Originally published Here in Summer, 2010, I decided to reprint with a few updated revisions about our guidelines.
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Southern is a state of mind. Southerners are extremely stubborn in their right to be Southern and darn proud of that ancestry. We dig in deep and refuse to give in to adversity. This shows in the writing. So much Southern writing involves dealing with the bad hand that life has given you. Taking what little you have and if not rising above it, learning to come to terms with what you do have. Southern writing shows determination, stoicism, darkness, not so much bravery as tackling the problem because there’s no other choice. I do feel that the majority of Southern writing is dark. Southerners celebrate the angst and adversity they have to deal with on a daily basis. An unfortunate offshoot to that, while realistic, is that Southern writing has jumped into child abuse. Many of the newer stories out there involve abused, poor Southern children who’s every day deals with simply surviving. It seems to be a new modern theme. Romance has vampires, Southern books have child abuse.Of course, race relations will always have its place in Southern literature, as will eccentricity. We love our Southern eccentrics.
What I do enjoy these days is the flash fiction and longer stories the Dew receives. Many of these are lighter in nature than the books on the market – heartwarming memories of “better, younger days”, darkly amusing tales of getting one over on someone else, tales of ancestors. These stories hold more humor than the books. There are certainly the dark tales also, murder, death by natural incidents, failing health, but many short story writers seem to have wonderful condensed tales that leaving you with a warm feeling.
I feel the Dew is very lucky in that it draws from all of these different types of writers and gives us a nice wide range of emotions to experience.
We’re pretty loose about what our requirements are. But basically, if the story is Southern in nature or written by a Southerner, we consider it. I have a great story going up in July written by someone in Northern England, but it’s most definitely a Southern story.
The Dew is Southern to the core. We don’t publish editorials or anything heavy on vulgarity, violence, religion or politics. We try to maintain a happy, thoughtful place in the webosphere.
The Dew has been up and running since 2005 and I am so pleased with the amount of support it has received from the community, writers, publishers, and visitors.
The Dew publishes stories, flash fiction, memories and even the occasional photograph. If it’s flowing from your mind to your pen, we would like to see it. Anything from 750 words to 4,000 – though I have taken a few much larger stories in recent times.
Take a few minutes and browse through our pages. I think you’ll like what you find.
If you would like to submit an article, story, or book review, please contact me at dewonthekudzu@gmail.com. We don’t pay, but we will certainly make sure all of your information and accomplishments are shared! We also never “own” your submission – you may share it with as many others as you wish.