Editor Interview: El Portal Literary Journal

transformative and moving

Split Lip, Button Poetry, and Tolsun Books are each offer unique perspectives and gut-wrenching insights on emotion.

I admire Sabrina Benaim, Jane Austen, Sarah Dessen, and Jandy Nelson for their real-life perspectives on the constitution of marriage, depression, anxiety, and other real emotions/situations readers can relate to.

We are open to a wide range of styles, perspectives, and genres. However, we are quite primarily seeking work that opens new doors for ourselves and our readers. We seek real, raw, and resilient writing that unveils a new identity for both the author and the reader. What sets us apart is our versatility and purpose to open the door that lays between history and the future.

Don't be afraid to submit what you normally probably wouldn't. If you think it is weird or experimental or has too much white space, send it anyway. We just want to feel what you are trying to say.

The ideal submission is something new, raw, emotional, and strongly-voiced. It's anything from educational to emotionally-driving. As long as it features passion, voice, and impact, it's more than ideal.

I would probably say response times. We have certain cut-off dates from one semester to the next. It can vary based on our timeline's demand. We are reading them, but our response and decision times may not be as quickly as some may hope. We apologize in advance!

Yes, I would prefer to have a short cover letter rather than just the submission itself. Perhaps explain why you've chosen to send these pieces to us. Previous publications are not as important as the reason for submission to our journal specifically.

For poetry, we read the entire poem. For prose of fiction, we only read the first two or three pieces to get a feel for whether it's right for our publication.

Pieces will go through the assistant editor and the head editor before being officially accepted. Evaluations will include the piece's unique contribution, emotional drive, and purpose.

Because I'm a Graduate Assistant, I take time to read for an hour or two every day. When I do, I read in silence to maintain a focused perspective. I like to have hot tea to relax and focalize my mind so that I fully understand and embrace the submission. Last night, I read a submission that made me cry. I value that clear head space and silence to really feel the passionate work we receive.

We rarely edit our pieces. If we do, it is basic proofreading to ensure that the author's intentions are fully captivated and understood by the reader, especially when it comes to poetry or prose. The author always gets the final approval in their piece.

Unfortunately, we do not. However, this is certainly something I would like to look into potentially starting with our journal. We do, however, feature one submission monthly on our webpage.