M. Brianna Stallings | Managing Editor, Nonfiction Editor
mbriannastallings.contently.com
M. Brianna Stallings is a writer and editor, though she prefers the title “Professional Word Wrangler.” She has almost 20 years of experience in the newspaper industry. Her journalistic works have appeared in Bitch, Equality for Her, SheShreds, and YourTango, among other places. Her creative works have appeared in Conceptions Southwest, Ephemeral Artery: A Hunger Mountain Companion, La Palabra: The Word is a Woman, Leonardo, Scribendi, Things in Light, and Trailhead. She recently served as Guest Editor for the travel anthology, The Best of Wanderlust 2019. Stallings earned her MFA in Writing & Publishing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Austin, TX with her wife.
Whachya been reading/watching/enjoying lately?
New Priests album, The Seduction of Kansas. Watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine & loving it. Now reading The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang.
What do you look for in a strong submission?
(Com)passion. Unique metaphors that make me say, “Wow! Wish I’d thought of that.” Humor. Brutal honesty. The idiosyncratic blossoming into the universal. Vulnerability.
What do you love about rural creative communities?
How close-knit they are.
What’s something you wish you could change about/for rural creative communities?
Sociocultural perceptions. A greater sense of safety of the marginalized &/or disenfranchised. Celebration of new talent & ideas.
What are your current obsessions?
Cross stitch. MST3K. Park walks. Seeing how close a squirrel will get to me out of curiosity. Mango with chamoy. Finishing my memoir, starting another one, and launching a writing consultancy business.
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