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Author Meg Medina on Ritual, Identity & Bold Girls
By The Editors
Our editors and contributors can directly link their obsession with storytelling to books they read during childhood. Our fascination with unique stories and commitment to diverse literature is why we're incredibly stoked to have chatted with Richmond Virginia's own Meg Medina, this year's Newbery Medal winner.
The Newbery Medal awards the best and most distinguished American children's literature, and we can't think of a more worthy recipient. Medina's book Merci Suárez Changes Gears is a journey into the life of a sixth grader who goes through significant life changes as she transitions from elementary to middle school. What makes this Bildungsroman so compelling is the honest, humorous, and detailed account of growing up in an intergenerational family with a multicultural background. Of course, we had some questions about her stunning work and her creative process. Dive in for an award-winning mindset that paved the way to Medina's most recent honor:
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Dolled Up Punk in Columbus, Ohio
By The Editors
After our founding editor Christine Sloan Stoddard had photos accepted into the ultra-colorful and beautifully playful feminist magazine, The Dollhouse, our curiosity was piqued. What was this shiny, new publication and how did it come to be? Honestly, Christine didn't even really know; she just saw the Submittable call, checked out the website, and loved it. Clearly we had no choice but to email the Dollhouse editors an interview! Luckily, CJ Fink answered all of our nosy questions. Read on, Fledglings!
Who is on The Dollhouse's team? Could you talk about how you met in Columbus, Ohio? The magazine consists of six women: CJ Fink, Abby Wagner, Kelsey Yappel, Laurel Hilliard, Sara Liptow, and Dena Pierog. We are all best friends, and we met going to house shows around Columbus. I live with Sara and Laurel in The Dollhouse, [a space] that also hosts shows! How would you describe the creative and activist scenes in Columbus? Columbus is great because it is large and sprawling. You can find just about anything you are looking for here. The scene we operate in mostly is the feminist punk scene, and for the few years we have all been involved, it has treated us well and given us an incredible platform to work with. The communities in Columbus are all very supportive, but tends to be fleeting because of the constant overturn of [art and music] houses, which is due to the Columbus Police Department shutting them down and students from Ohio State graduating and moving out. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Give it up for books!
By The Editors
Once the holidays pass, weekends in the winter tend to be a little tamer. It's cold and plenty of people would rather hibernate than venture out into the ice, wind, and snow. That's true even in New York City, which quiets down in February, though it never falls to an absolute silence. Still, if an event promises to be epic enough, New Yorkers can be convinced to leave their apartments for more than a beer. Luckily for the Boog City 12.5 Arts Festival, that was the case this past weekend. Our founding editor Christine Sloan Stoddard was invited to read with CLASH Books, who will be publishing her poetry and photography collection, Heaven Is a Photograph, later this year. (They also published Tragedy Queens, Cenote City, and Trash Panda, which we recently featured in reviews and author interviews.)
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A Home for "Weird Babies"
By The Editors
Craving some literature and art that is unconventional? Have some sillier or weirder pieces that can't find a home? Then FIVE:2:ONE, a literary experience founded by Nathan Alan Schwartz, may have a home for your "weird baby". Both founding editor Christine Sloan Stoddard as well as executive editor Gretchen Gales have both had work in the experimental literary magazine.
So to celebrate Issue 21, their latest release, we wanted to find out more behind the magazine that breaks the rules with great success. Who knows? The next "weird baby" they adopt could be from your own collection. Read on to discover more about Schwartz's vision for the publication: The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
You & Your Manuscript Deserve Love
By M. Alouette
Social media can make it seem like everyone is happier and more successful than you. That includes writers and their books. According to Facebook and Instagram, everyone in your feed is getting book deals except for you. Of course, that's probably not true. And even if it were, it does not matter. Those people are not you. Their books are not your books. Only you can tell your stories and express your ideas in exactly the way that you are meant to do. There is enough space for your voice.
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There's No Such Thing As Too Much Glitter
By Paisley Hibou
You're sparkly on the inside, so you want to advertise your inner sparkle with some outer sparkle. Glitter is here for you. Glitter hair, glitter eyes, glitter cheeks, glitter lips, glitter nails, glitter everything! So how do you know if you're wearing enough? You're probably not, but just to be sure, here are 7 signs you need to pile on more glitter:
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Internet Culture As Brave, Funny Poetry
Leza Cantoral's collection Trash Panda (CLASH Books) brands itself as a bunch of "rly emo poems"—and at first glance, it's exactly that. An adorable cartoon panda head and bubbly polka-dots grace the book's cover. There are angsty, snarky, and narcissistic poems about crying, selfies, Justin Beiber, and avocado toast. But it would be a mistake to read this whole collection as an Instagram poetry stream packaged for easy, breezy print. As much as Cantoral assumes the voice of a vapid, mentally disturbed goth girl who spends way too much time online, Trash Panda is full of depth, nuance, and texture. Dismissing the narrator in Trash Panda means you fell for the trap. She's smarter and more complex than you think. She is more than her avatar. Stop reducing her to an Internet stereotype or you will miss the whole show.
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As Typical White Guys DoBy Erynn Porter So yeah, Super Bowl 2019 huh? I’m not one for sports, but unless you live under a rock, you heard about this year’s Super Bowl. The NFL has been in hot water the past couple of years due to their treatment of former San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback, Colin Kaepernick.
In 2016, Kaepernick started a peaceful protest against police brutality towards people of color by kneeling during the national anthem. This caused many fans to rage against the quarterback, claiming he was being “anti-American.” Of course, one of best perks of being an American is the freedom of speech and right to protest...but we'll move on. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Stories That Need More Time in the OvenBy M. Alouette Do you feel pressured to tell a story you're not ready to tell? With the Internet's call for constant publishing and the popularity of confessional web essays, that's not surprising. The pressure from publishers and editors or even other writers can weigh down on any wordsmith. If you're not ready to write about a personal experience, don't. Every writer should challenge themselves and aim for a degree of vulnerability, but there's a time and a place.
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Romantic Perfumes for the Enchantress in You
Words and Image by Gretchen Gales
I’ve only recently become a perfume snob. Well, maybe snob is too harsh and not accurate of my experience with perfumes and other scented products. I’ve always liked being able to have a unique scent depending on what I’m feeling or what I want to feel like.
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November 2023
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