editor’s note
I can remember when the tiny journal was just an embryo, nothing more than a few cells of an idea that had no website, no mission, no physical form: an invertebrate. Miraculously, it grew legs and arms and a brain. It crawled and then it walked and then it ran. It made its first metaphor. It was attention seeking and demanding. It went through a rebellious teenage phase that tested my patience and made me think about giving up on it. But of course, I couldn’t give up on something that I loved so much.
I never understood why parents, especially my own, had such a hard time letting their children go out into the world. But after raising the tiny journal, I understand now how hard it is to watch something you’ve grown, and in every way something that’s part of you, now have to leave the safety of your home and begin the rest of its life.
When I founded the tiny journal in July 2018, I hoped to receive twenty submissions. I thought that number might be a reach, given how many literary magazines exist in the world and given how many other journals writers have to choose from.
But I was so delightfully surprised to receive almost 600 submissions from writers across the world, from Manila, Philippines to Resume Speed, Kansas. We read every submission we received, and the amount of talent, perseverance, and courage was truly humbling. I’ll forever be grateful to the writers of this first submission pool who took a chance to send their work out into the universe. You are the heart and soul of the tiny journal.
The first issue of the tiny journal tackles the big questions. It grapples with loss and grief and love and disappointment. The writers in this issue spare nothing in their efforts to communicate what makes the human condition so profound.
Although the tiny journal is still in its infancy, I know, with support from writers and readers like you, it will have a long life ahead of it. A good life ahead of it. Which is the only thing every parent can wish for their creation.
Special thanks to my incredible staff/fellow caretakers of the tiny journal.
Sincerely,
Caylee Weintraub
Founder & Editor in Chief