Write, Publish, and Shine

"Poems, no matter what they are about or how they approach the world, have to need to happen." —Rebecca Salazar of *Plenitude*. Host Rachel Thompson speaks with Rebecca Salazar, Associate Poetry Editor of *Plenitude.* This interview a lot of topics, including what exactly is CanLit, RuPaul's Drag Race, and why submitting to contests isn't always the best choice. They also talk about representation and appropriation and Rebecca Salazar says what matters and is to be willing to be wrong,...

“We both really like having, essentially, the guts to look at not just issues in their full complexity, but also not to try to gloss over the ugliness.” —Amy Mitchell, The /tƐmz/ Review Host Rachel Thompson speaks with Amy Mitchell and Aaron Schneider about the introspection they want to see in political writing, the care and knowledge required to write about cultures, classes, and communities that you don't belong to, and taking the risk to be ugly in writing. (And the surprising thing they...

50th Episode! This special episode is all about you, the listeners. Rachel answers your questions, mostly about submitting and publishing in lit mags. Questions cover writing contests, the questions of whether to re-submit or not to re-submit, should you or should you not message editors who say they like your work, how quickly does writing about current events go stale. Plus, Rachel shares a little out-there theory about when you should time your submissions to lit mags. The Lit Mag Love...

“Don’t give up and recognize that the writing is a thing in and of itself as well. You need to be able to love doing the writing and just love being in this world that you create with your characters, over and above wanting your name on a book.” —Amanda Leduc Host Rachel Thompson speaks with Amanda Leduc of the Festival of Literary Diversity about disability in literature and how the literary culture has started to make a place for writers with disabilities. Find all the show notes and a...

“Nothing has to happen in the story. There doesn't need to be explosions or big shocking twists. It's just enough to have well-developed characters and a beautiful world.” —Terese Mason Pierre, Augur Magazine Host Rachel Thompson speaks with Terese Mason Pierre of Augur magazine about the “whole” characters and “human” stories that they publish and about letting things get messier in her writing during this pandemic year. Listen to their conversation on writing, and her reading, plus her...

“We’re excited if the forms that come in are not an arc. We’re not just looking for one direction of the piece, it doesn’t have to use linear time or linear form.” —Katelyn Keating, CRAFT. Host Rachel Thompson speaks with Katelyn Keating of CRAFT. Listen to their conversation on the mechanics of story openings and the emotions in their endings, reckonings still to be had in the literary discussion of the canon and what qualifies as short stories, and for behind-the-scenes details on how...

“I’m interested in asking different questions and in the vulnerability of language that allows for an honest attempt at expression and a way to investigate complex questions.” —Janice Lee, Entropy Magazine Host Rachel Thompson speaks with Janice Lee, Executive Editor of ENTROPY, in this interview from 2017. Listen for conversation about writing when language fails you and the community-first approach to ENTROPY magazine. This episode is brought to you by The Nasiona. Find all the show notes...

“You’re kinda playing with fire when you delve into trauma writing. It’s possible to push yourself past your own limits and touch on things that are more tender than you thought.” —Josh Brandon of Black Warrior Review Host Rachel Thompson speaks with Josh Brandon, Editor of Black Warrior Review, about taking a break when writing is difficult and about submitting and publishing your writing with their journal. This episode is brought to you by The Nasiona. Find all the show notes and a full...

Host Rachel Thompson speaks with editors from Qwerty magazine, based at the University of New Brunswick, about sumptuous food writing and, of course, everything you need to know if you want to submit and publish your writing with Qwerty.

Host Rachel Thompson speaks with three editors from the online journal Okay Donkey about weird poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Téa Franco, Genevieve Kersten, and Elizabeth Upshur discuss weird writing's significance and purpose in these weird times, how social media has helped us find our weird community and created all the extra weirdness available, and, of course, everything you need to know if you want to submit and publish your writing with Okay Donkey.

“I think that when a writer doesn’t have a good understanding of who they are and what their beliefs are...they are going to necessarily lack the conviction in their writing to go daring places, and ask daring questions.” —Alicia Elliott Alicia Elliott is a Tuscarora writer and the new Creative Non-Fiction editor at The Fiddlehead magazine. She is also someone both daring in her writing, and solid in her beliefs. She talks to host Rachel Thompson about the craft of creative nonfiction,...

In this episode, Ploi Pirapokin and Rachel Thompson start deep, jumping right into discussing estrangement for writers. Ploi shares about writing through immigration statuses and her Genius Visa. There is A LOT of laughter in this episode. (Rachel edited the big bursts of them, so they don't blast your eardrums.) You will find Ploi's joy as infectious—in the best way—as Rachel did during the interview. Ploi Pirapokin also reads from her award-winning lyric essay, “How to be Extraordinary in...

The biggest epiphany I had about my writing in the last year is that there is nothing special about my story. This sounds like a terrible epiphany, I realize! But it was so liberating. Let me explain. Full episode transcript available in the show notes on rachelthompson.co/podcast/43

Emerging author, Rowan McCandless shares how she built her writing community. She and Rachel discuss the four different forms of writing groups she engages. She also shares a racist experience she had in a writing course. Plus you can hear Rowan read from Persephone's Children, her forthcoming book of essays, out from Dundurn Press in September 2021.

` In this first solo episode after the Write, Publish, and Shine podcast reboot, I talk about the five things editors want in your writing submissions to journals. This is all based on my experience reading submissions, publishing work in a lit mag, and talking to dozens of editors from other literary journals who do the same. If you'd like to find assignments to help you get more of each of the five items in your writing, check out my article here: https://rachelthompson.co/w-r-i-t-e/

I have an announcement about this podcast, but before we get to it, I want to thank you for continuing to listen in this almost year since I released new podcast episodes. I feel you out there, I see the numbers, too, so I know you’re still out there listening and waiting for new episodes. So, thank you, thank you, thank you for your patience. Find the full transcript of this episode here: https://rachelthompson.co/podcast/reboot/

“We’re not a writing class, we’re a magazine.”

“We’re not a writing class, we’re a magazine.”

The Apple Valley Review is a semiannual online literary journal founded in 2005 by Leah Browning. Published in the spring and fall, each issue features a collection of poetry, short fiction, and personal essays. Apple Valley Review editor, Leah Browning, has worked as a freelance writer and editor since 1995. She is the author of three short nonfiction books for teens and pre-teens and six chapbooks of poetry and fiction.

The Apple Valley Review is a semiannual online literary journal founded in 2005 by Leah Browning. Published in the spring and fall, each issue features a collection of poetry, short fiction, and personal essays. Apple Valley Review editor, Leah Browning, has worked as a freelance writer and editor since 1995. She is the author of three short nonfiction books for teens and pre-teens and six chapbooks of poetry and fiction.