Yes, people still read. Yes, people still write. Don’t forget that on days when you feel discouraged.

I know I am holding on to this knowledge when the news gets too awful, when I feel my own writing is not going well, when I wonder about the world.

But where there is a love of literacy, I sense hope. And I sense a lot of hope when finding so many earnest and passionate literary journals, including one that is new to me, Crack the Spine Literary Magazine.

When I first heard the name of this magazine, Crack the Spine (CTS), I was put off a bit–no cracking spines, please.  But I kept going back to CTS, intrigued by the name and wondering just what is this magazine all about.

I’m delighted to find out “Crack the Spine loves the written word. Some might say we’re in love with the written word.” (from their website)  Furthermore, the process of submitting to the magazine is full of kind humor, encouragement, and wit.  CTS publishes flash fiction, micro-fiction, poetry, short stories, and creative non-fiction, sponsors a themed print edition, biweekly digital editions, a “best of” and yearly anthology.

In addition, CTS has a cute “shop” where you can buy their published books as well as literary gifts such as mugs and tee-shirts.

While being a serious literary magazine, Crack the Spine emotes a kind and playful attitude that is welcoming to writers, even down to making submissions easier by using Submittable.com.  I highly encourage writers to read there and consider submitting to this magazine.

As to the name? I’ve learned not to judge a magazine by its title–but I’m still watching out for my aching back.

Thanks for reading.