Dear Friends:

Last year we introduced Stories @ Digging Through the Fat. The word “stories” was left to the interpretation of writers and poets. We didn’t specify form but did restrict submissions to a 300-word limit. Perhaps not so much a restriction, but a constraint – artists need challenges, need rules to subvert. As editor, I had the privilege of reading the experiments of a diverse group of writers and poets. Thanks to their talented efforts, Stories: Volume 1 helped solidify Digging Through the Fat: ripping out the heart as a vibrant literary website.

Of course, any website is subject to the whims and tastes of its editor. I view competency and worthiness with suspicion. Polished work is too self-conscious, predictable, artificial, and stereotypical. I publish what I love – work that convinces me of its greatness through its audacity and breadth of experimentation.

I realize that our collection is open to criticism and some will point to its lack of consistency. To say, I don’t give a fuck, is an understatement. Solved puzzles were never my thing. The image of something finished and mounted on a board is synonymous with death. Life is in the puzzle pieces. The jagged, unmanageable, hard to define, disharmonious pieces.

This year, we increased our limit to 1,200 words and submissions poured in. Our prose pool of work doubled. Some of the stories selected for publication may be controversial. In anticipation of this, we have opened up the comments section so that readers can freely voice thoughts about a piece. Our first selection will première on Wednesday, February 11th!

I am disappointed with the lack of poetry submissions this year, but I plan to rectify that matter in our next submission period by introducing a Poetry feature to the website.

Along with new fiction, we will continue to feature published work on our Community page every couple of months. We are also proud to introduce Book Reviews this year to the website. We plan to publish at least two reviews a month. To contribute to Community and Book Reviews, visit our Submissions page for more details.

I want to thank all who submitted work to us. There were many pieces we said no to because we lacked the space to adequately feature the work. We hope you will continue to stay tuned, keep taking chances, and believe in the power of words.

With much gratitude,

Gessy Alvarez
Founding Editor