The Book & Bottle Shop, a bookstore and wine bar in Hopkinsville, Ky., has launched a literary magazine called By the Glass, Christian County Now reported.
Rachel Sanders, owner of the Book & Bottle Shop and editor in chief of By the Glass, said the magazine grew out of the store's Draft & Drink Writers Group and will focus on writers in western Kentucky.
"When we began meeting regularly with our writers' group at the shop, one of the main goals voiced was to increase access to publishing avenues and opportunities for group members to share their work," Sanders explained. "We quickly came to the concept of creating our own literary magazine to act as a bridge for local writers and authors to access publication. The vision naturally grew to encompass a wider regional need."
The magazine's first issue will be released in the spring in both print and digital formats. There is no theme for the first issue, and fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are all accepted. Submissions are open and will remain so until April 1. One of the few requirements is that the person submitting work be connected to the region.
Noting that there are numerous literary journals and magazines in Kentucky already, Sanders told Christian County Now she does not want "to duplicate or encroach on the existing publications, but instead to create a supplementation and expansion specific to our region of the state."