Lightning and hellos and deadlines, oh my!

Hello! It's my first time blogging here so let me introduce myself.

I am Alessandra, the new Associate Editor. I am excited to be settling into to my new desk, learning the ropes and the happenings around here. One of the things I am still getting used to is Indiana Summer rainstorms. Just last week I was jumping out of my chair nearly every 5 minutes due to the thunder and lightning. I swear thunder is louder in Indiana.

I've also been enjoying reading the submissions again. Speaking up submissions there are two important announcements:

1) We'll be closing Poetry and Non-Fiction submission on June 1st 2009 -- so if you've been hanging to your submissions, hesitate no longer--mail or click and send us your work!

2) June 1st also marks the deadline of our 1/2k prize with Final Judge Lydia Davis!!! Click here for the guidelines. Contests are so exciting. You too can join in the party!

I have been thinking about starting my Quote of the Day collection, so in honor of QoTD I leave you with the inspirational musings of Teddy Roosevelt:

Far and away the best prize life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

As David Bowie said, Changes...

Hello Blue Light readers!

As you have probably garnered from our previous posts, IR has changed its guard once more. I'll be moving up to editor and welcoming Alessandra, Marcus, Catalina, and Lana into the office. I cannot thank our 2008/9 editors--Jenny, Ryan, Chad, and Andy-- enough for all of their hard work and dedication. I learned an incredible amount this past year as associate editor from these guys and I will miss them dearly.

I'm looking forward to another year of fantastic fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and all that's in between! (Speaking of which, don't forget that our 1/2K Prose Poem-Short Short deadline is June 1st.) Thank you to all of our submitters, subscribers, and well-wishers: we couldn't do it without you.

All my IR love, Nina

In the pink even though the end is nigh.

Well, for me it is, as regards my tenure at the magazine. Just another couple days and the editorship will slip out of my grasp.

Editing IR has been amazing; working with Associate Editor Nina Mamikunian, Poetry Editor Ryan Teitman, Fiction Editor Chad Anderson, and Nonfiction Editor Andy Cartwright has been amazing. All together, it's fair to say that this has been the best professional experience of my life. And although I'm looking forward to having more time for my own reading and my own writing, I'm already missing the magazine.

For three years now, I've had the pleasure of reading the manuscripts submitted. Competition for inclusion in IR is pretty rigorous, so not everything we enjoyed reading gets printed. But do know we enjoy reading the submissions. That's one of the things I'll miss.

But in a few weeks, I'll have the pleasure of reading the summer 2009 issue, 31.1. Today I sent off the list of this issue's subscribers to one of our distributors. First, however, I reviewed the thousands of names and addresses to make sure the magazine would make it to all you generous subscribers. Even though that proofreading was a little mind numbing, it was also delightful because of the miniature discoveries found in the mailing list:

Issues are going to writers I've worked with, writers I've read, both. Issues are going to the libraries on the campuses of colleges I've attended, and issues are going to people who live on streets on which I've mosied or caught busses. Issues are going to people who live just a stone's throw (if you have a really, really good arm) from my parents' house. And issues are going to people in the same zip codes where I've worked in offices. Issues are going to my house--and I'm looking forward to the subtle community of reading the magazine with you all this summer.

Then again in the winter, that the subtle community will reemerge, when the new editorial staff has begun to settle in; I can't wait to see what they do, what we'll all be reading together.

--Jenny

School's (Almost) Out for the Summer!

It's the end of the semester for us here at Indiana Review, and that means transition, transition, transition! Spring seems to be here to stay (knocking on wood), our Summer issue, 31.1, is at the printers, so we're focusing on 31.2, and we've got a new batch of editors. Speaking of which, congrats to our new senior editorial staff:
Nina Mamikunian steps up as Editor
Alessandra Simmons, Associate Editor
Marcus Wicker, Poetry Editor
Catalina Bartlett, Fiction Editor
Lana Spendl, Non-fiction Editor

As for me, I'm looking forward to spending time outdoors and, in between searching for an elusive J.O.B., diving into my summer reading list. My list includes, but isn't limited to:
Paradise by Toni Morrison
Refresh, Refresh by Benjamin Percy
The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks
Philadelphia Fire by John Edgar Wideman
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Terrarium by Scott Russell Sanders
Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence

Please, tell us what's on your reading list for the summer?

--Chad

1/2 K Prize

So the sun's back out again, the weather's warmer, so you know what that means...prose poems and flash fiction! Our 1/2 K Prize is coming up in June, with a prize of $1000 and publication, judged by Lydia Davis. So send us 3 pieces of prose (be they prose poetry, flash fiction, or micro-essays) before June 1. For your $15 entry fee, you'll also get a 1-year subscription to Indiana Review. And remember, all pieces are considered for publication. Please visit http://www.indianareview.org/ and follow the prize submission guidelines carefully. So kick off your summer by putting your line breaks into storage (along with those heavy sweaters).

For complete guidelines, please visit: http://www.indianareview.org/general/prizes/microprizeguidelines09.html

We Know Where You Live

Here at Indiana Review, we receive submissions from a lot of places with the most interesting, evocative, funny, and sometimes, even unfortunate names. Here are some of our favorites:

Surprise, Arizona
Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
Medical Lake, Washington
Copperopolis, California
Bland, Virginia

Now we want to hear from you all. If you're from a place with snazzy or memorable name, go ahead and let us hear it.

Readings!

Indiana Review would like to congratulate the 3rd year MFA students on their thesis readings! Last night featured readings from Kelly Kennedy, Dustin Nightingale, Chad Anderson and Chris Johnson.

Tonight's readers are: Luke Hankins, Roxana Cazan, and Jenny Burdge.

Saturday night features Elizabeth Hoover, Kate Russell, Christopher Citro and Danny Nguyen.

The program begins at 7 in the Grand Hall of the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center on Jordan Avenue near Third Street.