Starting January, I’ll be featuring a new section in the magazine called Perspectives Spotlight (okay, it’s a working title).  Every two weeks I will upload an author’s story or poem from the archives.  There are some interesting point of views, believe me!  Visit the Perspectives Magazine website and click on the ‘archives’ link to get a sampling of the objects that could be featured.

Adam Rose: The five weeks I’d previously spent in China couldn’t prepare me for the blunt realities of India. I experienced a cremation ceremony with the family members of the deceased, rowed by the floating body of a boy killed by a snake bite, and saw incredible poverty. But I also fell in love with the brilliant colors and unfathomable mixes of life in India. I spotted this menagerie against the checkered marble in the holy city of Pushkar, India, and reflected on a country where everything is surprising.

I first saw reference to the marvelous new web mag Pictory in a tweet by Wired’s Alexis Madrigal. He sums their approach up well: “it’s like a crowdsourced, more narrative” version of Boston Globe’s Big Picture.

In her editor’s note Laura Brunow Miner sums up her aims this way:

The Internet is brimming with eye candy, but the vast majority of these images have lost their original context. Photo credits are rare and captions usually garbled, so I find myself often wondering: Who made this? What does it mean? The forces of the Internet can sometimes turn good work into confusing shrapnel.

I hope to do the opposite with Pictory. I want to collect images and stories directly from their sources: the people who create them. And then I want to make the best work that much better by editing, proofing, and compiling submissions into glossy online showcases. Big images. Careful details. Practical design. Credit and context.

Maybe it’s a new model for online magazines. Or, maybe it’s just the best I can do from my living room.

Its a knock-out in concept and execution. Beautifully designed and curated, the first story, Overseas and Overwhelmed is a poetic tour of simple stories of culture shock and culture exchange from tourist, photographer, writers. There is also an interview with Steph Goralnick: “one of the most underrated creative minds in Brooklyn”.

There is a call for submissions for up-coming stories on San Francisco, My most meaningful image and The house I grew up in. It will be very interesting to see how this new project evolves and whether it garners the support it deserves.

As I wrap up these blog entries, I’m going to try to sum up some of the other entries and things I’ve learned through my observations of the site.

The best word I can think of to sum up Hilary magazine is potential. Hilary magazine has a good starting base: a wide range of departments, defined writing and style and good story ideas. And while these are a solid start in having a successful magazine, I don’t think Hilary.com has really tapped into everything that can make it successful. I don’t see any evidence of branding, I don’t see the best organization by the staff and above all, (aside from the blogs) I don’t see many content updates.

I never really thought of myself as someone who lives, breathes and gets all her news through the Web. I still wouldn’t say I’ve become that person, even as a student journalist. However, I do like to see updates from time to time – not hourly since it’s just a fashion publication, but daily would be a good fit for Hilary.

Again, the foundation is there, so I think given more organization and frequency of content, Hilary could be a very successful online magazine in the future.

Whilst looking at more ways for students to share their information with others, I have been investigating Yudu.

It is a free service and it allows the user to upload documents in various formats (Word, Excel, Powerpoint or PDF) to create a more dynamic, magazine style presentation. This way of presenting information looks much more interesting and professional than the static versions and can be embedded into websites or blogs. You can see range of various documents here.

It is very easy to use and there are 3 simple rules clearly indicated:

1. no adult content
2. no copyright abuse
3. no offensive material

To create your publication:

• Upload your document
• Create a title
• Indicate a publication type (book, magazines, brochure, catalogue, newspaper, portfolio,report and other)
• They then send a link to your email address when your document is ready
• lastly you can chose to keep it private or public

The teachers have been using DeskTop Author at school to create documents with the page turning etc. but these require a (free) reader to be downloaded and are not able to be embedded into blogs/websites. For the exercise we have planned, if the document can be viewed online with a click rather than having to find something via a link (provided you have the reader) it is a much better option.

Click to launch the full edition in a new window.

If you are going to be a writer, then you are going to need to handle rejection. No author has ever had everything published every single time. Even Stephen King, who can get anything published now, had to face his fair share of rejection. Rejection happens a lot in this business and we all need to be ready to handle it and face it.

