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Editor Interview: TERSE. Journal

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

A: Worldbuilding Literatures

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

A: Luna Luna Magazine
The Brown Orient
YES Poetry
The New Inquiry
Rose Quartz Magazine
Angelical Ravings Zine
Moonchild Magazine

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

A: Dominic Chambers, Adrienne Maree Brown, Victoria Nelson, Mark Fisher, Devan Shimoyama, Prince, Jasbir Puar, Sara Ahmed

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

A: We are slow publishers who take pains to curate works which discuss important social issues in creative ways. Particularly we are interested in the creation of worlds and imagination as a subversive act which saves lives. Our focus is the weird, eerie, science fiction, think-piece oriented creative writing, sound art, and visual experimentation.

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

A: Do not be put off by waiting a bit. We have a specific process to follow and several editors who curate our space. Over the years we have also become competitive but publish emerging and established writers. We try not to be a churn and burn space but a nurturing place.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: Generally all editors collectively respond to work which is guttural, politically charged, and creative.

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

A: Writers think we are kidding around when we say we get a lot of submissions. It's true. Just be patient and you will eventually hear from us if you've received an acceptance or if we'd like to invite you to resubmit. If you don't hear back it is because of high volume, but we wish you only the best (unless you sent us one of our off limits submissions...then meh).

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

A: No. We provide a template for what we'd like to see in our emails which authors typically follow, but we aren't checking word for word. The basic thing we are looking for is respectful communication. Previous publication credits let us know what publications you align with ideologically. Otherwise, we are looking at the quality of the work. Like I mentioned: established or new--we can tell if your work aligns with us.

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

A: Unless there are some flagrant issues, yes, we all read through to the end and leave comments in a spreadsheet to discuss the work as a whole.

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

A: On our website you will see we disclose: your social media presence is important to us. Not in how popular you are, but if you are publishing suspect posts on there it will get you an immediate rejection.

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

A: As executive editor I do a first read through of submissions. After this I forward submissions to our assistant editor who does an evaluation. This is where we decide to give an immediate accept or reject. If you've made it this far you will be forwarded to our prose or poetry editor. Art and sound submissions are evaluated by me.

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

A: Well, we kinda answer this on our submission guidelines page. Yes, we embrace technology and it's even been part of our "futures" initiative in previous issues.

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

A: For established columnists we are open with the back and forth editorial process. New submissions are looked at for polish and quality.

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

A: Not at the moment, but it's something we've discussed.