The works we received this submission period trended religious, or leaned on redemption through death or murder. Revenge played a prominent role. While we are always curious to see how our submission calls spark imaginations, the works we selected do not outright deal with those themes. These are multifaceted, heartfelt (and sometimes humorous!) stories and poems, and where the element of redemption is subtle, but by the time you read the last word, the absolution is clear.
The Apparition Lit editors are pleased to present Issue 11:
Poems:
Cursebody by May Chong
Posle Nas by Rosalie Morales Kearns
Stories:
Saying Sorry by Rebecca Fung
Once Upon a Night by Sam Muller
The Limits of Magic by Samantha Mills
The Truth of a Lie by Jeff Reynolds
Non-fiction:
You are the Dream and the Dreamer by Aurelius Raines II
A note to the future:
Here at Apparition Lit, we’re always looking for ways to improve ourselves as editors, readers, and people. I’d like to share an excerpt from our Patreon blog in which we outline our upcoming plans:
At Apparition Lit, we’ve been working on several initiatives that will help us create equity in our magazine. Last year we based our Flash Fiction contest on LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC media criticism to promote new and upcoming voices. This year we’re focusing on international artwork by BIWOC. This has helped introduce us to new writers and broaden our own mindset.
Our magazine is still small. We can’t afford to hire Editorial Assistants, and we’ve only recently gotten the rate of submissions that needs slush readers. As we continue to expand, we will actively look for BIPOC guest editors, readers, and writers to add to our team. For 2021 (or potentially late 2020), we plan to:
- Hire a BIPOC guest editor (with pay) for each issue.
- Feature essays from writers who identify as BIPOC in upcoming issues.
- Actively recruit BIPOC volunteer slush readers (about 8 hours of commitment a quarter).
- Open up our submissions for simultaneous subs for people who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+, since other great lit mags are open during the same period we are.
- Create a “new magazine” initiative and provide assistance and funds for BIPOC looking to start their own magazine.
- Create a rotating mentorship program for BIPOC writers where we can answer publishing questions, help with editing, or just provide a friendly ear.
We will reach out to writers, readers, and editors individually, but our email and Twitter DMs are open to hearing your feedback on what you’d like to see, or if you’re interested in working with us.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon and following us on Twitter. Without our barnacled friends, this issue wouldn’t exist.
Thank you,
Tacoma Tomilson
Managing Editor
Apparition Literary Magazine is funded by the editors and by your kind donations. If you’d like to support us, you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter and please consider donating and/or subscribing via our website. For 2020, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve increased our pay rate for short stories to $0.03 per word and poetry to $30 flat rate.
Thank you for reading,
