About Us
Since its launch in 2001, Small Spiral Notebook (www.smallspiralnotebook.com) has attracted a loyal readership for our poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction – not to mention for our interviews with authors such as Aimee Bender, Phillip Gourevitch, Sara Gruen, Roxana Robinson, Kate Braverman, Nicole Krauss, and Jonathan Ames, as well as many debut authors and poets.
Small Spiral Notebook evolved because I recognized friends and peers who were talented writers, and for some reason were not being published in mainstream literary journals. The dream of landing a story in the debut issue of the New Yorker was simply that – a dream. Small Spiral Notebook was created for the purpose of giving emerging voices a forum for which others can discover their work. We routinely receive emails from top agents and publishers inquiring if a particular writer is represented or if they have a larger work ready for publication. Our stories are reprinted, our book reviewers praised – we’re getting noticed.
Initially, we thought our magazine would target authors. However, over the course of five years, I've slowly noticed that audience expanding. Notably, with the ease and accessibility of accessing good writing online, I found people really responding to good stories. And these emails and letters didn't come from MFA candidates or aspiring writers, they came from housewives in Missouri, high school kids who maybe have just discovered their first inspiring writer.
There is no guiding aesthetic. We simply seek to publish the very best work we receive. We’ve published the traditional short story alongside the avant-garde, language poets next to narrative poets. We celebrate and revere both the story/poem and the form. A sample of past contributors include: Gary Lutz, Terese Svoboda, Judy Budnitz, Lisa Glatt, Ken Foster, Steve Almond, Natasha Radjocic, Priscilla Becker, Idra Novey, Matthew Thorburn, and Shari Goldhagen.
People are Talking: Check out our Press Kit, and catch up on five years of success by reading our blog!
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