Editor Interview: Deep South Magazine

Southern writing

The New Yorker, Zoetrope, Poets & Writers, Dead Mule, The Southern Review, Duotrope

Joshilyn Jackson, Flannery O'Connor, Truman Capote, Carl Hiaasen, Bobbie Ann Mason, Donna Tartt

We only accept works by Southern writers or those with a tie to the South, published in conjunction with stories on food, travel, culture, arts and Southern literature.

First of all, you must either be from the South or have spent significant time here. Your work also must be influenced by the region and reflect some aspect of the culture and/or landscape.

Attached in a Word document, within the word limits specified and including a short bio about the author that details their connection to the South.

They don't tell us their connection to the South or don't have one at all. Including a short bio is very helpful in determining whether a submitter is qualified.

As much as possible. Where they're from, educational background, writers who influenced them, where they've been published.

We try to read the full piece before making a decision, but sometimes you can tell after the first paragraph or two that a piece isn't appropriate or the subject matter not a good fit for us.

We usually have a team of interns and a submissions manager who review all submissions and narrow them down. Sometimes, we'll ask the author if they are open to making a few changes and resubmitting to make the story stronger.

I'm usually working on a hundred things at once, and since our magazine also publishes regular articles and works with interns, there's lots of writing and editing beyond just reading submissions. I try to be respectful of other writers' work and respond to each submission in a timely manner, but I don't always accomplish that. We also try to organize submissions by season and sometimes pair them with our editorial coverage, so a piece submitted in the fall that's appropriate for summer could get held for several months. Overall, the quality of submissions we receive is phenomenal and it's been a pleasure reading them so far.

We only edit for spelling and grammar and even then we are careful not to change the tone or meaning the author intended. If we feel like a piece is a good fit but needs heavier editing, we may go line by line and let the author participate in the process.

Yes, we nominate for the Pushcart Prize.