For example, today I received a rejection from a magazine. However they encouraged me to send other stories if I wanted to try again and that is exactly what I did. I wrote up another story and sent it off to them. Will it get rejected? Probably. Will I write again after the rejection? Absolutely.

The important thing as a writer is to take nothing personally. Most rejections you get will have nothing but a quick rejection note saying the magazine can’t always publish everything, but encourage you to submit in the future. You will even get some that say “Dear Author” rather than name you specifically. Don’t take it personally.

Just dust yourself off, get back up, and continue writing. Every great author has received hundreds of rejections through their early careers. It comes with the territory.

Another interesting link/resource for you: Poets & Writers. P&W is a print magazine in the States that has a an online presence. There are articles about graduate programmes and getting published, as well as interviews with agents and publishers and authors, a directory of writing contests and grants available (with deadlines), and links an information about literary magazines. You should also check out the Speakeasy, P&W’s online community forum. It’s been active for several years and contains threads on just about anything related to the profession and study of writing that you’d care to know. You’ll have to register to use it, but it’s free.

It is often daunting to think of presenting your personality to an audience, whether in the form of art such as painting, drawing or sculpting, down to the very basics of speaking a hand-written speech to a rabble of family, friends and strangers.  You express.  You divulge in a passion.  But are you ready to share?

As a writer, you are an artist with words.  They are your tools like a paintbrush is to a painter.  And language is your color palette; a vast choice of styles, techniques and individuality.  Once the order is composed, the structure aligned and your voice vibrant with character, it’s time to reveal your creation and share.

But how?  What’s next is the submission process to expose your artistic skill as a writer to audiences that will gain a new perspective and understanding, and hopefully appreciate your abilities.  Below is a list of publications that cater to the adventurous, the culture dwelling, and the storyteller of the senses—lived by travelers, composed by travelers and read by travelers.  These peoples are your friends, and they’re hear to assist you in your passion.

Travel Explorations
Want to expose the fearful?  TravelExplorations.com is an online magazine devoted to shedding grassroots light where there is media darkness, revealing a culture from behind the iron curtain by true explorers.  Real travel.  Real adventure.  Real investigation by undercurrent people.  No mainstream bullshit here.
Editor(s): Geir Moen & Stein Morten Lund
Submissions: Compose an article about your adventure, an exploration—a journey into the heart of “darkness”.  Spice it with your soul at 1,000-1,500 words and email the symphonic words to Stein@TravelExplorations.com

Inside Out Magazine
By backpackers and the independent wayfarers, this bimonthly publication is for those who prefer the new versus the old.  Instead of consuming, collecting and rotting within the four walls of daily routine, sell your shit, hit the road with a new lifestyle on your back and begin exploring the cultures of this planet.  Ready to share?  InsideOutMag.com
Editor(s): Helene Goupil
Submissions: Briefs, tips and facts; destinations to languages, health to the traveler’s life—pull your words into a structured alignment for the budgeteer and send it off to submissions@insideoutmag.com.  Upon publication you’ll receive $10-$20 for your expenses.

Go World Travel Magazine
“Honest, down-to-earth descriptive writing” is the focus of this magazine.  Prizing intelligent composition, GoWorldTravel.com wants more than the How to get there and the What to do.  They want the picture of a back alley in Fez painted in twilight mood and a spice market within Kashmir to tickle your nose and water your eyes—all with words.
Editor(s): Mim Swartz, Rachel Barbara & Sheri L. Thompson
Submissions: Travel within the last two years is good for description, so recall your memory or sculpt a new journey within a 500-1200 word article.  Check your facts before shipping it to submissions@goworldpublishing.com.  Include article location in the e-mail subject line with your pasted manuscript, word count, brief author biography and whether images are available.  $35-$50 upon publication.

The Cultured Traveler
Whether freelance or tour host/travel agency, TheCulturedTraveler.com works around a monthly editorial calendar with theme-based publications searching for stories about the unexpected, the bizarre and the eclectic.  Not only anecdotes, but facts, tips and resources are necessary for the all-around traveler’s account.
Editor(s): Patrick Totty
Submissions: With the regal elegance of an opera performance, conduct your language into a 1,000-3,000 word count and invest in the guidelines.  Specifics here, so follow the formats on the submissions page and prepare for edits, rewrites and a $25 sum after publication.

