Issue 5.1 is currently steaming down the line toward the first printing. This is going to be an issue to be remembered, and well worth the long wait. As promised, here is a list of our three Editor’s Choice winners:
Editor’s Choice for Fiction
“Catholics,” by Margot Patterson
Editor’s Choice for Creative Nonfiction
“Like a Spread-Eagled Cat Suspended,” by Samuel Thomas Martin
Editor’s Choice for Poetry
“Doubt,” by David Holper
At the risk of sounding like doting parents, we are really proud of all the authors we’re featuring in this issue. But a special congratulations is due to Margot, Samuel, and David. Leave a comment and make them feel extra special!
Don’t Forget to Show Relief a Little Love
The LoveRelief support raising campaign kicked off yesterday, and we’ve had a lot of people peeking in here and on our Facebook and Twitter as a result. Unfortunately, though, we can’t run a journal on website traffic alone. So please click on the “Chip In” widget to the right and help us fund Relief for Issue 5.2 and beyond!
One of my favorite parts of putting together an issue of Relief is working with the photographers and graphic artists who help the outside of our journal look as good as the work we publish inside. You see, I’m well aware that, while we all know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, we’re all prone to do it anyway. Fortunately, Relief has developed great relationships with gifted visual artists who contribute to covers that are as original as our vision for a Christian literature that is both true-to-life and beautiful, gritty and wonderful.
The cover of our current issue is a composite of two images. The central image (the tree and sunrise in the doorway) is cropped from a landscape taken by J. Brisbin, a former Relief author and photographer whose work we featured on our last cover. Like his last, this image demonstrates the high dynamic range (HDR) technique, which is a favorite form of Brisbin’s. As he explains it:
HDR is simply a way to capture an image that pretends it has more dynamic range than it actually has. The eye can see about 15000:1 contrast ratio, while photography can usually only capture 300:1 to 500:1. Highs get overexposed, lows get lost in shadow. HDR algorithms seek to compress multiple exposures of an image that expose various parts of that 15000:1 contrast ratio in “slices” by altering the exposure, then combining those images (3-12) using special software. What makes HDR cool, in my opinion, isn’t this technical side of it, but the artistic result of the tone mapping software. Different algorithms produce different results and a vast range of effects can be produced by manipulating the knobs and switches in the tone mapping software. It can be time-consuming and takes a lot of trial-and-error but with the right composition, the effects can be stunning.
The second — and much less technical — image of the dark foreground, was taken by my wife, my youngest son, Josiah, and myself during a hike at a nearby abandoned and run-down house. (Actually, I took the picture from inside while they stayed safely outside and prayed the roof would not collapse on my head). With some clever arranging by Harriet Brewster, who also designed the cover for our last issue, the result is an image we’re calling “Lazarus, Come Forth” for its juxtaposition of desolation with hope and beauty, and to hint at this issue’s themes of isolation and communion.
And now that you’ve seen the cover, click on over to our store and pre-order a copy of your very own!
I’m not a Catholic (and I’ve never even played one on TV), but I have so many friends who are that I’m always interested in what’s going on in the Catholic Church. Today, Reuters has an interesting article on a recent–and I think very wise–warning from Pope Benedict concerning the subtle dangers of online social networks. In a message for the Catholic Church’s World Day of Communications, Benedict says: “It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives.”
I’ve long been bothered by a line from Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar: “Why’d you [Christ] choose such a backward time in such a strange land? If you’d come today you could have reached a whole nation. Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication.”
On the surface, this seems like a really good question. But now, in the midst of this present “communication age,” in which people the whole world over are growing more and more connected, while as persons, as individual men and women, so many are more isolated and lonely than ever, I think I’m beginning to understand that it simply wouldn’t have worked. All of the mass communication in the universe could not relay what Christ had in mind with the Church–individual persons communing with one another as a whole. Feeding, soothing, and yes, touching one another. Greeting each other, as the New Testament says, “with a holy kiss,” not a virtual finger poke.
The next issue of Relief will open up for presales this week, and the stories, essays, and poems inside follow a similar theme of isolation vs. communion. I hope you will order a copy as soon as it is available. Not only will you help us make our print run, you’ll also get to read some of the finest writing we’ve published so far.
Ben Franklin, one of my all-time favorite editors, once said that “Guests, like fish, begin to stink after three days.” But that was certainly not the case with Relief’s latest “guest,” Michael Dean Clark. Way back in July, I happily announced that Michael would be serving as Guest Fiction Editor for the upcoming issue of Relief. In the process of working with him to select this issue’s fiction lineup and get each piece ready for print, I came to trust his skill and insight so much that I just had to ask him if he’d like to stick around–permanently. And I was even happier than before when he said yes.
I first met Michael back in 2009 when we accepted his story “Paddling Out” for publication in Relief 3.1, the infamous–or at least controversial–Love and War issue. Since then, he has been a returning author (with creative nonfiction appearing in Issue 3.2), one of our favorite and most dedicated bloggers, and a true friend of the journal. I’m thrilled to now call him part of the editorial team, because I know he will be an outstanding addition to the journal in 2011 and beyond.
So leave a comment and join me in welcoming Michael as Relief’s new Fiction Editor.
The Relief staff and I are happy to announce that we will soon be opening presales for our much anticipated and long awaited next issue. This issue features some wonderful new voices, as well as a few returning Relief authors, and I am truly thrilled to see it all finally coming together.
This one has been particularly challenging to bring to print, in part because we have a number of vacancies in our editorial and production staff, and it’s been something of a vicious cycle trying to fill those roles in the middle of a production phase: we’ve been working so hard to pick up the slack and keep things running that we haven’t had much time to train the new volunteers we so desperately need in those roles.
After the new issue’s release in the coming weeks, I expect to have a brief, but much needed lull, and at the top of my list of priorities for that time is to make sure Relief is fully staffed for the year 2011.
Think you might be interested in helping with Relief? Below are just a few of the positions we’re looking to fill.
Assistant Editor—will work with the Editor-in-Chief to develop production schedules and coordinate with other staff to ensure that deadlines are being met. The Assistant Editor will also have creative input on content, design, author promotion and networking, etc.
Copy Editor—edits all content for spelling, grammar, and to ensure that it is consistent with our house style guide before sending to the Layout Editor.
Relief Blog Manager—works with the Web Editor to set the weekly blog posting schedule and coordinates with Blog Contributors to ensure that deadlines are met. The Blog Manager may also be expected to write occasional blog posts and assist with building and maintaining our presence on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Blog Contributor (several openings)—writes on timely, writing-related topics, especially pertaining to the intersection of faith and art. Blog Contributors must be willing and able to post on a regular schedule (either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly).
Please note that these are not paid positions. We’re looking for people who are passionate about Relief’s mission and the literary culture in general. If any of these positions look interesting to you, send a brief 1-page resume or cover letter in .doc, .rtf, or PDF format to jobs@reliefjournal.com, and we’ll be happy to give it a look.
Note: We also will soon need to fill some positions with our sister publication, The Midnight Diner, and the growth of Relief is always opening new and unexpected needs for talented and committed volunteers. So check back here from time to time to see if new openings have been announced.
