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Susan Ito trying to do it all: reading writing mothering spousing daughtering working living

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The Other Side of the Mailbox


I'm very happy to announce that as of this week, I am one of the new Fiction Editors at Literary Mama.
I have long been a huge fan of theirs, and I love the group of women who have established this fantastic site. Along with Suzanne Kamata, I will be reading short stories by mothers, about the wild, complex, intense experience of parenting. Here are the general Literary Mama guidelines:

Literary Mama seeks:
  • Short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction (please see specific guidelines by genre below).
  • Writing rooted in/inspired by the experience of motherhood.
  • Submissions written by writers of all ages who are also self-identified mothers: biological, non-biological, step, transgendered, foster, grand, or adoptive.
  • We prefer previously unpublished work. We will consider reprints, however, if you have the rights and the work is not currently available online.
  • Authors retain rights. Please credit us if your work is republished.
  • Standard response time from 3-12 weeks. Manuscripts are read year round except for June and December.
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed, as long as you notify us if accepted elsewhere.
  • Electronic submissions only. Please send submissions to the appropriate departmental editors (see genre guidelines below). Include a brief cover letter.
  • What we tend to like:

  • Revelation so stark that it hurts. Pathos can reveal, but so can humor and joy.
  • Superior craft (clarity, concrete details, strong narrative development).
  • Ambiguity, complexity, depth, thoughtfulness, delicacy, humor, irreverence, lyricism, sincerity; the elegant and the raw.
  • And more about our specific department:
    Editors: Susan Ito and Suzanne Kamata, fiction@literarymama.com

    The fiction department seeks short fiction of less than 6,000 words. We love:

  • Stories with strong narrative structure, great characters, interesting settings, beautiful language, complicated themes.
  • Fiction that reflects the full experience -- the hard parts and the joyous.
  • Fiction at a flat-out, heart-racing run.
  • Fiction that meanders slowly and irrevocably.
  • Please send submissions in the text of an email along with a brief cover letter. Please put "Fiction Submission from Your Name" in the subject heading. (we get an insane amount of spam) We report in 3-8 weeks.

    I hope to be reading some of your work! If you write poetry or creative nonfiction, visit here and scroll down to those sections.

    6 Comments:

    Blogger mel said...

    Congrats on being fiction editor!

    Friday, May 26, 2006 1:23:00 PM

     
    Blogger xtinehlee said...

    yay, i can finally comment on this (blogger commenting was down yesterday)--congrats on being a fiction editor, too! though for obvious reasons you will not see a submission from me (i'm not mama).

    here's to many excellent submission for you to savor and sift through!

    Tuesday, May 30, 2006 9:37:00 AM

     
    Blogger Susan said...

    I neglected to add that there are 3 "special issues" of Literary Mama that do NOT have to be written by mothers!

    Special Issues
    Although we usually accept writing by self-defined mother-writers on the topic of mothering, we seek submissions for three special issues from people other than self-defined moms (as well as self-defined moms) on topics intimately related to mothering. We need to receive submissions for the special issues at least three months before the month in which that special issue will be published. These special issues are listed below:

    October: Desiring Motherhood
    We seek writing about the desire to have or not to have children. This issue will explore issues of primary and secondary infertility; the effects on the human soul of reproductive technologies; concerns about having more children or not having any at all; the relationship of caregivers to the mothering role and their desires for mothering; and more.

    May: Mother's Day Month
    We seek writing that is about mothers from the child's perspective, or from fathers, partners or other family members about the mothers they love.

    June: Father's Day Month
    We seek writing that is about fathers from the child's perspectives; about the relationships between fathers and mothers and husbands and wives; about husbands as fathers; and by self-defined fathers about fathering and mothering (including lesbian or transexual parents who identify as fathers).

    Tuesday, May 30, 2006 9:47:00 AM

     
    Blogger Miriam said...

    Congratulations Susan! That's great news.

    Tuesday, May 30, 2006 10:35:00 AM

     
    Blogger writingblind said...

    Wow, congratulations. That's awesome.

    Thursday, June 01, 2006 3:46:00 PM

     
    Blogger Patry Francis said...

    Congratulations, Susan! You'll be a great addition to an always wonderful journal.

    Wednesday, June 07, 2006 8:26:00 AM

     

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