As we wind down from The Open Arms Zine Live Launch at the June Bookie and start reeling up to the next, we’re catching up with our amazing readers. Interviewed before her reading, we chat with Pauline Holmes about her Zine journey and how it led her to the Live Launch.
How did you find out about The Open Arms?
It was on the internet, the old Facebook.
Why did you submit your piece?
In actual fact, I was doing a workshop with Connor Sansby about promoting yourself and submitting articles and stuff to various magazines. We were going through a list of things that were going on, and of course, you were doing the submissions for the Bookie Zine, so I thought ‘right, well that’s on my doorstep, I really be trying to get something in there’. So, I sent in a poem, and they said that they’d like to publish it, which is lovely.
What does your piece being in the Zine mean to you?
It’s really lovely to write a piece of work that I enjoy, and then hand over my baby to somebody else and discover that they enjoy it too. So, that for me is clarification that what I’m writing pleases, not just me, but other people too.
How was your Zine experience?
Oh, it’s been fabulous. I’ve had a great time this afternoon already, meeting up with everybody else. We got a copy of the Zine, and a little goody bag, and a pint glass as well. And these were sort of unexpected bonuses, which has been absolutely lovely. It’s been great fun.
Would you submit again?
Oh definitely. Most definitely. And I would advise anybody else out there that does a bit of writing to put something together and send it in. And you never know, you might get into print too.
Check out Pauline’s amazing piece in The Open Arms, and check out her reading at the Live Launch here.