2 Things

~My copy of Monkeybicycle #6 arrived this weekend. You may recall that "My Dinner with Lydia Davis" contest winner Meg Pokrass, whom discriminating readers of internet lit recognize as "the only firecracker worth driving across state lines to purchase," chose a subscription to Monkeybicycle as her contest prize, and that I promised to read Monkeybicycle #6 cover-to-cover and blog about its contents, and hopefully provide additional Monkeybicycle-centric content (ie writer inteviews, etc.) ....now that my copy has arrived, we can finally get cracking. Stay tuned!

~Glimmer Train announced a very odd new submissions category. I'm not sure what to make of it-

New category: Best Start

Best Start is meant to encourage new writers. This category is different from our others in that the piece should be an engaging and coherent narrative, but it does not need to be a complete story; it just needs to be an important part of a story in progress.

...these are a few of the basics: Open to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 3,000. Word count must not exceed 1,000. The best 50 pieces will each win $50 and make Glimmer Train’s Best Start list, which will be announced our September bulletin. Competition closes on June 30. We want to see a slice of a story you’re excited about tackling!

...The email did not include any further explanation behind the thinking that went into the formation of this oddball category (maybe the website guidelines do -- I probably should've checked before blogging about it). I'm not necessarily criticizing this, just trying to understand their thinking - since none of these stories will be complete stories, and none will be published in the magazine, it seems fairly clear they're setting themselves up as arbiters of potential and saying, 'new writers, send us your half-finished stuff and we will tell you whether it has merit according to Glimmer Train.' Kinda weird. Thoughts?