Travel Outward
Looking for a story of the senses portraying a unique destination combined with history, culture, people and your own melodic adventure?  TravelOutward.com is a place for your craft to evolve, develop and be shared via publication, focusing on that preferred destination.  This is not a place to divulge romantic sojourns in the arms of the jet stream’s cherubs, but a community narrowed down to intelligence and knowledge.
Editor(s): Laurence Constable & Harman Stinson
Submissions: Features from 1,500-2,500 words should be attached to an email to Travel Outward as a Word doc. that includes a brief bio with “Submission” in the subject line.

EscapeArtist Travel Magazine
Not for the faint hearted, EscapeArtist.com seeks the daring, the challenging, those who live, travel and express on the edge…possibly the cusp of insanity.  But the publication is not out to offend, simply to present intelligent writing about culture with history, purpose and flares of risqué.
Editor(s): n/a
Submissions: An article between 1,500-3,000 words flavored with the ribald and the daring that highlights a cultural expedition through the heart of the unknown.  Should be completed and either faxed or sent via email.  Check the Article Submission page for specifics.

TravelMag
Welcome to the worldwide writer’s circle of fellow explorers.  Set up as an online magazine, TravelMag.co.uk wants whatever you got, as long as it reads well, structured with a unique perspective and offers an angle that is possibly more esoteric than your standard publication.
Editor(s): Jack Barker
Submissions:  Travel away, then write away.  If your article is interesting, unique, lively, filled with senses and intelligently composed at an approximate word count of 2,000 send ‘err off in an email with accompanying photographs to ed@travelmag.co.uk

InTheFray Magazine
At InTheFray.org, writers are provided with a plethora of categories from reporting international news to travel narratives and today’s evolving art world.  This publication seeks everything that is cleverly written and allows readers to be a part of a progressive evolution.  Race, gender, activism, sexuality and ecological impacts are center stage.
Editor(s): Vivian Wagner, Annette Marie Hyder, Anja Tranovich, Matthew Heller, Liz Yuan & Naomi Ishiguro
Submissions: Check out the various sections featured in the publication, format your article to its specifics and submit your finalized piece including full name, email address and phone number to the designated editor of your selected category.  Pay ranges between $20-$75.

Get Lost Magazine
Seeking travel, adventure, natural history and lifestyle writing, GetLostMagazine.com is an award-winner with stories ranging from the basic facts and tips to the more daring adventure of description and risk.  Who eats acorns?  One man does, and he chose to write about it, discovering flavors akin to billy goat semen.  Not sure about either of those tastes.
Editor(s): Leslie Strom
Submissions:  Articles should be under 1,000 words and fall into the distinguished character of “top-notch”.  Paste article into the body of an email with accompanying photographs formatted as .jpeg or .gif and send to lstrom@getlostmagazine.com.  Don’t expect payment upon publication.

In The Know Traveler
You wanna be In The Know.  Readers wanna be In The Know.  So get In The Know and write to inspire.  InTheKnowTraveler.com’s number one priority is to inspire travel with acceptance and appreciation.  Readers of this online magazine want to learn about the world’s diverse cultures and those funky destinations, not in investigative reporting, but in the skillfully written articles about your traveling.
Editor(s): n/a
Submission: Correct grammar and punctuation, somewhere between 400-600 words, and send it on in with photographs to editor@intheknowtraveler.com.  Time to get published, but before you receive a whopping $10, be prepared to edit to the editors liking.  Then you’re In The Know.

Advice?  Keep traveling.  Keep writing.  Keep photographing.  Keep doing whatever you’re doing as long as you’re happy and respecting those around you.  You’ll be in the know no matter who publishes you.  Such is the traveler’s life.

Narrative Magazine is a fantastic online  literary magazine. They have contests that award substantial prize money, every week they  post a “story of the week” and a “poem of the week”. The quality of the writing  is stellar–several Pulitzer Prize winners are represented, as well as various less well-known but equally wonderful writers. I encourage you to check it out–there are archives with classic and contemporary stories. Try A Wedding Story, by Debra Spark, or  Blind Love, by V.S. Pritchett. You’ll have to register to access them, but it shouldn’t cost you anything. There’s plenty of fabulous free reading on the site. If you see anything that lights you up, let me know and we can print it out and discuss it in class. If you read something you love there, please post a comment and let us know about it.

