Is(sue) 18 Deadline Reminder

Dear Kinfolk,

This email is to remind you that the deadline for Is(sue) 18 is upon us. That is October 31, 2025. Please send us your most experimental, weird, avant-garde, fun poetry, art, and short stories.

  

 

  

Some of you may have heard by now: the Appalachian poetry community lost one of its great mentors and friends this month. Gurney Norman, former Kentucky Poet Laureate, passed away on October 12, 2025. As a tribute to this most generous soul, AvantAppal(achia) intends to dedicate Is(sue) 18 to him.

  

 

  

Please read the guidelines carefully and follow them when submitting. Emails which do not follow the guidelines will be automatically rejected. Thank you all for everything you do to make this ezine the bright jewel of 21^st century writing and art that it is. It exists for you.

  

 

  

www.avantappalachia.com

  

 

  

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

 

Is(sue) 17 of AvantAppal(achia) is Live!

Dear Kinfolk, 

 Is(sue) 17 is live to read now! Just click the link below. 

A few things to note as this opens the submission period for Is(sue) 18: PLEASE, READ AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES WHEN SUBMITTING. We DO NOT accept simultaneous submissions. Please, include your state or country of current residence in a bio with your submission. And send us your weirdest, most experimental, avant-garde art, poetry, and prose. Think James Joyce and Beckett but in the 22nd century.

Thank you so much for sending in work from around the world and keeping this ezine as the foremost for the experimental in Appalachia for 9 years! This ezine reflects you and we couldn’t do it without you! 

  www.avantappalachia.com 

 Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik 

Dave Sykes

Is(sue) 17 Deadline Reminder

Dear Kinfolk.

Here we are at the Deadline for Is(sue) 17, which is April 30, 2025. So: get your weird, wonderful, experimental poetry, art, and short stories in our inbox by then. This is your final reminder.

Thank you for making us the premier ezine in Appalachia for all things avant-garde! See you in June!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik 

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

www.avantappalachia.com

Announcing "Come Hell and High Water: Helene" Special Is(sue)

 

Dear Kinfolk,

The deadline for Is(sue) 16 is closed so, if you sent in submissions for that, you should hear back from us in the next couple months on those. And Is(sue) 16 should go live on December 15, 2024.

Therefore, it is time for us to announce the “Come Hell and High Water: Helene” Special Is(sue)! This is our tribute to the before-and-after geological and emotional event that Helene proved to be for our beloved Appalachia. It is your opportunity as our Kinfolk to express your emotions around this traumatic time, and for our mountains and people, as they recover. Unlike the regular is(sues), special is(sues) live on the website for as long as the website exists, under the “Special Is(sues)” page tab on the menu. Special is(sues) have the same sub(mission) guidelines as the regular is(sues), with the exception that you must put “HELENE” in the subject line to differentiate submissions for this special is(sue) from those meant for a regular is(sue). That is vital. For this special is(sue), sub(missions) will open on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, and the deadline will be January 15, 2025. The Is(sue) will go live on February 15, 2025. We hope that this will provide a cathartic and healing space for us all.

So, by all means, send us your poetry, art, and short stories expressing yourselves experimentally and therapeutically about Helene. We’re here for you.

www.avantappalachia.com

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Is(sue) 15 and New Schedule - AvantAppal(achia)

Dear Kinfolk,

Is(sue) 15 is live! There are 7 countries total and 10 states within the US represented. This includes our first contributions from Egypt and Peru.

The work chosen to be arch(ived) from Is(sue) 14 is JWM Morgan's story, Volodymyr Bilyk's art, and Joshua Martin's poem. Read it on the Arch(ive) page.

Check the Sub(missions) page. We have made our longstanding policy regarding how we arch(ive) past is(sues) even clearer so that there can be no confusion that you as the author of your work bear responsibility for keeping records of publication and not us. Also, the date of deadline for each is(sue) has changed.

Deadline for Is(sue) 16 is October 31, 2024. So send us your avant-garde and experimental poetry, art, and short stories! You make this ezine the foremost home of the Avant in Appalachia. We are special and weird because of you. Thank you!

www.avantappalachia.com

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik
Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

 

Is(sue) 14 is live!

Dear Kinfolk,

Dave Sykes and I are proud to announce that Is(sue) 14 of AvantAppal(achia) went live on December 15, 2023! It is one of our best is(sues). There is a lot of work from South Korea this time. But we also have poetry, art, and fiction from several U.S. states, Ukraine, and Siberia. 

We have made several changes to the submission guidelines so be sure to read those on the Sub(missions) page. These include a how-to guide to ensure photos and videos taken with an Apple device save and send as JPG files. 

