All of that did come into the inbox but we also received a huge volume of content about death, about humanity and about our codependence with the Earth.
So, for example, the next issue is themed around ‘Earth’, and I was expecting huge amounts of content to come in about environmentalism, sustainability and green lifestyle. Whenever I make a call for submissions, I generally have a checklist in my mind. The surprises that appear when I dip into the inbox.
Tell me your favourite things about editing Popshot It’s part-time but I am always checking in with our social media and our subscribers and we call for submissions four times a year, so it can get very busy. I work as a freelance journalist and editor, so I’m not based in the Chelsea Magazines office and am only there for production four times a year – although with lockdown, of course, we are all now working from home. I’m also a writer myself, currently writing a novel, so it seemed like a good fit. I was Digital Arts Editor at the Independent, commissioning features about books and writing, as well as other aspects of the arts. As a long-term fan-girl of Popshot myself, I was delighted to have the opportunity to pick Matilda’s brain about the highs and lows of being Popshot editor, what really grinds her gears in submissions, and which books are best for soothing ourselves in order to survive this small matter of self-isolation.Ĭhelsea Magazine hired me a year and a half ago and I’m currently editing issue 28 of Popshot. These have solicited work on themes from the profound to the intriguing, including ‘Chance’, ‘Escape’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Mystery’, and the upcoming issue takes ‘Earth’ as its theme. Thanks to the publication’s success, Matilda’s main charge takes the form of sifting through the hundreds of submissions for each of the magazine’s quarterly issues. With its humble origins something we can identify with at Porridge ( Popshot was essentially started by “a guy in his bedroom” ), ‘the illustrated magazine of new writing’ was bought by the Chelsea Magazine Company a couple of years ago and is now in the capable editorial hands of Matilda Battersby. One publication which has had its place firmly on the Porridge -radar for quite some time is Popshot, a well-respected literary magazine established in 2008 which publishes short stories, flash fiction and poetry alongside gorgeous and often provocative illustrations by (what will soon be) the up-and-coming generation of writers and illustrators. Whether it’s something as simple as an encouraging retweet of someone’s call for submissions, teaming up on a competition or offer, or putting the world to rights together during one of our biannual print launch events, there is certainly plenty of truth to be found in the old adage about being stronger together. Speaking personally, one of the best aspects of being involved with Porridge as an editor comes in the form of the connections we make with other publications from all around the world.
Image credit: Glynn Perkins Interview with Matilda Battersby, Editor of Popshot
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