Madville Publishing was founded by Kimberly Davis in 2018. The press grew out of Davis’ rich relationships within the literary community. Madville was incorporated as a nonprofit in 2019 in the State of Texas, and attained federal nonprofit 501(c)3 status as of June, 2020.
For more information see my interview with co-editors Dustin Brookshire (he/him) and Julie E. Bloemeke (she/her) and a link to submission guidelines below.
HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about Dolly Parton poetry anthology.
EDITORS: Simply put, we are looking for poems that pay tribute to Dolly in unexpected and artful ways. In the spirit of Dolly, all royalties will be donated to Dolly’s Imagination Library. We highly encourage those submitting to watch The Library Dolly Built.
HOPKINSON: How/why was Dolly Parton poetry anthology originally started?
EDITORS: Dolly turned 75 in 2021. As Julie and I are both Dolly fans, we wanted to celebrate Dolly’s milestone with another dual passion–poetry. (I mean, isn’t Dolly also a poet?) I had the idea to do a special issue of Limp Wrist and invited Julie to co-edit. We received so many poems celebrating Dolly that as we concluded our work on the issue in December 2020, we realized that the world also needed an anthology. We made a list of publishers we thought might be interested. Madville was at the top of our list—we had heard rave reviews from Collin Kelley and Karen Head; they worked with Madville for the Mother Mary Comes to Me: A Pop Culture Poetry Anthology. Julie also had a poem included in that anthology, which just last week was named a 2022 Book All Georgians Should Read. We were thrilled when Madville called us with the news that they were on board; like us they could not wait to bring a book of Dolly poems into the world. The tough part of our situation was keeping our plans a secret for 13 months!
HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience?
EDITORS: Everyone! Name one person that doesn’t like Dolly Parton. And it is our intention to get poetry in the hands of folks that might not usually gravitate toward poetry. It is a whole new way of thinking about poetry, and about Dolly. And, it is a celebration too, which we both love.
HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for?
EDITORS: Work that pays tribute to Dolly by surprising us or teaching us something new. We all know 9 to 5 and Jolene, or Dolly as queen of sparkle. For a launch point, take a look at the Dolly issue of Limp Wrist, especially Nin Andrews’ “How dare you, as a woman, write about sex?” This is a prime example of how the mere presence of Dolly can drive home an allegory, and demonstrate her influence on cultural perception and personal experience. Dolly may be dripping in rhinestones but poems don’t have to be dripping in Dolly to move us. Give us work about those who impersonate Dolly, do Dolly in drag, or have Dolly look-a-like contests. (Did you know Dolly entered one and lost?) Find out who is inspired by Dolly or where she might be unexpectedly present. For example, did you know there is a Dolly costume tribute at Graceland? We want to know how Dolly moves through different aesthetics, life experiences, impressions. Leave us in awe. Let us in on your knowledge of Dolly lore. Use persona. Give us some Sevierville. Tell us about her favorite Tennessee restaurant. Research her costume designer. Give us some childhood anecdotes. Put on your rhinestones and go for it.
HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in?
EDITORS: Breathtaking, awe-inspiring Dolly cameos that turn the poem. What we don’t want to see: rewrites of Jolene, or any Dolly song for that matter. You can’t mess with perfection.
ADDED QUESTION: Favorite Dolly quote?
BROOKSHIRE: “The day we’re born we start to die. Don’t waste one minute of this life. Get to livin’” from Dolly’s song, “Better Get To Livin’”
BLOEMEKE: “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” And “I’ve had to go against all kinds of people through the years just to be myself. I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love.” And all of the lyrics to “Together You and I.”
HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?
EDITORS: Limp Wrist, of course! And South Carolina Review too. But between the two of us there are so many to list. A few we keep up with because we are inspired by their innovation and take–and this is by no means an exhaustive list—Night Heron Barks, Gulf Coast, Paris Review, Eco Theo Review, 32 Poems, Cherry Tree, Bennington Review, The Believer, Cortland Review, Taco Bell Quarterly, South Florida Poetry Journal (or as the cool kids say: SoFloPoJo). Now, just try to guess which ones are Dustin and which ones are Julie!
HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with the Dolly Parton poetry anthology?
EDITORS: Working together. We’ve been friends for over 10 years. We’ve seen Dolly in concert together twice. We’ve been sitting in a gay bar in Knoxville only to look up and see our Blessed Saint Dolly Parton’s picture hanging above us. So to us, this project is a calling we are thrilled to answer.
HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions?
EDITORS: Submissions are only accepted through Madville Publishing’s Submittable page. No emails.
HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?
EDITORS: We ask that everyone carefully read the submission guidelines. If there are still additional questions, email Dustin at dustinvbrookshire@gmail.com.
Click here to read submission guidelines.
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 30, 2022.
- FORMAT: Print
- SUBMISSION FEE: None. We raised funds to ensure there would be no submission fee for poets.
- PAYMENT: One copy of the anthology per contributor
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: The anthology will be published in January 2023.
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Submissions close June 1; no decisions will be released prior to June 1. We anticipate notifying selected poets during the first week of July.
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable only. Emailed submissions will not be read.
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes, but while it isn’t required, we’d love to have poems that haven’t appeared anywhere else.
- FORMS: Poetry
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