Unexpected Turns in Ordinary Places, Editor Recommendations, Writer Diary Series and What We Published Last Month
Write or Die Magazine Updates: July 2024
Each month, you will receive this special newsletter with a recap of what our magazine published the month prior and what our editors have been up to. As the Write or Die Mag team, we will share what has been inspiring us, along with craft tips and opportunities to work one-on-one with us! Keep scrolling! <3
A Note from the EIC
Hey writers,
Last month, I talked about taking breaks and enjoying the sweet summer. I hope you have been enjoying your time too. I’m still holding on as tightly as I can to this warm weather and my favorite season, but August already feels like it’s going to be busier. Full of preparations for the Fall and gearing up to write my second novel. Write or Die mag has a ton of new things coming— fiction subs opening, masthead changes, website updates, and more— so the work has already begun! But that little lull in July was so necessary.
Did you take a break? How are you feeling creatively these days? Comment below. Honest answers only :)
<3
Kailey
Submit to Us! We are open for…
Creative Nonfiction
We are interested in essays that focus on the writing life and especially love work where the personal intersects with the critical.
Author Interviews
We accept pitches from interviewers interested in covering authors with a forthcoming or recently published book. We are especially interested in featuring books by debut authors and/or books published by indie presses.
Fiction
Our regular submission period is closed until September, but you can submit to us and hear back within two weeks, all year round! Bonus: all fees go directly to pay our editors, who volunteer their time generously to make this magazine what it is <3
Also open for…
Editorial feedback on your fiction or nonfiction pieces. Work one-on-one with our editors and get your work ready for publication!
↓ Click the button below for additional details about what we are looking for and how to submit it! ↓
My recommendation this month? As summer comes to a close, get deeper into your creative mind by getting deeper into your body—particularly via the play of your youth. I strongly believe that sometimes we need to shake loose our energy in order to break up creative blocks and stagnation. What better way to do this than with summer activities you enjoyed as a kid. Have a water balloon fight. Play hide and seek with your friends. Camp in your backyard. Go to the drive-in movies. Grab some sidewalk chalk and write a poem in big, bold letters. This will look different for all of us depending on our physical abilities and preferences, but I promise you: something new will take root in your creative brain, and it won’t always be what you expect. Even the most intense and challenging ideas often arrive when we’re having fun.
, assistant interview editor
In the motherhood corner, I’d like to recommend Real Talk: The Transition to Motherhood from the podcast A Slight Change of Plans. “Motherhood can be a time of profound internal upheaval, says clinical psychologist Molly Millwood. Molly offers an honest look at the transition into motherhood, drawing from scientific research, stories from her private practice, and her own experiences as a mother. She and Maya talk about how to navigate the grief, guilt, ambivalence, and other disorienting feelings that can often come up for new moms.”-- I found so much to reflect on while listening to this episode, and I’m grateful for the dialogue created here.
Shelby Hinte, associate editor
Would I be asking too much if I recommended an entire press? Southwest Review is the only magazine I have consistently paid to read for years. Always beautiful, always full of incredible work (including regularly publishing works in translation), and a great reprieve from the noise of the internet. Recently they announced that they’re expanding into book publication, and I nearly keeled over from excitement. I often feel despair when looking at the state of book publishing, but every time people who have a killer aesthetic and a commitment to art over “content” announce they’re going to try their hand at putting out books, I feel renewed hope that the literary landscape won’t totally devolve into celebrity memoirs, loosely veiled television scripts, and self-help books.
If you can’t shell out for a subscription, then enjoy some of the free work they host on their website. The ending of Nadia Bulkin’s short story “Someday You Will Regret Not Replying” (available online) absolutely fucked with me when I first read it, and this line: “Most of the dead ask for people they love. Some of the dead ask for people they hate. Give it enough time, and you can’t tell the difference.” DAMN. Bonus, their online blog regularly includes really thoughtful reviews: Blog - Southwest Review.