In the November issue of Hips On Deck Online Magazine that features models, fashion, and upcoming artist, Mic Hype’s own Sycosis and Mr. ShutItDown were ask to hop on board and help contribute to this rising publications success. In this issue that also features an interview with Kiki from Real Chance Of Love I discuss my outlook on the music industry while Mr. ShutItDown discusses what makes him a Styles P.- esque Gangsta & A Gentlemen with the ladies. Check it out an excerpt from the site.

Sycosis Chi Town’s Best Kept Secret

HOD: Your rap name Sycosis is pretty different and unique, how did you come up with that name?

Sycosis: “When I was coming up they used to say you should read the dictionary and thesaurus to get better with words. So when I was starting off and still hadn’t picked a name I wanted yet I saw Psychosis in the dictionary. It basically means a person who is in their own world so I thought it was a good match plus it was kinda dark and thought provoking so I ran with it.“

HOD: How long have you been rapping and who are some of your musical influences? What rapper(s) would you compare your style of rap to? Who do think are some of the hottest MC’s in the game right now?

Sycosis: “Man I’m 25 now and I started in like 6th grade when I was about 12 so its been a minute, feel like a vet even tho I’m undiscovered (Laughs). I wouldn’t compare myself to any one artist cuz I try to be a mixture of the best things in rap but other people usually say somewhere between Nas and Common but I don’t really think so. Even tho that’s not bad company to be in. I just think I make songs they wouldn’t have made and vice versa. But as far as the game goes I think its a difference between who are the “hottest” artist and who are the “best” artist cuz the good ones don’t usually sell nowadays. But I like Drake, J. Cole and Slaughterhouse the most…right now.”

Read the rest of the interview HERE

Zo aka Mr. ShutItDown on Women

HOD: What kind of girls are you attracted to and why?

Alonzo: “I’m attracted to smart girls who have a sense of humor and are very knowledgeable on a wide range of topics so that we can talk about anything. Physically, I am attracted to beautiful thick women of all races.”

HOD: Do you think lady is got more swag or do men? Why?

Alonzo: “Men, most definitely has more swag because we have to do more to get attention and standout where a female can standout just by naturally looking good.”

HOD: What are your turn on’s and turnoffs in a woman?

Alonzo: “My turn on’s in a woman is one who speaks a little Spanish because I think that is so sexy. I like women who have swagger and an exotic look to them. My turn offs is a women that smokes or has low self-esteem.”

Read More HERE

Twenty years ago, you could only submit your stories to magazines, but the internet has changed all of that for us. These days, you can submit to print magazines and online magazines, or e-zines (think electronic + magazine), which have exploded in popularity recently.

E-zines can come in a variety of forms. There are those that are run by large print magazines as an online extension of their business, while other e-zines are stand alone and have been running for years and years. Some e-zines are nothing more than blogs created by individuals who want to help showcase authors from around their country and world.

Generally, if you choose to submit in e-zines, you are not going to be paid. Of course there are exceptions, but most will simply offer you your name in lights, in an online sort of way. Now, the question is, will that be enough for you?

There are two types of authors in the world.

1. The first type are authors who write because they love to do so. They have been writing for years and the prospect of creating entire worlds on paper gets them up every morning to begin writing. These writers are true writers who, while they do like to be paid, are fine with just getting published.

2. The second type of authors are those who write because they want money and they want fame (the little bit that authors get). They want movie rights for their novels and they want the large house that comes from having millions of copies sold. These are the writers who will not submit to blogs to be published.

Which type are you?

As an author, you need to make the decision if you are going to submit to e-zines. No you probably won’t be paid and some are little more than personal blogs, but the fact of the matter is that either way, you are being published. You are getting your name out there and someone you do not know is reading your story. You are inspiring someone else and you are showing others the world you have created.

Keep in mind, some of these e-zines, even the blog ones, get thousands of hits a month and actually have readerships that are larger than many magazines.

Just today I submitted a story to an e-zine run on WordPress and am eagerly awaiting the response.

As a writer, you should treat e-zines as any other publication. You are not stepping down by submitting to an e-zine. While you may not get paid, you are reaching possibly many more people than you would have in a small magazine with readership in the hundreds.

