From the editors

Editor's Light

Eight letters from the desk where the submissions get read. Most of them are about the part writers never see: what an editor is doing between the day your story arrives and the day you hear back. Some of it is uncomfortable to put in writing. It is still better than guidelines that tell you nothing.

Eight letters

November 2025 to August 2026 · Written by T

  1. Newest

    I Read Your Guidelines. I Still Don't Know What You Want.

    It opens: Can I vent for a minute?

    Literary magazines often describe the work they want in beautiful, ambitious language—but writers can still finish reading the guidelines with no clear idea whether their story belongs. This post examines the gap between mission statements and useful submission guidance, why greater editorial transparency benefits both writers and magazines, and why sometimes the confusion is not the writer’s fault.

    Filed under On Submitting

  2. Because We All Have A Story

    It opens: June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate identity, community, and the right to exist fully in a world that doesn't always hold space for that.

    Filed under On Submitting

Filed under

Two letters are filed under two headings. They were about both things and we were not going to pick.

On Submitting 4 letters

What We Publish 3 letters

The Writing Life 3 letters

Our own submission guidelines are over here. Hold us to the letter at the top of this page.