Happy New Year from the Archetype Team

With the new year a day away, we wanted to take a moment to thank you, reader, for your continued support. Archetype is committed to launching two magazines a year, and to also to be a platform for both emerging and established writers to tell stories that explore what it means to be human. This mandate wouldn’t be possible without the generous amount of engagement we’ve received from people around the world.

In the nostalgic spirit of New Year’s Day, let’s recap our latest launch party and introduce our newest addition—the Archetype Blog.

In case we haven’t met yet, I’m Elisa, one of Archetype‘s contributing editors. A few of you might’ve seen my tweets hyping up my favorite literary journal, or hosting the Q&A sessions during our magazine launch parties. In issue two, I edited the essay “Watery Bodies” by Jennifer Thompson and the short story “Miracle Supply Company” by Gillian Parrish.

The moment we said our goodbyes and ended the issue two launch party, everyone on the team sighed in relief. I had been up late with Ali and Melissa the night before, putting final touches on the issue and our launch party plans. Ali flipped through the digital journal while sitting on his recliner, searching for proof edits, his eyes slowly calling for sleep. Melissa spoke through the party plans while snuggled next to me on the sofa.

Similar to the end of the year, every launch party feels like a reunion, gathering “family” members together that we hadn’t seen in a long time.

Here’s a quick recap of the event: 

Jillian A. Fantin read from her piece, “Beth Gordon’s The Water Cycle”.

Ariel Moniz read her poem, “A Muse, The Orchard”.

Laura Khoudari read from her piece, “Collections”.

Sara Aster read from her piece, “How Shakespeare’s Sonnets Taught Me to Stop Fearing Sex and Love Plants”.

Katie Strubel read her poem, “Lambing Season”.

Philip Wexler read his poem, “Savoring Forgetfulness”.

During the Q&A portion of the event, each author answered a question posed by me or our social media manager, Dalainey. 

When Sara Aster—who is interested in writing her way out of “this mess,” as she puts it—was asked what advice she’d give to her younger writer self, she said, “I would tell myself not to be afraid to experience life and to write about it.” She said that the criticisms she carried about herself when she was younger restricted her from trying new things. She added, “But when you grow up, that kind of goes away and you realize, ‘I can experience anything I want, I can find my people, and I can write about it.’”

Laura Khoudari—a writer, speaker, and pioneer in trauma-informed strength training—was asked how she approached writing about her family with such vulnerability and whether they were included in the writing process. She replied that her family members were involved, and she highlighted the challenge and importance of respecting people’s privacy, especially for non-fiction writing. “If I can ask a person if I can write about them, I do. If I cannot, then I will write about them in a way where people don’t necessarily know who I’m writing about.” 

When Katie Strubel—a twenty-four-year-old queer writer from Idaho—was asked about her experience pursuing a creative writing graduate degree, she replied that “the process has been really amazing. The support that I got… I never expected it. It feels like it’s all falling into place, and I feel really lucky to be a part of this magazine.”

After each virtual launch party, I’m in awe of the talent people carry and what they can accomplish through collaboration. Roy Peter Clark reminds us in his book Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer that writing is a “social activity.” There are multiple people involved in the process of creating a story or magazine, such as an editor that refines one’s grammar, or a friend who provides inspiration—the writing process is not done alone. 

Our magazine similarly would not be possible without the collaboration of many talents, and we hope that this blog will be another avenue to highlight the work of our authors and editors, providing an inside-look into the writing, designing, and editing process. As we can see from the brief Q&A summary above, every writer brings with them their unique perspective and approach to writing. We hope this blog will be another resource for you to connect with more humans from the Archetype community.

To stay tuned for more stories from guest contributors, including some of our favorite authors from each issue, publishing industry experts, and the everyday writer, make sure to follow our social media accounts (@archetypeliterary on Instagram and @a_journal on Twitter) and subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when a new post is released.

This year, we recruited an amazing social media manager named Dalainey. Dalainey brings a wide breadth of experience and enthusiasm to the role. It also helps that she comes from the same alma mater as the rest of the team. Her and Sonia will be behind our social media platforms where you are welcome to shoot us a message with blog post ideas.  

Now that we’ve moved on from our second issue, we’re looking forward to connecting with the Archetype community in the new year. 

Happy New Year!

Archetype News

•  SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN! Send your essays, fiction, poetry, interviews or reviews here.
• Our interview with author Jillian A. Fantin is now on YouTube. She talks about the freedom of writing poetry, the pleasures of the Twilight series, and the importance of platforming Indigenous writers. 
• Our Fall 2022 issue launched on November 19. Read it here.

What topics would you love to read about in our blog? Leave us a comment below or send us an email at editor@archetypemag.com.