Issue #10 ~ Winter 2023!

In a perfect world, there would be order and a trustworthy cadence as a well thought through plan unfolds itself in crisp, equally shaped squares—one step at a time. But it’s not a perfect world and the grand universe of literary-ness (and life in general) is chaos more often than not. 

Like most people, I want to appear as if I have my shit together even when things get crazy so admitting that the cart didn’t just come before the horse but came completely unhitched altogether, is not easy. That, my friends, is kinda what happens in life—happened with the release of our Winter issue—and this little confession is both an apology and a means to try and hitch things back together… 

First things first. If you have not yet looked at our most recent issue, #10 ~ Winter 2023, then I’d highly recommend starting with the fantastic artwork which perfectly sets the tone for the collection of stories, poetry, and the ten-minute stage play it accompanies. Then, buckle in for an intense ride with all that wonderful writing. More details about the nature of that ride are available in my very “late to the party” and more personal than usual, editor’s note. 

The delay with the letter is just one of the consequences of the aforementioned chaos. Another casualty was the lovely, full-spread downloadable version of the issue, which I am pleased to report is also now available here and from our home page. 

If the plan had been executed as intended, the issue release would have been officially announced on our blog and quickly followed by a blast of that news on all the socials. Epic fail. Better late than never though. So this is it! Finally. I’m calling it a “re-release” because twice is nice, right?  

I am sorry for the delays and missteps but most of all I’d like to apologize to the authors and artists that contributed to this issue. Many thanks for your patience and kindness. 

If you are still reading this (thank you, too) you might be wondering what flavor of chaos caused these delays. Pulling the curtain back a little further reveals that we might have had a touch too much going on all at once at the start of 2023.

For example, this month we launched a new segment on our blog called Micro Monday. This segment will feature micro prose and short poems that will provide readers with some “punchy” and thought-provoking pieces to jump-start their week. More of an official intro for this segment coming soon! 

Our team is also gearing up for our first appearance at AWP in March. In just two short weeks, seven of our all-volunteer staff of 23 people will be getting in cars and on airplanes to converge on the convention center in Seattle. We are all very excited about attending some amazing talks and connecting with so many cool people! If you are planning to be there, be sure and stop by our table at the book fair, T526, and say hello!

And last, but certainly not least, we’ve been deep in the weeds planning for this year’s contest– The Honeybee Literature prize in poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. Two fabulous people–Rodrigo Toscano and Hugh Reilly–have graciously agreed to work with us as judges and we are diligently working on someone equally as fabulous to select a winner and runner-up for fiction. More about the contest and judges can be found on our submissions/contest page. 

It’s definitely shaping up to be an action packed year and we’re enthusiastic about Issue #10 and all the exciting endeavors and events in the works despite the chaos. Stay tuned for more about all of this plus new interviews and fun updates from our team coming soon! Again.. thanks for reading.

Cheers,
~Shyla & The Good Life Review Team