Blog Archive (from back in the day):
Mar 22, 2007
HAPPY FREAKIN' SPRING! Holy moly has it been a crazy winter. We here at Swivel would like to apologize for the lengthy delay in updates. Unfortunately (or fortunately, from a bank account standpoint) a surfeit of *paid* work has resulted in some Swivel neglect. But we are here and Swiveling strong... just a little more slowly than usual.
So. We're still catching up on submissions for Swivel #6, and will be getting back to submitters in the next couple weeks. Thanks so much for your patience! Please see the "Submit" page for more details on submissions and upcoming deadlines.
Nov 13, 2006
Attention Swivel submitters--just two more days until the deadline for Swivel #6. So send us your best beloved work pronto!
ALSO: Please note that Swivel #1 is now SOLD OUT. We've seen a few floating around on auction sites for a pretty penny, so save your own copy--it may be worth more than you thought! Consequently, the ever popular Swivel Starter Kits will now consist of Issues 2, 3, and 4.
Last but certainly not least, thanks to everyone who came to the University Bookstore on election night for the Swivel reading, featuring Elizabeth Merrick (editor of This Is Not Chick Lit) and Holiday Reinhorn (author of Big Cats). Nice crowd, good fun!
Sept 5, 2006
Sakes alive, it's time for Swivel #5! Featuring work by Lauren Weedman, Starlee Kine, Julie Larios, Ellen Forney, and many more women of wit, Swivel #5 is fresh off the press and awaiting your warm embrace. It's only a click away!
AND, hot on the heels of our super successful Bumbershoot event (thanks for coming! it rocked!), we're co-presenting an evening of Microthrills at Seattle's fabu fashion house, The Pretty Parlor.
THIS THURSDAY, SEPT 7th at 7:00pm, Swivel and the Pretty Parlor will host author Wendy Spero for a reading from her new book, Microthrills: True Stories from a Life of Small Highs. We are macro-thrilled to co-host Spero and her real-life tales of tiny, weird wonders at Pretty Parlor headquarters (119 Summit Ave E., on Capitol Hill).
Also on the bill are Swivelers Trisha Ready and Ellen Forney, the latter of whom will be presenting comic work from her new book, I Love Led Zeppelin. Please join us! It's FREE!
August 15, 2006
Please mark your calendars for Sept. 2, when we'll be putting on quite a show at Bumbershoot in Seattle... and releasing the brand new issue of Swivel. And! Please also mark Sept. 7th for more Swivel antics! We'll be hosting a reading featuring Wendy Spero, author of Microthrills, plus a few Swivelers, delicious music, and clogging! All at the splendiferous Pretty Parlor in Seattle.
May 5, 2006
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Just a reminder that el submission window for Swivel #5 will close on May 15th. After that, no mas, por favor! Thanks to the hundreds of you who've already sent us your work--we'll get back to everyone within the next two months (check the "Submit" link for more details when we have them). Gracias!
ALSO: If you're in the Seattle environs, please mark your calendar for May 17th at 7:30pm, when we'll be throwing the (first ever!) Swivel Release Party. Readings and high jinks will ensue, so come on down to the Conor Byrne pub in beautiful Ballard and celebrate all things Swivelicious.
FINALLY: Don't forget to pick up the new Swivel! You can order your copy and/or subscribe here.
April 10, 2006
HOT DIGGETY DOG... SWIVEL #4 IS HERE! Click here to order your copy of the latest ish! Featuring a catfight in a lion's den, a shoe's past-life lamentation, a very scary clown, and loads of other goodies, it is NOT to be missed. Yeehaw!
Also note that the submission window for Swivel #5 is currently open. Click on the Submit button above to read more about what we're hoping to see in our sparkling submissions pool!
December 27, 2005
Happy Holidays! Thanks to all of you who made Swivel a part of your gift giving scenario this season. The Swivel Starter Kits--featuring the first three issues plus a subcription for the forthcoming fourth, all wrapped up with a terribly cute orange ribbon and gift tag--are still available for your year-round gift-giving needs! Please see the Order page for more info.
We are currently in the process of responding to everyone who sent a submission for issue #4. Thanks for sharing your work with us! We will have final decisions made the first week in February.
For those interested in submitting to Swivel #5, please hold off on sending us anything until March 1st! We'll be busy focusing our attention on putting together an excellent issue #4, so we won't be able to read anything new before then. Many thanks!
October 15, 2005
Hi gang. Please note that the submission period for Swivel #4 is closed. It's been closed for awhile now, and we've let a few of you slip under the wire, but now it's realio-trulio closed. Please hold your submissions for Issue #5. We'll let you know when we're ready to start reading for that issue (Fall 2006), but it won't be before January!
If you sent a submission for Issue #4, thanks! We'll be plowing through those submissions in the next few months, and will let you know whether your work has been accepted before the new year.
Meanwhile, be sure to pick up Swivel #3, still relatively warm off the press! Check your local bookstores or buy it here.
September 3, 2005
Guess what? Swivel #3 is here! Featuring Meghan Daum, Melissa Bank, Lisa Glatt, Lauren Weedman, and many more women of wit, Swivel #3 is big, beautiful and bodacious! Click here to order now.
