Editor Interview: Red Dirt Forum

New South literature

We admire Mercer University Press, Restless Books, Fuze Publishing, and so many more presses. A few literary journals we admire are Cowboy Jamboree, Paris Review, and Southern Literary Review, and so many others!

Some of our favorite authors and poets include Walter Bennett, Susan Zurenda, Heath Dollar, James Kimbrell, Adam Johnson, Bobbie Ann Mason, Bruce Craven, Allen Mendenhall, and Julia Nunnally Duncan.

Red Dirt Forum seeks voices that speak to the complexities and diversities of contemporary New South issues. I don't know if this sets us apart, but this is the mission we are devoted to.

Please follow our guidelines for submission. We receive a high number of submissions and do not have time to read those that do not adhere to the guidelines.

An ideal submission follows the guidelines for submission, and the work is devoid of errors, and also fits the scope and mission of the 'zine.

We unfortunately must reject work that does not fit our scope and mission, even if well written. For example, we do not publish science fiction as a genre, or works that do not address in some way contemporary New South issues. Authors are highly encouraged to read our description and an issue or two prior to submitting.

We ask that the author send a brief bio when submitting work; however, it plays no role in the acceptance process. We read the work first, and if we accept it, then we already have the author bio to run with the work. Cover letters should be brief, even a sentence or two is fine. Previous publication credits also do not factor into our decision to publish works as we are devoted to publishing both emerging and established authors and poets.

Due to the high volume of work received, we initially screen works by reading a few paragraphs of prose within the first page, and middle section. Poetry, depending on the line count, may be read partially or in full. Those that make the first round of readings are read thoroughly prior to acceptance.

Other than quality of writing, we ask as editors this test question when evaluating a piece: Does the work fit the mission and scope of the 'zine?

We are open to line editing and making editorial suggestions to authors whose works are very close to acceptance. Again, we are devoted to publishing both emerging and established voices, so yes, we want to encourage new voices by offering light editing at times. We proofread all work prior to publication in each issue. If we do make edits, authors at Forum do approve final edits. We do not provide an editing service for a fee. Yet, we may suggest an editor for an author to hire if they ask us about a professional editor work with, yet we do not profit in any way by making these suggestions.

We nominate for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, annually.