Letter from the Editor, by Erin Fitzgerald

Dear Reader:

Last year, Barrelhouse got to wondering: What would happen if a literary magazine said, instead of Send Us Your Best Work, Send Us Work You Love?

We opened the following submissions call for three and a half days. There was no advance notice or soliciting.

You’re a writer, and you have this....Something. It’s short. It’s weird. It’s scary. It’s powerful. It’s hilarious. It’s something you love, but have no idea who in the hell would publish it. Maybe you’ve agonized over it with others. Maybe you’ve kept it all to yourself. Maybe you think of it all the time. Maybe you try to forget it. Barrelhouse Online wants you to go find your...Something, give it one last look, and send it to us. Right now.

We guessed we would receive somewhere between 125 to 150 submissions. We received over 430. Reading all of them and making decisions was challenging, but so many Somethings were a profound reminder that writers aren’t quite as alone as we sometimes think.

It turns out that the powers of risk, exploration, fear, humor, memory, and especially trust all step forward in writing that its creators love. We believe this experiment offers solid proof. But mostly, we just hope you read the Something Issue and find as much to love as we did.

Something always,

Erin Fitzgerald, Online Editor

Team Barrelhouse Online