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
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.
Former Contributor Interview: Siena DeBenedittis
Editor’s Note: our Former Contributors Interview Project showcases former contributors of Stone Soup and the wonderful things they’ve gone on to do. Siena DeBenedittis’s story “Illuminated” was published in the March/April 2015 issue of Stone Soup. SS: What are you doing now? SD: I’m majoring in Environmental Studies and English at Brandeis University. College is great because you get to study the topics that most interest you (and in my case, that means reading many wonderful books), but it’s also a lot of work, which allows me less spare time to focus on my own writing. When I do find time to complete stories, though, I try to submit them for publication in various literary magazines. I’m also an editor of one of the lit mags at my school, so I get to see the publication process from the other side, which is really fun. It’s awesome and inspiring to read submissions from other university students around the world and to have a hand in putting together the journal every semester. SS: What did Stone Soup mean to you? SD: Being published in Stone Soup was definitely one of the most defining accomplishments of my life up to that point. The magazine already meant a lot to me; I had been reading it for years before I started submitting stories, and then I submitted many stories before I actually got published. Because I tried so many times before one of my stories was accepted, it felt even better to finally receive the acceptance letter, because I knew that I had really earned it. It was proof that my writing had improved and now, people would get to read it. (My college roommate actually also subscribed to Stone Soup as a young adult, so she probably read my work WAY before we even met, which is so crazy!) Looking back on it, Stone Soup taught me how to learn from rejection, and about how thrilling it is to have your work out there for people to see! SS: Do you have any advice for current readers, writers, and artists who contribute to Stone Soup? SD: Keep submitting! Rejection is an opportunity to improve. Also, after I aged out of Stone Soup, I didn’t know of any other opportunities for young people to be published, so even though I didn’t stop writing, I definitely slowed down, and I stopped pursuing publication. Don’t do that. Those opportunities exist! They’re out there! And if you’re anything like me, there’s nothing like the feeling you get when you know other people are seeing your work. Remember that feeling and work towards it, let it motivate you more than you let rejection discourage you. 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.
