John Patrick McHugh and Marie Gethins join Banshee masthead for issue #17
We’re delighted to welcome some new additions to the Banshee masthead! Acclaimed writer John Patrick McHugh is no stranger to the journal, having guest-edited issue #12 and worked since then as a consulting editor. As of issue #17 (spring/summer 2024), however, we are delighted to say that he will be our Fiction Editor going forward.
John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His work has appeared in The Stinging Fly, The Tangerine, Granta, and Winter Papers. His debut collection of short stories, Pure Gold, is published by 4th Estate. He says:
I’m thrilled to be appointed as Fiction Editor for Banshee. I have long been a reader of the magazine, and reader for the magazine, and have always been impressed by the quality that has been published and equally the quality of the submission it receives, and so to be asked to take over is an honour and privilege. As an editor, I have a simple aim: I want to support and encourage writers and – in whatever small way I can – help their work grow and grow and grow. I have broad if basic taste: whatever you think is your best story, your most energetic piece of short fiction, is what I’m hungry to read. I’m really looking forward to reading and working with the many great writers out there in the months and issues to come.
In further good news, award-winning writer Marie Gethins is joining us for issue #17 to guest-edit the flash fiction. We have been lucky to publish Marie’s flash fiction and non-fiction several times in the journal, and are delighted that she will be joining us as Flash Fiction Editor for issue #17.
Marie Gethins’ work appears or is forthcoming in Winter Papers, Australian Book Review, Reed, The London Magazine, Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology, The Lonely Crowd, NFFD Anthologies, Fictive Dream, Pure Slush, Bath Flash Fiction Anthologies, FlashBack Fiction, Jellyfish Review, Litro and many others. Marie is a recipient of a Frank O’Connor Bursary, a residency at Banff Center for Arts and Creativity and a Hawthornden Fellowship. She edits for flash ezine Splonk, critiques for Oxford Flash Fiction Prize, and lives in Cork. She says:
I really respect the craft that goes into a great piece of flash. The most distilled form of prose, it is quite flexible and lends itself to experimentation. It’s an interactive experience between writer and reader with deeper meaning implied through structure, purposeful gaps, metaphor, and highly specific (often surprising) word choice. There’s an echo that lingers and more to mine with each subsequent reading. Unlike prose poetry, there’s a definite storyline, with every word contributing to the whole – from title to the last image. I want to be left breathless!
Submissions for issue #17 are now open, from 1–31 October 2023. Check out our submission guidelines here!