An underground art magazine in Washington.

Gay men’s fashion, entertainment and lifestyle magazine.

City guides.

London events and places.

City guide for girls, in London. More like a blog.

“fresh underground culture magazine”

A British  music, fashion, film, art magazine.

An alternative magazine which include unusual events around the world.

Urban lifestyle and culture magazine.

Gay and lesbian magazine.

Urban and street culture magazine.

These websites are magazines or magazine’s official websites. They both include events about their target audience, city life, culture and different kinds of art. City guides have sections for food, nightlife etc. Some of them creates their own events also. They all have similar plans, at the top and left corner the name of the magazine, and underneath it the sections. And then comes the events.

I liked “fyne times” the most, it looks simple.

Cover of first issue

Magazines have hit a rough patch. I think everyone agrees with that. After Conde Nast just closed four magazines, right now seems like the worst time to launch a new magazine, right? But the people behind the new Lonny Magazine seem up for the challenge.

Lonny launched its premiere issue this month. Its mission: “Reopen the doors of accessible design.” Many are calling it the new Domino. But Domino printed its final issue last March. What makes the people at Lonny think the magazine is safe from suffering the same fate?

No doubt it’s the unique format. Lonny works with an online-only platform. To read the magazine, you have to sit down at the computer. Here are some reasons why Lonny could be successful.

Money in Your Pocket

It’s free. At least the first issue anyway. I’m not sure about the rest. All you have to do is go to http://www.lonnymag.com, and you’re ready to start flipping through the pages.

Click It

If you find a lamp, couch, pillow, or other product you like, all you have to do is click. The magazine features direct links to companies who advertise in the magazine, as well as companies whose products are used in the magazine.

No Limits

Because Lonny is online, there are no page limits. The first issue was 195 pages! That’s practically unheard of for shelter magazines these days.

These are all reasons to love Lonny, but I don’t think it’s in the clear just yet. The 195 pages are great, but it’s not much fun to read the articles on a bright computer screen. Also, the photographs in Lonny are gorgeous. If you’re a decorating nut like me, you’ll hate the fact you can’t tear out pages for inspiration.

What do you guys think of Lonny’s online format? Will it be successful, or was it crazy to launch a new magazine during these tough times, especially a shelter magazine?

Become a fan of Lonny on Facebook.

In light of the sad demise of a number of magazines of late (in addition to the Conde Nast titles, Domino and Elle Girl are two notable recent closures), its worth noting that the opposite trend has been taking place in cyberspace- ie. new magazines popping up everywhere! This is great news so lets have a look at just a few of these awesomely inspiring new online mags….

Ordinary Magazine has been started up by some friends of friends of mine- you can check it out here.

I could describe it myself but I choose to leave it up to the clever people behind the mag- here’s what they say:

Ordinary was born when a bunch of us sat about one evening talking about publications that we liked. Or at least didn’t hate. And we came up with…well, not many. Perhaps it was a frustration with the blandness the printed material lining the recycling bins of our city, or perhaps it was just the scotch, but we thought – fuck it – let’s start our own magazine! But wait – we have no money. Wait again – let’s make it an online magazine! (It turns out they’re not that cheap either, but we found that out too late.) Ordinary can be described by what it is not. We are not interested in the beautiful people/alienoids, musical ensembles that move units or breathless advertorials. We are instead curious about the stories of ordinary people: why they go to work in the morning, the choices they make, the pickles they get themselves into, and sometimes out of, and how they cope with the trivial and the everyday. Ordinary will appear on your screens, monthly* as a package of six stories. Perhaps it will be based around a theme, or perhaps it won’t. We haven’t decided yet.

As the above suggests, Ordinary Magazine is a little left-of-centre and this is what makes it great- the journalists behind the mag dare to step outside the usual boundaries of feature writing and the result is an irreverent mix of humour and juicy profiles of ordinary (and not-so-ordinary) folk.

This issue features a profile of a man who dresses up as a Ninja, a story about a pair of underpants (seriously) and a squiz at Opera Australia’s hidden supply of stage props. Seriously entertaining…

———————

Next up, anyone who appreciates original design and gorgeous, whimsical illustrations need to jump onto Papier Mache magazine, which you can find hiding here My boss got me onto this one and even the contents page is adorable- see?

