Atlas & Alice is an online literary magazine founded in 2012 and publishing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.  They  are interested in “work that blurs genres, that is lyrical, that comes in strange forms. When it comes to intersections, we’re interested in your own definitions.” See my interview with Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Woodard and a link to submission guidelines below.

HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about Atlas & Alice.

WOODARD: We are an online journal that publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Our name comes from the ATLAS and ALICE experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. These experiments look to explain some of the most fundamental characteristics of the universe. Although the names of these experiments are technically acronyms, we find it beautiful, ironic, compelling that they also share names with two eminent literary figures. It’s that kind of intersection—in the case of our title, between literature and science—that interests us, though we are looking for all kinds of work that plays with form. We publish work that blurs genres, that is lyrical, that comes in strange forms. When it comes to intersections, we’re interested in your own definitions.

HOPKINSON: How/why was Atlas & Alice originally started?

WOODARD: Atlas & Alice was founded in 2012 by Brendan Todt, a poet and short story writer. The idea came about during that year’s AWP conference, and after he recruited friends and colleagues as editors, the journal was launched. I took over as editor in chief in 2013.

HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience?

WOODARD: This is a good question. It’s one I wish I had a great answer to! Honestly, I have a feeling our readers come from all walks of life, with lots of different interests. But in the end, they are all readers looking for quality literary escapes from their regular routines. Much of the work we publish can be consumed quickly, so we’re the type of site one can drop by on a lunch break for a mini vacation.

HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for?

WOODARD: For fiction, both flash (which we define as about 750 words or fewer) and short stories up to 4000 words. There aren’t any specifics regarding genre or topic, though we certainly aren’t interested in publishing work that targets groups or individuals, or which features material considered harmful. For creative nonfiction, we also welcome flash pieces or essays up to 4500 words. Here, we often look for meditative or lyrical work. And with poetry, we ask for up to 5 poems per submission in a variety of styles.

HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in?

WOODARD: Personally, I love when we receive submissions that are impossible to classify, or that take on unusual forms (often quite literally, as we’ve published fiction in the form of tryptics and an essay shattered into a multicolored prism). I’d like to see more of that playfulness in our submission queue.

HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with Atlas & Alice?

WOODARD: What I most love about being part of this endeavor is getting to publish other writers. It’s a simple answer, but it is the truth. I’m constantly amazed as all of the great writing we’ve been honored to put out into the world.

HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions?

WOODARD: We use Submittable, which you can access through our website: https://atlasandalice.com/submit/

HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?

WOODARD: Probably the easiest way is via the A&A Twitter account or by emailing atlasandalice@gmail.com.

DEADLINE: January 15, 2021 (or until they reach their Submittable cap)

SUBMISSION FEE: None

FORMS: Poetry, Fiction (flash and stories up to 4000 words), Creative Nonfiction (flash and essays up to 4500 words)

FORMAT: Online (issues are also compiled into digital magazines)

ISSUE FREQUENCY: 3 times a year

AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1-3 months (though some responses are as quick as one day)

SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable

SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes

PAYMENT: None

SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter

DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/10665/atlas-and-alice

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