Spittoon: An Independent Contemporary Literary E-zine

 

This was the website for the independent contemporary literary zine, Spittoon.
Content is from the site's 20011-2014 archived pages.

 

Spittoon is an independent contemporary literary zine dedicated to the publication of quality contemporary and experimental poetry, creative nonfiction and fiction. This online journal will feature work by poets and writers, both well known and up-and-coming. Our  only goal is to publish excellent work, so there are no form or content restrictions; however, we will never accept "cookie cutter" writers (you know who you are). We want original work that affects the reader in a physical and emotional way. To us, the form is as important as the content and they should both work together to develop the intended effect.

An aside: I like the philosophy of Spittoon, "the form is as important as the content and they should both work together to develop the intended effect." It's the same approach I take in my interior design when working with clients. Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a space to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people. I tend to specialize in contemporary or modern homes rather than traditional interior furnishings. Living in the Philadelphia area has afforded me the wonderful resource of room service 360 with their immense showroom filled with Italian modern furniture. Only the finest Italian furniture collections are represented at room service 360° so I can peruse at my leisure furniture created by the world renowned designers at Bonaldo, Cattelan Italia, Fiam Italia, Foscarini, Gamma Arredamenti, Pianca, Presotto Italia, Tonelli and Tonin Casa. I will often select potential furniture from looking at the showroom's website and then later go to the showroom to see the actual pieces. I then will create virtual rooms with the furnishing, furniture, lighting, etc so the clients are able to better visualize the space. Spittoon wanted original contemporary work that affected the reader in a physical and emotional way. I want to create contemporary rooms that affect my clients in a physical and emotional way.

The other day I was at a client's home and noticed a pair of trendy Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses resting on a side table. I asked the client where he had purchased them. He laughed and said he uses an online site called Eyeglasses.com where he buys all his prescription glasses. I was amazed. You actually get prescription lens made from an online store? Eyeglass frames I can understand buying online, but a pair of prescription glasses blew me away. I checked out Eyeglasses.com when I got home that evening. They offer an amazing range of glass frames and sunglasses. But they also have a section devoted to replacement lens.I looked up the Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses I had seen at my client and sure enough there they were. I then checked out how to order prescription lens. It didn't seem too complicated. I book marked the site so I could use them the next time I wanted to order frames or needed replacement lens.

 

Each piece we publish will automatically be entered in  the yearly Best of Spittoon awards.

Fiction Editor: Matt VanderMeulen
Poetry Editor: Kristin Abraham
Creative Nonfiction Editor: Kristin Abraham

 

In the near future, Spittoon will publish reviews of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and mix-genre books and chapbooks by new and established authors. Reviews will be featured on our web page and / or published in issues of the journal.

Authors and Publishers: 

If you would like to submit a book or chapbook for review, it must either have been published in the last two years or be forthcoming in the next year. The books should also align with the kind of work we publish in the journal.

Submit a published copy or bound galley (no electronic formats) and any press information to:

Spittoon Reviews / (Genre of the text you are submitting) 725 S. Taft Hill Rd., Fort Collins, CO  80521

 

Reviewers:

Currently, we are accepting a small number of unsolicited book reviews. To submit a review, please query first and follow the guidelines below:

  • email your query to: spittoonmag@gmail.com, with "Book Review Query (Genre)" in the subject line.
  • in the body of the email, indicate the following: book title, author and/or editor name,  publisher, year of publication, price, hardcover or soft, ISBN.
  • next, tell us how you obtained the book, why you think it fits with our aesthetic and why you are interested in reviewing it.
  • finally, tell us your relevant publication history--we're more interested in reviews you've published (and where they've been published) than your creative writing publication record.
Please be patient; give us at least three weeks to respond to your query before following up. If we pass on your idea, please wait at least one month before sending another query. 

 

Guidelines:

Spittoon accepts submissions year-round. Response times will vary, but they are generally between 3 to 5 months. 
 
  • No previously published work.
  • Simultaneous submissions okay.
  • Do  not submit to Spittoon more than once at a time; please wait for response before submitting again.
  • No photographs or clip art should be in any of the files; we should only see words on the page, unless the visuals are actually part of the piece and used to help the piece achieve its intended effect.
  • Upon publication, Spittoon claims First Rights; after publication, all rights revert to the author, with the understanding that Spittoon will receive credit if the piece is published elsewhere.
  • Before submitting, please read our mission and work we've published,  and read the work published or referenced on some of our links to better understand the kind of writing we want.
  • Include a short bio / cover letter.
  • Any submission that does not follow the guidelines will be deleted.
  • Any submission labeled by the author as a particular genre (i.e., "fiction") but submitted to a different genre (i.e., "poetry") will be deleted.
  • We useSubmishmash for all submissions. Any emailed submissions will be deleted.
 
