(Ceased publication)
The Blue Nib is home to The Blue Nib Poetry Chapbook Contest which has been judged by poets such as Paul Sutherland, Kevin Higgins, Michael Blackburn and most recently Helen Mort. Previous winners include, Anne Walsh Donnelly, Ruth Quinlan and Derek Kannemeyer.
SQF: How did The Blue Nib Literary Magazine come to be?
Dave Kavanagh: I was prompted to launch The Blue Nib out of a growing frustration with the fickle space that is the lit-mag universe. There was a clear need for a quality magazine-format website that sat between the ultra slick platforms that published well established names in poetry and were inaccessible to emerging talent, and the plethora of smaller journals that appeared to publish whatever came their way and demonstrated no evidence of editorial input. The Blue Nib was born in 2016, and from the first, its primary objective was to offer a platform to emerging poets and later authors. Our reputation is as a magazine that is editorially strong and that has helped us to grow The Blue Nib slowly over the past thirty-six months.
SQF: You work with “opinion pieces, badinage, reportage type articles, as well as coverage of events, readings, or festivals.” What do you look for in a submission and why?
DK: I deal with the online content and a lot of the stuff that doesn’t appear in the print issues of the magazine. This is the work that forms the shop window of the entire platform. I look for original and unique voices. I am drawn to the quirky and the unorthodox. Also, as The Blue Nib retains a primary focus on emerging writers, I look for articles that will interest them. Exceptional writing and craft are important.
SQF: What most often turns you off a submission?
DK: The Blue Nib receives far more submissions than we can ever use. However, I read everything that hits my folder. I know within the first paragraph if a submission is for us, or not. If a writer ignores our guidelines, then it is a red flag for me. I want originality—strings of cliches will turn me off a sub. However, if I encounter a new writer with potential, I will do everything I can to include their work in the magazine. I may not use a particular submission, but in my rejection email, I will encourage the writer to submit again.
SQF: What types of submissions would you like to receive more of?
DK: I would like to see more original material from writers willing to take risks with language and form. Essays and reportage pieces must inform and/or educate but they also need to be engaging. I would most like to see contributing editors who stamp their work with their own style and personality. I would prefer a poor original to a polished imitation. At The Blue Nib, we have been lucky enough to encounter a small number of poets and authors at the early stages of their writing journey and it has been a privilege for me to watch them progress. I want to see more of these appear in my subs file. I am particularly keen to see more young writers, I want to see the work of the millennials appear in The Blue Nib.
SQF: What one piece of advice would you offer an author hoping to be published in The Blue Nib Literary Magazine?
DK: It might sound trite, but the best advice is to submit your best work, edit it, polish it and send it in. There are many journals that will publish your work without ever deep reading it, The Blue Nib is not one of them. We publish work that is not only well crafted, but that resonates with our editors. Oh, and follow our guideline, it is a simple thing to do. Most importantly, if your work is not accepted, remember, do submit again.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
DK: I think you’ve covered most of the bases, Jim. But I suppose the question you might have asked is the one I ask myself every so often. (And here is the cliche) Where do I see The Blue Nib in ten years time?
The Lit-Mag world is fickle and The Nib has already survived well past the average lifespan of a magazine in that space. However, we are still growing and showing every sign that we will survive. I hope that in ten years, I am still involved in some role. However, I now have many talented people working on the magazine. I think that with so much energy around me, my vision and methods will be eclipsed and others will take the lead. That is not something that frightens me, it is something that excites me.
Thank you, Dave. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
The Blue Nib is home to The Blue Nib Poetry Chapbook Contest which has been judged by poets such as Paul Sutherland, Kevin Higgins, Michael Blackburn and most recently Helen Mort. Previous winners include, Anne Walsh Donnelly, Ruth Quinlan and Derek Kannemeyer.
SQF: How did The Blue Nib Literary Magazine come to be?
Dave Kavanagh: I was prompted to launch The Blue Nib out of a growing frustration with the fickle space that is the lit-mag universe. There was a clear need for a quality magazine-format website that sat between the ultra slick platforms that published well established names in poetry and were inaccessible to emerging talent, and the plethora of smaller journals that appeared to publish whatever came their way and demonstrated no evidence of editorial input. The Blue Nib was born in 2016, and from the first, its primary objective was to offer a platform to emerging poets and later authors. Our reputation is as a magazine that is editorially strong and that has helped us to grow The Blue Nib slowly over the past thirty-six months.
SQF: You work with “opinion pieces, badinage, reportage type articles, as well as coverage of events, readings, or festivals.” What do you look for in a submission and why?
DK: I deal with the online content and a lot of the stuff that doesn’t appear in the print issues of the magazine. This is the work that forms the shop window of the entire platform. I look for original and unique voices. I am drawn to the quirky and the unorthodox. Also, as The Blue Nib retains a primary focus on emerging writers, I look for articles that will interest them. Exceptional writing and craft are important.
SQF: What most often turns you off a submission?
DK: The Blue Nib receives far more submissions than we can ever use. However, I read everything that hits my folder. I know within the first paragraph if a submission is for us, or not. If a writer ignores our guidelines, then it is a red flag for me. I want originality—strings of cliches will turn me off a sub. However, if I encounter a new writer with potential, I will do everything I can to include their work in the magazine. I may not use a particular submission, but in my rejection email, I will encourage the writer to submit again.
SQF: What types of submissions would you like to receive more of?
DK: I would like to see more original material from writers willing to take risks with language and form. Essays and reportage pieces must inform and/or educate but they also need to be engaging. I would most like to see contributing editors who stamp their work with their own style and personality. I would prefer a poor original to a polished imitation. At The Blue Nib, we have been lucky enough to encounter a small number of poets and authors at the early stages of their writing journey and it has been a privilege for me to watch them progress. I want to see more of these appear in my subs file. I am particularly keen to see more young writers, I want to see the work of the millennials appear in The Blue Nib.
SQF: What one piece of advice would you offer an author hoping to be published in The Blue Nib Literary Magazine?
DK: It might sound trite, but the best advice is to submit your best work, edit it, polish it and send it in. There are many journals that will publish your work without ever deep reading it, The Blue Nib is not one of them. We publish work that is not only well crafted, but that resonates with our editors. Oh, and follow our guideline, it is a simple thing to do. Most importantly, if your work is not accepted, remember, do submit again.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
DK: I think you’ve covered most of the bases, Jim. But I suppose the question you might have asked is the one I ask myself every so often. (And here is the cliche) Where do I see The Blue Nib in ten years time?
The Lit-Mag world is fickle and The Nib has already survived well past the average lifespan of a magazine in that space. However, we are still growing and showing every sign that we will survive. I hope that in ten years, I am still involved in some role. However, I now have many talented people working on the magazine. I think that with so much energy around me, my vision and methods will be eclipsed and others will take the lead. That is not something that frightens me, it is something that excites me.
Thank you, Dave. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
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