September 2, 2005
SWIVEL: THE INDISCRETIONS ROAD SHOW IS HERE!
If you're anywhere near Seattle this Labor Day (at 3pm), take whatever steps you must to get to the rilly big show Swivel is curating at the Bumbershoot arts festival. Readers will include Aimee Bender, Vendela Vida, Lauren Weedman, Ellen Forney, and Ali Davis. Cool!
Check out the excellent pre-press the event received in the local Seattle papers:
Click here to read the article in The Seattle Weekly.
Click here to read the article in The Stranger.
July 7, 2005
Swivelers! Thanks so much to everyone who submitted work to Swivel #3. The submission period is now closed, and you should hear back from the Swivel editorial team by July 15th regarding your submission. We plan to start reading submissions for Swivel #4 on August 15th.
In the exciting news department, we recently learned that "Diary of a Journal Reader," an original story by Lauren Weedman published in the first issue of Swivel, has been selected to appear in Best American Non-Required Reading 2005. This prestigious annual anthology is put together and published by Dave Eggers and the fine folks at McSweeney's. Yeehaw!
If you missed the first issue of Swivel, you missed Lauren's hilarious story... which means your life isn't quite complete. No worries--you can still order Swivel #1 by clicking here.
May 17, 2005
Hello, friends of Swivel! Thanks to your tireless support, sales of Issue #2 are soaring. If for some weird reason you haven't yet purchased your copy, check out our list of retailers, or place an online order.
Submissions for Swivel #3 have been pouring in. Thanks so much for sending us your words of wit! The submission period will close on May 31st--that's coming right up so if you're still thinking of submitting, make it snappy!
ALSO: if you're in the Seattle area, mark your calendars for September 5, when we'll be hosting a Swivel-ganza at Bumbershoot, featuring past Swivel contributors Vendela Vida, Aimee Bender, Lauren Weedman, Ellen Forney, and Ali Davis. Come one, come all and help fill the gigantic hall!
March 08, 2005
The new Swivels are here! The new Swivels are here! Get thee to our order page and pick up a copy of Swivel #2 today! We're working to update the whole website accordingly, but meanwhile, click here to order. Hooray!
January 14, 2005
Greetings! We've got a whole lotta updating to do...
Muchas gracias to everyone who submitted work for Swivel #2! We were truly thrilled by the large and lovely pile of entries. After much hand-wringing and hair-pulling, we've selected our line-up, and we're more than a little excited.
Swivel #2 will feature stories by Vendela Vida, Hannah Tinti, Nelly Reifler, and many more literary lasses. We are currently in the layout process and the issue should roll off the press in late February. Check here for more updates!
For those interested in submitting to Swivel #3... we'll start reading submissions on April 1st, 2005 (no fooling). If you can stand it, please wait to send your submission 'til then. And don't forget to read our submission guidelines first!
In the horn tooting department, click here to read the review Swivel received from NewPages.com, the source of news and info on indie mags.
Finally, watch for a mention of Swivel in the February issue of Bust, everyone's fave neo-feminist girlie rag.
January 1, 2005
Best wishes for a Swivelicious New Year!
October 15, 2004
We must've been in an optimistic mood when we said we'd have submission decisions for Swivel #2 made by October 15th. Apologies for the delay, folks, but we're gonna need a little more time. So many submissions, such a tiny volunteer staff! We're now shooting for November 1st. Thanks for your patience.
September 28, 2004
Yay! Swivel was just awarded "Runner Up" in the category of "Best 'Zine" at the 2004 DIY Book Festival, courtesy of the Los Angeles based DIY Convention. Here's hoping they add a "Best LitMag" category next year!
September 25, 2004
Thanks a million to all you Swivel submitters! Our deadline for submitting work to Issue #2 has now passed. We're currently reading through the giant pile of your lovely work, and plan to make our final decisions by October 15th. Meanwhile, consider passing the time by purchasing copious copies of Swivel for your friends and family. Makes a great gift!
September 20, 2004
Look what the literary luminaries are saying about Swivel...
Esteemed Zyzzyva editor-in-chief Howard Junker: "Your first issue is a great triumph."
Humor monger and man about town Dave Eggers: "There's a place for this. This can exist."
Novelist and short story writer Rebecca Brown: "Swivel me timbers!"
July 5, 2004
The premier issue of Swivel is here! Weighing in at 96 pages and featuring 20 kicky contributors, the retail price is a mere $9.00. If you'd like your copy lickety-split, you can order it online right now, by clicking here.
We're in the process of distributing Swivel to independent bookstores nationwide, but as we're doing this ourselves, it may be a slightly slower option (we're mailing boxes as fast as we can!). You can help support Swivel by asking for it at your local independent bookstores and newsstands, pointing store managers to the Swivel website, and sending store suggestions to retailers@swivelmag.com. Thanks!
We are accepting submissions for Swivel Issue #2 from July 1 through September 15, 2004. Please be sure to give our submission guidelines a gander first.
