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Editor Interview: Vine Leaves Literary Journal

This interview is provided for archival purposes. The listing is not currently active.

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

A: vignettes

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

A: Any literary magazine that tries to blur the boundaries of genre and form. I particularly like The Monarch Review and Side B Magazine.

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

A: Marilynne Robinson, Raymond Carver, Sharon Olds, Sylvia Plath, Rebecca Miller, Margaret Atwood, Gwen Harwood, Magdalena Ball, Anne Sexton, Milan Kundera, Christina Rossetti, Anne Lamott, Baz Luhrmann and oh so many more!

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

A: We are not looking for stories that have a beginning, middle and end. We want an evocative moment. Something that makes us feel, something that leaves us with interesting questions.

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

A: Don't get hung up on rules. Just write from a place of honesty and it will translate.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: Something that makes us want to read it over and over, or even better, makes us suffer a little bit of writer-envy. But we can't tell you how to achieve that, because the pieces that have made us feel such a thing are not the slightest bit similar to each other. But I'll repeat myself. Write from an honest place. Make us believe every word. We can tell when you're faking it.

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

A: They send us attachments despite us stating in capitals at the very top of the guidelines page, NO ATTACHMENTS.

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

A: Nothing. We ask for a 50-100 word bio so that we don't have to ask for one when we accept you (we archive contributor bios on our website). I don't actually read people's bios unless I accept their work. It's the writing that matters to us, not a person's experience or qualifications.

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

A: We read every submission from beginning to end. More often than not, especially with vignettes, the ending shines new light on the beginning. So there's no way we'd make a decision without reading the whole thing. If the writing is clearly 'bad', we still read everything just in case there is some feedback we'd like to offer. We try to offer feedback as much as possible. We want to help writers improve if we have to turn them away.

Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?

A: We create shortlists before making final decisions. So when it's time to make final decisions, we discuss the shortlist, re-read the pieces many times, and choose the pieces that gel well. We like to put each issue together with an eye for aesthetics as well as literary merit. This means, unfortunately, that we sometimes have to turn down brilliant work if it doesn't seem to be quite up to par with other pieces.

Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?

A: As writers ourselves, we understand how frustrating it is when you don't know what goes on behind the scenes. So for writers' peace of mind, we have actually outlined how the process works on our website. This is what we say:
Response times will vary. We read every single submission that adheres to the guidelines. If you are one of those writers that can't stop checking your inbox for the verdict (and which kind of writer isn't like this?), perhaps you can find some consolation in the fact that the later we reply, the more we like your work and want to mull it over. Sometimes we might reply as late as one week before release if decisions are tough.
Though we do read submissions as they come in, (to omit the material we are definitely sure we won't accept), the majority of the focused reading gets done during the one month period we are closed for submissions. We like to be able to see everything we have to choose from, in order to make sure we don't miss out on anything extraordinary. So please be patient with us. If your work makes our shortlist, it is likely that you won't hear from us until the very last minute.
That said, if you are getting worried that we've missed your submission for some reason, feel free to inquire about it via our contact form, no earlier than two weeks before the release date.

Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?

A: Oh gosh, I can't emphasize enough how important it is. Please folks, let's save some trees, embrace electronic submission methods!