Online Literary Magazines Decoded – Open Road Review

Landscape by Ira Joel Haber – Courtesy Open Road Review

On the Home Page of the Open Road Review (ORR), you click the ‘blog’ tab, eagerly, because ‘blog’ is your second most-favourite word after ‘creativity’. Yes, you are a wee bit surprised to see a blog hosted by a lit-mag, but then you realize you shouldn’t be because isn’t a blog-post about writing too as are poetry and prose? Your eyes alight on “How do I know which story will be accepted and when will be the right time?” – the title of one of the posts. A wry smile is your answer to Fiction Editor Shanti Perez’s response to that question: “simple answer: you don’t.” Are all Tamil-Brahmins Fair-skinned? Understanding Web Statistics; Rape happens: these are some of the other titles that intrigue you.

ORR has a lot to offer. In the very first issue (May 2012 and then published every quarter), founder-editor Kulpreet Yadav, says, “if we can’t change the world with the money that we don’t have, let’s give words a chance. This is the beginning of a new journey.”

And the journey, no doubt, has been exciting and eventful, you presume, as you notice the lively editorials which provide snippet-sized peeps into the founder-editor’s personal experiences/adventures. And the fun doesn’t end. ORR has arguably many firsts:

• Audio recordings of some of the stories and poems for those who prefer to hear rather than read them.
• Praises, comments and questions from readers merit their very own “Feedback from Readers” section.

Guest editors for the poetry section in the past have included Amit Dahiyabadshah, founder of the India Poetree Foundation who aimed to host the biggest single city Poetry event ever: Dilli Kavita Kumbh – The Thousand Poets’ Readings and The Great Poetry Marathon- a world record event.

ORR publishes the best from India and around the world, works of both published as well as emerging writers. As you salivate over the amazing artwork by Ira Joel Haber, you know you can’t hold yourself back, and with a steaming cup of cardamom tea you are ready to give yourself up to the pleasures of the other offerings of the current issue (August 2013/ Issue 6) of this lit-mag.

Do check out the Facebook fan page.

If you are a writer:

• ORR pays Rs.1000 for all solicited works of fiction / poetry / artwork / creative nonfiction while on the other hand there is no fee for submissions.

• Submissions are open for short fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, visual art and even blogposts.

• The editorial team really prefers you to send your submission in the body of the email, except for fiction which you have to submit as an attachment, too. Please read the guidelines carefully for the complete information.

• Though there is no specific theme, the editors are “looking for literary work that is influential, yet elegant in a subtle way, fiction that effortlessly takes the reader to a deeper level, revealing the human condition without sloshing the flow of consciousness over its banks.”

• Submissions for Issue 7 will remain open from 20^th August – 15^th October, 2013 while the issue is expected to be out on 1^st November, 2013.

Online Literary Magazines Decoded – The Four Quarters Magazine

(This is the first of a series of posts planned, as the title suggests, to decode online literary magazines with an aim to provide this resource to writers who are keen to submit their work to them. Comments are invited to help make this series even more comprehensive).

TFQM April 2013 – Cover Art by Marc Saverio

I am mesmerized by the cover. The crimson discs with dark red clots, sandwiched between the brown insects (some with their insides squished out) and neat stacks of bronze coins, drag my willing eyes again and again to itself till I click on the link that went  live at the stroke of midnight of the 17^th instant. I swiftly scan the current offerings of The Four Quarters Magazine (TFQM) and am not disappointed.  Eye and soul candy are rolled into one delectable treat, which is themed, “To Ugliness.”

TFQM is an online literary magazine which launched its first issue in December 2011 and from the very first day it seems to be competing with itself in providing a literary feast that never fails to impress and awe.  It began with Poetry, Fiction and Memoirs in the first issue with translations and non-fiction prose added in the next. Artworks were introduced in the third issue followed by book reviews in the fourth. Clearly, TFQM seems to revel in pushing beyond its own borders.

Dedicated to the fostering of creative writing in English, TFQM is an elegant literary quarterly, jam-packed with well-known literary names as its peer reviewers, guest editors and contributors as well as interesting new voices, from all over the world.

It is, as it says “a labour of love – a love that dares speak its name, a love of literature and the written word, a passionate polyamory of sorts.”

The latest issue has been launched this time as independent html pages for better readability instead of the usual pdf pages.  Embellished with intriguingly intricate art work by Arjun Choudhuri, who is also one of the editors ( Arjun Rajendran and Samyak Ghosh are the others, while well-known poet/writer, RK Biswas did the honours as the guest editor) this issue provides an intensely satisfying read to lovers of great literature.

A great website, a Facebook group,  a TFQM Fan Page and twitter handle, TFQM has it all. It is also listed in Duotrope.

If you are a writer:      

• No fee is charged for submissions.  The following are invited for publication: Poetry, Prose Fiction, Prose Non-Fiction, Experimental Writing.  Artwork and Photography would be considered, too.

• Beginning from the previous issue, the submissions are required to fit a clearly explicated theme. “Writing Memory” was the previous theme while the current one is “To Ugliness”.  Theme for the next issue is yet to be announced.

• The Submissions page provides clear information about the whats and hows of the submissions.  For example, they clearly do not accept ‘saccharine’ romance.  But hey, read the rest carefully.

• No deadline dates mentioned on the site but do request to join the TFQM group on Facebook where the information is disseminated at the relevant time. The issues come out in December, April and August. The theme is announced approximately two months before the issue publishing date with one month to submit.  Keep an eye out for the exact dates.