Nirica Srinivasan, editorial intern
I took a film appreciation course recently, for fun, hoping it’d introduce me to movies I hadn’t seen before. My favourite of the prescribed films was Pyaasa (1957), directed by and starring Guru Dutt — a classic of Hindi cinema, the story of a struggling poet in a world that doesn’t value poetry, a meditation on art and its value in a capitalist world (not much has changed since the 1950s, perhaps). It’s shot gorgeously, it’s deeply melancholic, and even the title sequence is a work of art — highly recommended!
, editor in chief
I’ve gotten back into weightlifting, and instead of blasting music through my headphones at the gym, I’ve been listening to audiobooks. This might not seem groundbreaking but it is for me. I have always maintained I can not properly exercise without a good playlist, but lately, I’ve been finding it fun to zone out into a story throughout my sets. It’s a completely different experience, listening instead of reading, something I didn’t enjoy until recently. I’ve been into the mystery thriller genre and The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean is a particular favorite so far!
Our assistant fiction editor, Suzanne, is a collector of craft tips. She will share her favorite tidbit of the month with us in each issue!
We’re drinking beer in clear plastic cups, sunlight glinting off the muscular hood of a McLaren Senna and putting halos over my vision, when a stranger promises us horseback riding, fishing, and swimming on 400 private acres. We only need to make one promise in return: Go on a quick tour of the property.
“I know you’ve probably never heard of our campground,” he says, “but we’re right here.” He points to a map. A thicket of forest in the middle of Ohio. “It’s not a scam. This is just how we do our marketing.”
Beaming smile. Friendly laughter. His hand in a firm shake. To make it official, professional.
“Yeah, we’re going to get murdered,” I say as my partner and I walk away from the man and toward the sound of race cars revving and releasing around a hairpin turn. We’re at the Pittsburgh Grand Prix, and already I’m addicted to that sound, the little thrill it puts high in my gut. “We come to tour the property, but we can never leave. It’s the beginning of a horror film. Look at the nice young couple making future plans together. A weekend at a beautiful state park. Then, death. It’s a story. I’m going to write it.”
“Well,” my partner says, “we have to go now. Just to see how it all plays out.”
My mind is already massaging the opening sentence.
#
This experience got me thinking about writing (because when am I not thinking about writing?) and, more specifically, one particular piece of craft advice I want to share with our Write or Die readers: If you’re struggling to create tension within the overall premise of your story OR at the scene level, find ways in which you can disrupt, complicate, or subvert your protagonist’s expectations. So, take a look at your story idea or your scene. What are your character’s goals or desires when they enter the story or scene? What do they most want or need to occur by the end? What do they expect will happen? Now, how might you introduce an element—usually some form of conflict—that completely turns that expectation on its head?
The scenario I’ve described from my weekend at the races plays into a classic horror trope, thus making it familiar and predictable—and also a fun challenge to try to complicate in some way.
For our writing prompt this month, let’s take on the challenge of beginning in a setting that feels super benign: a grocery store; a gas station; a yoga studio; the mall (Brittany, that’s for you); a graduation ceremony (Buffy the Vampire Slayer had some fun with this canonical event). Now, how might you totally disturb what both your characters and readers expect from this situation? As always, don’t be afraid to lean into the weird and bizarre. And, don’t forget to have fun.
Essays
Background Knowledge by Miklós Vámos. Translated by Ági Bori
Published: July 10
I expected a lot more from myself. It is conceivable that an author’s competency is narrower than I could have hoped.
The Donington Method: How to Teach Yourself by Imitating the Greats by Paul Rousseau
Published: July 17
What are we if not an amalgamation of our influences—all mashed together and then squeezed out and presented in a coherent braid by the arcane integration machine that is our own idiosyncratic minds?
Fern Frost, Shape-Shifting, and Meaning-Making by Sarah Kain Gutowski
Published: July 31
Surviving fear and despair, however—even momentarily—makes poems possible. And necessary.
Fiction
“Lohmelle” by Charlotte Guest
My mother and I are close; we write to each other often. We call. I know which days of the week she volunteers at the History Village and the days she plays Mahjong. I know all her friends’ names and the states of their marriages. Barbara, for instance, is in the process of divorcing her husband who had an affair with his lab assistant, which is the slightly more interesting version of getting it on with his secretary. Graham, the husband, is deeply remorseful, but he’s ‘blown it,’ as Mum describes, ‘totally blown it.’ Mum texts me such details and together we speculate on who will keep the house, the car, the kids. Barbara, obviously. Barbara will keep all of it. So there’s no question my mother and I are close—I just don’t know what she looks like.
