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Editor Interview: After the Art

Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.

A: Essays about art & texts

Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?

A: Brevity
Creative Nonfiction
Fourth Genre
Paris Review
The Journal of Compressed Arts

Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?

A: Rebecca Solnit
Kiese Laymon
Maggie Nelson
Carmen Maria Machado
Elissa Washuta
Sarah Minor
Eva Saulitis

Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?

A: While other journals publish ekphrastic writing in multiple genres (fiction, poetry, essay), our scope is very focused: we publish personal review essays that explore the ways reading can enrich the experience of looking at art.

Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?

A: Read the guidelines! They explain what we mean by "personal review essay" and detail exactly what we're looking for. The "About" section can also be helpful; it tells the story of how After the Art came to be and describes the art-text pairing that inspired it all.

Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?

A: They submit something that isn't an essay, or an essay that is only about a piece of art, or an essay that is only about a written text, or an essay that is about art or reading in general but doesn't focus on a specific art-text pairing.

Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?

A: A short cover letter is nice (and we take our submissions by email so some kind of note is pretty much necessary). And our guidelines ask for a 50-word bio to be included with your essay. But you don't need to write an elaborate cover letter.

Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?

A: I can usually tell within the first page or so but I always read to the end.

Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?

A: It varies by essay. But it's always in conversation with the author, who gets to approve the final edits.

Q: Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?

A: Yes. We nominate for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best American Essays.