• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Reading
    • Blog
    • On Writing
    • Interviews
    • Famous Authors
    • Stories
    • Poetry
  • Writing
    • Writing Tips
    • Writing Inspiration
    • Playground
    • Writing Prompts
  • Publishing
    • Publishing Tips
    • Literary Magazines
    • Book Publishers
  • Promotions
    • Book Promotions
    • Promoting Tips
    • Classifieds
    • Newsletter
  • Submit
    • Submit
    • Privacy Policy

EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

Interview with Susan Burmeister-Brown

July 7, 2013 by admin 5 Comments

Linda and Susan Editors of Glimmer Train. Photo by Erin Porozni.

Interview with Susan Burmeister-Brown

You will not find much biographical information around the web about Susan Burmeister-Brown. She co-founded Glimmer Train with her sister Linda B. Swanson-Davis, and Susan and Linda are the current editors of Glimmer Train, one of the top literary journals in the country. If you walk on to a college campus or find someone who follows contemporary literature, they might not know Susan, but they will certainly know her achievements and influence in the literary world. Glimmer Train has been publishing for 18 years, and the publication is consistently outstanding. Susan is a lover of fiction and stories. We corresponded with her by email.

 

EWR: Why did you decide to begin publishing Glimmer Train?

 

Susan: My sister and I have always been big readers of literary fiction, and 18 years ago we couldn’t find literary journals that were presenting the sort of work we enjoy reading– or at least not consistently. Most of the stories we found in the journals didn’t sufficiently engage the heart. We decided to start one that would bring this kind of literary fiction to light.
EWR: Glimmer Train has been very successful at choosing high quality fiction. Can you speak to the process a story goes through in order to appear in your magazine?

 

Susan: If the story comes to us using our online submission system (which is the case for 98% of what comes in), I am the first reader. I read the first page of the story online. If I want to turn the page, I mark that piece for “full read”. I do my full reads in a separate session, since the process of screening work is very different from full reading. I print the stories out at this stage, since I still find it easier to lose myself in pages rather than on the screen. If I love the story, I sit on it for a few days. I see how it stays with me, and I reread it. If I still love it, I give it to my sister. She’s a slower and more thorough reader. She’s the one who can identify any weak spots, suggest possible edits, etc. She reads it, sits on it a couple of days. If it’s staying with her, then she reads it again, circling strong passages as she goes along. It’s her way of sinking into a piece. Finally the two of us sit with the stack that has endured, and we talk about each story. We can only print 40 stories a year, so we have to keep our bar extremely high. It basically comes down to our selecting the stories that we can’t stand the thought of not publishing.

If the story comes to us on paper through the mail, the story will first be read by our story screener who’s been with us for over eight years now. She’ll give me her top quarter. Those get my full read.

 

EWR: What advice would you give to new or young writers trying to build a career in writing?

 

Susan: I have two pieces of advice:

-Regularly read good writing.

-Unplug yourself from the hurly-burly of life on a regular basis so your subconscious has time to make some good compost. If you have too much going on all the time, or you’re always emailing or texting or talking on the cell phone, always have a browser open on your screen seeing what’s going on out there in the world, or the radio on in the car – well, these are not conditions in which productive mulling can take place. Writing does not just occur when you’re at the keyboard or with pen in hand. It brews in the mind.

 

EWR: What do you look for in new authors you publish? Is there any criterion that seems to stand out for the new author’s work you publish?

 

Susan: The most important element for us is a strong and unique narrative voice, and I believe it is the piece of storytelling that most benefits from the productive mulling I mentioned.

 

EWR: How do you think the face of fiction in America is changing? Have you seen trends that might be defining or refining the “post modern” era?
Susan: I think we’re seeing some resurgence in the search for meaning. There was a profound shift in the work submitted to us in the months after 9/11, and that shift has continued to solidify. The stories push a little deeper.

 

EWR: What do you hope Glimmer Train accomplishes as a publication?

 

Susan: Glimmer Train, for us, is as much about the writers as it is about the readers. Our hope is that the authors who submit to us realize that we value the chance to read their work. For the writer whose story we select, we hope the process of working with us to present the piece is a gratifying and joyful one. And finally, we hope the stories we publish fully engage the reader on all levels – that it is time truly well spent.

 

EWR: Is there anything that has come from the publication of Glimmer Train that you did not expect as an outcome?

