Five questions with five Shimmer staffers this time around. Victims Participants this time include: Beth Wodzinski, Sean Markey, Grá Linnaea, Sophie Wereley, and Keffy Kehrli.

What kind of story do you not see nearly enough?

BW: Well, I’ve never seen a good Adam and Eve or Hell is a Bureaucracy or Cat Narrator story.  But if I say that, then we’ll be inundated with not-very-good ones, and the Shimmer slush readers will rise up in revolt. We’re always happy to read stories from outside the United States, stories that draw from sources other the usual American and European sources, and stories with GLBT elements. And I personally would love a fabulous Joan of Arc story.

KK: Truly weird shit. I’m not talking about the sorts of stuff you think up when you’re four drinks into the evening and giggling with your writer friends, either. I’m talking about the kinds of stories that make me feel like I’ve been listening to Radiohead’s Kid A on repeat, so reality’s slightly sideways and I can’t quite be sure how to tilt it back the right way again. I’m also a sucker for voice and distinctive vernacular when it’s done well. A good example would be Shweta Narayan’s “One For Sorrow” in Issue 10.

SM: Stories that trust the reader to understand what’s going on without the author bashing the idea into our heads over and over again.

SW: It would also be cool if we could get more stories that featured minorities as main characters! Not only racial minorities. I’d love to see more LBGTQ characters. And characters that don’t necessarily identify as “American.” Stories set in other places, like Sri Lanka. Or Brazil. You know, wherever.

GL: Really solid character pieces. Something weird, something with a plot, but with people who read as real and unique who touch us in some way.

Next time: Inspirations