The Canadian Writers' Collective

Writing, and writerly tangents

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Submission Guidelines: Maisonneuve

By Anne Chudobiak

We at Maisonneuve expect our writers to be accomplished on and off the page. Education is an asset, with a bachelor’s a minimum, at best. If you are unable to satisfy or preferably surpass this requirement, we ask that you publish a book for each year of study missed, as in the case of Michael Redhill, B.A., whose piece “The Victim, Who Cannot Be Named” appeared in the third issue of our magazine or Mary Soderstrom, M. Journalism (“Open Window,” No. 10), whose nine books count towards a double doctorate. Consideration will be given to work in the theatre with bonus points for full-length musicals (Sheila Heti, “Two Walls,” No. 19).

A master’s in fine arts or creative writing, although helpful (Christopher Miller, “Excerpts from Simon Silber,” No. 1; Neal Durando, “Lonely, Near Wilkes Barre,” No. 2; Randolyn Zinn, “Risi E Bisi,” No. 7) is better when paired with a doctorate in something else altogether (Andy Mozina, “Lighter Than Air,” No. 5). If you are unable to gain admittance to a writing program, remember that there is always chemical engineering (Jaspreet Singh, PhD, “Mangoes are the Only Fruit,” No. 17) or medical school, and that it is always best to specialize (neurologist Liam Durcan is the only fiction contributor to have been featured more than once: Nos. 8, 9 and 18). This last choice is reflective of a greater trend in publishing at large in which physicians who write are at an obvious advantage.

Note to women: a sex change is no longer in order. We have discontinued our de facto policy (2002-2004) of only publishing fiction by men. Maisonneuve is eager to feature women who are also leaders in gender politics, women like Marguerite Deslauriers, professor of feminist theory and proponent of a gender-blind society, (“Skin,” No. 9,) self-described postfeminist Susannah Breslin (“She is a Girl,” No. 15) and Herizons columnist, Mariko Tamaki (“How Popular Were You (Really)?” No. 17).

Our writers play an active role in self-promotion, aggressively seeking Giller, Pushcart and Journey Prize nominations and awards (David Bergen, “The Time in Between,” No. 16; Pasha Malla, “The Film We Made About Dads,” No. 13 and Neil Smith, “The Scrapbook,” No. 11).

Don’t delay, submit today. You have a lot of work to do.

11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I suppose you think you're funny, Anna. Well, as it happens you're right. Does this grow out of frustrations in submitting to Maisonneuve (such as I'll readily admit to in my case) or were you just in the mood to do intensive research on Maisonneuve's contributors for the hell of it? Anyway, fun piece.

Thu May 18, 09:22:00 am GMT-4  
Blogger Antonios Maltezos said...

Youch! This is great! Hilarious!

Thu May 18, 09:48:00 am GMT-4  
Blogger Anne C. said...

This post was not meant as an indictment of Maisonneuve. Quite the opposite! I’m new to satire, and my message may not have been as clear as I thought.

Last fall, I submitted to the magazine, thinking, hey, it’s local, I can do it. This piece is more of a comment on my naiveté. I’ve since read every piece of fiction that has appeared in the magazine, and, um, it’s freakishly good, and, as previously noted, the authors are all scarily accomplished. The collected works would make a great anthology. The thing about drs. is just a personal beef: you get to be successful at everything?

I should also say that my Maisonneuve rejection was extremely thoughtful and helpful. Encouraging rather than frustrating, really.

And, hey, we're getting anonymous comments now? This blog must be taking off.

Thu May 18, 11:08:00 am GMT-4  
Blogger Steve Gajadhar said...

Great piece, Anne. I miss Maisonneuve. I submitted to them early this year and just got a thoughtful rejection back yesterday.

Thu May 18, 12:58:00 pm GMT-4  
Blogger Andrew Tibbetts said...

I love Maisonneuve. It's the most fun Canadian magazine. Once, I read every article. Cover to cover. When I was done I had to shake my head. That never happens. (the cover to cover part, not the head shaking!)

Thu May 18, 06:08:00 pm GMT-4  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow. I thought I wasn't alone in thinking that Maisonneuve sucked. Big time. Did anyone not read the interview with David Suzuki? Went nowhere, fast.

It seems they're going through a revamping of sorts. Hopefully trying to de-Harperize themselves.

Sun May 21, 11:31:00 am GMT-4  
Blogger Anne C. said...

You must mean that right-wing conservative mouthpiece, Daisy Goldstein.

Sun May 21, 08:54:00 pm GMT-4  
Blogger Myfanwy Collins said...

This is great. Off topic (sort of): Have you read Michael Redhill's short story collection "Fidelity"? It's wonderful.

Thu May 25, 09:24:00 am GMT-4  
Blogger Anne C. said...

No, I haven't, but I'll check it out. What I really want to read is the Christopher Miller novel that was excerpted in the first Maisonneuve. It is so funny. There's one line about a character being a chameleon who changes colour to better clash with his environment.

Thu May 25, 11:17:00 am GMT-4  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anne, you're a weirdo!

Mon Sept 25, 08:44:00 pm GMT-4  
Blogger Anne C. said...

I just had the horrible realization that Mariko and Marguerite only got in through contests! Well, not "only," but you know what I mean.

Thu Oct 05, 10:32:00 am GMT-4  

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