Editor Interview: the Thieving Magpie

Mischievous Literary Art

The Paris Review
Bomb
Granta
New Directions
City Lights

Writers: Ottessa Moshfegh; Jesse Ball; Jhumpa Lahiri; Karen Russell; George Saunders; Sharon Olds; Anton Chekhov; John Fante; Charles Bukowski; Marguerite Duras; Nelson Algren; Stephen Dixo; Sherwood Anderson; Marguerite Yourcenar; Romain Gary; Henry Miller; Louis-Ferdinand Celine; Denis Johnson; Flannery O'Connor
Artists: Hopper; Picasso; Basquiat; Ruscha; Hockney

No idea. We just want to find and publish inspired writers and artists and give them a viable platform to showcase their work. the Thieving Magpie is keenly interested in being part of a thriving literary community.

Proofread. Send your best work.

A piece that is perfect in the eye of the submitter. A piece that expresses the emotion, mood, colors, themes, characters or existential human questions we all strive to answer in our daily lives. Clearly and distinctively with imagination and energy.

The only issue we have is not getting prompt notification when a simultaneous submission is accepted elsewhere. On several occasions we have excitedly accepted a story or set of poems only to be told after acceptance that the piece has been accepted elsewhere.

Cover letters describing the story are hit and miss. We read them all, but don't expect them and are not influenced by them. A good bio should include a list of previous publications, where the submitter is from (town, state, country etc... because we like to promote our international/borderless bona fides), if they have a 'day job' or 'night gig' or other ways of earning a living besides their art, and what they are working on currently/next.

We read 98% of our submissions from beginning to end, sometimes more than once. About 2% of the submissions, we might determine about three-quarters through that the final quarter will not save it and we have to pass. Sometimes it is story; most times it is sloppy grammar, spelling or neglectful editing.

Although we wholeheartedly believe that art, literature, music and comedy should be above or exempt from current mores of political or cultural correctness, we cannot ignore real political/cultural sensitivities. Some pieces are borderline or may go over the line; we give them a second and third look, sometimes we contact the submitter to discuss their intentions or vision before making a determination.

We are a non-profit, non-income venture (for now). We have daily lives and responsibilities. We monitor the site, the social media posts, the submissions and try to read submissions all season in preparation for the next issue. About ten days out from the deadline (1st day of each season) we go into "beast mode" and read, notify and being putting the issue together for launch.

Generally, we do not get involved in editing. If we accept a piece we ask the submitter to review, revise and proofread (as needed) their submission and return a final perfected draft. If there are substantive edits based on taste, choice, vision etc... we may let the submitter know the piece still needs work - wary of imposing our vision on the artist's - and invite them to edit and resubmit. If there are minor edits beyond proofreading that we think would help clarify a scene, we would suggest it, but acceptance would not hinge on the submitter's acceptance of our suggestions. We have been asked on numerous occasions to provide substantive editing but unfortunately, as a non-profit/non-income venture, we simply don't have the resources.

Not yet. But we would love to.