Write, Publish, and Shine

Listen if you’ve been looking for books to support your writing practice, or maybe a list of books to give another writer in your life, or if you’ve been wanting to read with a community of writers, too, and need some guidance to get started. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maybe you have found yourself feeling compromised by the publication process. Maybe even by just anticipating the publication process you have bent your writing into something that doesn’t feel authentic to who you are and what you are here to say. If you recognize yourself in either of those statements, you’re not the only one. We write to be read and it can be hard to hold that confidence it tak...

Chill Subs is making the submissions process much easier and less stressful. That’s the mission statement on this database of places to send your writing. Well, that’s what it started as and it’s already growing into a bigger resource for writers. If you’re looking for a vibe that is warm and creative to learn and grow as a writer, registration is currently open for my Writerly Love Community: rac...

You’ll hear Mark Drew of the Gettysburg Review in this episode answering questions from the live cohort who came to our call attended by writers in the Lit Mag Love course. [rachelthompson.co/litmaglove]When you’ll listen you’ll note right away that this call happened in the first year of the pandemic and you’ll get an editor’s perspective on the kind of reflection missing from most writing in the...

Here are 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...

In this episode, Rachel Thompson talks with Lilly Dancyger of Narratively, about the responsibility of editors to elevate voices left out the conversation, why you should know what conversations have already been had about the subjects of your writing, her experiences with memoir writing both deep and shallow with ideas on how to find the deep stories that resonate with readers and editors. Hosted...

“Write rhymes with fight for a reason. We’re not all meant to be at the front line. I’m way more comfortable sitting down and trying to figure out how to write back against something that I really dislike.”*The Humber Literary Review* celebrates diversity and is built upon the idea that a healthy and vital community—artistic or otherwise—is an inclusive one, without barriers or discrimination. Wor...

Listen to hear about Lue’s Afrofuturistic writing and for insight into how things work at Room magazine where we are both collective members. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As in the midst of this vaccinated pandemic life, I have had many awkward social moments and truly stressful interactions where I don't feel connected to myself and who I am. And each time that happens, I realize I haven't been writing enough. I've missed the opportunity to practice my “cool loneliness.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I talk to Tamara Jong about celebrating writers’ publication wins. Tamara Jong (she/her) is a Montreal-born mixed-race writer/cartoonist of Chinese and European ancestry. Her work has appeared in Anomaly, Carte Blanche, Room Magazine, The New Quarterly, Invisible Publishing and Body & Soul; Stories forSkeptics and Seekers. Listen to her take on holding each other up as writers, je...

I'm reissuing this interview as a companion to a piece that was just posted on my website, written by Lucy Wilde, a writer in my course and membership community, about publishing with Atticus Review in a series of articles called "How I Published With..." You can find this article on rachelthompson.co/articles. As Lucy, my student, writes, "There are two main reasons I wanted to see my work in Att...

“I think there is too much pushing forward in a way that is not motivated by pleasure, that is motivated by shaped ambition or greed or some sense that people have as to what they should want. Zooming over everything else. And to me that is not literature. That is careerism.” —Wendy Lesser, founder of The Threepenny Review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You probably already know, or have heard, that rejection is a *big* part of writing to be read and submitting your work to lit mags. You probably also wish you could snap your fingers and become immune to rejection, but, sorry, it’s unavoidable. It just feels bad—we're wired for that. And, unfortunately, were we to totally avoid feeling bad about rejection, it would make us pretty bad writers. To...

Ellen Chang-Richardson is a poet, writer and editor of Taiwanese and Cambodian Chinese (or Chinese Cambodian) descent, whose writing has appeared in The Fiddlehead, Vallum Contemporary, and Watch Your Head, among others—including Room, which you'll hear about coming up. Hege A. Jakobsen Lepri is Norwegian-Canadian translator and writer. She had her first story published in English in 2013 and has...

"Really, the thing that keeps me writing is knowing that at some point I will have some kind of shared connection with readers." —Meli WalkerIn this episode, host Rachel Thompson speaks with Meli Walker about writing about grief and finding connection. They talk about their new joint-venture project, the Writing Grief Podcast (writinggrief.com) and how Meli is, herself, writing grief. Content Warn...

Host Rachel Thompson explores going from the intimate to the broad, the personal to the political, and how to reach out to the world with your writing with the help of six writers and editors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I think anything that’s written about well can be interesting.”—Shashi Bhat, *EVENT*Host Rachel Thompson speaks with EVENT Editor, Shashi Bhat about how no subject is off-limits and her urge for you to find your original take. You can also listen and experience someone doing something for the first time! Let this episode inspire you to try something new in writing or other creative pursuits. This...

“Trust that the reader came with you, trust that you did a good job and that you brought us there.” —Emily WojcikHost Rachel Thompson speaks with Emily Wojcik about trusting your writing and how the Massachusetts Review is more interested in the world than the self when it comes to writing they publish. Find all the show notes and a full transcript of the interview at rachelthompson.co/podcast/35T...

"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...

“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/ ReviewHost 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...

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 litt...

“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 LeducHost Rachel Thompson speaks with Amanda Leduc of the Festival of Literary Diversity about disability in literature and how the literary cultu...

“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 MagazineHost 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 du...

“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...

“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 MagazineHost 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 approa...