Dear Readers & Contributors of Crack the Spine,
For over ten years now, this literary magazine has been the primary focus of my life. Its development from an entirely obscure online publication to a respected forum featuring works by thousands of writers, poets, and essayists has been the greatest pride of my life. However, as recently noted, some changes to my personal situation (namely my long-awaited return to graduate school) has required a cut-back in publication. It is now apparent to me that rather than cutting back, Crack the Spine must be closed to new submissions indefinitely. I can not begin to describe how difficult this decision has been, but I see no other path forward for the foreseeable future. Please note that the website, complete with digital and print publications will remain active and readily available! This decision to close for submissions effects future publications only.
As a final “hooray,” we are releasing a very special digital issue featuring the works of all CTS contributors still in our care. This issue will serve as finale until such time that we may be able to resume operations. At long last, our 2020 The Year Anthology is also available! I hope you enjoy these publications as much as I do.
As I take this step back from CTS, I ask you all: please remember that on the other side of the literary publications that you love, humans are toiling away and doing their best for you – our writers and readers. There was much discussion earlier this year in editorial communities about some of the verbal abuse that can be inflicted on editors at times, and I would be lying if I didn’t say that similar circumstances have also been a factor in my decision. So please, be kind to editors. To those of you who have provided encouraging words and understanding for the difficulty of editorial pressures, I thank you most gratefully.
It is my sincere hope that I will one day be able to return to fully-active status at Crack the Spine and we can again start sharing the beautiful words of our contributors with the world. Until that time, I thank you all most sincerely for being a part of this journey. Keep reading, keep writing, and please keep “choosing madness over method.”
All the best,
Kerri Farrell Foley
Executive Editor, Crack the Spine