Attention, SLM-ers!! Read me, Damn it! – KELLY FITZHARRIS, Editor-in-Chief

SLM family, readers, writers, team, and all who have ever derived any sort of happiness or satisfaction from reading this magazine, this is directed to you personally: 

I am sorry about the implied lack of communication on my part. It is definitely not intentional – at all. 

I just finished publishing all of the pieces from Paul Beckman’s ‘It Began in an Elevator’ theme that was originally scheduled to take place at the end of OCTOBER, 2016.

My staff have left me and not returned since then – leaving me to steer and navigate the ship that is SLM alone once more. It’s nothing that I’m not used to; but with the growth the happened over the summer, this is a ship that, if ran alone, is ridiculously difficult and slow-going.

Previously, the only way that submissions came to me was through word-of-mouth. Or, conversely, if I tweeted to a few writers until they wanted me to  leave them alone, then they might occasionally send me in a piece to publish.

Now THAT was navigable by one person. What SLM has grown into, however, requires a staff.

I have posted MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE letters on the site explaining this delay in publishing and that all acceptances still stand. I need you to breathe in for a moment and remember that I’m still human, just like you are, and that I, too, go through difficult times in my life. The things that are disconcerting and disheartening for me are: when I see a Facebook message asking me about an accepted submission. Please, just email me. I’m doing my best.

I have hired on a “Right-Hand Man” so to speak; someone whom I will introduce to you as soon as I am able to, as soon as we have our own groove. This person will, for the time being, be my new “Melissa.” (Melissa, I miss you. I love you and you are always welcome back, even if it’s years from now. Please know that I mean this with 100% sincerity. This magazine is always going to exist with your hard work woven into it. I will never forget the times we worked together and I don’t break promises.)

I’m excited to introduce my new teammate, someone who has been published by us before, someone who has been supportive, giving, and excited to be on the team.

Here’s what the schedule is going to be for now:

Carrie Redway’s two themes for November will be published in FEBRUARY

The themes that were supposed to be up and published in December will now be published in MARCH

Until then, of course, my new Senior Managing Editor and I have both come down with a cold that we both described to one another as being “manufactured by Satan himself,” but we plan to post some letters to introduce her to the team and the readers,  and it will give me time to finally post THE SLM T-SHIRT CONTEST FINALISTS!! This is VERY exciting, guys! As soon as I receive the other three finalists’ designs, I will begin putting the post together. All shirts will be available for purchase and I need you to vote on your FAVORITE! The winner’s logo will be OUR NEW LOGO for an unspecified amount of time – don’t worry, Gene Farmer, your original creation for me isn’t going to disappear.

In the meantime, go live your life! Enjoy! Write!

Cheers,

Kelly Fitzharris Coody

(Soon-to-be Kelly Fitzharris. Or six months. Who knows?)