Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: Beautiful thinking
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: Generally, anything that appears on our site's Links page. Specifically (and completely off the top of my head), McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Narrative Magazine, Pomegranate, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Six Sentences, The Believer, The Cadaverine.
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: Fiction: Tony Ballantyne, Clive Barker, Julian Barnes, Donald Barthelme, Jorge Luis Borges, A. S. Byatt, Italo Calvino, Stephen Clarke, Mark Z. Danielewski, Ted Dekker, David Louis Edelman, William Gibson, Thomas Hardy, Russel Hoban, Kazuo Ishiguro, A. L. Kennedy, Daniil Kharms, Milan Kundera, Tom McCarthy, China Miéville, Haruki Murakami, Orhan Pamuk, Nick Sagan, Rachel Seiffert, Ashley Stokes, Donna Tartt, J. R. R. Tolkien.
Poetry: Alfian Sa'at, Caroline Bird, Elizabeth Bishop, E. E. Cummings, Mark Doty, T. S. Eliot, Thom Gunn, Geoffrey Hill, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Ted Hughes, Michael Hulse, John Keats, Luke Kennard, Philip Larkin, Adam O'Riordan, Sharon Olds, Christina Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Toh Hsien Min, Cyril Wong.
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: Eclectic editorial tastes and a commitment to very swift responses.
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: Read the submission guidelines and proofread your own work before you click 'Send'. Being polite in your e-mail is optional, but would be very much appreciated.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: Anything that displays a clear attention to craftsmanship. I think we need that these days, more than ever.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: Not bothering with any sort of cover letter whatsoever. I know it's electronic submission, but a bit of effort goes a long way. Or giving me a biographical note that's several times longer than the submission itself. That's just...bizarre.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: Like I said, a cover letter, however short, makes my efforts feel appreciated. Previous publication credits are fine, but not absolutely essential. Tell me something interesting about yourself in the biographical note instead! Better yet, provide a link where your readers can find out more about you and your work.
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: I always read every word of a submission. If I have a gut feeling within a few lines or sentences that a piece isn't right for the journal, I make sure all the more that I read it at least twice, so that when I turn it down, I'm doing it knowing I've given the writer a fair chance.
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: Once I've accepted a piece, it's immediately scheduled for publication on the site. Minor grammatical or spelling mistakes are silently corrected. If I think there's room for ambiguity, I always consult the contributor first before going ahead with changes.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: When I finally make it out of bed, I switch my laptop on and check for submissions. Depending on whether there's time before I have to attend classes, I read and reply immediately. If not, I usually get around to doing so within the same day. Not a terribly glamorous life, I'm afraid.
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: Extremely. I'm pretty much as close to being online 24/7 as you can get while still maintaining a grip on reality. I think the Internet has been great for giving more people access to literature, but I also don't consider print to be quite as dead as some naysayers have been claiming for ages now. I really don't think print-versus-online is one of those either/or situations, nor should it have to be.