Succour: The Dream is Over!

A lot of people have been asking me about Succour magazine. Here’s what’s going on as I understand it.

The magazine grew out of Exeter University’s creative writing programme in 2005. It was produced down south with regional editors in several other cities. I came on board in 2006 as Manchester’s regional editor. I managed to get it in a couple of Oxford Road outlets and put on a few nights. Over the next four years I headhunted Manchester fiction writers and poets for the magazine. During that time my managing editor secured a national distribution deal which meant that I didn’t have to do the admin/finance side and could concentrate on finding new talent.

The magazine was originally funded by Exeter uni. That money ran out in 2008 and since then we’ve had no public funding. Borders went smash in January this year and that pretty much killed our distribution. Around that time I was told that Succour would go from a print magazine to an online magazine and that the May issue would appear online. We’re now almost into June and the website hasn’t been updated. The contact page appears to have been removed and the ME isn’t returning my emails.

I can only conclude that Succour is dead.

Apologies to anyone who has made submissions and is wondering what the hell’s going on. I’m not sure myself. It seems that we had a pretty good run but the recession has finally caught up with us. Succour may return in some form in the future and I will let you if and when this happens.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to create a point where writers and poets could browse magazines for submissions. I add stuff to the ‘Magazines’ section in the sidebar as often as I can and would be grateful for any suggestions.

Like Icarus, we soared close to the sun, on frail wings of vanity and wax. ‘Even as his mouth was crying his father’s name, it vanished into the dark blue sea, the Icarian Sea, called after him.’

Succour 11 – Call for Submissions

As I’ve said before, the guidelines for Succour 11 are a bit different from what has come before.

For Succour 11, our Spring/Summer 2010 issue, we would like to invite submissions which pertain not to a theme, as has hitherto been the case, but which adhere to a pair of conditions.

Condition 1: All submissions should be written on Saturday February 6th, 2010.

Condition 2: What you write should not be an attempt to execute an idea – for a story, for a poem, etc – that has previously occurred to you. Rather, we would prefer you to write whatever happens to come into your head at that particular time.

The idea for this issue was inspired by 20 Lines a Day by Harry Mathews, in which the author sets out to follow a rule Stendhal once set himself, to write ‘Twenty lines a day, genius or not’. Mathews undertakes this project in an attempt to overcome ‘the anxiety of the blank page’; it becomes part of his writing practice, his way of starting off, getting in the zone, before going on to whatever his main writing project may be. We would like submissions to February 6th, 2010 to be written in the same spirit.

We will be accepting submissions to February 6th, 2010 from Saturday February 6th 2010 until Monday February 8th 2010 – thereby allowing a couple of days for typing up etc.

Maximum word count: 400

Send all work to: submissions@succour.org

Contact Details
Anthony Banks
Editor
anthonybanks@succour.org

Max Dunbar
Regional Editor Manchester
maxdunbar@succour.org

Luke Kennard
Regional Editor Birmingham
lukekennard@succour.org

Christodoulos Makris
Regional Editor Dublin
succourdublin@gmail.com

Shaun Morrison/picturesandwriting.com
Website Design
shaun@picturesandwriting.com

Chloe Briggs
Art Editor
chloebriggs@succour.org

There may be also be a Succour Manchester night coming up at the end of the month – you will know the details when I do.

Succour Banal

This is out now, and should soon be in the shops:

The Autumn/Winter 2009/10 issue is a collection of work that takes the everyday, the ordinary, the unlauded, the daily grind or even the outright boring and, in the modernist tradition, turns it into the subject of compelling literature and art.

Featured writers and artists are:

Prose: Duncan Brett, Kevin Brown, Gary Cansell, Abi Curtis, Cassandra Moss and Mark Staniforth

Poetry: Judy Brown, Isobel Dixon, Melissa Lee-Houghton, Christodoulos Makris, Shaunagh Darling Robertson, Ben Rogers, Lee Rourke, Maurice Scully, Cherry Smyth and Grace Wells

Prose poems: Annie Clarkson and John Clegg

 Artwork: Derek Ogbourne and Martin Skauen

The guidelines for Succour 11 are, erm, a bit different:

For Succour 11, our Spring/Summer 2010 issue, we would like to invite submissions which pertain not to a theme, as has hitherto been the case, but which adhere to a pair of conditions.

Condition 1: All submissions should be written on Saturday February 6th, 2010.

Condition 2: What you write should not be an attempt to execute an idea – for a story, for a poem, etc – that has previously occurred to you. Rather, we would prefer you to write whatever happens to come into your head at that particular time.

The idea for this issue was inspired by 20 Lines a Day by Harry Mathews, in which the author sets out to follow a rule Stendhal once set himself, to write ‘Twenty lines a day, genius or not’. Mathews undertakes this project in an attempt to overcome ‘the anxiety of the blank page’; it becomes part of his writing practice, his way of starting off, getting in the zone, before going on to whatever his main writing project may be. We would like submissions to February 6th, 2010 to be written in the same spirit.

