Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: All 26 letters, then some
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: Chiron Review
Rattle
Tupelo Press
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: Gloria Mindock
Neil Silberblatt
Jennifer Martelli
Cindy Veach
Hannah Larrabee
Annie Pluto
Rusty Barnes
Mari Deweese
Matt Borczon
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: A clean minimalist design
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: Please use page breaks between pieces.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: Page breaks between pieces. A standard font - no need to "design" your submission.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: They bookmark the "Submit" page and disregard our closed for reading period which occur for 30 days, 15 days before we publish an issue and 15 days after.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: A brief bio on a cover letter is fine. A note if you were referred by someone we already published or know.
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: I can't speak for my co-editors, but with fiction if the first line or first paragraph does not engage me, or seems hackneyed and contrived, I don't bother with the rest. With poetry I skim first to see if it feels overwritten, uses cliches or uses words that seem, to me, meant to convey "big ideas" but never follow through.
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: Back and forth reading between my co-editors and me.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: Answer emails, scanning lists of new submissions, working on the books we publish in the morning before going to my day job. More of the same in the evening.
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: If it wasn't for modern technologies we wouldn't be able to do this. Back in the late 80s, during the zine heyday, we had presses, but the cost of printing etc became too much. Starting up now is relatively cheap.
Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?
A: With the Review, not much. With books, which we ONLY solicit, we work with deeply the author.
Q: Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?
A: Yes. Both for the books we publish as well as pieces published in the Review.