Submit to Enamel

Submissions for the third issue of Enamel magazine close today. Have you submitted? I haven't. But we still have time! We have around 12 hours! I'm not sure I will manage it, but you can. You can! More details here: http://enamelmag.blogspot.com/2010/09/enamel-3-submissions-opening-november.html

Enamel 2 out now

The second issue of this stylish annual literary mag, edited by Wellington poet Emma Barnes, is out now. The cool cover image is by nine-year-old Ngahere Koa von Bassewitz-Wafe. As far as I can tell, it's one of those artworks where you scratch through the black crayon to reveal the coloured crayon beneath.

I have a couple of poems in here: 'Camera' and 'Unsavoury'. Inside, I found quite a few writers (mostly poets) I'd come across before, and a few new discoveries. Some particular highlights for me are Harvey Molloy's 'Bus stop'; Mariana Isara's 'Crush' (it took me a little bit to warm to this long, spacious poem, but by the end I was smitten); Helen Heath's poems about scientists Marie Curie ('Radiant') and Beatrice Tinsley ('Spiral arms'); Tim Jones's dystopia poems and 'Willie Pondexter by Sarah Jane Barnett. You'll also find fine work by Jennifer Compton, Craig Cliff, Angeline King, Sally Houtman, Reihana MacDonald Robinson, Susanna Gendall, Heather Elder, Debbie McCauley, Jenni Dowsett, Iain Britton and Vaughan Rapatahana.

And how can you get your paws on this excellent publication? You can purchase it on Trade Me - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=684524 - for $15, or for $20 you can get both Enamel 1 and 2. Or you can email the editor: enamel dot editor at gmail dot com. Or, I'm sure it you rocked up to your local bookshop and asked them to order it for you, and gave them the ISSN (1174-9199) they'd be able to do that.

Enamel has a blog here: http://enamelmag.blogspot.com/, and a recently created Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137829206230906. They'll be calling for submissions for the next issue at some point (probably later in the year).

And now I'll leave you with the final section of Mariana Isara's love poem, 'Crush'

What I want is the obvious thing

you

to eat red berries with me

in a warm rose garden

smelling Katherine Mansfield


to lie with our pages touching

and origami

love's symmetry


I want to alliterate your dreams

Stuff to know about: Enamel submissions close soon

Submissions for the second issue of Enamel close at the end of September.

I'm sure that, like me, you'll submit only just before the deadline. Check out the submission guidelines here: http://enamelmag.blogspot.com/2009/03/submission-guidelines.html.

The first issue was lovely - definitely the best-looking first issue of a literary mag I ever saw. I'm looking forward to the second already.

Enamel – issue one

Welcome to the world Enamel!

Enamel is New Zealand's newest literary magazine, edited and published by poet Emma Barnes.

Enamel is the most attractive first issues of a literary magazine that I've ever come across. Not only does it have a full-colour, matt-laminated cover, but it also has colour images on the inside.

This first issue features work by some familiar names, including Johanna Aitchison, Tim Jones, Miriam Barr, Jennifer Compton, Helen Heath, and yours truly (with 'Nothinghead', which is one of my 'movie' poems).

I enjoyed the work of the above-mentioned people, but another particular highlight was 'Inside' by Lori Leigh, a US poet and playwright I'd never heard of.

If you'd like to get your paws on a copy of this attractive journal, it' s stocked by Unity Auckland, and will probably be stocked by Unity Wellington. Or you can buy a copy on Trade Me - Emma is trying out this selling books over Trade Me business (I blogged about this a while ago) and I'll be interested to see how it goes.

Or, you can email email enamel dot editor at gmail dot com, and buy a hard copy for $15 or a pdf for 'a donation of your specification'.

Enamel is going to be published annually at this stage. Submissions for issue two don't close until the end of September, but you can read the submissions guidelines on Enamel's blog.

Submissions for new literary mag close tomorrow

Ok, so obviously it would have been way more useful if I'd managed to post this earlier, but you still have most of two days. (I confess I thought they had already closed).

Enamel is seeking submissions of poetry, short stories and artwork for its first issue. Check out the Enamel blog for submission guidelines and more info.

Enamel is being started by Emma Barnes, poet and recent returnee from Japan. And fellow blogger.

I'm delighted that Enamel has accepted a poem of mine - the first of my new bunch of movie poems to be accepted for a literary magazine (though not the first to be published - 'New Worlds', in the Winter Readings anthology, is the first one in print).