We will be accepting submissions to February 6th, 2010 from Saturday February 6th 2010 until Monday February 8th 2010 – thereby allowing a couple of days for typing up etc.

Maximum word count: 400

Send all work to: submissions@succour.org

Contact Details
Anthony Banks
Editor
anthonybanks@succour.org

Max Dunbar
Regional Editor Manchester
maxdunbar@succour.org

Luke Kennard
Regional Editor Birmingham
lukekennard@succour.org

Christodoulos Makris
Regional Editor Dublin
succourdublin@gmail.com

Shaun Morrison/picturesandwriting.com
Website Design
shaun@picturesandwriting.com

Chloe Briggs
Art Editor
chloebriggs@succour.org

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Succour Banal: Five Days and Counting…

There are now only five days to get your subs in for Succour 10: ‘The Banal’. Here are the guidelines one more time.

For this issue, we’re interested in work that takes the everyday or the commonplace as its subject, considers the nature of boredom, or indeed that questions what we think of as banal. You may also like to consider The Banal as a counterpart to Fantasies (the S/S 2009 issue), in that the fantastical tends to emerge from, or be contained within, the banal.

But as ever, feel free to interpret the theme in any way you like.

The deadline for submissions to The Banal is Friday 21 August.

Please send your work in Word or Rich Text format documents, with a limit of 5000 words (fiction) or 250 lines (poetry). We do not accept submissions by post. We do not offer payment for contributions that come through open submissions, but all contributors will receive two complimentary copies of the journal in which their work is printed, and an invitation to read at one of the Succour Salons which accompany the launch of each issue.

The editors will do their best to acknowledge any submissions within two weeks, and to give a final decision within five weeks of the submission deadline.

Please do not submit work that has been published elsewhere (including online) or that is under consideration by other journals.

And finally… please put the word ‘submission’ and the title of the issue to which you are submitting (ie ‘The Banal’) somewhere in the subject field of your submission email.

The editors welcome comment and questions on any subject.

Send all work to: submissions@succour.org.

… and Manchester contributors can send to me at max.dunbar@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who came to read, talk and drink at the launch nights in London and Manchester.

Succour Banal – One Month and Counting…

Don’t forget there’s now only one calendar month to get your subs in for Succour 10: ‘The Banal’. From the ME:

For this issue, we’re interested in work that takes the everyday or the commonplace as its subject, considers the nature of boredom, or indeed that questions what we think of as banal. You may also like to consider The Banal as a counterpart to Fantasies (the S/S 2009 issue), in that the fantastical tends to emerge from, or be contained within, the banal.

But as ever, feel free to interpret the theme in any way you like.

The deadline for submissions to The Banal is Friday 21 August.

Please send your work in Word or Rich Text format documents, with a limit of 5000 words (fiction) or 250 lines (poetry). We do not accept submissions by post. We do not offer payment for contributions that come through open submissions, but all contributors will receive two complimentary copies of the journal in which their work is printed, and an invitation to read at one of the Succour Salons which accompany the launch of each issue.

The editors will do their best to acknowledge any submissions within two weeks, and to give a final decision within five weeks of the submission deadline.

Please do not submit work that has been published elsewhere (including online) or that is under consideration by other journals.

And finally… please put the word ‘submission’ and the title of the issue to which you are submitting (ie ‘The Banal’) somewhere in the subject field of your submission email.

The editors welcome comment and questions on any subject.

Send all work to: submissions@succour.org.

… or to me at max.dunbar@gmail.com.

And don’t forget the Manchester launch in ten days.

Succour Manchester Launch

The launch of Succour 9, Fantasies, will take place at Manchester’s Briton’s Protection on Friday July 31, kicking off at 8pm. Come down for drinks and words from Jonathan Hamnett, Laura Joyce, Annie Clarkson and Melissa Lee. All welcome and more info to come on the London launch.

‘Fantasies’ is out now and available in chain and independent shops. From the site:

Succour 9 is an astonishing collection of new work from some of today’s most exciting writers and artists, who present diverse interpretations of the theme, Fantasies.

The issue features: fiction by Royal Alvis, Anthony Banks, Kate Lermitte Campbell, Jonathan Hamnett, Nick Hunt, Laura Joyce, Joel Lane, Gregory Norminton and Ray Robinson; poetry by Arlene Ang, Ben Brooks, Orfhlaith Foyle, Joshua Jones, Rob A. Mackenzie and Robert Selby; artwork by Daniel Arsham and Eline McGeorge.

We’re also looking for submissions for Succour 10, The Banal:

For this issue, we’re interested in work that takes the everyday or the commonplace as its subject, considers the nature of boredom, or indeed that questions what we think of as banal. You may also like to consider The Banal as a counterpart to Fantasies (the S/S 2009 issue), in that the fantastical tends to emerge from, or be contained within, the banal.

But as ever, feel free to interpret the theme in any way you like.

5000 words/250 lines by August 21.