Papier Mache is a bi-annual magazine that is supposed to be for kids but I think big kids will love it just as much! Check out the fashion page too:

I like that it actually feels like a digital magazine rather than a website, because you scroll across to the right to view each page and its kinda like turning the pages. You can subscribe for free by clicking here (and no I’m not friends with the makers of this one!)

———————-

Another online mag I’ve recently become a fan of is Tangent magazine, which lives here It was started up by a French photographer called Emmanuel who does some shoots for the magazine I work at, along with his business partner Heather.

Photography and fashion enthusiasts will love the out-there fashion editorials!

It drives me nuts when I read a tweet about an article someone found that sounds really interesting and when I click on the link, it gives me the first sentence or two and then tells me I have to subscribe to the magazine in order to read the rest. What a great way to sucker people in! If I weren’t a poor college student right now, I would probably have bought subscriptions to at least 50 online magazines just so I could read the end of the article. Their revenue from online subscriptions has got to be going through the roof.

Hey, have you ever wanted to be a respected online magazine publisher?

I’m not talking about those little e-zine newsletters. I’m talking about a real MAGAZINE!

Well, here’ s your chance to start your own with the help of a 30-year publishing veteran.

Check out this 100-page e-book now! You’ll discover (like he did) that it is a lot easier and quicker than you thought. And the prestige and financial reward of becoming an online  magazine publisher can not be matched.

Click Here for more information.

That’s right … a respected publisher of a quality online magazine.
I’m not talking about those little e-zine newsletters. I’m talking about a real MAGAZINE!

Well, here’ s your chance to start your own with the help of a 30-year publishing veteran.

Check out this 100-page e-book now! You’ll discover (like he did) that it is a lot easier and quicker than you thought. And the prestige and financial reward of becoming an online magazine publisher can not be matched.

Click Here for more information.

In the corner of the blogsphere known as Homedesignland there was a party yesterday.  It was a coming out party for a new on-line magazine called Lonny.  Its been a tough year for print media and an especially tough one in the world of “shelter” magazines.  So the launch of Lonny by several Domino alums had been anxiously anticipated by many.  Design blogs were all a twitter, literally, ewing and awing at every vignette and hyperventilating at the fact you could click on a product and immediately go to the e-commerce website for that item and buy it.  I wasn’t so impressed.  Some of my thoughts:

• I still find reading a design magazine on-line difficult.  I either need a bigger screen or they need to use a different size and proportion for their pages.  Its difficult to read the print without zooming and then you cant see what you are reading about.  I think this will always be a issue when you are digitally reading something that depends on a visual like design mags do.  And besides, I want to get into bed with these types of magazines and have the tactile experience of paging through the magazine with my head on my pillow.
• If you loved the late Domino (as they referred to it several times in the copy) you will love this new mag, its almost exactly the same visually.  It is not a problem, I was just expecting maybe a new spin.  But after Domino folded people were despondent over its end and I guess there are a lot of happy campers now.
• I would suggest they stay away from fashion.  It seemed like an afterthought and the clothes and the model were boring/bored.
• The photography was good, but you know I see great photography on home related blogs from self taught people every single day…good photography has become a commodity
• I am not sure how I feel about the click to buy feature.  I think of interior design mags as inspiration and not as a design by numbers tool.  I understanding its helpful to see sourcing info but again, I think it takes the creative process out of creating a home if you are slapping someone else’s template on your home.
• This is the thing the bugs me the most and I see it on blogs and I saw it yesterday in Lonny; styling rooms within a inch of their lives.  I bet if you looked at design mags from 10 years ago you would see more real spaces with furniture and paintings and objects that actually have meaning and belong to the people who inhabit the space.    Examples: Vintage bowling ball bag under nightstand in bedroom, tall pile of books on the floor (not good for bindings FYI), a frosty drink glass on an end table,  colored juice glasses lined up in the dish dryer on the counter waiting to be put away (the stylist couldn’t do that?)

I asked friend, who is a real life designer why this compulsion to set design for these pictorials? her answer:

… To be a stylist now is to offer your services pro bono and have absolutely no other way to fill out your day. Also–if you are a designer, photographer, or ex hooker sleeping with an ex hedgie, or if you have ever shopped don’t you think you could style your shoot?? It’s like hiring a specialist to bring flavored mouth washes to the dentist…

I am aware this is not a Lonny image but it epitomizes what I am saying, is this an art installation or someone's home?

