Interview with Thomas Beller

Maud has a brief interview with Thomas Beller, one of the editors of Open City. (That magazine’s rejected four of my stories, but I still love it. Maybe the fifth time will be the charm?) Anyway, here’s a sample.

How do you guys approach slush pile submissions these days?

Fear, loathing, anticipation, curiosity. Think of a slot machine. Any given day you get a combination of those four options, sometimes all one flavor, sometimes a mix. And there is a broad mix of readers. Another slot machine whirring at the same time.

That’s a perfect image, actually, combining the ramdomness of the submission, with the randomness of the readers’ taste, before the right combination hits. A while back, Maud had interviewed Land-Grant College Review editor Josh Melrod. She also talked to Paris Review editor Brigid Hughes.