Interview with
David Hoffman, co-publisher of THE QUIET ONES
By Anita Fitch
Pazner
As
favorite months go, October hovers pretty near the top of my list. The pumpkin
spice lattes, the apples, the cider, the cool, breezy evenings filled with
bone-chilling horror movies always remind me that I am, indeed, truly alive. To
be totally honest, my idea of a horror movie is Hocus Pocus with Bette
Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker. I love the humor/horror more than the
afraid-to-close-my-eyes and hide-under-the-covers type of horror. Psychological
thrillers are another story all together. Especially when they come in the form
of a fabulously written book. How do they build all that tension? Make me sit
on the edge of my seat? And how can I apply that to my own work in progress?
I
don’t have time to tear apart and reconstruct wildly successful horror novels. Lucky
for me (and SCBWI-MI) we have the perfect remedy.
David
Hoffman, founder and co-executive editor of the online Horror
Magazine THE QUIET ONES, has agreed to present a one-hour webinar where he
breaks down the bones (crunch, crunch) of writing horror from deliberate word
choice to the subtle building of tension and expectations, while tightening
scenes and creating complex characters.
David
was nice enough to answer a few questions about his e-zine, submission
opportunities, and what to expect from his upcoming
webinar.
Q:
Let’s start with the question on everyone’s mind. What takeaways are you hoping
attendees will leave your presentation knowing?
A:
First and foremost, the language of horror is a set of tools that writers
of any genre (and for any age group) can--and should--use to enrich their work.
How to use those tools will also be discussed. We're going to be talking
about using the tools as much as the tools themselves.
Q:
Who can benefit from studying short stories—specifically short horror stories?
A:
Everyone, truly. Short fiction - be it short story, flash fiction, or narrative
poetry and verse - is all about the economy of language. The more you restrict
your word count, the more you are forced to realize how much each word matters.
Short horror has the added stakes of having to frighten and unnerve while also
telling a complete story. Word choice is of paramount importance as each word
must do double duty. This isn't exclusive to horror by any means. Writing
longer fiction shouldn't allow an author to get lazy with their word choice.
Much like we crawl before we walk, and walk before we run, if we learn to write
short before we write long, our storycraft can only benefit.
Q:
Tell us about THE QUIET ONES.
A:
THE QUIET ONES launched in late 2021. It is a literary e-zine focused on
short-form quiet horror and intimate dystopian tales; small-scale, atmospheric
fiction and poetry.
Q:
Why did you and co-editor Emily Young decide to start
the e-zine?
A:
I recall three key motivations when we first discussed it back around the
holidays of 2020. The pandemic was still fresh. We were both feeling isolated,
scared, and looking for escapism. Most of all, we were looking for something to
do. Something new. Something we could pour ourselves into to distract
from the chaos of COVID lockdowns and social/political chaos.
The
first question I think we asked while looking for this magical something to do
was: what can we do? Around that same time, there was some heated
discourse in the writing community - especially around speculative fiction -
regarding gatekeeping. Rightfully so, more and more voices were rising up to
challenge the stranglehold that straight, white, cis-gendered male authors held
on genre fiction, awards and, most of all, ability to publish. We've come far
these last few years in breaking down those gates. More and more, we're seeing
people from underrepresented communities find traditional and self-published
success and recognition. Just a few years ago, those numbers were much lower,
and Emily and I hoped to contribute, in a way that we were able, to boosting
writers who didn't have a platform. So, we created a platform. It was all born
from our individual love of particular genre fiction, COVID isolation/social
unrest, and a desire to be part of the solution when it comes to breaking down
walls that prevent all voices from being heard.
The
third motivator was our friendship. Emily and I have known each other for ten
years. We went to grad school together. We've slugged it out together through
the query trenches trying to find our own way into that big publishing world.
When we finally started talking about carving our own way in, we immediately
knew that we weren't going to keep that way in to ourselves. And we trusted
each other to hold up the end that we each knew we couldn't carry alone.
