McSweeney's in a Nutshell:
Dave Eggers founded McSweeney's in 1996 in order to provide a home to work being rejected elsewhere (though contributors have since included David Foster Wallace, Rick Moody, and Heidi Julavits). The New York Times accurately described the journal as "quirky, whimsical and slightly Victorian," so read a few issues to be sure your work fits.
McSweeney's Mini Review:
In 2002, I ended up on a few occasions at McSweeney's readings, which, truth be told, completely put me off the magazine. The stories seemed gimmicky and pretentious, and I got the sense that all the writers belonged to the same club. However, more recently I've been impressed with the work I've read from the magazine and on their site. Either it's grown up in the past decade, or I was just exposed to the wrong stories. As with the piece sampled below, much of the writing emanating from McSweeney's these days has impressed me. (And for excellent articles and reviews, read Eggers's latest magazine, The Believer.)
Sample from "Dispatches from Iraq" by Roland Thompson:
In one Iraqi home, I keep backing into a queen-size roll of foam poking out of a window. The foam extends into the middle of the room, and is visible on night-vision goggles as that which is not space. Across from it four women sit against a wall, having sorted themselves by age. I'm guarding these women, who present an evolution in sorrow, which registers on the goggles as an evergreen glow.
The youngest, maybe 7, glows the least. But like a fish reeled up from the depths too quickly, her eyes are ruined. One points toward 2 o'clock, the other toward 9.
"Why are you here?" the girl wants to know.
Cover Letter Advice:
For new writers, McSweeney's has encouraging words about cover letters: "Please keep yours brief, though we do like to hear from people who read and like the magazine. We're not concerned about writing degrees or past publications, though, so don't be daunted if you don't have an MFA or much in the way of previously published work."
Submit to McSweeney's:
Send stories of any length by mail to 849 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California 94110, or email: printsubmissions@mcsweeneys.net. Like many of the journals on this list, they're a fairly small operation, so be patient when waiting for a response.