Succour Fantasies

This is out now, and should also be in the shops:

Succour 9 is an astonishing collection of new work from some of today’s most exciting writers and artists, who present diverse interpretations of the theme, Fantasies.

The issue features: fiction by Royal Alvis, Anthony Banks, Kate Lermitte Campbell, Jonathan Hamnett, Nick Hunt, Laura Joyce, Joel Lane, Gregory Norminton and Ray Robinson; poetry by Arlene Ang, Ben Brooks, Orfhlaith Foyle, Joshua Jones, Rob A. Mackenzie and Robert Selby; artwork by Daniel Arsham and Eline McGeorge.

The launches for this are:

London – The Betsey Trotwood, Clerkenwell, Thursday July 30

Manchester – The Briton’s Protection, Castlefield, Friday July 31

More details on these to follow.

You can also submit to issue 10, which is going to be called ‘The Banal’:

For this issue, we’re interested in work that takes the everyday or the commonplace as its subject, considers the nature of boredom, or indeed that questions what we think of as banal. You may also like to consider The Banal as a counterpart to Fantasies (the S/S 2009 issue), in that the fantastical tends to emerge from, or be contained within, the banal.

But as ever, feel free to interpret the theme in any way you like.

The deadline for submissions to The Banal is Friday 21 August.

Please send your work in Word or Rich Text format documents, with a limit of 5000 words (fiction) or 250 lines (poetry). We do not accept submissions by post. We do not offer payment for contributions that come through open submissions, but all contributors will receive two complimentary copies of the journal in which their work is printed, and an invitation to read at one of the Succour Salons which accompany the launch of each issue.

The editors will do their best to acknowledge any submissions within two weeks, and to give a final decision within five weeks of the submission deadline.

Please do not submit work that has been published elsewhere (including online) or that is under consideration by other journals.

And finally… please put the word ‘submission’ and the title of the issue to which you are submitting (ie ‘The Banal’) somewhere in the subject field of your submission email.

The editors welcome comment and questions on any subject.

Send all work to: submissions@succour.org

Contact Details
Anthony Banks
Editor
anthonybanks@succour.org

Max Dunbar
Regional Editor Manchester
maxdunbar@succour.org

Luke Kennard
Regional Editor Birmingham
lukekennard@succour.org

Christodoulos Makris
Regional Editor Dublin
succourdublin@gmail.com

Shaun Morrison/ picturesandwriting.com
Website Design
shaun@picturesandwriting.com

Chloe Briggs
Art Editor
chloebriggs@succour.org

Succour Fantasies: Just One Calendar Month…

…before the deadline whooshes over your head.
 
A reminder of the details:

The theme for issue 9 of Succour will be Fantasies. The deadline for submissions is Friday 20 February 2009, and the issue will be out on 1 May 2009.

There are two main areas we’re interested in exploring with this theme. The first is the importance of the fantasy or the reverie to the creative process, and the ways in which such fantasies can be expressed in literature and art. The second is the distinction between what is called ‘fantasy’ and what is called ‘literary’ writing, and how this distinction can be played with or proved illusory (as in, for example, the work of Borges, Casares, Ballard, Poe and many others). Long time Succour-watchers will recognise that this is a long-running interest of the journal, having been raised in issue 3, ‘Radio Eye’, and issue 6, ‘The Future’.

But, as ever, the theme is open to limitless interpretation and we’re looking forward to seeing how you might respond.
 
Please send your work in Word or Rich Text format documents, with a limit of 5000 words (fiction) or 250 lines (poetry). We do not accept submissions by post. We do not offer payment for contributions that come through open submissions, but all contributors will receive two complimentary copies of the journal in which their work is printed, and an invitation to read at one of the Succour Salons which accompany the launch of each issue.

The editors will do their best to acknowledge any submissions within two weeks, and to give a final decision within five weeks of the submission deadline.

And finally… please put the word ‘submission’ and the title of the issue to which you are submitting (ie ‘Fantasies’) somewhere in the subject field of your submission email.

The editors welcome comment and questions on any subject.

Send all work to submissions@succour.org or to max.dunbar@gmail.com.

‘Granta for the Facebook generation’

Succour magazine has received a generous write-up in Time Out.

The article, ‘High Art and Low Life in the Capital Since 1968,’ is not online but such is my vanity that I am just going to copy out the relevant text.

Newer and with only a slightly narrower focus (it doesn’t publish reviews) Succour is a twice-yearly magazine published in London. Regional editors based in Manchester, Exeter, Brighton and Dublin attract contributors from outside the M25. The magazine features a mixture of new writers and more established authors contributing short stories, poetry and art. Themed issues, clean design and overall quality suggest a Granta for the Facebook generation. The ‘Animals’ issue, for instance, provides a home for everything from humble mutts to ‘the Kraken’, via hares, moths, pigs, a black tiger and flocks of birds.

Succour Icons

…is out now.

Also, don’t forget our launch nights and, if you’re a writer or poet, the chance to submit to Succour Fantasies.