About us and
our 20-year record of excellence
"Literary
magazine." What do you think when you here that? Most
people typically envision a small booklet, stapled through the
middle, or a bland perfect-bound book of text in small print. When they see
Sensations Magazine, their jaws typically drop: from
200+-page 8-1/2 x 11 issues with riveting full color inside and out, to glossy
acid-free paper, to "respecting the written word" (with only one poem per
8-1/2 x 11 page), to our 10x16 "flagship" Coney Island issue with
over 112 photographs, one thing becomes crystal-clear:
Sensations Magazine is anything but typical.
We publish contemporary poetry and
fiction, and research on American history themes - and have won national
awards for doing so. Fiction writers and poets will find a
caring, supportive environment here, including the "tough love" of
top-notch editing (and if you can't deal with an honest independent
evaluation of your work, we're not the right market for you). We
actively seek unpublished writers, and often have been the first
publication credit for "up-and-coming" poets and fiction writers, as
well as more established writers. We're a good credit to have,
since we typically accept only 10-20% of what we receive.
A rare three-consecutive-year winner
in the national American Literary Magazine Awards, including First Place
for its "Coney Island Amusement Parks" issue, Sensations Magazine
has operated as a literary quarterly since 2001, and will reach
its desired goal of
"40 issues across 20 years" by 2006 - one year earlier than
originally anticipated.
About
our Publisher's
approach and philosophy
As a leader of independent literary magazine
publishing in the United States, David Messineo operates "in the publishing tradition started by Benjamin Franklin" (who,
Mr. Messineo likes
to remind people, was able to publish magazines without CLMP, Poets & Writers,
the National Endowment for the Arts, or Barnes & Noble or other chain
bookstores).
Mr. Messineo has consistently
shown the courage
and creative vision to not buy into
regimentation: the "rules and regulations" these and other
organizations shove down the throats of magazine publishers, poets,
fiction writers, and the general public - such as the following:
Fact: by not listening to
organizations telling him how things "should" be done, Mr. Messineo has
created and sustained Sensations Magazine for 20 years,
breaking the "rule" that 90% of new magazines fail in the
first five years.
Fact: In addition to publishing
a magazine in the spirit started 225+ years ago by Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Messineo
has secured an equally important "tradition" for his published writers:
he has succeeded in getting the work
of poets and fiction writers out to the reading public, year after year
for 20 years - with 38 of the 39 issues achieving "sold out" status
without destruction of unsold copies. Only 10 copies of one issue
are still
available in a select handful of stores nationwide
(see "Join," then "Coney Island Issue," for details).
Fact: to ensure that Sensations Magazine remains a "free voice" without
censorship of subject matter, keeping in the finest of American literary
traditions, we do not seek nor accept any funding from the new 1%
hotel tax increase to finance state arts in New Jersey.
Fact: Sensations Magazine does not
shy away from controversial subjects; in fact, we are one of the key
suppliers of poetry to make you think about today's "hot button" topics.
Some of our past theme issues have been on "The 350th Anniversary of
American Witchhunts" (1998), "Sexual Identity in the New
Millennium" (2001), "America at War, 1513-2003" (2003),
"The 2004 Presidential Election, One Year Later" (Fall 2005) and "Losing
a Child" (Winter 2005).
At the same time, our writers also are mature enough to
understand there is a time and place for everything: poems
selected for publication are well-written and well-researched, poems
performed in public are done with taste and class. Parents always
appreciate the fact that if we feel an event is inappropriate for
children, we say so. Attentive children are welcomed at events
that are specified as <FAMILY FRIENDLY> under our "Attend" button.
Conclusion: If you want the blandness of "poetry suited for a
general audience," you can go to any chain bookstore. If you'd like to
hear a poem that challenges American immigration policy, or one that
speaks out in favor of same-sex marriage, or one that challenges our
prejudices and has the courage to examine our failures, along
with those that celebrate
our successes, we're a place for you to call home.
The "dirty secret" of American literary magazines - as much
as 90% destroyed after 3 months on shelf
Reality check: if you are a poet writing in America in 2006-2007, you should be grateful to ANY editor who shows interest in your work, and ANY and EVERY individual who may choose to purchase a poetry book from you.
Fact: If you can sell a literary magazine in America in the age of "Survivor," you can sell practically anything.
Fact:
Sensations Magazine has sold over 4,000 literary magazine copies in its
first 20 years of operation, without the assistance of a distributor.
