Onwards and Upwards
New Year, new venture, new book list… and other news
Hello Everyone, Writers and Readers All.
I hope you are all well and that those who celebrate any kind of festivals or the turning of the year in December enjoyed themselves immensely.
For those of you who might find the whole season a trial, are on their own and perhaps struggling, I’ve been thinking about you and I’m always here if you’d like to reach out to an understanding listener (my email address can be found on my profile and our submission guidelines page should anyone want it) — or write about it, as Marc Barham did here, it might help.
2023 was quite the year for Counter Arts, and it’s poetry&fiction ‘imprint’ Rainbow Salad.
From the very beginning of the year I (Sadie Seroxcat) officially took over as new owner and lead editor of the publication, with full consent and blessing of founders: Carlos Garbiras, Jess the Avocado and Will Hull. Thank you again, my friends, for the faith you placed in me when you signed your creations over. I promised to take good care of them and I’ve worked hard to do my absolute best this last twelve months.
I’ve made some changes along the way, but always strive to maintain the same warm community feel which initially drew me to the publication in the first place.
Among those changes, the introduction of our new ‘Film(&TV)’ section, with editor Reece Beckett at the helm, has been an exciting and popular move! Thank you Reece, for all the time and effort you’ve poured into developing your ‘domain’.
Midway through the year I was invited to be a part of Medium’s boost nomination pilot, which has kept me extra busy, picking out and nominating pieces of work I think would be good for further dissemination as part of that program. It’s been a learning curve, frustrating at times when Medium’s Curation team has had a different opinion on a piece I think is a good choice, but genuinely a satisfying project to take part in.
- I will be continuing with the boost nomination pilot in 2024.
- I’ve also produced a new list for a new year of Counter Arts Book Club:
- The ‘Housekeeping’ style guide will be getting an overhaul in the next few days, updating and adding anything new — including our new ‘DRAFTS ONLY’ submission policy
I decided on this move as Counter Arts and it’s associate publications continue to grow and increase in number of writers and submissions we are receiving, making scheduling days ahead the best way to proceed. Pre-published work needs to be sent out onto a publication manually, at it’s allotted time, which can lead to mistakes and difficulties, as some writers hosted in December can attest. There will be some leeway during this first month, while our writers acclimate to the new rule.
- Now for a Big Announcement:
Flushed with success from running Counter Arts and Rainbow Salad, I’ve also made the decision to introduce a third publication which will allow some of our more politically minded writers to really spread their wings and give the Brits a small home of their own.
Introducing, Seroxcat’s Salon:
Please do drop in and take tea with us at The Salon now and again. I’m sure you will continue to be active members of our publications, but just remember that reading and commenting on others’ work is what helps us to grow and to come together as a community.
Thanks for reading.
Here’s to you and a happy, successful 2024.
Keep reading. Keep writing.
With love, thanks and best wishes — Sadie