With all that having been said, if I could get my hands on a glossy version of Lonny, I would gladly climb in bed with it.

Roxane Gay—noted writer in many online and print venues and assistant editor at PANK, an up-and-coming young literary magazine from Michigan—writes at Luna Park about what she sees as a lack of writers of color in the literary publishing world. Gay’s essay on Luna Park is a follow-up of sorts to a blog post she wrote earlier this summer for the PANK blog—her main point perhaps summed up in her second paragraph: “I am consistently frustrated, frightened, and freaked out by the lack of people of color in the publishing world in 2009(!), and particularly in independent publishing.”

The post drew lots of attention, commentary, and, at times, some criticism of Gay’s position. For example, from fgrayson:

i’m not frustrated with this talk as these are good things being discussed but i’m frustrated at the fact that people are acting like what’s going on in indie publishing is way different than regular publishing and that there’s some sort of insidery bs going on in indie publishing when it’s open to anyone who has the time to throw together some paper or a blog

In this follow-up (or response) for Luna Park, Gay tries to be clear in stating she has no solution for what the problem she perceived in publishing, but offers her essay up something of a sign on the side of the road, a notice to writers, editors, and readers that a problem might exist, and that they might want to look around.

The best from this online magazine is now packaged in hardcover, paperback and ebook format so you can take it with you anywhere. On the bus, in a canoe, wherever and whenever. Check it out at: http://stores.lulu.com/kakonged.

Trecia Harley Does an Online Magazine - Photo Courtesy of Trecia Harley

Writing and the written word have been a major part of Trecia Harley’s life ever since she could remember. As a child she loved to read and be transported to another world.
 
The magic of words was her main pastime growing up in Parry Sound, Ontario. Thus, writing became her favourite form of expression.
 
Trecia attended the University of Toronto where she studied English Literature, History and Celtic Studies. She also completed a publishing certificate course at Ryerson Polytechnic University.
 
“Throughout my entire education, I loved reading books, reading about the making of books, discussing the power of literature, and debating the need for it in daily life,” says Trecia. “To me, writing was, and will always be, THE ultimate form of connecting the minds of men.”
 
This lead Trecia to becoming involved with The Breath, an online magazine. The Breath was the brain-child of two men from Toronto: Shane Belcourt (Anthony) and Jordan O'Connor. Shane and Jordan are musicians and artists in their own right in Ottawa. Shane and Jordan saw the early possibilities of the Internet and were excited by the idea of forming an arts collective site which would house an e-zine and independent Canadian record label. 
 
Shane and Jordan asked Trecia and her husband Craig to help out - and they were immediately hooked. 
“I started copy editing material and Craig started designing the pages. What first began with an issue full of our own writing, and that of our friends, has turned into a literary showcase of work from writers, artists, musicians, photographers, and film makers from 
Canada, the United States, and the entire globe! It's quite amazing what has become of a little idea Shane and Jordan had over Cheerios one morning.”
 
Trecia’s role as Editor of a non-paying zine that does not yet receive grant monies for assistance, her typical day involves receiving a few submissions by email. If she has the time that day (depending on work, family and other obligations), she will get a chance to sit down and read over the material. 
 
“It's a great way to relax, get away, and enjoy something brand new someone I've never met has offered to share with us.”
 
Trecia is predominantly a closet poet who writes for herself. 
 
“Though I don't use pretty ribbons to gather up my goods like Emily Dickenson, I do have somewhat of a "vault" and it's for me to fill it up in my own good time. The advantage to writing, is of course, quite extraordinary. You see, right now my writing is a way for me to express myself without critique or rejection.”
 
Trecia adds that writing is the best kind of therapy, of esteem-building or breaking, and like many poets before her, she revels in the joy of a completed work, a finished muttering. 
 
“It's personal and fulfilling. Whether you put your work out 
there for complete strangers to enjoy and take stock of, or whether you keep it to yourself and your close loved ones, it's the getting there that builds you. The working and reworking that summons up new offerings - offerings that could perhaps change the way people perceive the world!”
 