THE
QUIET ONES has led us to some great things these last three years. We've seen
authors who published for the first time with us later publish traditionally
with major book houses. We've seen others win notable awards like the Horror
Writer's Association Bram Stoker Award. And while the zine itself hasn't earned
any formal accolades, we have seen our submission pool and our readership grow
from hundreds to thousands, and we know from our web statistics that we are
reaching writers and readers all over the world. That's a great feeling.
The
process also helped us reach major writing goals of our own. I've begun
shopping around my (non-horror) picture books and have one on sub right now.
Emily recently sold her debut YA novel, A (Dead) Thing Like Me, and is
set to launch with Holiday House in the summer of 2026!
Q: Can anyone submit to THE QUIET
ONES? If so, how do we submit?
A:
Yes, anyone can, and we encourage everyone to do so! Our
submission guidelines, as of 2024, are outlined in detail on our website: wearethequietones.com.
We open in the summer every year for our annual October issue. Writers are
encouraged to send us their work in the form of a Word Document to our
submission box. Decisions are made within a month or two. Our most recent issue
received over 400 submissions from writers in countries all over the world; The
US, Canada, UK, India, China, Japan, and Zimbabwe just to name a few. We rely
on a talented group of submission readers to help us narrow down the field as
we look for the pieces that best suit the issue we're aiming to produce. I'd
like to take a moment here to acknowledge those readers by name. They are:
Neidy McHugh, Kyle McHugh, Alexis Powell, Harper Stuart Villani, Jay Whistler,
Thomas Shimmield, Marianne Murphy, and Aileen Johnson.
And
yes, we take submissions from anyone with a passion for writing. We do have
guidelines regarding word count and content. For example, we prefer work that
minimizes gore. We don't consider works that feature animal abuse, harmful
representation, or hate speech. We also do not accept works in translation.
Q:
Are you currently accepting submissions?
A:
We are presently closed for submissions as we prepare our 2024 release for this
October. We open again in the summer of 2025. Please check our website at wearethequietones.com
for exact dates and mark your calendars! We look forward to having the
opportunity to read your stories.
Q:
Do you accept different types of horror stories? If so, what type of stories?
(YA, Middle-grade, humor/horror)
A:
We consider all age ranges and sub/fusion genres. Romance, science fiction,
comedy - as long as it's also primarily either horror or dystopian.
Q:
When will the next issue release?
A:
Our annual issues come out on the last Thursday of October. So, as fate would
have it, our upcoming issue launches Thursday, October 31st, 2024. Halloween
Night!
Q:
Do you have a favorite issue of THE QUIET ONES or a favorite author or story
you would like people to read?
A:
Every issue is packed with incredible fiction, poetry, and nonfiction features
like Elizabeth Zarb's incredible essay on queer representation in Frankenstein
(from our October 2021 debut issue), and interviews with trail-blazing authors
like A.S. King and Nova Ren Suma. It's hard to pick a favorite issue, and just
as difficult to pick pieces to highlight. Marianne Murphy's Puppet and
Frederick (Oct '21), Taylor Jordan Pitts' Skin Grafts (Jun '22), and
April Yates' Connection Lost (Oct '23) have each garnered notable praise
from our online following at the times of their release. But I encourage you to
download every back issue of THE QUIET ONES and find the pieces that speak to
you. Our catalog is FREE to download in PDF format for easy reading on most devices.
Registration for the Language of Short Story Horror webinar opens October 7.
Anita Pazner, Co-RA has been an active member of SCBWI for over two decades. She earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and a Master Gardening degree from Michigan State University. Her debut picture book, The Topsy-Turvy Bus, released in March of 2023 and introduces kids to alternative energy sources like used veggie oil. Her second book tackles the topic of non-violent protests for an older audience as a novel in verse. It releases in 2025. Anita has presented at The Michigan Reading Association, The Association of Writers & Writing Programs, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and local SCBWI-MI Area Shop Talks. In a publishing world full of constant rejections, Anita is a testament to never giving up.
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