A Letter from the Editor

March 21st 2014

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Issue Twelve.

StepAway Magazine is three years old – a maturing toddler in human years, and yet, a sure-footed young urbanite given the short lifespan of many online magazines.

Literary e-zines come and go rapidly. Readers lose interest, the flow of submissions dries up, editors move on. I am all too aware of the manner in which even the best magazines and journals are swept away and forever lost in the unforgiving e-tides.

It is therefore with a great deal of joy that I watch StepAway Magazine continue to grow. We are proud to have encouraged and inspired a dedicated readership. Our writers continue to submit engaging and enthralling material that allows the magazine to evolve. Our volunteers help us to work through an ever increasing volume of submissions and our artists kindly donate their work to provide us with an array of striking cover art.

As we enter our forth year, we look forward to working with the University of Westminster on its Fitzrovia Atlas project. As part of the project, StepAway Magazine will publish its third special issue entitled Fitzrovia. I would like to invite all writers, and in particular those based in London, to explore the streets of Fitzrovia and then reflect upon their walk in poetry or prose. Further information and submission details can be found here or by clicking on the link in the menu above.

With the moody winter months behind us, Issue Twelve inspires us to explore the springtime city. Our cover art comes courtesy of Ronya Galka, a photographer who was born and raised in Germany but moved to England in the 1990s. Much of her portfolio is of an urban nature, and StepAway readers will undoubtedly enjoy her street photography and photo essays.

Our spring issue showcases a startlingly talented set of writers, including: Jevin Lee Albuquerque, Joan Byrne, Michael Estabrook, Greg Jensen, Antony Owen, Rudy Ravindra, Tony Rickaby, John Stocks, P.W. Trethaway, and Kate Wise.

It is always a pleasure to publish the work of established writers alongside those who are only beginning to see their work in print. I was particularly taken by the manner in which each of the pieces published in this issue succeed in speaking to one another. They describe disparate urban experiences, yet read in succession capture  the collective tension and cohesion of all city life.

I hope that you enjoy reading, this, our twelfth issue.

Yours faithfully,

Darren Richard Carlaw
editor@stepawaymagazine.com