Poetry*
 
Submit up to 5 poems at a time. No length requirement. All should be saved in a single .pdf, .doc, or .rtf document, with author's identifying information at the top of the first page. If you send poems as separate, individual submissions to Submishmash (and not all in one document / submission), each will be deleted and you will not hear from us. For poems that are more than one page, indicate page number with last name and poem title at the top of each page.
 
Poetry Editor:Kristin Abraham
 
 
Fiction*
 
Submit a single piece (up to 5,000 words) or up to three short-shorts. All should be saved in a single .pdf, .doc, or .rtf document, with author's identifying information at the top left of first page, and author last name with title and page number at the top of each additional page. All text should be double-spaced in size 12 font.
 
Especially interested in experimental fiction.
 
Fiction Editor: Matt VanderMeulen
 
 
Creative Nonfiction*
 
Creative nonfictionsubmissions should feature elements of storytelling, and may include narrative essays, memoir, lyric essays, etc. But please, only submit stories that represent the truth, of the factual and the universal sort. One complete work at a time, no more than 5,000 words, saved in a .pdf, .doc, or .rtf document, with author’s information on the first page. 
 
Especially interested in lyric and essays.

The creative nonfiction editor has a habit of neglecting her postal mail for weeks at a time, so please, only electronic (via Submishmash) creative nonfiction submissions. 
 
Creative Nonfiction Editor: Berly Fields

** All work selected for publication will automatically be entered in our yearly Best of Spittoon contest.**

To submit via postal (snail) mail, include a cover letter with bio and an SASE. Send to:
 
Spittoon 
Fiction Editor or Poetry Editor (choose one)
725 S. Taft Hill Rd.
Fort Collins, CO  80521 

 



 

ISSUES

 

Spittoon 1.1: 

On the Map

September 2011

Featuring Dana Curtis, Molly Brodak, Nate Pritts, Kristi Maxwell, Sara Pritchard, Wayne Lee Thomas,  William Haas, Ryan Collins,  Kirsten Eve Beachy, RJ Ingram, Amanda McGuire,  William J Fedigan,  Rich Murphy, Kyle Hemmings, and Ann Stewart.Also featuring an interview with and work by Arpine Konyalian Grenier, author of the new book The Concession Stand: Exaptation at the Margins (Otoliths).  

 Cover art by Sara Pritchard, a map of her short story collection Lately. About the map, she writes:

 ...if you're writing a linked story collection, you need something like this to keep track of everything. It's amazing what you learn--like how if one character is related to another character or they've worked together or are friends or they live in the same city or they're from the same place, then they're both privy to so much common information--secrets, lies, expectations, dreams, relationships, bad habits, regrets, etc.--which causes them to act and respond in certain ways and say certain things, whether you want them to or not.  

 ISSN: 2166-0840

 



 

Spittoon 1.2: 

Seasonal Affective Disorder

 Cover Art by : Shot [painting with stitch]. 

Featuring Nancy Zafris, Mary Elizabeth Parker, Donald Illich, Meghan MacNamara, Gina Myers, F. Daniel Rzicznek, Nathan Hauke, Don Cellini, Faith S. Holsaert, William Henderson, Laura Madeline Wiseman, J. Michael Wahlgren, Corinne Lincoln-Pinheiro, Damien Kortum, Maureen Foley, Lenore R. Harris, Cal Freeman, Jennifer Clark, Lori D'Angelo, Rick Marlatt, Lori White, and Jessica Barksdale. Also featuring art by Morwenna Catt.

 



 

Spittoon 2.1: 

Every US 

March 2012
Cover art by Justin Fields. Every, US  (1029, 840), Mixed media on paper. Approx. 55” x 30”.
Featuring work by Danielle Pafunda, David Baratier, Jamie Grefe, Chelsey Clammer, Kristina Marie Darling, Tim Kahl, Jessica Guzman, Petur H.K.,  Nancy Devine, Nels Hanson, Michele Harmeling, Seth Berg, D. Harlan Wilson, DJ Swykert, Lilian Oben, Alexandra N. Kontes, Parker Tettleton, Peter Ferrarone, Matthew Lykins, Bryan Alan Ellis, and an interview with Sarah Paige Ryan, author of  Solar-Powered Sex Machine: A Memoir.  Also featuring art by Justin Fields.
 ISSN: 2166-0840

 



 

Spittoon 2.2: 

after

 June 2012
Cover art by Dimitri Castrique Ploegsteert. Murdered Doll. 3072 x 2304. Digital photograph.
Featuring work by Eric Baus, Jennifer H. Fortin, Joseph Celizic, Anne Germanacos, Francis Raven, Stephen J. West, Anne Kingsfield, Michael Sikkema, Brandi Homan, Marcia Arrieta, Patty Somlo, Vallie Lynn Watson, Farren Stanley, Ken Poyner, Shitsugane Olembo, Darren C. Demaree, and Nathaniel Tower. 

