Origins of Slush Pile:

Slush Pile is, arguably, the love child of Literary and Modern Culture, raised by Harvard Review. I say “love child” because Literary and Modern Culture have never had more than a fleeting affair, to the best of my knowledge, and they certainly never set out to start a family. Also Harvard Review does not usually take in orphans. But bear with me.

It all began when M.R. Branwen washed up on the steps of Harvard Review with her tattoos and bangs and earbuds, blasting The Smiths. M.R. Branwen, a long time fan of the classic English canon of fiction, developed a fast and furious affinity for Harvard Review’s slushpile of short fiction, and it was not long before she had her hands on just about every manuscript that was posted over. She just couldn’t read enough.

Finally she determined that she should make her own place for the new lit in her life. And it should be called—wait for it—Slush Pile! She mentioned this idea to Matthew Hotham, Assistant Editor of Harvard Review, who zealously offered to be involved. Poof! A Poetry Editor. She mentioned this idea to her very talented friend and obsessive Color Theorist, Sara Petras, and Poof! an Art Editor. With these two important persons in place, she began thinking of what else her journal should contain and decided it should be representative of her varied interests. Literature, Poetry and Art, yes, but also Music, Humor and an element of surprise.

Having established the content, she thought to recruit other contributors, and immediately set after David Thorpe, her favorite former columnist of “The Burn Unit” in Boston’s Weekly Dig, and current columnist of “The Big Hurt” in The Boston Phoenix. Poof! a merciless and hysterical Music Reviewer.

Then she set about finding her brilliant posse a home. Being a child of the web-revolution, the internet seemed a good place. So, she enlisted two very talented Canadians (eh?) at Sip Marketing to build her a beautiful working website for the love of art, and pennies.

And Voila! Le Slush Pile.

Evolution of Slush Pile:

After a year of blood, sweat, and tears, most of the good folks who helped launch Slush Pile were lost to the demands of their real lives.  Matthew Hotham was eaten alive by North Carolina; David Thorpe was coaxed away by the allure of more prestigious (or, at least, paid) writing gigs; Caroline Tanski was lost to her college education and the good Canadians at Sip Marketing may have actually died.

M.R. Branwen thought of putting Slush Pile on hiatus, weary as she was of manning the ship with her two small hands.  But, compelled by the ever-increasing influx of good fiction, and encouraged by her last remaining sidekick, Sara Petras, she decided instead to strip Slush Pile down to its essentials:  Short Fiction and Art.

The new third musketeer is Fitzroy Robertson, who helps out with website glitches because he is kind hearted (and because M.R. Branwen periodically cooks him vegetarian dinners).

And there you have it: the Laverigne and Shirley and Fitzroy of online publishing, keeping the dream alive.

Slush Pile owes a huge debt of gratitude to Christina Thompson, Editor of Harvard Review, for her ceaseless encouragement and wisdom.

Submission Guidelines:

Short Fiction and Essays:

Slush Pile gladly accepts unsolicited submissions of short fiction and will consider essays; please refer to the guidelines below.

Please submit via email attachment, to: SlushPileMag [at] gmail.com with the type of submission indicated in the subject line (ie: “Short Fiction Submission”). Please use the body of the email for your cover letter, citing recent publications, relevant degrees and awards, if applicable. Please make sure the author’s name and contact information is clearly indicated on the submission itself.

Please limit your submission to no more than 7,000 words of prose.

Simultaneous submissions are fine; please let us know if the work has been accepted elsewhere. Do not send the only copy of your work, as we do not accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts.

To contact M.R. Branwen, ask questions, or comment about anything Slush Pile related, please direct correspondences to:

onesmartnut [at] gmail.com

Who we are:

M.R. Branwen, Editor, received her ALB from Harvard University Extension School in 2008 with a focus on Classic English Literature and Latin, and currently works as an editorial assistant at Harvard Review. Her interest in reading, which is strongly rooted in the English Canon, is only symptomatic of her larger obsession with the English language, and of languages in general, of which she also speaks French and Italian fluently. Her poems have been published in Thieves Jargon and Harvard Summer Review.

Sara Petras, Art Editor, received her MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art, Post-Bacc from Brandeis University and BA from University of New Hampshire with a focus in Painting. Her particular interest in Contemporary Art clarified during her tenure as Gallery Manager at Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston. She is the recipient of a George Nick Foundation award for Painting and an Artist Residency Grant from the Helene Wurlitzer Fountation of Taos, NM. Her work reflects her obsession with color theory and love of formal composition, and can be viewed at www.sarapetras.com.

Fitzroy Robertson, Glitch Eliminator

Past Slush Pilers:

Matthew Hotham, Poetry Editor, received his MFA from Syracuse University in 2007 and currently works as Managing Editor for the Harvard Review, while studying Arabic and Persian language and literature at Harvard Divinity School. In the fall of 2009 he will begin a PhD in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His poems have appeared in Third Coast, 32 Poems, Harpur Palate, anderbo.com, and The Chautauqua Literary Journal, among others, and have been reprinted on Verse Daily. His chapbook, Early Art, was published by Turtle Ink Press in 2006.

Caroline Tanski, Copy Editor, has been obsessed with words since she learned to read. After getting a BA in Creative Writing and French from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, she found a job in the Harvard College Libraries, where she is happily surrounded by books every day. While her strong feelings about the English language mostly manifest in her writing, she has recently discovered that copy editing allows one the freedom and authority to correct all spelling and grammatical errors. She finds this deeply satisfying.

David Thorpe, Music Reviewer, went to an unremarkable Western university where he distinguished himself only on the basis of being an insufferable shit. Since then, he’s coasted through life on luck, the pity of strangers, and sheer rural cussedness. He is known, if at all, as a writer for Something Awful, The Weekly Dig and The Boston Phoenix.