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Editor Interview: Moonday Mag

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

A: lovely fever dream

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

A: McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Phases Magazine, Hot Pot Magazine, Seaside Gothic, Sunhouse Literary, The Kingfisher Magazine, Tin House, Cunning Folk, Midsummer Magazine, Folklore Review, Fangoria, and The Stinging Fly. I admire their content, their curation, their aesthetics, and their legacies.

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

A: Some of my favorite writers are Carmen Maria Machado, Daniel Handler, Samantha Hunt, Isaac Marion, William Shakespeare, William Faulkner (I was in my AP English teacher's "Faulkner Freaks" club), Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Jane Austen, Italo Calvino, Ottessa Moshfegh, and lately, Kelly Link and Karen Russell. Some of my favorite contemporary artists are Rachael Olga Lloyd, Lin Yung Cheng, Fatima Ronquillo, Anastassia Zamaraeva, Jeremy Geddes, Mimi Choi, Miles Johnston, Summer Wagner, and Amy Guidry (who we were lucky enough to have in issue #4!).

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

A: With Moonday Mag, I hope to elevate the idea of genre fiction. When I worked in an independent bookstore, "fantasy and sci-fi" went almost hand-in-hand with "young adult" which cut off entire speculative genres from potential readers. I've even noticed that other magazines publishing similar work tend to narrow in on very specific subjects, such as only mythology or only urban fantasy. There are many wonderful speculative magazines, but Moonday Mag aims to be a speculative literary magazine. This doesn't mean a 1% acceptance rate, but rather just a closer curation of our issues. We look for pieces that absolutely transport us, but also inspire us to be better readers and writers. Age, gender, background, and location do not matter here, as long as your work demands our undivided attention. We're at home on the shelf with other traditional literary magazines, but we happen to enjoy the magical and macabre parts of life.

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

A: Proofread, proofread, proofread! And read our past issues... I know every publication says this but that's because it's truly invaluable. Nothing helps your submission (to anywhere) more than actually being familiar with the publication. Submitting an amazing feat of literary excellence that has no speculative elements will, unfortunately, not find a home here. I would also advise writers to consider if their work is better suited for a place like Analog or Asimov's. We don't publish much high fantasy or gore-forward work at Moonday Mag.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: The ideal submission for Moonday Mag opens with atmospheric descriptions and a main character who would otherwise not be given a second glance when passing on the sidewalk. We love feelings and moods over conversations and personalities. We want to be transported – into a world, into a moment. The ideal submission is also crafted for Moonday Mag, by a writer who has followed our journey and knows what we want to see. Simultaneous submissions are always welcome, but we can definitely tell when you just get us.

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

A: We see a lot of emailed submissions bogged down with publication history, forty-year biographies, and links to every book they've ever published. We would rather just read your work and fall in love with you later! I understand the eagerness, but our submission guidelines note what additional information we need, which is simply your name, a 100-word bio, and 2-3 personal links. The faster we can get to your work, the faster you'll receive a response.

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

A: Whoops, guess I just answered this with the last question. Again, we just want to know who you are – today. A concise cover letter addressed to the editors, with the name of your piece, the word count, its publication history (if any), and your short bio is all we need. I think the perfect submission gives us an idea of you, but does not force a carefully crafted image of you into our minds before we read. Personally, I like to imagine the person who could've written my new favorite short story, after I've finished reading it.

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

A: Unless it is wildly unreadable or, say, obviously a children's story, every piece is read, to the end, by myself and at least two other readers! Because even if I have a feeling it will be rejected, we still try to provide feedback, including which types of markets the piece could be better suited for.

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

A: Once a piece has been accepted by volunteer readers, and then by myself, there is waiting period for the writer to receive a formal acceptance. During this period, we are laying out future themed issues and finding the perfect group for it. So besides the writing itself, we are also evaluating whether or not it fits in with other pieces and artwork. The more unique and niche, the longer the waiting period may be for the writer.

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

A: Because we accept submissions on a rolling basis, every morning, I check our email to sort new submissions into fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. This way, if we are only accepting a certain category at the time, I can easily filter work to review. Once a week, our volunteer readers are assigned new pieces to read, which I then re-read the following week and tag with relevant themes. When it's time to choose work for the next issue, I use these tags before reviewing new, unsorted submissions. I personally send out acceptances and rejections every few days, or as soon as possible. I think it's a pretty well-oiled machine.

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

A: We make very few edits to accepted pieces, and also give the authors a chance to submit revised versions after acceptance. I provide basic proofreading in addition to the copyediting by our fiction editor, which usually just catches punctuation mistakes (us writers really love sprinkling semicolons and em dashes!). Anything further than punctuation is approved by the author. If we think we love a piece but it requires much deeper editing, we may ask a writer to re-submit at a later time.

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

A: We nominate for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize!