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Editor Interview: Two Cities 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: Genre-crossing writing.

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

A: One Story
The Paris Review
PANK
Midwestern Gothic
Hobart
The Pinch

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

A: Alice Munro, Vanessa Veselka, Graham Greene, Larry Brown, Haruki Murakami, Jenny Offill.

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

A: We have an interest in urban landscapes and the stories told in cities. So many of us lead our lives in the liminal spaces between home and not-home, the cities where we grew up and the cities we now make our lives in. We love fiction, nonfiction and poetry that explores live lived in these marginal spaces.

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

A: Read the magazine, and definitely check out our podcast, where we speak frankly about why we chose certain pieces and why others didn't make the cut. Make sure you're telling a story, and not just expanding on a thesis or giving us impressions. Think about surprising us and defying stereotypes or clichés.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: A piece that is dark, gritty, and surprising; a piece with thoughtfully drawn characters; a piece that grows and evolves from the first line to the last; a piece with heart-pounding suspense or unsettling images that keep us up at night.

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

A: Submitters sometimes try to make changes long after we've accepted the piece and close to publication. If we accept the piece, we really don't want to be juggling last-minute requests for major changes.

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

A: We read the piece first without regard for cover letters. Later, it can be helpful and interesting to learn a little more about the author. But above all we are very friendly to authors who have never published before.

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

A: We generally read to the end just in case there is something really surprising and interesting waiting for us. But if the first few pages aren't drawing us in, we've usually decided not to accept the piece by that point.

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

A: Nothing more than that, really! My co-editor and I always read everything and discuss pieces before we agree on whether to accept or not.

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

A: Two Cities is a labor of love for two people who have full-time jobs and struggle to make room for all the wonderful pieces we read! A typical day of Two Cities work involves sitting down to the backlog of submissions and going through as many as possible, followed by a Skype chat with my co-editor as we discuss the front runners and start thinking about the overall shape and thematic notes of the next issue. We let the pieces that we're accepting dictate the direction and shape of the issue.

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

A: It is very important for us, an all-digital magazine that also has a podcast. Technology lets us reach more readers and share art in exciting new forms, including video and audio. And submittable has been invaluable for allowing us to share and discuss the submissions. Since we are editors living and working in two different cities, we use technology to bridge those long-distance gaps.

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

A: Not very much, generally. We like to accept pieces that are ready to go. Occasionally, however, we will request edits if we think a piece has potential but needs work in a few manageable areas. It's always very exciting when a writer comes back to us with just the right changes to make a piece work. The author always gets to approve the final version that runs in the magazine, and has an opportunity to sign off on it before it is released.

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

A: We do! We nominate work for the Pushcart Prize every year, and have a special podcast episode in which we highlight and discuss our nominations.