Our first Lit Mag Spotlight of 2014 is shining on The Adirondack Review. Read on to see why proofreading really (really) matters, and what TAR has in store for 2014. They’ve got a lot to say and an offer you can’t refuse. Enjoy!
CONTEST: Leave a comment on this blog post by January 29 to enter to win FREE TAR contest submissions for as long as The Adirondack Review is in publication! Wow! This contest is now closed. Congratulations to our winner Terrance, and thanks to all who participated!
Give us the lowdown on your journal’s mission.
We want to provide our readers with art and writing that accomplishes a bunch of things all at once: ideas and narratives that make us see ourselves in new ways, that ask questions that can border on the alarming, that give people something to sink their teeth into while they’re spending hours in front of a computer at work or while they’re decompressing at home with tea. From photography to translation to poetry to reviews, we want to remind readers that there is so much remarkable art at our fingertips—and also that independent creative communities are thriving despite the great transition taking place in publishing.
Describe your ideal submission in 15 words or less.
I love submissions that make the strange beautiful, that challenge the banal and unearth something unexpected.
Tell us about a piece you recently published that got the staff really excited. Why did you love it? Why did it strike a chord?
The fall 2013 cover artist, Richard Mosse, captured a series of photographs in the Democratic Republic of Congo using 16mm infrared film, and the results are mesmerizing. The landscape appears as a hypersaturated fuchsia, and Mosse’s compositions layer concepts of war and media and art in really provocative ways. It’s also an example of one of our favorite aesthetic tools, which is color; here, Mosse subverts the viewer’s expectation of what eastern DRC looks like, creating a new conceptual space in which to present his critical commentary. We were blown away by his work and thrilled to share it with our readers. View Richard Mosse’s work.
Regarding submissions: What’s the most common turnoff that you encounter?
We get angsty when we see easily avoidable spelling and grammar mistakes or cover letters addressed to another magazine. When multiple errors come through that could have been caught even by a cursory proofread, it evokes sloppiness and makes us wonder how seriously the writer takes his or her work—which then makes us wonder how seriously we should take it.
What’s the most common oversight (in terms of submission guidelines)?
A couple of years ago we shifted our submissions manager to Submittable, and yet we still receive submissions via email, sometimes to my personal account. Check the submissions guidelines online before you submit!
Why is your journal awesome?
We love so many things about the world around us, from the small coincidences to the large paradigms, and channel this enthusiasm through the work we publish. Whether it’s a previously unpublished writer or an artist showing at major galleries, we look for content that is evocative of the cultural, social, and political entanglements that inform our interactions with each other and with the world as art itself—a positive feedback loop that we’re happy to coast.
Where can readers find your submission guidelines?
Our submission guidelines are online.
What does TAR have planned for 2014?
We have two literary contests—one for poetry, one for fiction, both with a $400 prize—as well as the next phase of A Color Project, an evolving public photography collection that celebrates hue. We kicked things off last year with our Tumblr, and in 2014 we’re going to apply this concept to a site-specific project in NYC: a recreated subway map. Follow us on Facebook for more details. We can’t wait to launch!
Find TAR on Facebook and Tumblr! This contest is now closed.
Don’t forget to comment for your chance to win!
I love the sound of this lit mag and will have to check it out. I think it is refreshing when a lit mag publishes photography in addition to written work. Thanks for sharing this, Writer’s Relief!
Hated that you used the word “paradigm” but since it wasn’t followed by the word “shift,” an indulgence has been granted. 🙂
The Adirondack review sound like my kind of magazine. I live near there, the Adirondacks.
I’d love the chance to be able to submit for free!
Sounds very interesting…..
I look forward to reading TAR. A quick glance at the photography and I am hooked!
I am a dabbler of genres and was excited to read about your release.
Enthusiasm for publication? Evocative content? I’m sold.
Didn’t know about this magazine, but it sounds definitely like it’s worth checking out!
Sounds like a great publication!
I am always looking for opportunities for open submissions. So excited to join this Lit Mag and look forward to the adventure.
Sounds exciting! I look forward to updates.
This post actually stopped me mid-browse on my Facebook page. Very interesting article. Thanks
I am a first time author and am looking forward to your release.
I was brought up between the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain. This
Lit Mag sounds intriguing. I look forward to reading and viewing the content.
I am looking forward to learning more about your exciting magazine.
Photography and the written word…perfect combo!
Great interview. Always love to learn about literary magazines. I too love stories that “make the strange beautiful.”
I commented because I could.
The word “Adirondack” gets me every time. Love the area and all that it inspires!
To me, “…make the strange beautiful, challenge the banal, and unearth something unexpected” sounds like slipstream manifesto. Love it.
Thanks for sharing this information. Interesting interview.
I think that intense curiosity about the world is a wonderful viewpoint from which to approach producing a lit mag; it takes a lot of patience to read submissions and knowing that any one of them could teach you something new is probably a really energizing place for you to be in. All the best!!!
Thanks, WR, for introducing us to this lit mag. And thank you, TAR, for providing a forum.
Looking forward to a new year of TAR!
Love your magazine. Can’t wait to see what you do next!
I love Adirondack chairs as well as the Adirondack review.
I’d love to submit my work to TAR! Awesome interview.
Sounds like a wicked (and by that I mean tempting and great) challenge!
I’m curious. Why the name Adirondack Review?
I look forward to submitting.