 

Susan: Sometimes writers will submit to us for a few years, and I watch the quality of their work improve over time. Their stories move to “full read”, and then to being referred to my sister, and then eventually a story comes along that makes it to the final stack that we discuss and we decide, Okay, here is a piece we can’t stand the thought of not presenting. That is often the path of our accepted authors. It’s pretty rare for an author to have the first story they submit to us be chosen for publication. Learning to become a great writer is a process that is actually trackable through their submissions over time. The result for me is that by the time we come to that story we’ll publish, I already feel a certain level of intimacy with the author’s work. That is a wonderful outcome I hadn’t anticipated. The acceptance phone call is often as exciting for us as it is for the author.
EWR: When you started Glimmer Train did you have any idea it would become such a successful publication?

 

Susan: It is certainly not a financially successful publication, but in all the other ways that matter, it has surpassed our hopes.
EWR: As the editor(s) of Glimmer Train it is evident that you have a passion for fiction and writing. Can you speak to that passion? What do you feel drives your passion for writing?

 

Susan: Writing and reading can intensely deepen life. Expressing (writing) and witnessing (reading) both help us to more clearly understand what it is to be alive. Life is so quick. It’s nice to sometimes take a good close look.
EWR: What do you see happening in the future of Glimmer Train?

 

Susan: We’ll keep putting out issues! Other than that, we never know. That’s part of the fun.

Visit Glimmer Train for more information about Linda and to read or submit to the outstanding publication.

 

Please note that this interview is republished here on Writing Sense. It was published originally on Every Writer’s Resource.com. This is an effort to move our old content here to our main site.

Filed Under: Writers Interviews

About admin

Richard Edwards is a writer and an educator and the owner editor of Every Writer. Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary roberts says

    November 1, 2015 at 4:22 pm

    I submitted ss back in August. I was wondering when I might expect comments on my writing? When should I expect something? Thanks for having these contests. Mary T Roberts

    Reply
  2. Natalie A Connie says

    February 11, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    HI my name is Natalie Connie I just finished writing a fiction book called I Never Thought It Would Happen To Me.First part ten chapters. Second part ten chapters. Third part is callled being a victim of your own thoughts. Parts 1 and 2 are derived from a poem and wants you read the poem you will know what that short story is about. I believe lthat this book will enable my readers to see them selves in one of these stories.I have no clue as what to l do with this writing. Can youl help me?

    Reply
  3. John Graham Day says

    April 2, 2021 at 4:53 am

    I am an Australian writer of narrative verse, sea poems and marine adventures and have just completed a 33,500 word epic novel/poem in Rhyming Narrative Verse entitled Dreams of the Golden Eagle – 35 chapters, 13 Native American characters.

    Set prior to the onset of the Indian Wars, this epic Native American adventure in Rhyming Narrative Verse, involves a web of murder, mystery, intrigue, betrayal, love, hatred and revenge as a fearless chief, in collaboration with the tribal totem, the Golden Eagle, strive to create an alliance with between the warring tribes in a concerted effort to thwart the white invasion.

    Overall, the verse form is very strong and well executed. It creates a rhythm for the story and it quickly fades from conscious becoming an organic part of the telling. All of the novel’s 1,404 four-line stanzas have been written in rhyming trochaic tetrameter where the last syllable of lines two and four of each stanza have been dropped to create excellent flow on readability and profluence. Catalexis perhaps?

    I can find nothing like the work on the internet. Can you advise how I should next proceed?

    Reply
  4. Yolanda says

    October 31, 2022 at 3:22 am

    I wish I had come across Glimmer Train sooner – before it came to a halt. I’ve read all the glowing responses from the writers and I am sad that I missed the train.

    Reply
  5. Stephanie iris says

    May 10, 2023 at 7:56 am

    Nice

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Buy Our Print Magazine


Buy the issue!

Sign up and get a FREE digital copy of our magazines!

Ad




Contest Winners!

We apologize for the long wait on our print magazine. We’ve had numerous issues with publishing and our site over the last few month. We are canceling our Halloween issue this year, sadly. Our science fiction June issue is still in the works.

Get ready to unleash your inner horror maestro in the spine-tingling 2023 Eat Your Soul 50 Word Halloween Contest!  Share your most blood-curdling, hair-raising 50-word horror stories below, and brace yourself for the terror-fueled showdown of the year. 

Search

Writing Prompt

science fiction writing prompt

50 Fantastic Science Fiction Writing Prompts Here are 50 fantastic writing prompts that will get you writing sci-fi. If you use one of prompts to write a story, we’d love to read it! Send it to us.  In a future society where humans have achieved immortality, a rebel group arises seeking the right to die. […]

Contests

Winners of our Q2 2023 Contests!