Fact: If you're a writer, you should be aware of the "dirty secret" among most grant-funded, nationally distributed literary magazines that claim circulations and print runs over
500 copies.
The dirty secret: for many of America's other literary magazines, as much as 90% of the original print run is destroyed after 3-6 months.
So here you are, bragging "My work got published in x, and circulated to 5,000 people," when in reality 500 individuals purchased that magazine and possibly read your work. As hard to swallow as that sounds, it's not far from the truth in many cases.
The educated writer doesn't ask "What is your circulation?" or "What is your print run?" The educated writer asks, "What is your percentage of returns on a typical magazine issue?" And if you ask that of
almost any literary magazine editor, they either don't know (because their distributor handles such matters quietly), or they deliberately won't tell you.
We'll tell you. The percentage of returns on
Sensations Magazine is 0%. Any single copy that was returned was resold.
We actively track and retrack every copy placed in every store. Based
on our extensive research, no unsold copies of any Sensations Magazine
issue were ever destroyed.
Moreover, of the 39 issues we've released since 1987, 38 have achieved "sold out" status. That's "sold out" to individuals who may read your work, and
to a handful of the most prestigious libraries in America.
Getting your work to readers vs. store
shelves
Let's take that argument one step further. Once that magazine gets into someone's hands, what are the chances your work is read? We try to increase those odds; we try to publish just enough poetry and fiction that, in these busy times, each issue may actually be read in full by our subscribers - not just purchased, thrown on a shelf, and forgotten.
Look, I'm a literary magazine editor, and I'm a poet. I send my work out to magazines for consideration, just like many of you do. And, based on
two decades of experience in dealing with those who run literary magazines, bookstores, coffee shops, and libraries, I have a few questions to ask, which I welcome anyone to answer:
1. Why do we continue to waste taxpayer dollars on excessive literary magazine print runs that only end up being destroyed in 3-6 months? Add all this government waste over a 50-year period of American letters, and how much money was lost? Thousands? Millions? Couldn't that money have been better spent on helping the hungry - or
creating housing for the homeless?
2. Why do many
poets and fiction writers continue to throw their best work to publications that (a) accept 1/10 of 1% of what is submitted to them, and/or (b) submit to publications that are run by caustic, overworked editors who relish more in the opportunity to throw a nasty one-liner to
a writer than to help that writer improve
the poetry or fiction? (That is, presuming they've even read the work, if
they're lucky enough to have it handed to them by one of their college or grad-student assistants.) Going through this for the sake of being published in a nationally distributed "name" magazine.
Is this really "success"?
3. Why don't more
poets and writers support the work of their fellow writers, by purchasing at least one issue that
they are NOT published in?
4. Why did the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) drop all its paid members who had a print run of fewer than 500 copies? The smallest literary magazines are maintaining the tradition of independent publishing in America. They deserve better than this.
5. Why can't each writer select 5 magazines each year
to financially support with a full-year subscription? The cost of this
would be under $150, and would be a welcomed boost to the small press in
America. (Naturally, Sensations Magazine would like to be- and
we feel deserves to be - one of the 5.)
If what I'm saying resonates
with you, write me. Better still, purchase a two-issue subscription for
$20, read the published work, and thereby help create a larger audience for the many fine poets and fiction writers who have chosen me to represent them to the public.
I may not make you famous, though
Sensations Magazine is a good stepping-stone on your way up. But I will get your work out to other readers and writers who appreciate good poetry and fiction and the craft of writing.
I've spent a good part of my lifetime on this, and I'm very good at being a
representative and "champion" for the work of others.
That is my promise to you: a promise I have fulfilled for many satisfied writers for
20 consecutive years, and a promise I intend to fulfill for a minimum of 5 more years.
DAVID MESSINEO
2008
"When all is said and done, I've
sold out four poetry books and over forty issues of a literary magazine,
representing hundreds of writers across 20 years. Even our competition
will concede that is a sensational
small press achievement - and we maintain it is the key argument in favor of you submitting
your work to Sensations Magazine."
Epilogue: America's
"literary quarterly" list
In the process
of putting out our fifth issue in 2004, I began to wonder if there were
any other individuals doing what I and my staff were doing:
hand-printing, hand-collating, and hand-binding four publications per
year, each year since 2001.
We've found
only 26 - of those, we believe Sensations Magazine and Light
Quarterly are the only
American literary magazines to publish quarterly without university
backing or a rich bankroll.
Here is where
we fit, in the list of American journals that presently operate as a
true "literary quarterly" (four print publications/year):
