I Love Lit Journals

​A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away (Austin, Texas) I was a secret poet. As an undergrad, I wrote piles of poems, most of which never got finished. Then I went out into the real world and had to survive, so I worked shitty jobs. I put my husband through grad school with those shitty jobs, so I can’t harp on them too much. But in the last few years, I finally got to dedicate myself to writing.  
 
Now, I’m writing more and more short fiction. I started with flash, which seemed like an easy jump from poetry. My goal is to get published, to be able to make it with my writing. For now, editing pays the bills (and don’t get me wrong, I love it), but being a full-time writer is the end-game.
 
The first advice anyone offers a new writer on getting published is to read more. I’ve been following that advice, focusing on finding new journals and new (to me) authors. Here's my current TBR pile. 

Comics & Arts:
​Tales of Honor by Matt Hawkins: I picked this up at last year's Comicpalooza and have just now gotten a chance to check it out. I also got Wildfire, which is a very well thought-out sci-fi premise about plants taking over the world and made me wish I was a comic book writer! (Its pretty awesome that I got both signed too. Nice perk of attending cons.)
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan: I'm not sure where I picked this up, but the first few pages are a rough ride (The character is in the middle of giving birth in the first page)! Talk about starting in medias res. The artwork is pretty rad, too. 
SubTerrain: I've got a new penchant for Canadian lit mags, which seem to have it all figured out. This one is beautiful, the inside pages read like a watercolor painting. I'd love to have my work in a journal like this. 

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Standards:
I've been trying to read more lit journals with major circulation. I prefer small press and small lit mags, but you have to read what's popular, right? Or rather, what puts the quo in status quo. These are a good selection of different lit fiction/poetry journals - Ploughshares, Southern Poetry Review, Fields, New England Review, and Zoetrope. Fields is a new one - they are based out of my home town, Austin, and I picked it up over at Brazos. I like the design of the mag, but I wanted a bit more meat out of the creative writing. I give them props for including such distinctive local arts coverage. 

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Speculative Lit: 
Asimov's Science Fiction​: Asimov's is a standard in the sci fi world. I was surprised by how accessible the work in this volume was. I also like the pocket-sized feel of it. It's a bit nostalgic. 
Interzone: A UK-based mag with beautiful layout and visuals. I particularly enjoyed Chris Butler's "The Deep of Winter," (Gripping tale of an underground city changed forever by a time traveling researcher) and Catherine Tobler's "Silencer - Head Like a Hole Remix" (A unique take on school shootings that utilizes voice and POV in ways that make me wish I were a better writer.) 
Fantasy & Science Fiction: Another standard. Can you believe I found all of these at my local Barnes & Noble? I was surprised to see that they had such a great literary journal selection. 

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Poetry:
This is only a selection of the poetry books I've been reading lately. I was always a poetry writer, but I found it hard to find poets I liked. I've found I prefer those that are most accessible. I enjoy playing with structure, and appreciate artists who can make it work, but I find it's often not done well. 
Phyla of Joy by Karen An-Hwei Lee: Karen was my workshop leader at this year's Glen West Workshop. She's a delightful leader and lovely person, and her poetry reflects that. My favorites have to be poems about bees, which made me want to write my own bee poems. 
Application for Release From the Dream by Tony Hoagland: If you like funny, irreverent poems, Tony's your man. A local Houston poet with an accessible voice. 
Gulf Music by Robert Pinsky: If you're a poet, you should probably read the works by former Poet Laureates, right? Pinksy was in town recently but I missed the chance to see him read. 

I'm off to the Texas Book Festival this weekend, so I'll bring back more to share! What literary journals have you added to your TBR pile lately?

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