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Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: Art that lives.
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: There are too many great publications, and they are all so varied and unique. I will say simply that I admire most the publications that put the art before everything else.
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: My favourite writer is Denis Johnson. I could go on for pages and pages about my infatuation with his writing. It is pure Truth, raw and uncensored. His books are one beautiful sentence after another, his voice truly his own. Do yourself a favour and read his two mini masterpieces--the novella 'Train Dreams' and the short story collection 'Jesus' Son'. They will change your life. Then read everything else. My favourite artist is Jackson Pollock. I don't fully understand why. Considering his art, that seems like the appropriate response.
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: We put the art before everything else. Or rather, there is nothing else. There is no Into the Void, there is just the art, together in one place.
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: Read an issue--Into the Void is eclectic, but also very much Into the Void. Get a feel for our style. Submit work in standard manuscript format in Times New Roman. Edit your piece relentlessly--writing is rewriting. Most importantly, don't censor yourself. Ever. Write with Truth or don't write at all.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: Clean. Clear. Concise. Gripping. Honest. Unflinching. Beautiful. Dangerous. Alive.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: Including their name in submitted documents, immediately disqualifying them. We read blind to be as fair and impartial as possible, allowing the work to speak for itself.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: Nothing. We read blind. Just need a short biography to put in the issue should the piece be accepted, but we don't see the biography until after accepting the submission (and it is much easier to have every submitter include a short biography in the submission rather than attempt to chase down biographies while under pressure to get the issue finished on time).
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: As the fiction editor, I don't read every piece to the end. There's no need, and we get far too many submissions for that to be possible. I cannot overstate the importance of a story's opening paragraphs. These paragraphs must show a writer on top of their game, in control. If, after reading the opening paragraphs, I decide to keep reading, the writer has succeeded in hooking me, and there is more freedom for ensuing paragraphs, but those opening ones have less leeway. If there is excessive passive voice, adverbs, backstory, grammar and spelling errors, a lack of clarity in either the action or the language, etc., I will move onto the next submission, because we can only publish two or three stories per issue and I want those that pull me in from the start. Poetry and flash fiction submissions, because of their shorter length, are read all the way through. Creative nonfiction too, generally. But regardless, the beginning of a piece is by far the most important part.
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: The only true evaluation a piece goes through before being accepted for publication in Into the Void is, How did this piece make me feel? Or rather, DID this piece make me feel? If the piece is raw and True and simply must exist--regardless of everything, it must exist, it matters--then it has a good chance of being published in Into the Void.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: Working my other job(s) during the day and trying desperately to get issues of Into the Void out in time, often by sacrificing sleep, food, and sanity! But also, being fortunate enough to read and view stunning works of art every single day, many of which leave me breathless and remind me what it is to be alive. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: Not just important--essential. We must go where the audience goes, and that place is the Internet. That said, print books and magazines are vital, and must be preserved. Into the Void is, before anything else, a print journal, but the Internet is where we operate. The two are not mutually exclusive. Quite the opposite.
Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?
A: Not much. Poems are almost entirely untouched, unless there are errors of spelling and such. Visual art is untouched. Prose pieces receive minor editing for spelling, grammar, and consistency, and to adhere to British English. The occasional redundant word is removed. If there is anything more than this, such as an editor's suggestion to improve the impact of the piece, the author will be informed and involved.
Q: Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?
A: Yes, it's one of the best parts of the job! We nominate (after many excruciating nights of reading and re-reading and agonising over decisions) our best writers for The Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, The Best Small Fictions, and the writing.ie Short Story of the Year Award.