Until I became fiction editor at Kartika, I had no empathy for the editors who ruminated on the slushpile. I only thought, “Blah blah blah, yah it’s so BIG. Blah blah blah, it’s so HARD. Blah blah blah…just read my story, dammit! (And accept it for publication!)” Ha. You may be thinking the same thing.
(Oh but please! Read on! Juicy stuff ahead!)
It’s not real until you do it yourself: rummage through the slushpile of literary submissions, read every single story, until you find the gems, the ones that sparkle more than any other. Every story is hours if not weeks if not months if not years of hard work, of emotional investment, and there I am, rifling through your pages and your words looking for something that shines. (Am I starting to sound like a choosy kleptomaniac?). It’s exhausting thinking about the work the writers have put into the pieces and it’s exhausting doing the work. But in the end, even in some cases a few days before the issue’s deadline, a few stories always catch the light.
(Please! Read on! Juicy stuff ahead!)
As of November 28, I have sent responses to all fiction manuscripts submitted to date. If you haven’t received a response on the status of your FICTION manuscript, you may email me at fiction AT kartikareview DOT com. If you received a “no thank you” from us, I’m sorry for possibly putting a gray cloud on your Thanksgiving weekend…and if you received an acceptance, well, I am excited about seeing your story in our 1st Anniversary Fall/Winter double issue. (due sometime in December!)
(Juicy stuff imminent!)
Speaking of our first year anniversary–this means an entire year’s cycle of issues full of stories and poems and essays and interviews showcased in Kartika. 
In addition to choosing fiction pieces for Kartika’s issue (did I mention: our First Anniversary Fall/Winter Double Issue!)…we also went through our 2008 issues to come up with Pushcart Prize Nominations.
Reviewing the literary work published in Kartika was like looking at an ENTIRE slushpile of gems. Heaven. But in the end, we had to make our choices. Kartika Review’s Pushcart Prize nominees are (in no particular order)…
- Fiction: Sheba Karim, “Qiyamat” (Winter 2008)
- Poetry: J. L. Koh, “Childhood Punishments” (Winter 2008)
- Fiction: Kelly Luce, “Cram Island” (Summer 2008)
- Poetry: Jason Koo, “There Is No There, There” (Summer 2008)
- Fiction: Jimmy Chen, “The Search for Namable Things” (Spring 2008)
- Essay: Gemma Guillermo, “Slaying Monsters” (Spring 2008)
If you missed them the first time, you can read their work in our archives.
We hope you stick around with us for another good year.
And keep up the writing…and keep submitting your work out there!
2 Comments
December 2, 2008 at 6:01 am
I would never have guessed that a small litmag like us could attract the high quality of writing we’ve been attracting. ::beaming with pride!::
December 3, 2008 at 12:11 am
thanks. i’m flattered and honored.