As founder of Under the Gum Tree, Janna Marlies Maron has lots of wisdom to share on the topic of submitting to literary magazines. And she’ll do just that on Sunday at HippoCamp. Thanks to Janna for participating in our Q&A!
Tell us a little about your involvement this year at HippoCamp.
It’s my first year at HippoCamp and I’m super excited for the experience and to contribute! I’ve been publishing Under the Gum Tree since 2011 and am looking forward to sharing some behind the scenes insight for best practices of submitting.
What made you decide to participate in HippoCamp this year as a speaker? If you’re a returning speaker, how did your past experiences encourage you to want to come back?
Well, I was hoping to participate last year, in 2020, and we all know how that turned out. So when I heard that HippoCamp was on this year I jumped at the opportunity, because I really miss connecting with fellow nonfiction writers in person.
I also left my full-time job at the end of 2019, and I have been focusing full-time on my work with women writing nonfiction books, so I am excited for an opportunity to share that with people.
What’s going to keep you busy between now and HippoCamp?
I did have a week of vacation in July, just relaxing at home and then to Napa for a few days. My husband works in the wine industry, and it’s always nice to be in wine country. I am also getting ready to open applications for my coaching and editing program, Nonfiction Bootcamp, so I’ve been spending a lot of time focusing on getting ready for that at the end of September.
Since you’ll also be attending the conference, when you’re not wearing your “speaker hat,” what are you most looking forward to learning or doing?
Just being around people! I am definitely an extrovert, and the last year with the pandemic has been really hard for me to be so isolated. I can’t wait to meet new people and make new friends!
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To learn more about HippoCamp: A Conference for Creative Nonfiction Writers and see our full list of speakers and sessions, visit the official conference website.
