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What Our Fiction Editors Look for in a Submission to The Southeast Review

To help writers decide if their work is right for the fiction desk at the Southeast Review, Holly and I decided to borrow from a section of our website called, "the bedside table." These are the books and writers we keep close at hand and that best characterize our interests as readers.

Forrest Anderson, Fiction Editor
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, Emperor of the Air by Ethan Canin, Alligator Dance by Janet Peery, Everything in This Country Must by Colum McCann, In the Garden of North American Martyrs by Tobias Wolff, Welding with Children by Tim Gautreaux, An Evening Performance: New and Selected Stories by George Garrett, The Best American Mystery Stories 2007, Work Shirts for Madmen by George Singleton, Rock Springs by Richard Ford, and Things That Fall From the Sky by Kevin Brockmeier.

Holly Wilson, Assistant Fiction Editor
Voodoo Heart by Scott Snyder, Clown Girl by Monica Drake, The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead, Animal Crackers by Hannah Tinti, Why Did I Ever by Mary Robison, The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel, Kings of Infinite Space by James Hynes, I, Fatty by Jerry Stahl, and always, The Collected Stories of Flannery O'Connor.

It occurred to us that these two book lists may make it seem that we have two completely different opinions about what makes a good short story. For this reason, we decided to each give some general advice on what we get excited about in a submission.

Holly says, "I like characters who are both surprising and recognizable and language that's interesting without being labored. And please, by all means, be entertaining."

Forrest says, "I enjoy fiction that's interested in telling me a story that's compelling through the beginning, middle, and the end. The writing should be clean and clear with its own rhythm and cadence. Most of all, I want to read about characters who I can recognize no matter how extraordinary. I admire writers who give their characters every opportunity to do the right thing and show mercy when they don't."

The books that inspire us are different. Yet, we look for similar things when reading short fiction. Maybe it's because we exchange books. We look forward to exchanging your stories!

Forrest and Holly

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