Editor Interview: Last Girls Club

Dark feminine horror

Ugh, I hate to admit I don't read magazines anymore. I loved the old Maxim and Spy magazines. Seventeen has been surprising and cutting edge lately. I've read news stories about them. Not a subscriber. Grim magazine on Blurb has some good issues. I often look to them for formatting and organizational inspiration. Hellebore's layouts and images are gorgeous, but the articles read like historical book reports.

I love all kinds of horror, low brow and high brow. Slashers, hauntings, revenge, possessions, alien invasions, you name it. I'm re-watching Preacher at the moment. Loved the comic books. The theme I put out for my horror submissions have a social issue vibe, because good horror comes from our real fears. I hate horror that has a rapey vibe, where the woman is just a canvas to be ripped apart and good women are only around for "fridging" purposes to inspire a hero to go on a rampage. I'm over women as tropes.
Artists I love are Remidios Varo, Richard Dadd, H.R.Gieger, Max Ernst, Klimt, Hilda Af Klint. I love surrealism, social commentary, dark alienesque. I also love when artists purchase thrift store art and paint weird scenes in/over it. I love a good story behind the art. My summer issue artist had worked in a seedy motel that rented hourly. She made still life images from the sex trash left behind. The inner cover of the summer 2022 issue of LGC is an assortment of used condom wrappers arranged in a large rectangle. The pattern of colors and gold is truly art and the origins are hilarious. She titled it "Pick your pleasure". It looks like a Rothko painting.

Our formatting and aesthetic. We are not just an anthology of fiction and poetry. We are an homage to classic 'zines of the 1970s and 1990s. We have horoscopes done by a real moon priestess; there usually is a theme related Cosmo style quiz; we have a column titled "Cities of the Dead" that profiles cemeteries, temples, and weird locations; our EIC writes an opinion piece called The Rabbit Hole that deep dives into an issue related to the theme. We have rotating columnists. We do book and movie reviews. We promote emerging authors and artists. Every issue is an art piece not a profit generating cookie cutter publication. We own ourselves. Advertising is exchanged for exposure to new audiences not money. If EIC likes your work, you're offered a 1/4 page ad in the 'zine, your payment is posting our promo images on your social media when the issue drops. We build up each other's followers.

Do not send in incomplete stories. People often send in a well described scene, but it isn't a complete story. Beginning, middle, end is needed. Twilight Zone style is always a winner. Put a twist or aha or oh man moment in the end. Remember to twist the knife. Poetry should have vivid imagery and haunting emotion.

Keeps to the requested word count. Has been copy edited for mistakes. Is clearly written with simple attributions for dialogue. The characters are engaging even if they aren't likable. I enjoy an unreliable narrator. Shows me an insight or point of view I hadn't seen before. The ending is good, tight, and satisfying, with no loose ends.

Doesn't adhere to word count, excessive author bio, overt erotica instead of horror, or emails it to me instead of using submission page.

50 words max. I want to know what you find interesting about yourself. Could be awards and previous publications, could be your bizarre collection of garden gnomes. I'm here for it.

I read the whole thing. Unless it is unintelligible because of grammar issues.

Just me. You get one read through.

After submissions close, two weeks of my every spare moment is spent with my spreadsheet and a daily goal of reading a certain number of pieces. You are either a no, yes, maybe, or podcast/newsletter option. It's me, a cup of tea, my laptop, with non-distracting music in the background, and my reading glasses. I make notes on the plot of each story to remember them by. When it's all over I go back to evaluate the maybes. That's my method. After that it's sending out contracts, getting them signed, paying everyone then sending fiction off to the copy editors, and I start formatting the new issue, while writing my own columns and letter from the editor.

Only editing is for grammar. Better send your best because that's what's being sent out to the world if you're accepted. If there is a major mistake in action or plot, author will be notified for clarification.

That is on my list to start doing. I get some magnificent pieces I think deserve more acclaim than just being published.