Editor Interview: Oxford Magazine

shortish cleanish writing

It's a tough question because our staff rotates annually, but we read genre fiction in addition to the more traditionally literary offerings. Most recently, publications like Booth, PANK, and Paper Darts have got us excited.

We have a diverse cast of staff readers, and we're very committed to having more than one person read every submission. We try, as much as we can, to allow OxMag to accurately reflect an entire staff's tastes and interests, which can sometimes diverge wildly.

Don't worry so much about your cover letter. Submittable's layout makes it pretty easy to avoid reading those almost entirely. But outside of that, send us your favorite stuff. We'll give it a good read, or two, or three.

An ideal submission would definitely be one that doesn't engage with the most prevalent tropes and conventions of its genre/format. We love being surprised, and we hate being able to sort writing into simple categories based on the first few lines/sentences.

We don't need to know much at all. You don't need to worry about making us laugh or insulting us. Submitting is stressful enough as it is.

I can't speak for everyone on staff at this point, but I read all of a piece because I'd like to feel that I've made an informed decision rather than an uninformed one.