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Editor Interview: The Shallow Tales Review

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

A: We curate African voices

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

A: The Republic Magazine, Lolwe Magazine, Parresia Publishers, The Kalahari Review

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

A: We publish writers who tell of the unique African experience and throw light on human conditions.

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

A: In every issue, we spotlight and interview a literary star in Africa who has published, at least, one book on creative African literature.

We also have one-minute podcasts for every work published on each issue of the magazine.

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

A: Feel free to break the rules of genre. Write, write, and write. We would love to hear your unique voice.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: Our ideal submissions are critical and creative pieces of African literature from writers from Africa or African writers in the Diaspora.
Accepted pieces must have great promise and meet our aesthetic taste on both creative and critical levels.

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

A: Usually, our submission periods. Many contributors send their works outside the submission window.

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

A: As much as we love to know about our contributors, entries are judged objectively by the editors who receive them.
Previous publications in magazines serve as an exciting prospect to us, but they do not affect our negotiation with the quality of the pieces.

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

A: Generally, in my work as fiction editor and Editor-in-Chief, I am able to tell what works and what does not from the earliest paragraphs. However, it is always better, and we make it a point of duty, to read till the end of pieces in most cases.

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

A: The topicality and poignancy of titles is a major point of note.

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

A: The editors, first of all, prepare their mind for the pieces they receive every day.
When they get those pieces, they evaluate and judge on genresical and aesthetical criteria whether the work is good or not.
When a work is accepted, work goes into re-reading and evaluation for the elements of content.
After the content has been verified, we edit for form where we address structural and linguistic flaws.
After a final reading by the editors, the work is sent to the contributors for approval.

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

A: It is indeed very important for digital publishers to embrace the technological norm today to make greater difference.
Amongst other things, we have taken the extra step in curating one-minute podcasts for each piece published in the magazine. This helps the readers who do not feel as comfortable reading text then listening to it.
We also have our hands active on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp where we publicise our news and publications to our followers

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

A: We do substantive, line, copy edits as well as basic proofreading on pieces after negotiating the quality of the content.
After our editing, we send to the contributors to accept or reject our recommendations. Then, we file for publication.

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

A: We haven't begun to nominate our published pieces yet for awards. However, some of our accepted works have been noticed on the magazine and recommended for prizes. We hope to start recommending soon.