Editor Interview: French Broads Lit

Appalachian originality

We publish work from writers and artists based in or with a special relationship to the southern Appalachian mountains or surrounding regions. To us, this includes most of the South toward the Mississippi up to around the Chesapeake Bay area. Possibly even further afield, if you can tell us why. As a lifelong Southerner and a more recent Appalachian, it is so important to me that FBL showcases the perspective, diversity, complexity, and magic of this unique part of the world.

Don’t self-select yourself out of consideration. We’re happy to consider pieces that don’t fit perfectly within a single genre, or risk-taking works that may seem out of place in other literary magazines. We invite you to get weird with it.

Well written, with a confident tone, and an ethos that surprises us. We want to accept pieces we’re proud to show others.

Little. We read all our submissions blind. If you don’t send a biography with your submission, we will ask for one upon acceptance.

We read every piece in its entirety. If you’ve gone through the trouble of writing and submitting it to us, the least we can do as editors is read it. We strive to include feedback with every rejection we send.

As little as possible. We want the art and writing we publish to be from the heart of its creators. If we feel a piece is close, we will work with the author individually on larger edits. We always ensure final, copy-edited proofs are approved by the author prior to publication.

Yes! While we are a new magazine, we are honored to nominate for the Pushcart Prize.

As a new, not-for-profit lit mag, the reality is that we typically break even at the end of an issue. Anything earned from the sale of physical copies and donations, beyond the expenses of publishing FBL, will always be donated to relevant non-profit organizations in Western North Carolina.