Golden Walkman is a literary magazine in the form of a podcast aimed at giving the written word a voice. You can listen and subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (including Apple, Stitcher, and Spotify). They run several audio series, including Tapes From The Outside (work in response to current events), Dialogue Submissions (work in response to a specific piece of music), (Audio)Book Submissions (book-length writing), and Themed Issues (work in response to a specific theme determined by a guest editor). It was a great honor and pleasure to guest edit a themed issue published in January with the theme of “In Response.” You can listen to the full issue below.
Golden Walkman has a great lineup of guest editors for their 2021 themed issues! Each editor selects a specific theme for their issue and the deadline to submit is the 15th of each corresponding month.
- January // Guest Editor: Anum Sattar // Theme: Survivor
- February // Guest Editor: Kolleen Carney Hoepfner // Theme: 90s Pop Culture Realness
- March // Guest Editor: Darren C. Demaree // Theme: Political Prose Poems
- April // Guest Editor: Camille Wanliss // Theme: Isola
- May // Guest Editor: Benjamin S. Grossberg // Theme: Rehab
- June // Guest Editor: Luisa Caycedo-Kimura // Theme: Poetry
- July // Guest Editor: K.T. Landon // Theme: Siblings
- August // Guest Editor: Joey Gould // Theme: Fruits of the Earth
- September // Guest Editor: Chen Chen // Theme: Why Bother?
- October // Guest Editor: William Fargason // Theme: Elegy
- November // Guest Editor: Alex Charalambides // Theme: Youth Spoken Word Poetry
- December // Guest Editor: Porsha Olayiwola // Theme: Futurism & Dystopia
“A note to any prospective contributors: GWM seeks great creative work of all kind, even if it’s not considered performance. Submit even if your poem or story isn’t going to be pulling down the rafters at the next open mic, we may enjoy powerful subtly even more.”
General submissions and Dialogue submissions of poetry and prose are open year-round. For more info, see my interview with Editor David Walker and a link to submissions guidelines below.
HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about Golden Walkman Magazine.
WALKER: Golden Walkman Magazine is dedicated to the oral presentation of creative art. While some magazines have a podcast accompanying their written, hard copy issues, GWM is published solely as a podcast. This allows the authors to have much more control over the listeners’ experience of their work as it is in their voice, their intonation. It is our ultimate goal to bring the audience closer to the artist and, as a result, closer to the art.
WALKER: I am a rabid listener of podcasts, and I love the concept of literary magazines. This marriage seemed like a perfect fit, so I dove headfirst into learning how to produce both–GWM is the product of that process.
HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience?
WALKER: Anyone with a good set of speakers or a snug pair of headphones. Everything is published in audio form, so the audience has to be okay without having the words in front of them.
HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for?
WALKER: Really anything. My taste as an editor is really wide-ranging, but one of my goals is that Golden Walkman becomes a place where underrepresented voices can be heard as they want and need to be heard. Anything that helps us examine our world and society in a new and refreshing or old yet necessary way is definitely welcome. I’m a real sucker for speculative fiction, too.
HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in?
WALKER: Something funny. Sometimes I think we take our art too seriously – and for good reason because the world is what the world is!–but we’re also a species that finds catharsis in laughter. I would love to read more that attempts to find healing in humor.
HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?
WALKER: [PANK], Hobart, Juked, Waxwing, Split Lip Magazine, and Monkeybicycle are some of my favorites.
HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with Golden Walkman Magazine?
WALKER: Reading new stuff! I feel like I’m in some sort of secret society that gets the opportunity to peak behind the curtain of great literature that few people get to read before it’s put out into the world. As magazine editors, we often get the first (or fiftieth) crack at someone’s creation that they truly believe in; it’s a real honor to be trusted with it.
HOPKINSON: Where can folks send submissions?
WALKER: Prospective contributors: Please read our guidelines before sending us your submission. We have very specific subject line needs to make sure your submissions get to the right place! We accept submissions at our email goldwalkmag@gmail.com
HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?
WALKER: goldwalkmag@gmail.com works!
Click here to read submission guidelines.
DEADLINES:
- General Submissions – Year-round
- Tapes From The Outside – Year-round
- Themed Issues – 15th of every month
- (Audio) Book Submissions – June/December
THEMES: Check out the Themed Submissions page for a list of guest editors, their themes, and theme deadlines.
PAYMENT: None
FORMS: varies by theme/series but generally poetry and short prose
FORMAT: audio/podcast
ISSUE FREQUENCY: Monthly
SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 3-6 months
PAYMENT: “No payment as of yet, but we want to!”
DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/14501/golden-walkman-magazine
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