McSweeneys Is Such A Pleasure to Hold
When I was in graduate school, I heard Michael Chabon read a chapter from an abandoned novel that he had revisited and footnoted where it failed and which McSweeneys Quarterly Journal had published in their head-shaped issue.
I became an instant fan of both Michael Chabon1 and the Quarterly.2
Turns out, most issues are book-shaped with book-type content inside. But they’re all different sizes! Sometimes hardcover, sometimes paper-back, sometimes vinyl-back - you never know!
They are some place I would love to have a story published. And they’re accepting submissions tomorrow! I have my alarm set, my story ready, my cover letter already written. Do you have something? You should submit, too!
I’ve tried before. Back in 2014, I sent them my Jesus vs. Superman story. They declined it. But they wrote such an encouraging rejection that, on occasion, when feeling blue about finding an audience for my words, I have revisited their no. McSweeney’s is my white whale.3
I should note that the one time I spent a day at AWP4, I found their table and told the nice lady manning it essentially all the above and she, very kindly, sort of conspiratorially, said to me, “Hey, you look like a nice guy. I don’t want you to get hurt. You should really consider submitting somewhere else.”
Noted. Thank you. Whatever. Fingers crossed. I’m excited.
His sentences!
Their commitment to experimentation in form!
I’ve never read Moby Dick, not even the illustrated comic book version, but I keep hearing how great it is, and not just because it gave the universally understood phrase ,“white whale,” to the world.
When I was living in DC and it came to DC.
When it comes to what I should know about in the literary world, I feel like I'm the blind person and you are my seeing-eye dog or something. Bad analogy. Better than the overused living under rock though, right? Yeah maybe not.