The deadline for Is(sue) 15 is May 31, 2024. www.avantappalachia.com

Thank you for making this ezine the premiere home for the experimental and weird of literature in Appalachia and supporting its outreach to the world!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Book Review of Sacha Archer's "Cellsea"

Sacha Archer, Cellsea (Timglaset Editions, 2023) 80 pages, poetry, $12.00. Order here.

 This is a book of avant-garde poetry that is the genre "vispo": visual poetry. This is where poetry and visual art become one. It's a fascinating genre.

But how to write a review on it? That is the challenge I agreed to take on.

Sacha Archer and Timglaset Editions give us a fun, quirky little book with two covers. It can be read in two different directions, in colour and in black and white. Just like the ocean, it swirls and ebbs and pulses and envelopes and washes us around. And we get to play in its mysterious depths and moods and turns. And there is plenty of room for personal interpretation. The idea seems to be that as we swim about in the immense sea, we also swim inward into the single cell of our origin.

And since this is vispo, I thought the best way to go about about this would be include a few images of the poems inside. It was difficult to get good quality, shadowless images in my living room, but here is a very small sampling of the suprising, fun profundity of this volume:

This is one book I am proud to add to my personal library.

Is(sue) 13 is live!

 Dear Kinfolk,

 

It’s a beautiful day! Why? Because Is(sue) 13 is live with all of your amazing work.

 

The guidelines for Short Stories have changed, so be sure to check those out. And pop on over to the Arch(ive) to see which pieces from Is(sue) 12 were chosen for posterity.

 

I would like to remind everybody that there have always been restrictions on impolite language, gratuitious sex, political pieces, and anything holiday-themed. This absolutely applies to underage characters. I have let some impolite language slide in the past (though I have edited it), but you are encouraged to think seriously about whether certain words or actions are necessary for the story (like in “To Kill A Mockingbird”) or whether you’re merely scratching a personal itch to get more readers. Because if you’re scratching an itch, scratch it somewhere else. Thank you.

 

Also, remember that our focus is on avant-garde, experimental pieces. We are not meant for your run-of-the-mill, workshop-approved pages. Push the boundaries of what language can do, of what constitutes literature. Have fun. Surprise us.

 

The submission period for Is(sue) 14 is open! Deadline is November 30, 2023. Happy writing!

 

https://www.avantappalachia.com

 

Sincerely,

 

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

 

 

 

Is(sue) 12 of AvantAppal(achia) is Live

 Kinfolk,

Edi(tors) Sabne Raznik and David Sykes are pleased to unveil the latest is(sue) of AvantAppal(achia).
We are spotlighting submissions from The U.S., Greece, India, Ireland, Australia, France, Siberia, and Belarus; seven countries in all.
We sincerely hope you enjoy this collection of the weird and wonderful in the fields of art and writing and we hope to publish another collection, Is(sue) 13 on June 15, 2023.

www.avantappalachia.com

Enjoy,

Ed(itors) Sabne Raznik and David Sykes

Is(sue) 12 Deadline for AvantAppal(achia) Ezine

Dear Kinfolk,

It’s nearly time for a new is(sue) to go live again. That means this is your final reminder that the deadline for submissions to Is(sue) 12 is November 30, 2022. Send us your experimental poetry, art, and short stories.

You will notice that the date for Is(sue) 12 to go live has been pushed forward a week to December 22, 2022. This is due to Sabne Raznik having scheduling conflicts that could not be resolved otherwise. This way, your submissions will get the attention they deserve.

She and Dave Sykes are thrilled to read what you send us. Please, read and follow the full guidelines at www.avantappalachia.com before sending your emails. We may not have time to inquire and may be forced to reject brilliant work which does not meet guidelines. Thank you so much. 

This is your ezine. You make it the fun, funky, fabulous frolic that it is. 

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

 

Is(sue) 11 of AvantAppal(achia) is live!

 Dear Kinfolk,

 

Is(sue) 11 went live around 10 pm EDT on June 15, 2022. With this Is(sue), AvantAppal(achia) entered year 6. Thank you all very much!

 

This is(sue) features 3 countries and 12 states. Almost all of Appalachia is represented and a number of other places as well, along with Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina. You will also find chapter 4 of Jim Meirose’s mind-bending Beckettian novel that flips the concepts of death and resurrection on their head.

 

The submission period for Is(sue) 12 is now open. The deadline for that is November 30, 2022. We need your weird, fun, experimental poetry, art, and short stories. Please read Guidelines and follow them because the reading period is only 2 weeks, so we will now have to automatically reject any submission which does not follow the instructions.

