Editor Interview: Vernacular

That which is unalike.

Volt, BOMB, Ugly Duckling's Second Factory.

It doesn't make sense to me to claim favorite writers or artists because to do so implies there's a particular voice we're looking for, which there isn't. We want authors and artists to submit what best represents them and who they are.
But if this non-answer annoys anyone, then here is a more direct response:
Writers: Anne Carson, W.S. Merwin, Claudia Rankine, Faulkner, Hemingway, Didion, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Lyn Hejinian—to name a few.
Artists: Giacometti, Braque, Twombly, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Joan Miró, Man Ray, Jonas Mekas...and so on, and so on, etc, etc.

Two main things: one, thoughtful web design that puts the spotlight on authors and their work. And two, we don't have submission windows. If we read something we like, we publish it quickly. Why make contributors wait and wait and wait? They've already put so much into the work itself. It's our view that the publisher should take it from there.

Question your work. "Why am I writing this? why should someone else read it? what am I trying to say? what do I want the reader to takeaway from it? why would someone read beyond the first sentence? the second sentence? the third?" So often we read our own work with our own experiences and emotions in mind. Of course it sounds good and makes sense to us! Try instead to read it cold, with no emotion, as if you're someone else entirely who knows nothing about the author or the work or why it exists. And question everything about it. If it still holds up after the interrogation, submit it.

We don't have "ideal submissions." In fact, we don't provide submission guidelines at all. We want contributors to submit their work however they'd like us to receive it. We just ask that they put as much care into their submission as we put into reviewing it. Believe us, it's obvious when something is just fired off and submitted helter-skelter.

N/A. We don't have guidelines so there's nothing to get wrong.

We neither value nor disvalue cover letters. We care solely about the work itself—not who wrote it. If a work is accepted, we ask for a bio.

We can generally tell in the first few lines if a piece is for us or not, but we try to read each piece in full. We never make snap judgments, though. If we think it's not for us, we put it aside and revisit it several times over to be sure.

Depending on the piece we may have an extensive revisions process. Sometimes it's a matter of a few notes and line edits. Other times it's a back-and-forth process that involves close collaboration with the author. Importantly, our editorial process is in the name of making a piece as polished as possible. We never aim to undermine the author or usurp their work.

Morning, noon, night. During breaks at my day job. At cafés. On buses. I read submissions whenever I get the chance.

Depends on the piece. There may be no edits at all. There may be a few quick line edits and clarifying questions. We may push a writer to explore a particular theme more and leave it up to them. Or we may suggest sweeping edits (and that of course depends on how interested the contributor is in changing their work).

Not yet, but we're actively looking into adding this to our process!