Editor Interview: Phoebe Fiction Contest

Writing that moves us

We're big admirers of our sister journal, So To Speak, and of many large and small publications. Our staff has fairly diverse tastes, and the common denominator is we all like writing that takes risks, tries new things, and moves us emotionally as well as intellectually. No art should be a purely cerebral endeavor. My personal favorites right now are the Southwest Review, F(r)iction, Bourbon Penn, and Deracine.

We're set apart by the fact that we care and legitimately love the writing we see come through our submission form. It's a bit of a shame we can't talk to everyone who submits to phoebe because there are so many writers doing worthwhile writing that a rejection just doesn't acknowledge at all. We're all readers, writers, and generally fans of literature, and I think we need to remember that: we're all fans and should celebrate each other as much as possible.

Love it. Really put the time into your writing to not only tell a story but demonstrate your understanding of that story. Nothing turns a reader away like a sense that they can't trust the writer. We want writers who are passionate about what they write, who have something to say and have gathered all the right words to say it. We love work in particular that makes us feel or makes us wonder or makes us shiver. Most of the time, when we don't accept a story, it's because we just didn't feel the piece was ready yet.

The ideal submission is thoughtful and thoroughly cared for. Its little blemishes are easy enough to take care of and its author feels that this subject matters. The ideal submission uses words that we weren't expecting, but now that we've read it, we know it couldn't be any other way. The ideal submission compels us to stay with it, to forget that these are just words on the page, to be carried forward like we are a small boat and the piece is the ocean, and there is only one way to be sent: towards the ending. The ending is also just right, landing on a moment of crisp balance--the subject has been well considered, but not overly considered so that we're tired of it. The piece is only our minds remember because of the emotion or wonder it provoked in us, our brains turning it over like a smooth stone in our hands.

It's a fairly simple process to navigate, and the place we may lose people is in the guidelines because they haven't read them. Beyond that, writers who include an inappropriate cover letter. We aren't expecting a love letter or an autobiography. A short, cordial letter will do. Frankly, we often don't even read them until we need information, like a mailing address. Other than that, writers who are jerks and don't treat us like human beings or who treat us like enemies. We're people who volunteer our time to do this because we love it and love literature, just like you. We're on your side.

We care more about the piece. It's nice to know sometimes if a writer has been published elsewhere because we really like featuring new writers, but their history doesn't really matter. What's important is the present and whether the piece will still be making us feel and wonder and think in the future.

I honestly read the entire piece. I feel passionately that, if a writer pays for a submission (and phoebe charges a small submission fee, which 100% goes to our operations and publishing costs), the least I can do is read it. In the interest of full disclosure, of course, there are times late at night when I've been working for 12 hours or otherwise have looming deadlines or my dog is barking at me that wants his treats that I might go with my gut on a piece after a couple pages, but I more often than not read every piece in its entirety. All that said, we don't require all of our readers to read the entire piece, because they, too, are all volunteers. We ensure every piece sees at minimum three pairs of eyes, but how deep they each go is at their discretion.

A team of readers considers every piece, making notes and comments about the reasons for the yeses and nos. Then, the editors take the pieces with the top scores and hold a reader meeting, asking for discussion. Sometimes, these meetings go as planned, but sometimes, the piece voted the highest actually doesn't make it because the readers felt more or wondered more about other lower-scoring pieces. It is at these reader meetings that the final pieces are chosen based on the mutual decisions of the group, lead by the editor and assistant editor of that genre. This is where you can really tell that our choices are all about what feelings or emotion were provoked by the piece.

Phoebe is only a slice of my life. I, of course, am also a writer, and I am a student and GTA in George Mason University's MFA program. So, I take classes and teach classes. Beyond that, I'm married and try to give as much time to my wife as I can, which usually translates to dinner and a dog walk.

In most cases, we treat writers' work with a light hand. We'll treat a piece with proof reading and grammar and style edits. We may, at our discretion, perform some line edits. However, if we think a piece requires substantive edits, we will work with the author to ensure their vision and voice is maintained. Remember, we're writers, too, and in an ideal world, every piece would get full author approval before publication. However, we just can't dedicate the time and resources and have to rely on our editors' expertise and discretion for edits that don't change meaning, vision, or voice. Of course, if a writer expresses a desire to review edits before publication, we usually can accommodate; however, this is not a matter of policy and is always at the editor's discretion.

Yes, we nominate work for the Pushcart Awards every year. We hope to do more in the future.