Narrative has become the current gold standard for online literary magazines, wading in the fray and dominating the competition in a relatively short time.
Well, watch out. Electric Literature just launched, and it looks like a doozy.
True to the name, EL is distributing electronically, through a host of formats: e-book, Kindle, and iPhone, plus print-on-demand. It seems a smart new path for literary journal distribution. Plus, EL actually provides a business model that might work, as stories are sold for .99, a much better distribution model than wrangling a few copies into independent bookstores, many copies of which are unsold and scrapped.
Might I mention the lineup is as strong as that first issue of Black Clock that took the literary world by storm?
- Michael Cunningham
- Jim Shepard
- T Cooper
- Lydia Millet
- Diana Wagman
As far as money, they say this on their submission page (a backhanded jab at Narrative?):
We pay writers, they don’t pay us. We are proud to support writers who entrust us with their work.
They also pay at a Subtropics rate ($1000 smackers a story). But it’s pretty hilarious that a journal with “Electric” in their name doesn’t accept electronic submissions. [CORRECTION: Though initially confused by the set-up of the submissions page, I have now verified that they do accept electronic submissions.]
Plus, if all that isn’t enough, they have pictures of hot girls doing weird things on their website (But not as explicit as Fence, though).
9 comments
I think they do accept electronic submissions. There’s an email sub link at the bottom of the submit page.
Hmmm . . . actually a little confused by that. It says “submissions” but right above it is a pitch for a mailing list.
And then when it’s talking about submitting the site only offers a mailing address and no instructions for emailing (in the body or attached?)
I’ll email them to clarify.
Who are these guys??? No editor names or affiliations anywhere. Great line-up!
The art looks amazing. I’d read it online just for that.
A quick Google search reveals the POD is facilitated through Smashwords and that the editors are: Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum.
I was looking for a good place to buy books this month and I stumbled across this website: http://www.booksonboard.com. They have really reasonable prices and I have come to enjoy the convenience of eBooks and audio books. They carry a ton of titles. I don’t know if they will carry Electric Literature, but it’s worth checking out!
They are going to get blasted by submissions…
Yep. Everyone I know has already sent them one. But I heard they already recruited 10 readers to wade through the slush, so maybe they’re prepared (or as prepared as you can be!)
Yes, the collection is vast and interesting