Here are the winners of our Q2 2023 contests! Congratulations to all of you. We have picked places 1,2,3, and some other entries. We’ve marked our top 3 winners, but anyone listed here will be in our upcoming print magazine.

 2023 50-Word Science Fiction Story Contest

Join our 2023 50-Word Science Fiction Story Get in Our Issues Contest!

2023 50 Word Horror Story We Miss Halloween Contest

  Welcome to our 2023 50 Word Horror Story We Miss Halloween Contest. Everyone wishes they had 2 Halloweens, but no one will listen. Being that I’m missing Halloween, I need horror stories and lots of them. So post your 50-word horror stories in the comments below. The winner gets free promos on our site, […]

Menu

  • Home
  • Publishing
    • Indy Book Publishers
    • Literary Magazines
  • Writing Lab
    • Articles On Writing
    • Writing Prompts
  • About Us
    • About Us
  • Submissions
  • Social
    • Activity
    • Profile
    • Notifications
    • Messages
    • Forums
    • Settings
    • Log Out
    • Log In
    • Register

Playground

Winners of our Q2 2023 Contests!

July 3, 2023 By admin 6 Comments

Here are the winners of our Q2 2023 contests! Congratulations to all of you. We have picked places 1,2,3, and some other entries. We’ve marked our top 3 winners, but anyone listed here will be in our upcoming print magazine.

 2023 50-Word Science Fiction Story Contest

March 17, 2023 By admin 31 Comments

Join our 2023 50-Word Science Fiction Story Get in Our Issues Contest!

2023 50 Word Horror Story We Miss Halloween Contest

January 15, 2023 By admin 36 Comments

  Welcome to our 2023 50 Word Horror Story We Miss Halloween Contest. Everyone wishes they had 2 Halloweens, but no one will listen. Being that I’m missing Halloween, I need horror stories and lots of them. So post your 50-word horror stories in the comments below. The winner gets free promos on our site, […]

Betcha’ Can’t Haiku 2023 Contest

January 14, 2023 By admin 137 Comments

Welcome to our Betcha’ Can’t Haiku 2023 Contest. We are looking for the best Haiku we have ever read! It can be on any topic or written in any style. We want to read your haikus. We are double-dog daring you to write a haiku, even write 5 haiku and leave them in the comments […]

More Posts from this Category

Our Blog

2023 Souls of Darkness 50 Word Halloween Story Contest!

September 13, 2023 By admin 8 Comments

Get ready to unleash your inner horror maestro in the spine-tingling 2023 Eat Your Soul 50 Word Halloween Contest!  Share your most blood-curdling, hair-raising 50-word horror stories below, and brace yourself for the terror-fueled showdown of the year. 

Winners of our Q2 2023 Contests!

July 3, 2023 By admin 6 Comments

Here are the winners of our Q2 2023 contests! Congratulations to all of you. We have picked places 1,2,3, and some other entries. We’ve marked our top 3 winners, but anyone listed here will be in our upcoming print magazine.

Top 11 Science Fiction Short Stories Everyone Should Read

April 27, 2023 By admin 2 Comments

Below are the top 11 science fiction short stories everyone should read, but here are a few things to remember about this list before I get hate mail. First,

Top 10 Science Fiction Movies (by Script)

Top 10 Science Fiction Movies (by Script)

April 16, 2023 By admin 2 Comments

So here is my list of the Top 10 Science Fiction Movies by Script. There are a lot of amazing Science Fiction movies out there.

Should You Self-publish Your Book

Should I Self Publish My Book?

April 8, 2023 By admin 3 Comments

Should I Self Publish My Book? If you are thinking about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, we have another article

Nine Ways to Cure Writer’s Book for Novelist

Nine Ways to Cure Writer’s Book for Novelists

April 7, 2023 By admin 3 Comments

when I’m facing a severe spell of writer’s block. Here are Nine Ways to Cure Writer’s Book for Novelists

how to publish a book

How to Publish a Book: A complete guide

April 7, 2023 By admin 9 Comments

How to Publish a book: In today’s world, choice is everything. If a publisher’s door closes, a publishing window will open, but there are vast differences in publishing options in the 21st century.

10 Words Editors Hate

10 Words Editors Hate: Do not use!

April 7, 2023 By admin 14 Comments

Yes some overused loaded words turn editors off, and I think these are 10 Words Editors Hate. We are talking about literary writing here. Generally,

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT