Editor Interview: The Missing Slate

Int'l fiction & poetry

The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, Vogue (for the look)

We publish both. Favorite fiction writers are Jennifer Egan, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, Fyodor Dostoevsky, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Vladimir Nabokov

Nobody is as transatlantic or cosmopolitan or as culturally diverse as we are. Most literary publications are focused in a particular region or country or continent. We look only at publishable, young, enthusiastic talent.

Read past issues and always ensure your grammar and spelling are right. Read through our team's comments on what particular editors are looking for (there's a lot of diversity within the editorial board itself, but some commonalities too). Be thorough. Don't just submit work helter-skelter.

The ideal submission tells a story using language at its most potent apex, narrating something important keeping the reader's attention fixated, and leaves a mark long after the final word. It must also be about something, instead of merely pretty words. It must say something.

They don't tend to include their author bios or if they do, include them in the body of their piece which appears as though they didn't bother reading the guidelines. It makes it seem like we're part of a mass email approach, which doesn't bode well. If you don't take the time to go through guidelines, it only leads to negative feelings on the parts of the reviewing editors.

We know next to nothing about the person submitting to us, although we do require an author bio. However, the selection editors see only the material so work is based on what's on the page, versus publication credits. Work is judged on its own merits.

Generally pieces are read from start to finish, in case the unfavorable impression on first read is reversed later and all it really requires is suitable editing. We don't give up on pieces too quickly.

Material is judged on it own merit with selecting editors not knowing the names or previous publication credits of its author. We do check for plagiarism, however.

Material is received by reviewing/assistant editors who go through all submissions, isolating those of particular importance, stripping them of their bios and other identifiable markers. These are then sent onward with recommendations for publishing, to the deputies and editors who read through them. Discussions are held, pieces are identified by each editor where each editor gets at least one pick and the opportunity to argument for/against it. Once a consensus is reached, authors are notified of their success and editing (where required) begins. Once both editor and writer are satisfied, material is compiled and finalized and sent onward to the proofreaders and the creative department.