 

 



 

Spittoon 2.3:

Get back better on 

Cover art by Eleanor Leonne Bennett. Smoke. Digital photograph.

Featuring work by Lisa Zimmerman,Gregg Murray, Tiffany Morris, Will Cordeiro, Jewel Beth Davis, Jeremy Benson, Ethan Tinkler, Tendai Mwanaka, James Claffey, Trish Parsons, Tony Leuzzi, José Luis Gutiérrez, Stephen Thomas, Jeff Mark, and Brent House. Also featuring 16-year-old artist and photographer Eleanor Leonne Bennett.

ISSN: 2166-0840 

 



 

Spittoon 2.4:

Orange Pool 

Cover art by Martyn E.  Jones:  Orange Pool.  Digital photograph. 
Featuring work by Kristy Bowen, Matthew Lykins, Dan Pinkerton, Laura Madeline Wiseman, Brent Terry,  David Rawson, Josh Prichard, Stephanie Anderson, Daniel Beauregard, Ken Poyner, Changming Yuan, Amanda Cobb, Jenny Drai, Michael J. Wilson, Mark Parsons, Mark DeCarteret, Justin J. Brouckaert, and Sam Buckley.
  ISSN: 2166-0840

 



 

Spittoon 3.1:

Toujours  

March 2013
 Cover art by Otha "Vakseen" Davis  III . Veils of Carnality (40 x 30), Oil & Acrylic.
Featuring work by Brian Baumgart, Laura Kochman, Nicholas Grider, Jess Stickler, Kirk Pinho, Chad Parmenter, Kenneth E. Harrison, Jr., Lisbeth Davidow, Kelly Lynn Thomas, and Erica W. Jamieson.  Special section featuring art by Otha "Vakseen" Davis III.
 ISSN: 2166-0840

 



 

Spittoon 3.2:

Woman with Papa

June 2013
Cover art by Dr. Ernest Williamson III. "After The Ballet." Mixed media (acrylic, ink) on paper. 20 x 40" .
Featuring a special collection of short-shorts titled "Woman with Papa" and art by Dr. Ernest Williamson III.  Fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by Theresa Sotto, Michael J. Pagan, John M. Gist, Vallie Lynn Watson, Rich Ives, Matthew Fee, Ken Poyner, Trish Cook, Steve Oberlechner, Cory Johnston, Seth Berg, Bradford K. Wolfenden II, Laura Madeline Wiseman, Valerie Hsuing, William Haas, Matt Paczkowski, Adam Deutsch, Sara Lippman, C. Dylan Bassett, Cindy Clem, Sarah Carson, Maggie Glover, Nancy Devine, and Ethel Morgan Smith.
ISSN: 2166-0840 

 



 

Spittoon 3.3:

Disintegration

September 2013

Featuring work by Jeffrey Hecker, Carrie Bennett, Nels Hanson, Erin Lyndal Martin, Jenny Ferguson, Darren C. Demaree, Susana H. Case, Irene Turner, Jacob Schepers, Paulus Kapteyn, and Graham Tugwell.
ISSN: 2166-0840  

 



 

Spittoon 3.4:

The Riven House

December 2013 
Featuring work by Alice Fogel, Camille Martin, K. A. McGowan, Jamey Gallagher, Patrick Kelling, James Grabill, and Gregory Kiewiet. Cover art by Leah Givens.
ISSN: 2166-0840 

 



 

Spittoon 4.1:

Gnomon 

March 2014
Featuring work by Carol Guess and Kelly Magee, Wayne Lee Thomas, Tantra Bensko, Geoff Collins, James Mathews, Lori Lamothe, Patty Somlo, Alex Greenberg, Parker Smith, and Derek Gromadzki. Also featuring special section: photography by Todd Donery.
 ISSN: 2166-0840

 



 

Spittoon 4.2: Mudjug is LIVE! Check it out!

Just released! Buy your copy of ceviche., a poetry e-chapbook by Gregg Murray, from Spittoon Press.

 



 

The 2013 Best of Spittoon Award-Winners Have Been Selected!

All work selected for publication in any issue of Spittoon will automatically be entered in our yearly Best of Spittoon contest: one winner   in each genre will be recognized and featured on our website, along with a brief artistic statement from the author; each author will also be awarded a trophy (delivered via USPS). 

The trophy is--you guessed it--an authentic spittoon. Since the trophies are authentic and will often be vintage, each is unique in age, size, shape, color, patina, etc.; they will not   be engraved, but they will be accompanied by an official "Best of Spittoon" certificate of authenticity.

The editors' decisions when choosing writing for Spittoon awards are based on a number of factors, including--but not limited to--editor consensus across and between genres; unsolicited feedback from readers; and how well the piece fits with the stated mission of the journal.

These awards are funded solely by donations. If you are interested in sponsoring an award, or even in donating $1, visit our Spittoon Store.

SpittoonMag.com