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Editor Interview: Samjoko Magazine

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

A: International Writing

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

A: Simultaneous Tims, Mocha Memoirs Press, Nightmare Press, Atlantean Publishing, Aurealis Science Fiction & Fantasy

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

A: Toni Morrison, Kafka, Li Po, Herman Hesse, Clive Barker, Richard Wright, Anne Rice, J.R.R. Tolkien, Douglas Adams, Langston Hughes, Jean Michelle Basquiat

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

A: We are not genre specific. We aim to publish exemplary writing across the spectrum.

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

A: Read previous issues to get an idea of what we publish.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: Submissions that follow our guidelines are ideal.

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

A: N/A

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

A: We do not want to know much about submitters. Previous publishing credits are only slightly important.

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

A: We can generally tell a piece isn’t right in the first 2 pages.

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

A: We try to have a mix of genres, so if we have too many of a specific type of piece, we are less likely to accept it for the coming issue.

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

A: Submissions are generally read on a daily hour-long commute on the subway. The pieces that hold attention despite the many distractions make it into the ‘Maybe’ pile.

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

A: Vitally important. If you do not keep up with current technologies, you will go the way of the dinosaurs.

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

A: We do minor edits. We simply do not accept pieces that need major edits. We do not have the time for it.

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

A: No.