Pub Crawl: Minnetonka Review

Our readership is made up primarily of writers who are crawling towards publication. If they’re like me, they’ve had more crawl than pub, and the journey may have even caused some of that other type of pub crawling. Consequently, we’ve brewed up an idea for a blog series named “Pub Crawl,” where we will discuss all things publication from myriad points of view. Hopefully we’ll all end up a little more encouraged and informed, and maybe even throw a fist pump or two in the process.

As I browsed the AWP book fair in Denver a couple months back, I came across one table that stood out from the rest. It was advertising its wares via ridiculously hip drink coolies, labeled with the tag line “It’s time to get Lit.” What could be a more perfect way to start the “Pub Crawl?” Many thanks to Troy Ehlers, editor and chief of the Minnetonka Review, who agreed to answer a few of my questions over email.

RM: Is there an aesthetic you go for at the Minnetonka Review? Perhaps some guidelines or questions you ask of a piece before you're willing to publish it?

TE: Part of the trick is that we like to publish a journal that is aesthetically pleasing, only without being narrowly defined. We'd like to publish work that excels across the entire broad spectrum of literature, without being chained to a particular style or subject. In one issue we'd like to have a gripping memoir like Creative Nonfiction; a thought-provoking essay like Paris Review; a brainy and comical piece like McSweeney's; an eccentric and funny work like Tin House; a story in high literary style like Ploughshares; an original and engaging work like Kenyon Review or Alaska Quarterly Review. In other words, we're a one-stop-shop for literary innovation and enjoyable reading. We've been told that this is a difficult premise when it comes to marketing--that if we could limit ourselves to say "stories about lakes", or first-person narratives, or languid memoirs, or plot-driven work, our journal would be easier to market. We don't care. One of our issues featured: 1) an essay about the strengths of writers working in a language other than their native tongue 2) a mysterious and thought-provoking narrative re-examining a childhood in the Midwest 3) a prose poem triptych about an old western outlaw 4) poetry about livestock butchery 5) a story about a dragon adapting to life with an enormous phallus 6) a memoir about working as a movie grip... and all of that was less than a quarter of the issue, alongside seven other short stories, and dozens of poems. Sure, it's a challenge to market an issue with such a broad array of work, but like I said before, we simply don't care. The only question we ask ourselves before we publish a piece is: Do we enjoy reading it? I know this isn't the kind of answer you were hoping for, but there just isn't a simple formula or category we're trying to channel writers into.

RM: Many literary journals out there, specifically print ones, are paired with colleges and universities. Can you give us some insight in the unique challenges and benefits of running an independent print journal?

TE: The journals paired with colleges and universities typically have far greater financial and human resources. That's not to say they're flush with cash, because many still struggle and recently a number of great journals have been shut down as schools make cutbacks. But those schools who want to be recognized for their outstanding writing programs are able to promote themselves through their journals. They can run $20,000 worth of advertising in a leading glossy magazine over a year because they aren't trying to sell $20 subscriptions; they're trying to entice MFA candidates who will pay $30,000 in tuition, or alumni who will grant tens of thousands in endowments. They also have students to read submissions and an alumni network to bolster support and their subscription base.

The benefit of being an independent print journal, like Minnetonka Review, is that we are just that: independent. We have no obligation to publish the works of students, alumni, professors or guest lecturers. We don't need to censor or filter any works due to concerns of what a parent organization or sponsor might think. We have the freedom to think outside the box and do anything we want, whenever we want, without going through bureaucratic channels. Our focus is to promote the works of our writers, rather than a school; and to provide readers with the kind of literature we ourselves enjoy reading.

One criticism of MFA programs is that the constant workshopping can lead to work that is bland and formulaic. It becomes like groupthink or writing by committee. Originality can be lost as writers adhere rigidly to the rules touted in these programs. Occasionally I pick up a journal and recognize the same pitfall; the students and faculty who've read the submissions and put together the journal have put together a group of stories all with the identical voice, structure, style and viewpoint that are favored in their program. Nothing unique or daring stands out.

RM: What's the best thing lovers of short prose and poetry can do to support small publishing houses like the Minnetonka Review?

TE: To support presses like ours, readers should read and subscribe. Naturally I'd like readers to subscribe in particular to Minnetonka Review, but certainly they should subscribe to at least several journals. If you love short fiction, poetry or nonfiction, and if you write it, you really owe it to yourself to read a lot of it. People are leading busier and busier lives with their jobs, televisions, iPods and Facebooks. Time can slip away without you doing what you love. Furthermore, it's disturbing that literary journals can receive 5,000-10,00 submissions in a year and yet only have 1,200 subscribers (in fact, the very biggest journals top out around 5,000 subscriptions). In other words, a lot of people want to be read, but don't take the time to read. And broadly speaking, those people tend not to be the greatest writers. So my appeal is threefold: 1) subscribe because you'll enjoy it. 2) subscribe because it will help your writing 3) subscribe to support other writers.

The Minnetonka Review publishes poetry and short fiction two times a year, with a reading period between October 15th and May 15th. For subscription and submission info, visit minnetonkareview.com.

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