 

Also, stay tuned for an announcement from our sister endeavor North/South Appalachia, which should be dropping into your email or on social media channels in a couple of days. Exciting, I know!

 

Until we meet again!

https://www.avantappalachia.com

 

Sincerely,

 

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Deadline for Is(sue) 11

 

Dear Kinfolk,

Our deadline for Is(sue) 11 is May 31, 2022. We need your avant garde, experimental, weird, fantastic poetry, short fiction, and art.

Please look at the Guidelines on the website. Because of time constraints we will now have to automatically reject submissions that do not follow the Guidelines. Especially, we ask that you remember to include your state or country of current residence in your bio.

Thank you so much! AvantAppal(achia) is what it is because of each and everyone of you.

See you soon!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

www.avantappalachia.com

A(A) E-Reading #4: National Poetry Month Edition

Dear Kinfolk,

This is just a reminder of our National Poetry Month reading coming up. This will happen on April 29, 2022 at 7 pm EDT. If you want to attend, register at EventBrite.

https://www.eventbrite.com/.../aa-e-reading-4-national...

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Edi(itor)

 

The Modern Plague Years Special Is(sue) is live!

 

Dear Kinfolk,

 

The Modern Plague Years Special Is(sue) is live under the Special Is(sues) menu tab on www.avantappalachia.com! Thank you so much for sharing your work with us.

 

If you did not receive a yay or nay email from us about your submission during this reading cycle, know that David Sykes and I have read it and decided it would better suit a regular is(sue) and kept it for Is(sue) 11 in June. You will receive notification concerning it during that reading cycle.

 

Please remember to check out the Guidelines on the website when you submit and follow these. As a writer myself I know submission anxiety is real and I do not wish to be strict, but the volume of submissions we now receive and time constraints force me to it. If you fail to include the state or country of your current residence or fail to follow any of the other guidelines, we will be forced to reject your work regardless of its quality. So please – please – read those guidelines thoroughly and follow them closely. Thank you!

 

The deadline for Is(sue) 11 is May 31, 2022, for a publication date on June 15, 2022. We need your avantgarde, experimental, and weird poetry, art, and short stories.

 

Thank you for making this ezine the stellar publication it is!

 

Sincerely,

 

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Is(sue) 10 is live, Youtube Channel, and Special Pandemic Is(sue)

 

Dear Kinfolk,

 

Lots to talk about at AvantAppal(achia):

 

First off we wish to express our sorrow on hearing of the death of bell hooks. That is a blow, not only to Appalachia, but to the world.

 

Secondly, Is(sue) 10 went live yesterday! We have some potent work from 3 countries and 14 states. The word is getting out and the quality of the work and the volume of submissions continues to grow. We are thrilled about that! Go check it out at www.avantappalachia.com.

 

We now have a Youtube channel which will be used to host videos from our submissions where the artists do not have channels of their own from which to host videos. The videos will remain hosted there until the Is(sue) in which they appear is taken down. At that point, it is up to you as the copyright holder whether we continue to host them in perpetuity on Youtube or not. Just let us know. So if you don’t have Youtube yourself, send us the vid anyway and we’ll handle the rest.

 

Announcing “The Modern Plague Years” Special Is(sue): this is(sue)’s deadline is March 31, 2022 and it will go live under Special Is(sues) in the menu on April 10, 2022 where it will remain as long as the website does. Please refrain from arguing the politics of the pandemic or of vaccines. We are interested in your individual pandemic experiences. See the home page and Sub(missions) for more information. And please remember to put “Plague Years” in your email subject line to differentiate it from regular is(sue) subs.

 

Is(sue) 11 – the next regular is(sue) – has a deadline of May 31, 2022 and should go live on June 15, 2022.

 

Don’t forget that you can donate towards keeping AvantAppal(achia) online by going to Donat(ions) in the menu. Thank you so much, Kinfolk, for everything you do! You make this unique, fun space everything that it is!

 

Sincerely,

 

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Deadline for Is(sue) 10 of AvantAppal(achia)

 

Dear Kinfolk,

 

Is(sue) 10 of AvantAppal(achia) will go live on December 15, 2021 and we need your experimental poetry, art, and short stories! Go to avantappalachia.com to check out guidelines and submit to avantappalachia@gmail by November 30, 2021. That’s the deadline. Dave Sykes and I accept submissions from around the world with only a slight emphasis on Appalachian poets, artists, and writers. We do ask for you to avoid holiday themes, erotica, and gratuitous language. Other than that, have fun. This ezine is all about the avant-garde and experimentalism. If you tend to write more conventional poetry, we also have an Appal(Trad) section. Thank you all for your loyalty – this ezine is what it is because of you!

