Issue Twenty-Three!!

AT LAST, WE’VE ARRIVED. Here we are, at the threshold of Issue Twenty-Three. This one’s being worn around Seattle by Operative Rosa, the Safety Pin Review’s first trip to Washington. This story has been in transit for over a month, and the radio supplemental appears in a previous post way back in time; you can download the audio from there, if you wish. We are glad to be back on our feet. We hope you missed us. We missed you, truly we did. So now then:

ISSUE TWENTY-THREE (3/26/12):

featuring

“Wishing on Stars”

by Sharanya Manivannan

Operative: Rosa Ostrom

About the author: Sharanya Manivannan’s writing has appeared on Drunken Boat, Killing the Buddha, The Nervous Breakdown, Monkeybicycle and elsewhere. She can be found online at www.sharanyamanivannan.com and on Twitter as @ranyamanivannan.

About the operative: Rosa O (Seattle, WA) is a one-woman island.

—

P.S. Check out our interview at Duotrope, where we are currently rated as one of the 25 “swiftest” and “most personable” markets. Thanks, guys.

Look What Happened: What’s Going on at the SPR

If you’re a regular visitor to the Safety Pin Review site, you’ve no doubt noticed that it’s been a few weeks since we’ve posted a new issue. Here’s what’s up:

Back at the end of February, I mailed a patch with Sharanya Manivannan’s story to an operative in Seattle, but it didn’t arrive on time. I’d been planning to take a week off in early March anyway, so I pushed the date for Sharanya’s story back a week, hoping the story would arrive. It didn’t. After three weeks, I decided the story had been lost somewhere in the mail and went about painting another patch to mail as a replacement.

Meanwhile, last week, I sent a patch to DC—featuring a story by B.J. Jones—and right now, we’re waiting on the photos that were taken of it. This should be posted as a new issue within the next few weeks.

As for Sharanya’s story, “Wishing on Stars,” today I was prepared to mail the second copy when I heard that the original had finally arrived, after a month in transit. God bless the USPS, they do get the job done eventually.

So: Sharanya’s story will be worn next week; this is the plan. The posting of the DC-story will be delayed until I get the photos and can give it a solid week’s worth of publicity on the site.

I’m sorry for the inconsistency, but this tends to be the case when you’ve got stories darting every which way across the country, occasionally at the cost of a totally reliable publishing schedule. In the next month, we’re visiting both coasts, and then, at the end of April, South Korea. In May: Turkey. July: Norway. So yes, exciting times ahead.

This post may be a little too process-heavy to be of much interest, but I just wanted to keep everyone on the up-and-up and make sure you know we’re still alive and kicking quite hard. We want you to know everything that we do.

In the meantime, submissions of course remain open, and we’re waiting on a second shipment of 100 SPR pins so you can wear the SPR wherever you go (check out at least two happy pinners, here and here).

Love,
Simon

SPR Gets Pinned: In Times of Love & Lust

THE SURPRISE IS BUTTONS. The SPR is proudly merching out with these wonderful one-inch pins, freshly pressed by Nathaniel Wolos of Decaying Youth Buttons, who is a proper treasure. Pin them to your favorite leather jacket/hat/body part and then dance around where everyone can see:

If you want to lay hands on one or more of these beauties, you have many options to do so. If you see me in real life, I’ll give you one. If you feel you’ve been denied, email me and I’ll hook it up. If you donate a dollar or more, I’ll send you one. Or you could just ask nicely, and I’ll mail one to you anyway. Handing out buttons is probably one of the most fun things to do ever.

I think all little literary magazines would benefit from buttons, and I think they should direct their attentions to Decaying Youth to make it happen. It’s a wonderful thing, these buttons, we think.

In keeping with openness, our new ‘Support !’ page has a monetary breakdown of what keeps the SPR going. Because I, for one, was curious about what it took to run an online lit mag, and I guess I know now (and you should too).

Our submission guidelines have also undergone marginal changes, if you’re in need of inspiration.

And an update on our schedule: we’re still a weekly, of course, but last week’s story appears to have been waylaid on its way to Seattle. All digits crossed that it arrives this week. We’ll press on nonetheless next week.

And hey, we surpassed 100 likes on Facebook! Join the fun.

In Bars Smoky! Issue Twenty-Three (Audio)

Please enjoy the weekly Safety Pin Review radio supplemental– featuring this week’s story by Sharanya Manivannan– while we put every ounce of our faith in the postal service to deliver this week’s story-patch to its Seattle operative. Fingers and toes crossed that it arrives tomorrow. Download the radio show, recorded live at WECI 91.5fm, Richmond’s public radio. Listen while you’re drifting off to sleep, feeling heartbroken. It really works to salve the soul, I’m telling you.

Playlist:

1. “When the Day Met the Night” – Panic! at the Disco
2. “Within You Without You” – the Beatles
3. “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” – Simon & Garfunkel
4. “The Moon Looked Down & Laughed” – Billie Holiday (centerpiece)
5. “You Hung the Moon” – Elvis Costello
6. “Candle in the Wind” – Elton John
7. “Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen