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Working: Brigid Hughes on the Art of Editing a Literary Magazine

Slate Culture Feed

Slate Podcasts

Arts, Music, Tv & Film

4.22K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2021

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week host Rumaan Alam talks to literary magazine editor Brigid Hughes, who started her career as an intern with the Paris Review and went on to be its executive editor before leaving and starting her own magazine, A Public Space. In the interview, Brigid explains what the editor of a literary magazine does and how she works with authors to unearth the story “underneath” the story. She also discusses how literary magazines can help new authors find an audience.  After the interview Rumaan and co-host June Thomas talk about the importance of good editors.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Brigid Hughes tells the story of how she came across the work of writer Bette Howland and decided to print some of Howland’s unpublished work.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and the Culture Gabfest—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

I like the chance to sort of see maybe the story that the writer knows that they're writing.

0:11.8

And then also I always feel like there's this story underneath that maybe they're sort

0:16.0

of aware of but hasn't quite found its way up into the piece.

0:19.8

And so part of what I enjoy as an editor is sort of finding how to bring that second

0:24.5

story out.

0:30.4

Welcome back to working. I'm your host, June Thomas.

0:34.0

And I'm your other host, Ramon Alam.

0:36.3

Ramon. The voice we heard at the top of the show belongs to Bridget Hughes who is a storied

0:42.6

editor of literary magazines and we'll hear a lot more from her in this episode.

0:46.9

But before we journey to that world, I want to know how you are.

0:50.6

I'm especially curious because I believe you were out of town reporting a story this week.

0:56.4

Was that your first time doing that since COVID and was it like getting back on a bike?

1:01.7

I think maybe the better metaphor is assuming that you know how to ride a bike.

1:07.2

It's like getting back onto a unicycle, right?

1:10.5

Everything is safer. People are more people are vaccinated and vaccines are very effective

1:15.8

and so you feel kind of safer being out and about.

1:19.2

But of course, there are all these cautionary protocols still in place and hotels and trains

1:23.6

and restaurants and obviously it was lovely to be out of town. I was in Washington, D.C.

1:28.5

I was visiting someone who I'm running a profile of.

1:32.0

But even though I traveled through space, I didn't travel in time.

1:36.8

Like it went to a different place but it's still the contemporary reality in that place.

1:42.0

And that's just what it's like. What about you, June? Have you gone anywhere besides home sweet home?

...

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