After taking a detour into Creative Nonfiction last fall (which was an absolute blast), we got back on track reading fiction and poetry submissions for upcoming Issue 12 and wow—I was amazed at not only the sheer number of submissions we received, but also the quality. I am absolutely grateful that so many talented writers and poets trust us with their work and think so highly of us. (And believe me: there are worst things in the world than reading hundreds of fantastic submissions.)
But of course it is always difficult to whittle submissions down to the final list—we had to turn away some pieces we loved but that just weren’t right for us at this time. It’s never fun, and I hope that folks are able to appreciate the final line-up of contributors (featuring established and new writers and everyone in-between), as well as the quality of pieces overall. Because, truly, this is one of the strongest issues we’ve ever put together.
Check out the cover for Issue 12 below—a monument to the Midwest, I think, and one of my all-time faves.