Editor Interview: The Blue Route

Fresh writing about life.

The Susquehanna Review. We've met some of the students involved and know that they spend a great deal of time producing a product and it really shows.

We enjoy the writing of Kim Addonizio, Jane Austen, S.T. Coleridge, Andre Dubus, Alice Munro, George Saunders, Alan Sillitoe to name a few.

At The Blue Route, everyone's opinion is important and valuable and so is every piece of work we receive. We work as a group to analyze each piece to figure out which pieces are not only the best, but that emphasize key thoughts and foundational ideas we share as writers and readers.

Don't be afraid to submit your work. Every submission is a different experience, and it is important to gain as much experience as possible. Also, please read the submission guidelines!

An ideal submission is one that is well written, imaginative, fresh, and comments or shows different aspects about life, people, and how people function. it should be written in a unique and personalized style. the piece should make us say: 'I never thought about it that way.' We look for work that we can fall in love with and be jealous of at the same time.

Some submitters do not follow the submission guidelines. Aside from that, some submitters do not always proofread.

We only ask for a brief biography of no more than 100 words written in the third person. What the submitter chooses to include is up to him or her. Some submitters include a list of personal literary achievements and some focus on different aspects of their personalities. We like to see a little of both of these things.

We read every piece once and then discuss all of them at length. For us it is important to get everyone's opinion and feedback on each piece. What might not be right for one person might be right for the group and The Blue Route.

We read and discuss all submissions at least once. We then pick the top twenty five and from there we pick our top eight.

It really does depend on the day. I check The Blue Route e-mail account at least once a day to see how many new submissions we have received. Once we have received enough, I combine them into a document (without submitter personal information) and send it out to our editorial staff for evaluation. I then set up a meeting time for everyone to get together and discuss the pieces we looked at.