Also, check out Charlotte’s Fiction Spotlight interview
Rejection is commonplace and, after the initial sting, can often teach us something about how to improve our writing. Some of the best editorial advice I’ve received has come from generous rejections. I can’t remember who said this, but I tend to subscribe to the formula that you have one day to sulk and stomp and moan—one day—and then you need to get on with it. Do the work. Write.
Author Interviews
Annell López: On Writing About Erasure, MFAs Conversations on Cultural Identity, Newark, and Her Short Story Collection ‘I’ll Give You a Reason’ by
Published: July 2
I find the novel form restrictive in this particular case. The novel wouldn’t have allowed me the panoramic view of this place as I wanted to. The short story form felt more expansive.
: On Mothering, Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness, Starting a Book at 43, and Her Debut Memoir ‘Hell Gate Bridge’ by
Published: July 9
I always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t until I gained a bit of confidence—at age 43—that I thought I might have something worth putting on a page. That is to say, I never formally studied writing and so, reading the work of others is what has always and continues to guide me.
Marin Kosut: On Manifestos, Why America Hates Artists, Banning Success From Her Vocabulary, and Her New Book ‘Art Monster’ by
Published: July 11
We have been socialized to believe that success comes with our relationship to the market. If we're making something that people are buying, they're buying the thing we are selling —that kind of standard definition of success.
Leigh Lucas: On Finding Humor in Grief, Riding the Residency Wave, How Mothering Informs Writing, and Her Debut Chapbook, ‘Landsickness’ by Brittany Ackerman
Published: July 16
Becoming a mother is such a complex thing to describe, but above all, it has been such a joy-filled experience for me. Kids live every day like artists should.
: On the Idealized Artist Life, Garnering Sense of Self Through Friendship, How to Make a Writing Group Last, and Her Essay Collection ‘First Love’ by Kim Narby
Published: July 18
My idealized artist life now is a much quieter one. When I was a teenager, a big part of the appeal to me was the social aspect of it. I wanted to be in the creative world. I wanted to be talking to other artists and sitting in a cafe and smoking cigarettes and talking for hours at a time about art. I don't smoke anymore, but I still like to talk to artists about their work.
Ashleah Gonzales: On Inspirations from Youth, Romanticizing the Self, and Cool Girl Lit in Her Debut Poetry Collection, ‘Fake Piñata’ by Brittany Ackerman
Published: July 25
I tend to push on metaphorical bruises a lot, not to sound like a masochist, but I prefer to feel deeply and see how that is.
Rachel Khong: On Feeling Like a Misfit, Time as Commodity, Defining Success on Her Own Terms, and Her Novel ‘Real Americans’ by Erin Russ
Published: July 30
Reading is such an active activity. You can’t just read and let it wash over you. You have to actively participate and engage in the questions that a book is asking.
Features
A Week in New York City as a Debut Author on Book Tour—Writer Diary by Yasmin Zaher
Yasmin Zaher is a Palestinian journalist and writer born in 1991 in Jerusalem. Her first novel, The Coin, was released by Catapult on July 9, 2024.
This diary represents a week in her life on her first book tour, where she signed book copies around New York City, celebrated her birthday, had her first radio interview, and more.
We ask our past contributors to keep in touch and let us know if they have writing or publishing news after being featured in Write or Die Magazine! We are so honored to have published these writers and their work. Here is a look at what they've been celebrating since their appearance in our mag!
Paul Rousseau
Author of The Donington Method: How to Teach Yourself by Imitating the Greats published on July 17, 2024
News: My debut, FRIENDLY FIRE: A FRACTURED MEMOIR is forthcoming from HarperCollins/Harper Horizon September 10, 2024.
Denise Napoli Long
Author of “This is a Story,” published on September 13, 2023
News: Recently a finalist for the SmokeLong Quarterly Contest, currently published in their finalist issue. Also recently published in Ars Medica.