Two years after The Ogilvie first launched, Angela Clem, Angela Hicks, and Calder Hudson–the review’s founders–discuss their plans for the future (namely, Year #3).
The opinions expressed in this piece are those of the authors (though in this case, the authors are coincidentally The Ogilvie’s entire staff).
Discussion: The Ogilvie Turns Two
AH: So this month is the second anniversary of The Ogilvie–the Ogilversary, as Calder likes to call it. And in the UK at least, the second anniversary is traditionally paper, which feels appropriate for a literary magazine, even if we are completely digital.
AC: It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been two years. Time flies and all that. We’ve published so many phenomenal authors so far! I’m particularly excited by how we have returning contributors published alongside new names. It has been great to see The Ogilvie expand into what it is today, and I think we all have a lot of excitement for what’s to come.
CH: Yeah, I’m pretty stoked for what’s in store this year. I’ll be focusing on the Insight section in particular. I’m really proud of how it grew last year and the spread of interviews and personal essays we’ve taken on, and I have more interviews lined up this year to continue that trend. There’s a lot to talk about–here in Edinburgh and beyond–and I’m looking forward to getting all the takes.
AC: Right. Obviously we’ll still be taking Fiction and Poetry submissions, but what we noticed over the past two years is how many good stories can be found behind the authors themselves. Interviewing up-and-coming folks in the industry can offer our readers brand new perspectives. We do have a few specific interviews in mind to start with, but we’re also looking forward to expanding our network and engaging a wider audience.
CH: There are some really exciting developments happening all around Edinburgh as well this year. One particular highlight for me is the arrival of Cymera, a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror festival slated to take place at the Pleasance in early June. It’ll contain lots of author appearances, a Creator’s Hall, and even a bespoke fiction competition. Really looking forward to that–all the coverage I’ve seen so far is top-notch.
AC: How about you, Ange? Any other new plans or announcements for this year?
AH: Well, for our monthly round-ups of 2018, I took photo black-and-white photos of the Ogilvie park. This year I’m thinking about moving into colour photos, or at least sepia ones.
CH: The park always does look good in full technicolour, despite Edinburgh’s best attempts to render itself monochromatic due to cloud cover.
AH: And in other plans, I hope to do a lot of reading in 2019. I’m still making my way through The Goldfinch, which is a great book, but very long. Once I finish, I intend to read a lot of short fiction. And I’m hoping to do some more of my own writing.
AC: I’m hoping this year will allow me to rediscover reading “for fun”. After moving for work late last year and as the American political climate continues to deteriorate, I’m looking towards reading and self-education as a way to combat the ignorance and fatalism around me. I’ll always leave room for fiction, of course, but I’m tackling a long list of public policy and history reads, mostly from the independent socialist publisher Haymarket Books. I just finished two of their published poetry collections: Schtick by Kevin Coval and Citizen Illegal by José Olivarez.
CH: One particular book I’m super keen on that’s coming out this year–I’m pretty sure it’s actually already out on Audible–is Do You Dream of Terra Two?. I read some of the early drafts of this book during my MSc, so it’ll be amazing to see the finished version, and to talk with its author, Temi Oh, in our first interview of the year. It’s a joy to be buddies with creators you like; you can inundate them with rabid fan questions!
AH: Here’s to 2019–the year we bombard every writer we know with requests for interviews!
CH: Hype!
Angela C., Angela H., and Calder can be contacted via their respective Twitter accounts.