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.
Our new issue is really coming together. Today we’re happy to give you a preview of the cover art. We’ll be announcing this issue’s authors and opening pre-sales next Monday, so get ready for some excellent reading!
Join the Relief Team
Yesterday Chris Fisher blogged about some open open positions on our Relief staff. If you’re passionate about literature and the Relief mission resonates with you, perhaps you’d like to lend your talents to this project for a season. Click here to learn more.
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.
The Pushcart Prize anthology is a thick volume produced every year with literary work selected from the best literary journals and small presses. We’re proud to honor the following works with this nomination:
Last weeks news was all about us preparing for Calvin, and that’s what we’re still doing 48 hours before the 2010′s Festival of Faith and Writing begins! No worries though. God has been taking care of us.
For those of you who will be at the festival, we can’t wait to see you! Beyond that, we can’t wait to show you what we’ve got in store!
Teaser Alert: Michelle Pendergrass went overboard on the movie theme for our booth. It. Will. Be. Awesome!
For those of you who can’t make it, you won’t be missing out! We’ll have pictures going up on the blog and on Facebook Thursday-Saturday, along with some video recaps every night that will feature the staff and any Relief/Diner published authors that stop by. Since we will be connected to both the website, Facebook, and Twitter all day, don’t hesitate to ask any burning questions that you might have for us. We really want you all to share in the festival fun.
4.1 Cover
Though Relief has always been blessed with great content from great writers, we have also been blessed with connections to great artists who create fantastic covers for our content to be bound within.
This issue is no exception.
Our anticipated cover art will officially show up on the blog in the next couple weeks, but we are sure that you will be able to see it in many of the pictures that will be taken at Calvin, so keep your eyes open for it!
