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Editor Interview: Foglifter Journal

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

A: trangsressive queer work

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

A: Big Lucks, YesYes Books, Black Warrior Review, No Tokens, Winter Tangerine, Honeysuckle Press, Noemi Press, Whiskey Island

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

A: Natalie Eilbert, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Danez Smith, Marie Howe, Tracy K. Smith, Sharon Olds, Ocean Vuong, Chen Chen, Eve Ewing, Natalie Shapero, Paisley Rekdal

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

A: Send us your queerest, bravest, strangest work, the work that scares you a little as you write it.

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

A: They confuse "queer content" with gay sex. While that is an aspect of the queer experience for some, there are so many other forms and content that we look for.

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

A: It's not important. We are all so many things, but we want to see the person through their work.

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

A: Somewhere in between. If the language does not captivate, or devolves into that which is merely expected, the reading is quicker. But most of the time, I read to the end.

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

A: The piece must be approved by the entire editorial board. Those decision-making meetings are full of tears and libation.

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

A: This really depends on the submission. There is no formula, as every work is created differently.

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

A: Pushcart; Best Non-required Reading; Bettering American Poetry; Best New Poets Series; Lambda Literary Awards, among others.