Editor Interview: Punt Volat

Multilingual Lit & Arts

We follow Reservoir Road, whose editor we have published. Of course, we're also fans of any publications that publish us! Our poetry editor is acquainted with Paul Roth of Bitter Oleander Press and with David Chorlton. Since we also publish music, we've included songs and videos released by Discos de Kirlian and Bankrobber, two music labels run out of Barcelona.

We have eclectic tastes, but our favorite works are usually a bit strange but still meaningful, with a certain amount of darkness or, sometimes, humor. I published a book on the work of George Saunders, and our poetry editor wrote her PhD thesis on the work of Georg Trakl. We generally don't like work that is promoted as "accessible." My favorite fiction writers include Saunders, Can Xue, Julio Cortázar, Franz Kafka, and Mercé Rodoreda. Our poetry editor's favorite poets include Georg Trakl, Ingeborg Bachmann, Maria-Mercè Marçal, and female medieval mystics. She also reads a lot of Nordic crime fiction. I can't speak on behalf of our visual art editor and video editor, so it's best to browse our website! We also include music and have included an HTML project.

We publish literature and arts in multiple languages.

We sometimes get promising work that seems incomplete or not fully edited or revised, so please be sure it is as strong as it can be. Also, if you're not sure if your work meets any of the categories, submit it to Otherwise or email it to us directly.

We haven't encountered our ideal submission yet!

Submitters sometimes forget to include a third-person bio or devote too much space to listing as many publications as possible. We believe writers want to get to know the submitter, not just a list of publications. Also, please know we are an exclusively online journal and have never promoted ourselves otherwise.

We don't place too much emphasis on this, but we don't mind learning about whatever submitters wish to share. Neurodivergent experiences are of particular interest to us. Also, we enjoy receiving submissions from those whose work is in Catalan, Spanish, German, or English as a foreign language.

Everything is read at least once. After the first round of readings, we narrow the choices. We usually end up with a long-list and a short-list before making final decisions. Pieces that reach those stages have been read multiple times.

Sometimes a good piece will be reevaluated in terms of the journal's aesthetic. Also, poetry is read by multiple alters of the poetry editor/host, who is Neurodivergent. In a sense, more than one editor pays attention to each poem.

First, I don my editor cap to prepare my head. Then I get out my red pen and mark up the laptop screen, shouting, "No, no, no!" Then I stumble across some story in a forgotten corner of the screen, and mutter, "What's this? Such language! Such meaning! Such ambiguity! And how purposeful! We must publish it at once!" Either that, or I read a couple of stories, tweet about something with #litmag, or email contributors. Then I read another story. I also write a lot of emails in Catalan.

I prefer to keep my editing to a minimum. If a piece needs more editing, it is probably not right for submission. Although I probably would perform more substantive editing with certain pieces if I had the time and knew authors were willing to consider this, I tend to stick to some line editing and copy editing, but I often frame these as suggestions to the author. I always proofread and usually ask the author to proofread as well.

We have not done so yet, but I am considering nominating work for Best of the Net this year.