping for the ability to pay cash at some point, but we're not quite there yet.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

In experience.  I think being published online is a good place to learn the ropes of writing, but eventually the transition has to be made to the printed page.  Being published online hardly ever makes anything more than a token amount of money, but it's a good way to learn how to deal with editors, criticism, failure and patience.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Just the privilege and two copies.

Dan:

Does your journal accept electronic submissions?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

No. (with the exception of this special New Orleans issue).

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

No.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

We only accept electronic submissions. It's the easiest way to forward a copy to my co-editor, it's the easiest way to do a line-by-line review for subscribers, and it's the easiest way to be certain I publish the text as the author intended.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

No. The way we have our system set up, electronic submissions would first have to be printed out to be considered by the staff, and we have a tight office budget.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I’ve never received a submission that wasn’t electronic.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Only from overseas.

Dan:

How about simultaneous submissions?  Do you feel it’s fair for an author to have a story out there for up to six months with a journal without submitting it to others at the same time?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We accept simultaneous submissions, and ask that the author inform us if and when a piece is no longer available.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

We do accept simultaneous submissions. I changed our policy a couple of years ago because I long suspected that two things were happening: First, people were doing it anyway. Second, I thought there might be some good writers who felt compelled to honor our practice and therefore would not submit to us. We have a large enough staff that we read submissions fairly quickly, so I’m not really concerned that we’ll invest a lot of time only to lose a story to another magazine—though that is certainly a risk. As far as what’s right goes, there are more than enough magazines that accept simultaneous submissions, and writers should submit to those if they are concerned about keeping a story at one magazine. I think writers should honor a magazine’s policies, and if those policies are unacceptable, submit elsewhere.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

As an author, I've had pieces accepted over a year after submission.  That will never happen at A Flasher's Dozen, so our guidelines say that we won't consider pieces that have been submitted or published elsewhere. I usually respond to submissions within a week or two, offering detailed suggestions to subscribers and general reactions to
non-subscribers, so it's probably smarter to wait for our reaction before submitting elsewhere.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

Simultaneous submissions are fine, I suppose.  I hate it when we like something, and talk about it, and then lose it to another journal, which has happened a few times.  The answer could be to read faster and to talk faster . . . but I often fear when I'm reading fast, that I might miss something beautiful and subtle.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I'm fine with simultaneous submissions, especially where there are so many journals out there that will leave you hanging for a long time. If I find out a story I wanted to run has been snapped up someplace else, I just feel like a jerk for not being fast enough. It's a testament to the skill of the author, and I don't ever mind telling a writer that.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

I'm all for simultaneous submissions. I can hang onto things for months so I never want someone to be waiting for me. I just ask that the authors notify us when the piece is taken by someone else.

Dan:

How important do you consider your internet presence?  Does your website allow for the reading of select stories from the current issue?  How about past issues?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We've just updated our website, and I'm expecting it to be an important part of the magazine for us. It does allow for reading of select pieces from a recent issue, and I hope to get some past issues posted as well.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Very important. Writers should be able to find current guidelines and editors’ names, as well as read selections of the kind of work a magazine publishes.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

I don't have much website savvy--can't program, can't afford to have someone program for me--so we use a blog to communicate with potential authors and subscribers. As the issue comes together, we publish the first line of each piece under the title of the piece with the author's name and the author's geographic location.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

http://info.nwmissouri.edu/~m500025/laurel/index.html

It's something of a Frankenstein's monster right now, as I've been updating it and putting more things up, but yes, we do consider it important.  Messy, at the moment, but important.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

The internet is the staging ground for the whole operation. All past issues of the Jargon are available in archives that go back since we started in '04.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Our website is part of the Harvard College Library website, so we have relatively little flexibility. We put a few pieces up on the web from each issue, but not everything by any means. Mainly the site is for general information about the Review.

Dan:

What is the purpose of Literary Journals having annual editor’s awards?  Simply for recognition for the authors, or is there something else?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

We do not have any annual awards.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

We don’t have editor’s awards per se, though we do have the Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction, which is judged by an outside reader (though that may sometimes be one of the contributing editors). And it is nice, as you suggest, to provide recognition for writers.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

We haven't been around for a year yet, and it's not something we've planned, but it sounds like a great opportunity for a press release! And it might be a good method for making large payments to a few contributors without having to pay the others.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

We don't have editor's awards at The Laurel Review.  It would be nice to have them, but I wouldn't want to have to judge.  I wouldn't want to have to choose among contributors.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

I guess it's a nifty way for an editor to say hey, this is my favorite stuff, and let's give some recognition to an author that deserves it.  We don't do yearly awards at the Jargon, but I've rewarded three authors with the position of weekly writer, which is sort of like a six month internship.  It gives these writers a chance to work on their skills, play around
and experiment a bit while having a guaranteed place to have their work published, all the while figuring out how to deal with deadlines.  The first book on Thieves Jargon Press is a novel by Delphine Lecompte, who was the first of the weekly writers. Any writer who can handle the weekly gig for six months I think is capable to go on to much bigger things if that's what they want.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

I think it's a marketing tool. It gets attention for the journal, as well as for the author. These things take extra work and organization so they should redound to the credit of the journal.

Dan:

If you could get one simple message out to potential readers of your journal, what would it be?

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

Thank you for your support, let us know what you think, and keep on reading.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Literary journals are where you’ll find the newest, freshest writing today. We can afford to take chances. The previous editor often said that lit journals are the R&D of the publishing world, which is a very cool way of describing what we do.

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

Flash Lit can be fun!  And A Flasher's Dozen prefers to publish witty, amusing pieces in a variety of genres, so there's always something for everyone.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

Subscriptions to The Laurel Review make great presents for all occasions.

Jack Burton for Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

One of the best and easiest things you can do to support literary journals is to give them as gifts (either individual copies or subscriptions).  You have to spend that money anyway and this is a good way to spread the word.  Another REALLY helpful thing is to encourage your college, high school or municipal library to carry a good selection of journals. Library subscriptions are our bread and butter, and libraries like to hear from
their users about what should be on the shelves.

Dan:

Thanks again for your participation in this.  I hope it brings some more readers your way!

Christopher Chambers - New Orleans Review:

Thank you. If anyone is interested in more information on NOR, check out our website at
www.loyno.edu~noreview.

Stephanie G’Schwind – Colorado Review

Thank you!

Ken Mullin – A Flasher’s Dozen

I appreciate the opportunity.

John Gallaher – The Laurel Review

Thank you.  It’s been a pleasure.

Matt DiGangi – Thieves Jargon

Thanks for providing the opportunity. It's a cool thing you're doing, and a very valuable resource for anybody who has an interest in messing around with words.

Christina Thompson – Harvard Review

Thanks for asking.

Comments

[MSchannon]

Another in a continuing outstanding series of interviews that make it a lot easier for "emerging writers." While I'm slogging through finishing two novels, I've found myself playing with short stories again & I'll be sure to refer to these folks when they're ready for public viewing.

Thanks & keep up the good work.