Demystifying the Lit Mag Submission Process
Date & Time
Saturday, 1-5 p.m.
June 17
Class Size
15 Students
Saturday, 1-5 p.m.
June 17
15 Students
Literary magazines are a vital part of the world of publishing, but—let’s face it—the submission process can be confusing and at times demoralizing. This boot camp aims to arm you with the tools that will get your work noticed by the right editors at the right journals. We will discuss ways to build a community of supportive readers for your work, peer and self-editing techniques, resources for discovering new magazines, and, yes, writing strong cover letters.
Following the class, participants will have a chance to meet and mingle with some of the industry’s top literary magazine editors. Wine and snacks will be served.
Visiting editors: Meakin Armstrong & Kyle Lucia Wu
Meakin Armstrong has been fiction editor of Guernica for 11 years. He is a freelance writer, a former adjunct professor, and has worked at The New Yorker, Forbes, and Business Insider. His writing has appeared in Wigleaf, Mr. Beller's Neighborhood, The Atlantic, and in various anthologies. Awards include a work-study scholarship to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and a scholarship to SLS in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Kyle Lucia Wu is a writer based in Brooklyn. She is the co-publisher of Joyland, the party correspondent at Literary Hub, and a PEN prison writing mentor. She is an Asian-American Writers Workshop Margins Fellow for 2017 and has an MFA in fiction from The New School. Her work has appeared in Guernica, Electric Literature, Literary Hub, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Rumpus, and Interview Magazine.
Lena Valencia is the director of educational programming and managing editor of One Story. She has held positions at A Public Space and BOMB Magazine, and taught classes at The New School and Sackett Street Writers. Her writing has appeared in Joyland, Epiphany, BOMB, the Tiny Nightmares anthology, and elsewhere. She has an MFA in fiction from The New School and is the recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. For more information, visit lenavalencia.com.
"Lena was a wonderful instructor, always a great blend of thoughtful and thorough when reading, as well as insightful during critiques. Our class featured a very diverse blend of voices, styles, and genres, and Lena was able to add value to every submission. She reads and comments with a true editorial eye, and her feedback truly helped improve my work."
"Writing fiction is like leaping into darkness, reaching for a bar you can’t see. For the first few attempts at a story, you’re pretty much guaranteed to fall, even if you’re an experienced writer. On day one of our workshop, Lena set up a strong, elastic net of trust and support. We all felt inspired to try challenging feats, knowing that when we fell, we’d bounce back up and catch the bar with the momentum to swing to the opposite platform."
