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Editor Interview: PANK Magazine

This interview is provided for archival purposes. The listing is not currently active.

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

A: Move us. Fiercely.

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

A: Artifice Magazine
New York Tyrant
Gigantic
American Short Fiction
Lumberyard
Necessary Fiction
Annalemma

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

A: Our contributors are a pretty strong indication of writers we like but to name a few, we'd probably mention Paula Bomer, xTx, Matthew Salesses, Brandi Wells, Kyle Minor, Tim Jones-Yelvington, and Steven McDermott. Looking beyond our contributors we love Dylan Landis, Mary Gaitskill, Michael Chabon, Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lori Ostlund, and Ben Greenman.

Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?

A: We are extremely committed to our writers and promote their work both in PANK and in other magazines, whenever we can.We also try to send personal feedback with as many submissions as we can.

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

A: The same advice we'd offer for writers submitting anywhere--read a few issues. Also, believe in your writing. When you say things like, "I know this story has no chance," we'll probably take you at your word. If you don't believe in your writing, why should we?

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

A: We love cover letters and learning interesting details about the writers who send their work to PANK. That said, we don't need a cover letter to consider your work and we're not impressed by a long list of your credentials.

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

A: One of the co-editors reads every submission. We both read and discuss work that goes through a first level of vetting which is handled by four readers we recently brought on board.

Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?

A: First thing in the morning, we put on our Awesome Editor cape, take a twirl in a phonebooth and fly off to Litteratura, the magical planet where we were born.

Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?

A: We think it's really important in terms of efficiency and being able to work with writers more effectively, respond to them more quickly, and promote our work more efficiently. We have also found that modern technologies really contribute to a stronger sense of community within independent publishing.