Former Corvallis Advocate reporter and writer, Ari Blatt, has announced that she and a group of colleagues are founding a literary publication, with a first issue anticipated for later this year.
Tethered Literary will be a digital publication that seeks to support the growth of under-published writers and artists and foster community. Founded by COVID-era graduates of the Oregon State University-Cascades Creative Writing program from across the US and Canada, Tethered Literary was developed while holding close a conviction of interconnectedness.
The heart of their idea is to provide space for writers and artists to get their work out into the world and know it won’t just be a one-time thing. Following initial publication, Tethered Literary says they will follow up with contributors down the road to specifically invite them to submit again. This may be in the form of new creative pieces, booklists and reviews, or interviews.
In this way, they hope to nurture a literary community with tangible ties. As working writers, the effort’s founders know how overwhelming it can be to find homes for creative work. They’re hoping their model eases this burden for those who land with them.
While Tethered Literary is open to contributions from all kinds of writers, they are especially interested in providing a home for work by writers with few to no current publications and by those from traditionally marginalized backgrounds whose voices are too often neglected. This is a space where writers who aspire to be heard can converge.
About Submitting
Tethered Literary is especially committed to seeing each piece they receive for what it is and not coercing it into categories the creator may not feel are a fit. They’re inviting authors to define the genre of their work in their cover letter, but also say that’s not a requirement. Your submission can be as short as you want it to be, or up to 10,000 words.
Naturally, some forms of writing will tend to use fewer or more words; for example, poetry tends to concentrate meaning. However, they want to encourage contributions from mixed genres or hybrid forms of writing, too. Imagine a braided essay where one braid is written in poetry while the other braids are narrative and non-fiction. Or maybe one braid consists of visual art. This is what excites the founders as readers, but they don’t currently see so many outlets accepting this kind of work.
Deadlines and First Issue
The founders of Tethered Literary look forward to curating the first issue based on themes that organically rise from the submissions we receive. The expected publication will be in Winter 2025, and a second issue in Summer 2025. Creative pieces will are currently being accepted until October 31, 2024, and you can email your document to tetheredliterary@gmail.com.
More information on contribution guidelines can be found at: https://www.tetheredliterary.com. You can also follow Tethered Literary on Instagram at: tethered literary.
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