We spoke with Brett Van Emst, editor of Midnight Mind Magazine, in our latest Member Spotlight.
What is the history behind Midnight Mind Magazine? When was it founded and what is its mission?
Midnight Mind started as a website in 1999 and launched the first print issue in 2001. In that first go-around, we published six issues before closing down in 2004. Then we took a twenty-year nap. In 2024, we decided to bring Midnight Mind back. We considered a different name because people always think we are a science fiction magazine, but really, it’s about the ideas that keep you up at midnight. And, honestly, we would have had to start at Issue 1 again, and we kinda liked the idea of just picking up where we had left off. When we shut down, we warned our first round of subscribers that we’d do this: We’ll be back when you least expect us! we said. I’m sure they’d get a kick out of knowing we’re back if we hadn’t lost the list of subscribers over the years.
Our mission is to become a magazine beloved by a small enough group to keep it heartwarming but a large enough group to keep it alive. You know how it goes.
You recently spearheaded the inaugural #LitMagWeek, which ran from September 28 through October 2. During #LitMagWeek, more than 120 literary and cultural magazines offered discounts and shared behind-the-scenes content and stories. Can you tell us more about this initiative?
It was completely and totally a selfish act: I wanted to learn about all the literary magazines I love and get to know new ones. Specifically, I wanted to hear their stories. Literary magazines hold such an odd space in the literary world, seen as both old-fashioned and cutting-edge at the same time. But the biggest perception is that there is a wall between the publication and the reader. I think my goal with #LitMagWeek was to knock down that wall and have the readers see the people who work hard to get the publications out. I’m sure #LitMagWeek will grow bigger and be more planned in the future, but this one felt so grassroots and authentic, and I hope readers got to feel a little more connected to the lit mag scene.
Issues of Midnight Mind Magazine are typically organized around a theme. How do you select these themes? What can readers look forward to in your next issue?
Ugh! The dreaded theme! It makes it easier to put a theme to each issue, so the content works better as a whole. Like a symphony, if you will. But sometimes you find some writing you love that just doesn’t fit the theme. So, we really like “fake theme” issues like Issue 6 (The Guide to Life) or Issue 8 (Wasting Time Together) because we can put all sorts of things into those and say, “Yeah, wasting some time on some awesome writing is the theme.” Going forward, we are actually doing away with themes for the whole magazine; instead, each issue will include a section dedicated to a theme. Issue 11 will have a section of crime writing, but other parts of the magazine will be unrelated (but still awesome!).
Are there any indie bookstores (or libraries) that you think do a particularly good job featuring print literary magazines, as well as titles from indie publishers? If so, what do they do?
Yes! Here’s my perspective, as someone who has never run a bookstore: I think it’s easy for bookstores to order through a few major distributors. It’s likely really annoying to work with so many indie publishers and small mags directly—so much paperwork and keeping up with things. But I have seen a few who do it well, like Quimby’s. Even though the Chicago and New York City locations are now unrelated (beyond their shared history), they both work with lit mags in similar ways, by making individual publications responsible for some of the administration and managing; we send them issues and then, after a while, they pay us for what sells. This allows for the most diverse selections of publications I’ve ever seen at a bookstore. The same is true of Dale Zine Shop in Miami. We have some other great bookstores that carry us and other great publications—and it’s usually because the person in charge of ordering magazines is actually into magazines! A few examples are Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Dog Eared Books in San Francisco, and The Fuzzy Needle in Wilmington—all managed by people we could sit down with and have a beer and talk about magazines for hours…
How can bookstores or libraries, as well as individual readers, order or subscribe to Midnight Mind Magazine?
We pride ourselves on being a print magazine, but we do publish some things online, including interviews and sometimes work from sold-out issues. So readers can go to our website, check out some work, and from there order back issues, subscribe, etc. Bookstores and libraries would do best to email us, as we do offer discounts to both libraries and, of course, booksellers.
How can interested writers submit their work to Midnight Mind Magazine?
We tend to read submissions in spurts depending how many hours we spend taking kids to and from travel soccer! You should see us reading on the sidelines of practice! We update the type of things we are looking for on our website. Writers will find all they need to know there. And we apologize in advance if we take a long time because… well… we take a long time.
