It’s a bunch of itemized updates today, friends. In my own writing news: The Sycamore Review asked me to judge the fiction finalists for their Wabash Prize, which just closed submissions. Their editors will give me a shortlist to arbitrate on later this fall. This was an interesting and, frankly, flattering thing to be approached for, but I wasn’t without my reservations. When they first reached out to me, I asked them if they would reconsider their use of submission fees. I’m against paying to sub in general, but I also told them that I would not be able to afford the original $20 paid entry if I were on the other side of this contest. We had a refreshingly productive conversation about literary finances, and they decided to switch to a sliding scale inclusive of full waivers. I do understand that a lot of very nice people come into management of magazines and journals that rely on fundamentally flawed funding systems, and sometimes options are limited especially with a volunteer staff, but I hope to see more publications try and square this circle.