Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: Haiku, Haiga, Tanka
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: The Haiku Foundation, cattails, The Japan Society London-Haiku Corner
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: My favorite poets are: Lucian Blaga, Nichita Stanescu, Mihai Eminescu, Kobayashi Issa
My favorite artists: Josephine Wall , Aurora Wienhold , Leonid Afremov
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: I think each publication is unique. My publication has a different theme for each issue and the website has a different cover and color theme according to the season and issue.
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: To read the guidelines because I post on the website for each issue a call for submission with theme and details
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: 1 haiku and / or 1 haiga on the suggested theme, not published and not under consideration elsewhere. I appreciate a haiga with a personal photo or a friend`s photo, but not with photos from internet.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: Sometimes submitters send more than 1 haiku or simply a 3 lines poem which is not a haiku.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: I ask for submissions to be signed with the name and country.
I am not strict about the letter, some submitters say hi and describe in few lines the story of the haiku submitted, others send the haiku along with a long bio, others send a short and concise email with haiku and their name. I give everyone the same attention. For me it is important the haiku, the message, not bio. I judge the haiku, not the author. I appreciate a haiku written in one's own experience, sincere.
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: I read each submission at least twice to make a decision. I don't rush and I don't make decisions on the run.
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: Where applicable, I send the haiku back to the author to ask for details or explanation, if it is ambiguous or has grammatical errors.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: My Daily routine includes a coffee, a tea and a toast in the morning, study (I read a lot of haiku studies), household duties, reading submissions, family meals and spending time with my family.
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: My publication is only in online format, I love technology, it makes my life easier. Nowadays, you can read a lot of studies and magazined via internet. Social media brings you more exposure. I also keep an evidence with all the submissions on my PC. I think it is important to find a balance between traditional and modern because both have benefits.
Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?
A: I sometimes suggest changes in order to accept it. I don`t make any change without the author`s permission. It is the though part of my job because I don`t want to change the message and I always search the small edit to fit with the author`s vission. Sometimes the author accepts the change, sometimes he doesn`t. I respect the author`s decission and if he disagree with my sugestions, we are trying to reach an agreement. Only one time he withdrawed his work.
Another time I had to withdraw a haiku after accepted because the author was published his work to another publication at the same time (and by chance or not I was subscribed to that magazine, otherwise I wouldn't have known) although I specified in the announcement that the work submitted should not be published or under consideration elsewhere.
Q: Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?
A: At the end of the year, I nominate the best haiku of the year submitted to my journal for The Haiku Foundation's Touchstone Awards.