Cotton Xenomorph<\/a>, the literary magazine I read fiction submissions for, turned five years old this week. <\/p> I\u2019ve been on staff since August, so not<\/em> a long time. But joining CX has contributed to some of the most productive and fun writing months of my life. I\u2019ve been lucky to count Chloe, Teo, and Hannah as friends for a few years now, and they\u2019ve been (unwittingly) a huge part of getting me back into the writing life and the literary world. Part of the reason I wanted to start The Line Break<\/a> with Bob was to make more writer friends, whether through listener connections and just by virtue of Bob and I introducing each other to new authors. <\/p> In undergrad, I was super prolific at writing. I was in poetry and fiction workshops from sophomore year on, and even did some schedule trickery so I could take extra workshops my senior year. Afterwards, I got hit with that post-grad malaise <\/a>Kicking and Screaming <\/a><\/em>was about<\/a>. I wasn\u2019t writing for a long time. There were a lot of reasons and it\u2019s a column for another day, but bottom line, I wasn\u2019t writing. Starting The Line Break, getting to know the CX folks, not to mention plenty of therapy and very supportive wife\u2014I\u2019m in a much better spot now. The homies at CX have been a big part of that, and I\u2019m grateful that space and those writers exist. <\/p> On top of all that, the job rules! Getting to know Emily, Erin, and Kanika the last few months as been great. Every submission I\u2019ve read so far has been great, and I actually mean that. Go read some CX!<\/p> Some (certainly not all) of the pieces that have stuck with me over the years listed below. Don\u2019t worry, they\u2019re all short:<\/p> \u201cHalfway House for Runaway Dads\u201d<\/a> by Rae Stringfield<\/p><\/li> \u201cPoem in which I Fail to Teach Homer\u201d<\/a> by Laura Passin<\/p><\/li> \u201cAn American Werewolf in London (1981)\u201d<\/a> by Justin Phillip Reed<\/p><\/li> \u201cMapmakers\u201d<\/a> by Andy Lopez (Art by Edward Lee)<\/p><\/li> \u201cThe Skull is a Woman\u201d<\/a> by Michele Finn Johnson<\/p><\/li> \u201cA GENDER REVEAL PARTY STARTS A CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE AND, A WEEK LATER, THE SMOKE FINALLY REACHES THE FOOTHILLS OF NORTHEAST OHIO ON THE DAY WE GET TO SEE THE SONOGRAM OF OUR SON FOR THE FIRST TIME\u201d<\/a> by Matt Mitchell<\/p><\/li> \u201cBlack Girl\u2019s Magic\u201d<\/a> by DeMisty D. Bellinger<\/p><\/li> \u201cGrogu Doesn\u2019t Need A Sippy Cup\u201d<\/a> by Melissa Llanes Brownlee<\/p><\/li><\/ul> And, before I started reading fiction subs for CX, they were the site of my first fiction publication. Also the proem of my WIP: <\/p> \u201cThe Wolfman\u201d<\/a> by The Jagoff Who Writes This Newsletter<\/p><\/li><\/ul> And don\u2019t miss some Line Break episodes we did. The audio of our interview with Teo got lost, but we\u2019re trying to make it up at some point: <\/p> Hannah Cohen on manuscript length, wrestling with abstractions, Tommy Wiseau, and Waffle House: Apple Podcasts<\/a> | Soundcloud<\/a><\/p><\/li> Chloe N. Clark on monsters in poetry, monsters we wouldn\u2019t mind turning into, and Rasheed Wallace Apple Podcasts<\/a> | Soundcloud<\/a><\/p><\/li><\/ul> So that\u2019s my little celebration of CX\u2014like I said, not every piece I\u2019ve loved in the magazine is here, because this blog does not need to be Moby Dick<\/em>-length. Go check out the mag, our website interface is super user friendly. Here\u2019s to another 5×50 years of Cotton Xenomorph!<\/p> Sorry you got an email, <\/p> Chris<\/p>