Six Questions for Clarrie Rose, Editor, Hypnopomp Magazine

“Hypnopomp is a place for strange and/or experimental fiction.” The magazine publishes literary short fiction (100-2,000 words), poetry up to 300 lines, personal essays and articles (1,000 to 3,000 words), and artwork. Read the complete guidelines here.

SQF: Why did you start this magazine?

Clarrie Rose: We started this magazine as a way to uncover and promote strange and experimental writing that may be overlooked elsewhere. I've always been interested in publishing and I thought what better way to get involved than to open my own magazine. Also, I'm a bit nosey so I love reading other peoples work and being inspired by it!


SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?

CR: A fresh concept, interesting characters, and an uncanny twist. We're looking for something a bit different that maybe doesn't fit into our idea of the mainstream be that fantasy, horror, magic realism, whatever genre just make it new.


SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?

CR: Probably like most editors I'm turned off by silly errors like spelling mistakes. Before you send off your work check and check again that everything's up to scratch. It's also really important to read the submission guidelines before sending your work to us. As we get quite a lot of submissions if someone hasn't formatted correctly or sends us a 10,000-word piece it can make the whole affair quite difficult. Other than that I think self-indulgence is a bit of a turn-off. I love detailed description as much as anyone but it can sometimes get a bit too much.


SQF: What magazines/zines do you read on a “regular” basis?

CR: There are so many great lit magazines out there we're kind of spoilt for choice. I regularly read Ellipsis Zine, Okay Donkey, Riggwelter Press, and Sidereal Magazine, amongst many others.


SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?

CR: Along with the things you've already mentioned I'd say promoting an intolerant ideology is a no-go. We want our magazine to be an escape for our readers and we aren't in the business of lighting a fire under hateful rhetoric. We want to make sure our readers enjoy the work that we publish without feeling excluded.


SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

CR:"What are the highlights of running a literary magazine?"

I have so much fun running the magazine and I've found so many new writers that I admire and I make sure to follow their work. It's strange but after you publish someone you kind of feel like a mother-hen! I'm always really proud when I see the writers we've published go on to succeed and be recognised for how great they are. I've had the great privilege of reading and publishing so many brilliant writers, it really helps to invigorate my own work and inspires me to keep writing. I'm sure I'll see Hypnopomp's writers go on to do some amazing things.

Thank you, Clarrie. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.