Former Contributors

Former Contributor Interview: Grace McNamee

Editor’s Note: our Former Contributors Interview Project showcases former contributors of Stone Soup and the wonderful things they’ve gone on to do.   Grace McNamee’s story “Pennsylvania” was published in the July/August 2007 issue of Stone Soup, and was the featured story in our Saturday Newsletter on Saturday July 13, 2019. SS: What are you doing now? GM: During the day, I’m an assistant editor at Bloomsbury Publishing. I acquire and edit a combination of literary fiction and nonfiction and also help with the list for the editorial director for fiction. It’s an amazing job. I love working closely with authors, reading books before they’re published, and being aware of upcoming trends in books. I’m also continuing to publish, recently essays in Electric Literature and Vol. 1 Brooklyn and a short story in Joyland Magazine. SS: What did Stone Soup mean to you? GM: Stone Soup was the first time someone, other than my parents, took my writing as seriously as I did. It was the encouragement I craved, and it provided me with the confidence to keep working on my fiction. I loved seeing my writing in print, and with such beautiful illustrations, and to this day, I continue to be so proud of that story and of my first ever publication. SS: Do you have any advice for the current readers, writers, and artists who contribute to Stone Soup? Keep writing! Keep reading! Keep submitting! Are you a former Stone Soup writer or artist and interested in being interviewed? We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to sarah@stonesoup.com for more information.

Stone Soup author Sabrina Guo starts PPE fundraiser for Long Island medical staff: support LILAC!

Sabrina Guo, a Syosset High School freshman from Long Island, NY–and a name that readers of Stone Soup over the past few years will recognize from her many contributions to the Magazine and blog–has risen to the challenge of COVID-19 in the Long Island community. In response to New York City Mayor De Blasio’s declaration on March 23 that hospitals would run out of personal protective equipment (PPE) in a week, she started a fundraising campaign: LILAC (Long Island Laboring Against COVID-19). This GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $7,000 (at time of writing) to support frontline medical professionals, with local news coverage published in the Syosset Jericho Tribune. Great work, Sabrina! You can find the GoFundMe campaign here; and pick up news and updates via Instagram (Is@lilacovid_19). Stone Soup is proud to support this great initiative, and we hope our readers will consider doing so, as well. And, to all our readers–what local initiatives are you involved with during this crisis? Let us know so we can stand together, offer our support, and spread the word to the rest of the Stone Soup community!

Former Contributor Interview: Abby Sewell

Editor’s Note: our Former Contributors Interview Project showcases former contributors of Stone Soup and the wonderful things they’ve gone on to do. Abby Sewell wrote “On the Headland,” from our March/April 1996 issue. SS: What are you doing now? AS: I’m a journalist, currently based in Beirut. I’m a staff reporter for The Daily Star, the primary English-language newspaper in Lebanon, and freelance for a number of international publications. I cover a variety of subjects, but I’m particularly focused on human rights issues, including the situation of Syrian refugees. I also do some volunteer work, primarily teaching English, and am part of a group called Hakaya that puts on storytelling events. SS: What did Stone Soup mean to you?  AS: From the time I was around seven years old, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Stone Soup gave me an early taste of what it would be like to be published, and of course it boosted my confidence to see my work in print. I think I also enjoyed seeing what “the competition” (aka my peers) were writing. SS: Do you have any advice for current readers, writers, and artists who contribute to Stone Soup? AS: When you’re learning a craft, whether it’s writing or art, it’s important to expose yourself to works that you can learn from and that will give you inspiration; but at the same time, to develop your own voice and your own vision. Experiment with different styles and subjects. For fiction writers, the classic advice “write what you know” still holds true, but that doesn’t mean that your characters and situations have to come directly from your life. What it does mean it that you should draw from your own experience and observations of the world as you tell your story, even if that story takes place in an imaginary world or in a setting very different from your own. Ursula Le Guin, one of my favorite novelists, called this “imagination working on observation.” Also, try to meet as many different types of people as you can and listen to their stories. And as with any skill, practice. SS: How old were you when you started writing or creating art? Do you remember what motivated you at the time? AS: Even before I could write, I used to tell stories (there’s a cassette tape somewhere with some of them on it). My parents both shared their love of books with me. Before I was old enough to read a lot of the classics myself, they used to read to me — everything from Little Women and Tom Sawyer to the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Ursula Le Guin. Naturally, I became a voracious reader myself as I grew up, and seeing the power of stories, I was inspired to tell my own. SS: Are you still writing or creating art, and have you since published works anywhere else? Please provide links, if you’d like! AS: Yes, I write for a living, although it’s a different type of writing. As a kid, I always wanted to be a novelist, but I remember at one point deciding that I should work as a journalist first to learn more about the world before trying to write fiction. And indeed, I do know more about the world now, but I haven’t yet gone back to writing fiction! But it’s certainly possible that there’s still a novel in my future. For those interested in seeing my journalistic writings, you can find some of them here. Thanks so much, Abby! If you have any questions that you’d like to ask former contributors, contact sarah@stonesoup.com and let us know!

Former Contributor Interview: Jessica Libor

Editor’s Note: our Former Contributors Interview Project showcases former contributors of Stone Soup and the wonderful things they’ve gone on to do. Jessica Libor illustrated “A Strike for the Wind,” from our March/April 2000 issue, “A Christmas Wish,” from November/December 2000, and wrote and illustrated “Seventeen Years,” from July/August 2001. SS: What are you doing now? I’m living in Philadelphia, currently working as a drawing and painting teacher at Harcum College.  I also am the founder of a pop-up gallery “Era Contemporary” and paint and create artwork!  I have a solo exhibition coming up on September 4th at the Da Vinci Art Alliance called “Nature’s Daughters.”  I love making work about nature and femininity and how they integrate.  I work in oil paints and real gold and silver leaf, and my work has a strong storytelling aspect to it! “The Butterflies,” a painting by Jessica from 2019 SS: What did Stone Soup mean to you?  JL: Stone Soup was one of my first successes as a young artist, and made me feel like I could actually take a career in art seriously!  I remember when  I had a story and pictures both published and I felt like I had “made it!” It seriously meant a lot to me, and the feeling that people would see value in my work was embedded in my mind at that young age.  It definitely helped propel my vision for the future as an artist! SS: Do you have any advice for current readers, writers, and artists who contribute to Stone Soup? JL: Yes, I would say always create from the heart and not for acclaim or success. Anything created with passion from the heart will always touch people in a much stronger way than anything you would create just to publish or to sell. Think about the things that you are passionate about and let that carry your work! When I wrote the story that was published in Stone Soup, I stayed up late for a week typing it all up on my typewriter, getting lost in the story because I had to get it onto paper. Only afterwards did I worry about where I would send it! Also, be disciplined in practicing your craft. To get good at art takes a lot of time, energy and focus, but it is worth it to see your vision come to life! Are you a former Stone Soup writer or artist and interested in being interviewed? We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to sarah@stonesoup.com for more information.