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Editor Interview: Lightning Key Review

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

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

A: Brief, imagistic writing

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

A: McSweeneys
One Story
Barrelhouse
the Collagist
Mid-American Review
Conjunctions
Smokelong Quarterly
Brevity
Sweet

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

A: George Saunders
Aimee Bender
JD Daniels
Natasha Trethewey
Sarah Manguso
Patricia Lockwood
Claudia Rankine
Aimee Nezhukumatathil

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

A: We focus on short, imagistic narratives and are not too concerned with genre constraints.

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

A: Give it a read. Make sure the work you are submitting is fully realized.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: 750 awesome, life-changing words with great images and some kind of loose story-like quality.

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

A: Basic info is fine.

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

A: We read it all.

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

A: It’s pretty basic.

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

A: It’s important as it gives more avenues for the work to appear.

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

A: A little. Yes, the author gets final approval.

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

A: Yes. Best of the Web.