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Ellemeno To Require Proper Display Names

We are updating our policy to ensure our readers’ trust in this age of artificial bots, trolls, and disinformation

David Todd McCarty
Ellemeno
Published in
3 min readJan 12, 2025

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It’s something that’s always bothered me. I even wrote a piece about it almost a year ago, titled “Here’s The Thing I Hate About Your Pen Name.” After a lot of consideration, Ellemeno has decided that we will no longer accept submissions from writers who use non-traditional display names.

Nom de plumes are fine, but they should sound like something your parents might have named you, and not some unintelligible hacker handle or bizarre turn of phrase. If your real name is Mark Gordon and you want to write under the name Judy Garland, be our guest. We’re not going to verify your birth name or ask for your license.

Our first choice is that you use at least some form of your real name, but if you have some issue that you believe prohibits you from using your real name, pick another and stick to it. Your display name should not include numbers, symbols, or emojis. We want to see a level of professionalism represented here.

There is a long tradition of authors abbreviating their first names. O. Henry. J.R.R Tolkien. F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger, H.G. Wells, E.B. White, C.S…

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Ellemeno
Ellemeno

Published in Ellemeno

A literary journal dedicated to the exploration of life, memoir, culture, travel, and writing.

David Todd McCarty
David Todd McCarty

Written by David Todd McCarty

A cranky romantic searching for hope and humor. I tell stories. Most of them are true. I’m not at all interested in your outrage, but I do feel your pain.

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