Raw Lit publishes flash fiction and non-fiction to 500 words, short fiction and non-fiction to 2,000 words, poetry (up to two pages per poem), visual art and hybrids. “We want writing that helps to process emotions.” Read the complete guidelines here.
SQF: Why did you start this magazine?
Delphine Gauthier-Georgakopoulos: I’ve always been interested in people's motivations; why we react a certain way to some situations but not others, how emotions or past traumas affect our everyday life, how to break patterns ingrained in us since childhood... I created Raw Lit to offer a safe place for those hard to write/hard to place personal pieces that analyse and dissect the human condition. I believe that sharing and reading that kind of work can bring healing to the writer and understanding to the reader.
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
DGG:
1. Authenticity. I’m always attracted to pieces that are candid, ring true as a story and a voice whether or not I can relate to it.
2. Imagery. I’m drawn to writing that offers sensory details and imagery. Show me nature, food, the colours & noises of the city… I love to touch, taste, smell, see and hear it through the character.
3. Work that stays with me. I’m looking for a story—with a beginning, a middle, and an end—that flows. If there is a rhythm to it or a melody of sorts, if I come back to it after a few days and it has stayed with me all this time, then it’s likely to get published.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
DGG:
1. Writing that is so lyrical, so filled with clever metaphors and pretty words, I forget what it’s about.
2. Prose filled with filters. They can create such a distance between the reader and the story. I want to care deeply about the character.
3. Sometimes all the ingredients appear to be there, but something is missing, the voice lacks honesty or passion. Again, it comes down to authenticity.
SQF: What do you look for in the opening paragraph(s)/stanza(s) of a submission?
DGG: I love to be intrigued, surprised. It could be anything from an unexpected character or setting, a repetition or rhythm, a voice, but the opening needs to give the tone of the piece and make me want to read on.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
DGG: While we welcome all topics, anything that could be considered as inciting harm (including self-harm), violence, racism, sexism, extremism in any form will be rejected. Raw Lit is about healing.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
DGG: What would you like to see more of?
A raw submission told with humour would instantly get my attention, as would an unreliable narrator. I would also love to see more comics.
Thank you, Delphine. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
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