AWP had the opportunity to talk with Linda Swanson-Davies, co-founder and editor, along with her sister Susan Burmeister-Brown, of Glimmer Train. As they say on their homepage: “Every story in Glimmer Train is unsolicited. And every year, we pay out over $50,000 to fiction writers.”

What makes Glimmer Train what it is? And what’s kept it going since 1990? In Glimmer Train, a reader will find expertly written fiction. What makes it unique, I think, is that we only choose stories that are also emotionally significant. I think we [keep] going by the relationships we have with writers. We know the personal investment required to write meaningful fiction, and writers recognize that. We respect and appreciate them and their work, even though we can’t publish nearly as much as we’d like.

What happens to someone who reads it cover to cover? What’s the most the stories in Glimmer Train can do? The best fiction has the power to broaden and deepen our perceptions of the larger world and of ourselves. Even when a protagonist’s life is vastly different from our own, if a writer has delved deeply enough into character, we will find some bit of ourselves there. It is an ongoing gift to the reader.

What must an author/contributor be capable of? Of course the author must be able to communicate clearly and with attention to word choices. But other things matter, too. A story must have meaning to the writer. [And] something must happen. Mulling something over, or even making a decision doesn’t reveal a character’s depth like action does. To be engaging, characters need to be believable. No clichés/stereotypes. If the writer is willing to let their characters play a role in decision-making, a story can take on surprising energy, and a reader will have no choice but to enter.

How are submissions treated? We personally read ALL stories ourselves. There’s a lot of work involved in running a publication, and that’s why many editors farm out the reading to interns or volunteers. It’s also why some publications only read until they find [a submission] that’s good enough to publish, and then stop reading for that category. It’s all understandable, but it seems a pity to keep that distance from people’s work, and that’s not why we started Glimmer Train. The reading is the exciting part, and being able to give an excellent emerging voice a break is joyous.

If I’ve been submitting to Glimmer Train for years but have never been accepted, what should be my next step? What can I do? It may sound self-serving, but one of the very best things a writer can do is read the publication they want to get into. Check your local library, see what they have available. And if they have the “best-of” collections—Best American, Pushcart, O’Henry, New Stories from the West/Midwest/South—read those, too. Reading and studying literary fiction is a great way to observe and appreciate the techniques and impact of great fiction from people who may be a few steps ahead of you.

To see what readers and fans of Glimmer Train have been saying about the magazine for years, check out the comments at http://www.glimmertrain.com/comments.html.

And for guidelines on upcoming submission calls and opportunities, subscription information, and more, visit http://www.glimmetrain.com.

Contributors are paid $700 to $2,500 per story upon acceptance.