 

Sincerely,

 

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Yes(ABLED) Is(sue) is Live!

Dear Kinfolk,

The Yes(ABLED) Special Is(sue) is live! It can be found here: https://www.avantappalachia.com/special-issues.html 

There are 4 countries featured, including 4 states in the U.S. You will find a poem by Volodymyr Bilyk of Ukraine written in a precursor of Braille called Moon Type, some thought-provoking poetry from Ricky Ray in Connecticut, and a fascinating essay regarding mental illness by Brandy Renee McCann from Virginia. We hope that this is(sue) highlights the unique perspective and creativity of the disabled population worldwide. 

The submission period for the 9th regular is(sue) is still wide open. The deadline for it is now set at May 31, 2021. Please read the guidelines under “Sub(missions)” in the menu on the website as there have been some changes. 

Thank you so much – all of you – for making this ezine every incredible thing that is! We couldn’t do it without each and every one of you. 

We would like to take a moment to express condolences for the deaths of regular contributors Philip Kent Church and Linda Regula earlier this year. 

Please stay safe during this unusual year. We are sending you calmness and best wishes! 

Sincerely, 

 Sabne Raznik 

 Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Final Notice of Yes(Abled) Is(sue) Deadline and Event Info

Dear Kinfolk, 

This is your last notice of the deadline for the special Yes(ABLED) Is(sue). That is September 30, 2020 with a go live date of October 15, 2020. We still need poetry, art, and short prose. If you are disabled (interpreted broadly), you may submit on any topic. If you are ablebodied, please keep your subjects limited to disability or caregiver issues and approach these sensitively. 

 Also, we would like to inform you of AvantAppal(achia)’s first event: a virtual poetry reading on Zoom featuring Pauletta Hansel, Lorie Zientara, Ellyn Maybe, and myself with a limited open mic depending on how many join us. I will be attempting to record this event to place it on Youtube later if tech allows. Here is the Zoom info to attend: 

Topic: AvantAppal(achia) Virtual Poetry Reading Time: Sep 25, 2020 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us04web.zoom.us/j/74220823627... Meeting ID: 742 2082 3627 Passcode: 862055 One tap mobile +17207072699,,74220823627#,,,,,,0#,,862055# US (Denver) +12532158782,,74220823627#,,,,,,0#,,862055# US (Tacoma) Dial by your location +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 742 2082 3627 Passcode: 862055 Find your local number: https://us04web.zoom.us/u/fd7MorRSMr 

 We are very excited about what’s going on at AvantAppal(achia) currently. Thank you so much for making this astounding and important ezine everything that it is!  

https://www.avantappalachia.com/ 

Sincerely, 

Sabne Raznik 

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

(YES)Abled Is(sue) Deadline

Dear Kinfolk,

This is a reminder that the deadline for our YES(Abled) Special Is(sue) is March 31, 2020. This is(sue) will feature the work of disabled poets, artists, and short fiction writers or work on disability themes. However, the subject need not be limited to disability. The subject is open. We ask that since we are taking submissions for the regular is(sue) at the same time that you please put “YES(Abled)” in the subject line of your email. www.avantappalachia.com. All our usual guidelines apply.

Also, as mentioned, we are taking submissions for our regular is(sue) at the same time. The deadline for it is May 30, 2020.

Thank you all for making our ezine a leader within its genre!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

(Yes)Abled Is(sue) and North/South Appalachia

Dear Kinfolk,

You heard about it in the email about the Is(sue) 8 release. Here are more details.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce AvantAppal(achia)'s 2nd Special Is(sue), titled (Yes)ABLED! This is(sue) will be dedicated to the work of disabled poets, artists, and short story writers. Subject need not be related to the experience of being disabled, but is open. The usual guidelines apply, with the exception that "(Yes)ABLED" must be included in the email subject line since the submission period for the regular Is(sue) 9 will be open at the same time. This Special Is(sue) will appear and remained archived under Special Is(sues) in the menu for as long as this website continues. The deadline for (Yes)ABLED is March 31, 2020. It will go live on April 15, 2020.

Please spread the word and help us make this Special Is(sue) a success!

Also, the North/South Collective, of which AvantAppal(achia) is a part, just had a reorganization. The new website is here at North/South Appalachia. Poems and art submitted to AvantAppal(achia) that we feel will be a good fit for North/South Appalachia may be included on the North/South blog. We will approach the poet and artist for permission to share work there first, of course.

Thank you so much for making these projects as spectacular as they are!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik
Poetry/Art Ed(itor)