Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Frank Vorassi from Manchester, UK, editor of the literary journal Bottom of the World.

BD: "First, could you give a little background on yourself, and what it is you do?"

FV: "Well, I'm a writer of both prose and poetry myself, and have been writing for over 10 years, since I was in my teens, and then through a Creative Writing university course -- writing is, pretty much, my life, and I like to steep myself in it as much as possible. I've enjoyed some small success, so I felt it was time to try and 'give a little back'. With that in mind I started up a literary journal in order to try and make other writers' work available to a wider audience. It's a tough product to sell, really, but hopefully with the broad spread of different publications out there, it's making a difference to at least some writers, especially those who are just starting out."

BD: "Could you give a description of your journal? (title, general subject, expected audience, etc...)"

FV: "Certainly. The journal is called Bottom Of The World (I stole the name from the title of a Tom Waits song). It deals in all kinds of literature at the moment, though as it picks up a little more recognition I'd like to take it in a more experimental direction, I think. As to audience, as with any literary journal, especially a new one, your audience is primarily the writers involved, and their friends and relatives. It's a sad fact, but it is hard to sell 'unknown' writers' work to, shall we say, strangers. That said, through close links with the local literature scene where I'm based, and through literature communities online, we have managed to interest other people in the work. The next, dare I say impossible, step, is to get people with only a passing interest involved!"

BD: "What would you say is the thing you most enjoy about doing this?"

FV: "There's a lot to enjoy really. For a start, I get to read a great deal of very accomplished poetry and prose from writers I might not otherwise have come across, which is great. Selecting pieces to go into the journal and putting the whole thing together gives you that pleasure that comes from completing any project, and of course when you then see that project selling, it really does make you feel proud. I think the thing I enjoy the most though is getting feedback from writers who've been put in the journal. We get quite a few emails from people saying how pleased they are, how we've made their day and so forth, and one or two of them keep in contact beyond that, which adds a whole other personal dimension to things. It makes it feel like we're dealing with real people, which, with a primarily online business like this, is sometimes easy to forget."

BD: "Is there anything you would consider a negative side to publishing this journal, and if so what would it be?"

FV: "Absolutely, it's not without its downsides! For a start, making money from the venture is extremely difficult. In fact we're lucky to break even on an issue. Luckily, the printers we use work on a print-on-demand basis, meaning even if in fifty years someone wants an issue, it'll be there, and we'll make money off it, but it's not as if we can give up our regular jobs! It is also quite time-consuming -- you do have to read through a lot of submissions (most of which are great, but some of which...well...), and sadly you have to turn down a lot of good stuff simply because there isn't the room for it. Occasionally if a piece is particularly excellent I will ask the author if we can hold onto it for a future issue, but at the very least I try and give a personal rejection response, rather than a generic one. It's especially hard to say no to somebody you know, and several writers I know personally have been rejected! As I writer submitting to magazines myself, I know how it feels to get a rejection, so it does hurt to have to do it myself."

BD: "Who or what inspired your love of literature?"

FV: "That's an interesting question really, because the writer, and indeed the reader, that I am today is nothing like the one I was when I first really got into it. I think my parents, of course, had a huge influence by encouraging reading when I was younger, and the house was always full of books, so I started to pick up quite mature stuff before I could really understand it. My original influences as a writer were comic-fantasists like Pratchett or Robert Rankin, but looking back at the stuff I produced then, it was pretty awful. University introduced me to a lot of texts I'd heard of but never read, which really got me started, and from there I developed my own real tastes. The one book that inspired where I am now is Italo Calvino's If On A Winter's Night A Traveller... It was a real shock to my senses and hugely influential in getting me to write at a time when I wasn't really doing anything. It's a brilliant book anyone interested in writing or reading should have a stab at. I still pick it up now whenever I'm having an uninspired spell."

BD: "Is there any advice you'd give to aspiring writers or editors, as an editor of a literary journal?"

FV: "Would it be too clichéd of me to say 'don't do it'? No, I'm kidding, it's a great experience both writing and editing. For writers I would say do it, a lot, and keep on doing it -- it's the only way to get better. If you decide you want to try submitting to magazines or online journals, then do it, but be prepared for rejection. It happens to everyone and is no reason to be discouraged. Some editors, but not many, will offer feedback on rejected work -- it might help to find out which publications do this for your early work. As for editors, definitely find out what exactly you're getting yourself into before you begin. It's easy enough to set up a journal, but there's a lot of background stuff going on that I'm certainly still learning myself. I'm still wondering how the bigger journals manage, to be honest. One other piece of advice is to pace yourself. Don't commit to a schedule until you know you can stick to it. Finally, be prepared to make a loss. As I said at first, it is a tough market, and difficult to reach an audience. I take my hat off to anyone who succeeds to anything more than a minor level."

BD: "I'm really tempted to ask if it would be too much to ask of you to write your next answer in haiku form."

FV: "I'll give it a shot!"

BD: "What would you say is the main thing you've learned while publishing Bottom Of The World?"

FV:
"Talent's everywhere;
Expect the unexpected,
Nature is awesome."

BD: "If you could pick one thing in particular you'd like to see come from it, what would it be?"

FV: "Hmm...I suppose I would love to see someone who was first published in the journal go on to bigger and better things. That would be a real kick. I know for a fact we've inspired the start of a couple of small online journals, which is great. I would also really like to see it give my own career a boost -- one of the futures I'd like to follow involves publishing, and another involves teaching writing, and I'm pretty sure it couldn't hurt with either of them. For the time being though, I'm more than happy for things to carry on as they are doing, and just see where it takes us. As I say, I've met a lot of interesting people through doing this, and I can't wait to see who's next."

BD: "Thank you very much for your time, it was quite interesting to have interviewed you."

FV: "Thank you too, I've enjoyed it very much."




Frank's deviantART page: ~fm-vorassi
Bottom of the World homepage: [link]