A word from our soon-to-be Editor

Earlier this week, we announced that issue #10, which is currently open for submissions, will the the last issue with founding editor Tim Fredrick at the helm. Effective issue #11, which will be published this time next year, Jackie Sherbow will be the editor of Newtown Literary. Below, a message from Jackie.

One of my first publications was a poem accepted in Newtown Literary’s third issue. Never having read my work in public before, I was thrilled and surprised to be invited to do so at that issue’s launch party. I experienced that night something I’ve seen over and over since then at this borough’s myriad literary events: the community’s support, acceptance, and heart, especially for new and even first-time writers. Thank you for welcoming me then, and thank you for welcoming me now. It’s an integral time for the force of community, and I’m so proud to be a part of this one.

As an editor and publishing professional, I inhabit worlds that—like so many—need vast improvement in terms of inclusion. Voices from marginalized communities are historically silenced; it’s the responsibility of each of us in our own capacity to make space for these voices. As you know by now, that’s exactly what Newtown Literary’s goal is. And what better place than Queens? The diversity of this borough is what inspires us.

As editor, I will allow these beliefs to inform my work… what we publish and how we publish it, from day one of submissions down to the final period’s placement. Writers matter, stories matter, words matter—syntax, spelling, and grammar matter. I look forward to the days ahead, more days working alongside the rest of the journal’s editorial team and the brilliant and different voices of Queens’s writing world.

Tim has done an incredible job building this journal and the Newtown Literary Alliance, creating a stable foundation for this outlet in our borough. I’ve learned so much from him in my capacity as associate editor, and we’ll be working together to ensure the high quality of the journal is maintained. I’m grateful he’ll be able to spend more of his time in the executive director spot, and I approach my new role with energy, openness, and a belief in the importance of the work of this borough’s creators.