Writing, and the arts in general, is a challenging avenue if it's your 
only form of income, says Trecia. She knows many people who have sacrificed their artistic standards because they have had to concern themselves with being able to pay for groceries only with "arts" earnings, and it seems sometimes a burden too heavy to bear. 
 
“On the other hand, I know others who have simply made their standards more pliable, more realistic, and have, therefore, been able to make a healthy living. It's all about choices and a little bit of luck I suppose.”
 
Trecia eventually hopes to be able to fit more easily into one of the grant categories devised by the Canadian Council For the Arts to get money for The Breath. 
 
“Although the Council does offer fantastic possibilities to many organizations and individual artists, we find that we are lacking the ‘proper’ boundaries in order to be considered. Financial assistance would, of course, be the next step to increasing our readership and actually paying our contributors for their labours - something I still have a problem with.”
 
Trecia finds it hard to present work by artists without paying them for their time and effort. That, in itself, is the most important goal she thinks. 
 
“It's not enough for these folks to be recognized, they need to eat too.”
 
For the future, Trecia sees The Breath growing and changing with the times. 
 
“We currently publish poetry, novels, short stories, political rants, social commentaries, music reviews, short films, screenplays, and photographic essays. The web is becoming endless in its resources and our zine will surely continue to sail on as its medium ebbs and flows.”
 
Advice that Trecia has for anyone else that may want to start an ezine:
 
“Advice? Hmmm. Do it 'cause you love it. Do it 'cause you are curious.
Editors ... have a ball but don't let your ego carry you away. You are featuring the work of others in order to heighten the experience of  your readership, not to brag about what you know or what you like. Help your authors with any editorial advice you may have. Don't preach to them about what they should and should not do. Remember, they are the ones who had the guts to share of themselves. Respect their vulnerability. Writers ... Keep at it and enjoy it. Write what you know and keep reading those who inspire you. When you are stuck, they are the ones who will bring you home.”

The Headless Giant is a new online magazine created in 2009 that is dedicated to the “youthful, empirical assessment of pop culture and education of young people”. Here is what creator Johnathan Dixon had to say about the magazine. “Headless Giant Magazine was an idea that came to me this summer while I was teaching a public speaking & communications class for Stand & Deliver at Rutgers University. The media is such a powerful entity and it has jaded the perception of reality for our young people in an infectious way. As the semester ended I felt as though that young people could truly benefit from source that incorporated pop culture, with ancient scholastic and social ideologies as a learning tool”

Check out the magazine here!!

Check out what I have to say after the jump…

I’m so happy to see an online magazine with some SUBSTANCE. I don’t know about you guys but I wonder how many fashion mags they’re going to come up with. We need more young people like Johnathan Dixon (23yo) to talk about important issues and touch on pop culture from a political standpoint. Headless Giant has officially been YSS STAMPED! =D

Being a member of New York Women in Communications taught me the importance of mentorship and encouragement when working toward a career. As a mentee, I’ve learned invaluable lessons about different careers in the communications industry from the professional members of NYWICI and have been empowered to reach for goals I never thought I could accomplish. This summer, I had the opportunity to pay it forward by being a mentor myself in the Interactive Journalism Institute for Middle Schoolers (IJIMS).

IJIMS, started by three computer science and journalism professors at The College of New Jersey, is a program that aims to introduce middle school students in underrepresented populations (including female students) to computing-rich fields through interactive journalism.

The 2009 participants of the Interactive Journalism Institute for Middle Schoolers

During the one-week summer institute, the middle school students and teachers (all from a local middle school) created an online magazine. They interviewed professionals and developed a story package around the interview, including a written article, digital video and interactive content created in Scratch (a drag-and-drop, kid-friendly computer programming language). The program continues during the school year through an after-school program and classroom integration. During the six weeks of prep leading up to this summer’s institute, my job included creating tutorials that the students used to learn the programs and content management system, updating a database of interview sources, working with the middle school teacher participants, and analyzing data related to the student’s awareness of computer science.

But the most rewarding part was the time spent working with the middle schoolers. I talked to them about potential careers in computing and media and helped them learn how to edit video and use AP style. I was amazed by the ease with which the students learned new skills and applied them to journalism. If these students are any indication, the future of the media and computing industries is in good hands.

~Kelli Plasket, The College of New Jersey ‘10