Editor Interview: Red Rock Review

Vivid voices & settings

F(r)iction Literary Journal for the way they pair stories with custom artwork. Any press championing literary fiction with a speculative bend.

My favorite writers include Aimee Bender, Stacey Richter, Becky Chambers, and John Scalzi.

All our issues are published in both print and online, so writers can order physical copies and also share there work widely via social media. Our team of editors is generous in terms of the time spent reading submissions. We strive to send personalized notes for all pieces that make it to the final round.

Ensure that the first page of your story (or the first poem in your packet) is on fire. Be it an intense scene or a vivid setting or a unique character voice or a wild premise--whatever you choose, be sure to have something on page one that grabs the reader immediately and does not let go.

For prose, the ideal submission would generate immediate intrigue. The story would go on to present something unique in terms of voice, setting, or premise (perhaps all three!). I am never mad about encountering speculative elements! The ending doesn't need to be happy, but it needs to be satisfying.
For poetry, I am always looking for language that sings and that harnesses images and feelings that are new and surprising.

Not that it is wrong, but I don't think submitters realize just how important page one is. I see a lot of short stories that meander for the first several pages, in that they are all exposition with no real action, no scene work. These stories may find their stride on page four, but if our readers are not hooked by page one, they often will not make it to page four.

Writers can keep cover letters brief. They are free to include a short bio, but there is no need to provide a full list of previous publication credits. Previous publications do not impact the chances of acceptance--we read submissions independent of this information. If a piece is accepted, we always request an updated bio, so writers are never stuck with what they included in their initial cover letter.

If a piece does not grab me within the first few pages (due to craft problems) I will not read to the end. If a piece does grab me, I will finish it, and if it feels solid all the way through, it moves up to a table discussion where the entire editorial team will vote on it. Its important to note that, while I do have my own taste, if I recognize that a story is exemplary though maybe not my cup of tea (say, if I like magical realism and I come across a very contemplative, Carver-esque story), it still moves up so the rest of the group can have a vote.

At the final table read, our top tier stories/poems compete against each other for space in the issue. We consider which pieces stand out the most, and which have the fewest "flaws" as we see it. It is rare that we find a piece that is perfect all the way through, but if we love 90% of something, it is often worth giving grace to that remaining 10% that bothers us. If there are pieces dealing in similar themes or styles, we often consider which we like better. Or, if a piece feels too similar to one we published in the most recent issue, we may let it go in favor of something more fresh.

As the editor-in-chief, my genre editors send me packets of the best work they've found each month. Generally, my poetry packets are 50 pages, and I read 3-4 of them each reading period. I comment on everything and flag the poems that I consider yes, no, or maybe and the yeses/maybes go to the table discussion and the no's get declined. For prose, I generally get 60 stories each reading period, and I comment on these and send yes/no/maybes to the fiction editor. For our final table discussion, we tend to bring 24 poems that we need to cut by half, and 14 stories that we need to cut by half.

Our genre editors work closely with the writers on line edits out of the gate. They do an initial pass after the piece is accepted, which may include some larger-scale edits, all done with author approval. There is another round of edits done during compilation to catch formatting issues and edits needed to adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style. Writers get to review and approve the final proof before we go to print.

Yes! We nominate stories and poems for the Pushcart Prize every year. We also nominate stories for The Best American Short Story anthology. We always keep our eyes open for awards we can nominate our writers for!

Our journal is funded partly by the college that houses us and partly by the submission fees we collect via Submittable.

We promote our journal and writers via social media (Facebook and Instagram) and at local and regional writing conferences whenever possible.