I’m honored to announce that I’ve been invited to serve
as an Advisory & Contributing Editor for The Gettysburg Review, which is one
of my favorite literary journals—to read, and to see my work published in. As
you probably know, it’s impossible to subscribe to every single excellent
journal out there, so I tend to pick 3-4 to read for a year or so and then
rotate on to a new batch (as heart-breaking as it is to say goodbye to a
beloved journal). But The Gettysburg
Review is so very, very beloved that I’ve kept my subscription going for years
and years.
Five of my stories have appeared in its pages, most recently
“The Circle,” which is part of my forthcoming collection, THIS
ANGEL ON MY CHEST, and they’ve honored me with a Pushcart Prize nomination
in the past.
Beyond that loyalty toward its writers, here are 11 other (randomly
numbered) reasons I love The Gettysburg
Review:
1.
The journal features a portfolio of full-color
artwork.
2.
Writers are paid with $.
3.
The font and layout are elegant and uncluttered.
4.
The paper feels lush and the ink doesn’t smudge.
5.
The editing is rigorous and thoughtful and
smart.
6.
The work, the work, the work! It is one of the
few journals where I enjoy reading and admire equally each genre: fiction,
poetry, and non-fiction.
7.
They support AWP by buying a booth at the
bookfair and taking the time to carefully answer every single question, even
the possibly annoying ones: “How can I get my work published in your journal?”;
“Why did you reject me?”; “What are you looking for?”
8.
The journal works with and trains interns in the
art of editing, helping ensure thoughtful editors in the next generation.
9.
They often offer discounted subscriptions (not
that full-price isn’t worth the bucks!).
10. They
will (and have) published looooooooong stories (including one of my loooooong stories).
11. They
listed my name on the cover once. (Okay, that’s a totally self-absorbed reason
to love a journal, but it was dang exciting!)
So:
Let me share my love with one blog
reader in a contest for a subscription. Simply
email me your mailing address (U.S. only…sorry, but I’m not made of money and
can’t afford the overseas mail rate!) by FRIDAY, July 31, and I will select one
person at random to get a free, one-year print subscription to the Gettysburg Review. And yes, it's okay to enter if you know me!
Rules:
1.
Write “Gettysburg Review” in the subject header.
If you don’t, I promise your email won’t be selected because it won’t find its
way into the gmail search.
2.
Send this email to: lesliepietrzyk AT gmail DOT
com (only, you know, with the proper formatting).
3.
Include your mailing address (which I will not
share with anyone else). If your mailing address isn’t included, I’m not going
to track you down. Remember, US addresses only.
4.
Send all this before FRIDAY, July 31, at 5 PM,
Eastern Standard Time.
5.
The winner will be selected at random and will
be notified privately and announced the following week on this blog.
6.
If there are other rules I’m forgetting to
imagine needing, I’m the one in charge here, so I get to make up more rules on
the spot! J
Feel free to pass this blog post along
to your friends…come on—don’t be selfish!
More information about the journal,
including digital and print subscriptions: http://www.gettysburgreview.com/
Submission information (but not
until September 1!): http://www.gettysburgreview.com/submissions/