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Rejections

Rejection 369 & Story Published

Jac Jemc

Every day a step closer to suffocating a whale.

I received a very kind rejection for the reprint of a piece in an anthology to which I'd been invited to submit. They'd decided to take the anthology in a different direction which my piece didn't quite fit into. That seems like a particularly soft way to turn me down, and I appreciated it. 

I also have a new story called "Truth and Rules" up in the magazine Lost Balloon today. Thanks to Chelsea Voulgares for having me!

Rejection 367 and Residency Acceptance

Jac Jemc

This is where you'll be able to find me in June and July. 

This is where you'll be able to find me in June and July. 

 

The Laurel Review let me know they don't want the long story I sent them, which is too bad, BUT I was accepted to a 6-week residency at the Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany, so I have zero complaints. I'll be there with two visual artists and a composer, and I'll be within a few hours of the castles I want to research for the new novel. Great luck all around!

Rejection 366 and Story in StoryQuarterly!

Jac Jemc

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Thanks to Fifth Wednesday for reading and considering my big long story, even if it wasn't a fit. 

And even bigger thanks to StoryQuarterly for including my story that's an ode to Shirley Jackson's style, "Half Dollar," alongside work by so many people I admire, including, but not limited to Wendy Ortiz, Claire Vaye Watkins, Alix Ohlin and Stephen Dixon. Such an honor. All gratitude to Paul Lisicky. Order your copy here!

Rejection 365

Jac Jemc

Alaska Quarterly Review turned down the paper submission of a story I sent them. 

Jeff VanderMeer, author of the Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance), Borne and City of Saints & Madmen had really kind words to say about The Grip of It though!

"The Grip of It is a stunning, smart, genuinely creepy page-turner that I couldn't put down. It's got depth, thrills, twists, and great writing. I'd recommend this novel to anyone. One of the few haunted house stories that sticks the landing."

     

Rejections 363 & 364

Jac Jemc

I google-imaged "no rules" and it autocompleted to No Rules Parmesan Pasta Outback, so this is what you get. 

I google-imaged "no rules" and it autocompleted to No Rules Parmesan Pasta Outback, so this is what you get. 

I received a rejection from New Ohio Review. 

I received a really personal, encouraging note from the Missouri Review. It was for the really long story, so this was especially affirming. 

Rejection 362

Jac Jemc

#blessed

#blessed

Bomb sent the nicest rejection, and that made my morning. 

The Grip of It also received its first blurb!

"I mean this in the best possible way: Jac Jemc gives me the creeps. The Grip of It deserves a spot on the shelf beside Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, and Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves -- not only because it is a masterful haunted house story, but because it, like its literary predecessors, is elegantly written, psychologically rich, and damn terrifying."

                   -- Benjamin Percy, author of The Dark Net, The Dead Lands, Thrill Me and Red Moon 

It also got a nice call out in Nylon Magazine, which I'm supremely grateful for: http://www.nylon.com/articles/best-new-books-2017. 

2017: Going fine despite all evidence to the contrary. 

Rejection 361

Jac Jemc

Washington Square Review declined the story I sent them. Their form letter is very kindly worded. 

I've been reading Best American Short Stories 2016 and I think I'd tuned out of what kind of stories get that kind of recognition for a while. It's helpful to think in those terms again, and to decide if that's something I'm interested in/capable of pursuing. The stories feel very different from what I write and that seems fine. Diaz's picks are pretty spectacular. 

Rejection 360

Jac Jemc

My sister made me this! She's a treasure. 

My sister made me this! She's a treasure. 

Thankful that that Tupelo Quarterly remains interested, but the last story I sent them still isn't the right one sadly.  Merriest!

Residency Rejection and Rejection 359

Jac Jemc

One of these is a Halloween costume. 

One of these is a Halloween costume. 

The Women's International Study Center sadly declined me for a residency. 

Conjunctions said no to an excerpt of The Grip of It I tried to turn into a fragmented story to fit their theme. Paper rejections are somehow always a leeeetle more disappointing to me, but that's countered by the fact that I love to get mail, so.