We read a lot of newspapers. We’ve tried to stop reading our own social media feeds. We’ve deleted some personal social media. We’ve watched a lot of talk shows and news reports about what’s going on in the world. We’re tired of secondhand accounts. We want yours—firsthand. Tell us what’s going on in the world, according to you. Accepted work for Currently, is also eligible for consideration in our coming book, The Great Pause.
In 2020, the year of our Lord, things got—weird. Some things are getting better. Some things are getting worse. Some things are standing still. In this department, we hear from writers and artists from around the globe talk about their experiences in quarantine/isolation/social distancing/civil unrest/revolution/ et cetera. Some of the work featured in this space was compiled into an (anti-fascist, humanist, fun, awe-inspiring, breathtaking, breath of fresh air) emergency coffee table edition, for sale in our store now.
We will continue to use The Great Pause online indefinitely for artistic work that pauses on the heartbeat of present global circumstances. And who knows, maybe we will create another coffee table book in the future out of this space!!!
People addressing people places or things. (i.e. Dear Australians, Dear Hulu, Dear White Person, Dear Firefly Fans, Dear Baby on the Airplane Sitting Across from Me). Submit!
You ever drink a lot of wine and sit around sobbing at nineties classic rom-coms or yell at old black-and-whites when a Cary Grant type calls an Ingrid Bergman type a silly lady? …No? Just us? We pile onto our fading floral-print seventies couch—you know the one; your grandma has one just like it—watch movies, and write our thoughts. Sometimes they’re reviews or commentaries; sometimes they’re braided personal narratives. We’re watching everything from Get Out to 10 Things I Hate About You all the way back to A Philadelphia Story. What are you watching?
Got a pitch for Press Play? Email kate@presspausepress.org or Submit.
You can’t fool us. Just like you couldn’t fool your mom in sixth grade, sneaking into the kitchen at two a.m., pilfering a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch from the pantry to eat in front of the TV while you watched the Sham Wow! infomercial for the third school night in a row. We aren’t going to ground you though, and we won’t tell your mom. Why? Because we’re right alongside you as fully grown adults eating cold grocery store fried chicken at midnight while we pretend not to cry watching Steven Universe on our second-hand couches. We’re The Midnight Snack, and we eat our feelings just like everyone else. So open your pantries, raid your fridges, empty that one pillowcase full of candy from your kid’s last Trick-or-Treat sesh, and send us all the food writing our nutrient-deficient digestive systems can handle. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Ingredient Lists, Recipes, Nutritional Information: we want it all. Just don’t use the microwave—you’ll wake up Dad.
Got a pitch for The Midnight Snack? Email thefamilyroom@presspausepress.org or Submit
Recorded craft talks by writers, artists, and musicians. Record the story of your craft in any way you see fit and submit an Mp4 to The Family Room. (If you don’t have video editing skills, that’s okay! We’re fond of Lo-Fi everything and can edit to make it into a final product). Enter Craft-Splaining for more information and things to consider when creating your Craft-Splain!
We get nostalgic. We love old things (like VCRs and scrunchies and tape decks and remember that weird yo-yo trend in the 90s?). Browse past hits & weird old ditties. Check out new translations of classic works, read from the public domain, relive your childhood dreams. Send us your fave throwbacks, and we’ll feature them here, updated monthly.
Got a pitch for Throwbacks? Email se.harsha@presspausepress.org or Submit.
Looking for your next book to pick up? Ready to dig in to something amazing? The Reading Corner features books we’re currently reading, books we’ve recently finished, and books we intend to read next. If you’re a contributor, we’d love to feature your forthcoming/current titles here, too. Email Kate to be added to our forthcoming contributors’ titles list or Submit a book review to the Reading Corner.
Tell us an old story in a new way:
Vladimir Propp theorized there were 31 basic storytelling elements in every Russian fairy tale. Leo Tolstoy said only two stories existed: a hero goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town. Whether the roots are in Hans Christian Anderson, Ovid, Homer, or Greek myths, we want all your retellings. Choose a favorite villain and tell their side of the story. Reinterpret scenes from religious texts or write an ancient tale in a modern setting. Give new meaning to an old story. Think Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles. Think Anna Maria Hong’s H&G, Gregory Maguire’s The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Malinda Lo’s Ash, or Sue Monk Kidd’s The Book of Longings. Rewind. Press pause. Revise. Rewrite.
“There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.” —Mark Twain