Meet the Team: Jen, Editor

Meet the Team: Jen, Editor

In this series of blogs we meet the team who bring you Firewords. Next up is our second in command, Jen. (Interview by Dan Burgess, Editor.)

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I’m an editor and English teacher, but I find my life outside of work is far more important. This involves many distinct areas of Firewords, as well as travelling regularly and writing; all the things that truly make me who I am. On that note, I am an aunt now and am absolutely loving it! Family, friendship and creativity mean the most to me, that’s for sure.

You’ve had a pretty life-changing year (which people can read about in your previous blog post). How are you feeling now?

Announcing our Pushcart Prize nominations

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Last year, we just missed the nomination window for the Pushcart Prize and we were kicking ourselves for weeks! This year, we managed to submit our nominations just before the deadline.

In case you haven’t heard of the Pushcart Prize before, it celebrates the work published by small presses and independent magazines in the current year (so for us that means Issue 4 & 5) and prints the winners in a yearly anthology. We wanted to take part because it gives a few of our authors the chance for the acclaim and recognition we think they deserve.

Each publisher is permitted six nominations and we found it extremely challenging to narrow ours down, especially because we have the honour of publishing work of such a high standard. We tried to select a mixture of styles and favourites from different team members. So, without further ado, our nominations for the next Pushcart Prize are:

  • Marie Peach-Geraghty – ‘The Pigeon Problem’ (Issue 4)
  • Christopher Swiedler – ‘Orion, the Hunter’ (Issue 4)
  • Damon King – ‘Eight Across’ (Issue 4)
  • Robert Ford – ‘Heart-shaped’ (Issue 5)
  • Die Booth – ‘Things the sea brings us’ (Issue 5)
  • Sue Wilsea – ‘View from the Top’ (Issue 5)

Psst… If you want the chance to be published in our next issue and perhaps be nominated next year, our submissions open on Dec 17th!

Firewords 2015 Survey

Have an opinion? Of course you do! We would love to hear your thoughts about our magazine. If you own a copy or have ever submitted writing (or both!), have your say and shape the future of Firewords in our survey. Every participant will receive a complimentary digital copy of the magazine as a thanks and a chance to win a free print copy.

 Update: the survey is now closed. Thank you for all the responses!