Editor Interview: Radical Bookshop

short stories

Comma Press in Manchester
404 Ink
Canongate
Polygon

We publish short fiction in Canada, and my favourite writers really don't matter in the grand scheme of things. I don't want artists to think they have to write in a certain style to appeal to the press.

Rad is unique because we publish short stories in a chapbook format, not anthologies. So, each artist gets an individual publication, a cover, and an opportunity to profit from their work. We are a Canadian-based publication, however, we do publish international writers as well. We don't have themes or specific genre requirements, and since we are a bookseller and a publisher, our publishing model is a bit different.

Make sure you are submitting a short story. We get all sorts of submissions: poetry, novels, and plays and...we don't publish those. In the era of AI, I really want to emphasize - do not send us your full novel! I don't want your entire novel in my files. But, if you have a short story, make sure there is a complete narrative. The customers who buy these chapbooks want to feel like they've read a complete narrative. So, ambiguous endings or excerpts from longer pieces, don't tend to sell.

The ideal submission is a short story with fully-realized characters, a setting, and a plot that fits within the short story format. It is edited with spelling, grammar, and type checks. It is human-authored. That AI slop is not for us. We ask all authors to complete a submission form that asks questions about your protagonists motivation, their goal in the story, if there is sensitive content. If you're struggling to answer the form, go back into your story and see what isn't working.

The biggest issue is submitting stories that are too short (we need to fill atleast 28 pages), or submitting stories that lean too heavily into topics that don't sell well, for example: Christmas stories, religious/biblical stories, rape/violence, or sexist content. We also get authors who refuse to participate in the editorial process, and that makes it difficult to market their work effectively. Understanding that the story will be edited is a part of the submissions process.

Our submissions form asks for a brief bio, but broadly speaking, it doesn't really matter if people have a lot of publications or not. The short story is funny like that - it's impossible to predict which ones will sell, and a big platform, lots of publications, or a writing degree doesn't shift things one way or another. That said, the submissions process is not 100% a meritocracy, sometimes I'll move forward with a lesser polished piece because I think it's important to publish that particular story, or that particular writer.

I really put my focus on the submissions form first. I read the blurb, and get a sense of what the story is about. Other editors on the team might read the story first, and then go into the form. But to me, the form gives me a great snapshot of the overall story. I can generally tell within the first 3-4 pages if the work is of high quality, has a promising narrative, and an engaging perspective. Every editor reads the submissions, and we meet to discuss what pieces resonated with us.

We publish as a cohort model, and there isn't a limit on how many stories we accept. So, we might accept 5 stories in the spring, and 8 in the winter. It all depends on what we get. I also like to get a sense of how many Canadian and Indigenous authors we are publishing. Sometimes, I will email authors personally and ask them to re-submit, and other times, writers might approach me at an event and I'll ask them to submit. Part of my goal within the Canadian literary universe is to eliminate barriers and to encourage writers to put themselves out there.

Our team works pretty independently once we email acceptances. Editors work directly with the author, and once the story is finalized, I move into typesetting and cover design. For the past five years, I've been doing this alongside my PhD, so my time has been constrained especially since I also handle the marketing and book sales. I really rely on my editorial team and their expertise, and I'm lucky to have some great editors working with for Rad.

The author gets to approve the edits, however, if there is significant resistance sometimes it means we can't move forward with the story. It's important that there is a good fit between our press and the author, and the editorial process is really intended to improve a writer's work - it's not meant to be a harsh process.

There aren't that many short story award categories, but if an author wants their piece nominated for something - as long as they provide us the details of the competition, we are happy to submit the application. We've nominated work for Australian writing awards as well as Canadian ones.

We are funded exclusively through our book sales. But if you are millionaire who wants to invest in our press, give us a call.