Patricia Colleen Murphy headshot

Meet Our Founding Editor!

Ever wondered who Patricia Colleen Murphy, founding editor of SR, is? This week, the blog sat down with Trish to learn more about her. Below, find out what Trish is streaming, how she got into literary publishing, and more!

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading a really interesting book called How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell. I love reading nonfiction when I’m working out. I read a lot of poetry and fiction for my job, so it is a fun change of pace.

What are you watching right now?

I just watched Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain. It was so interesting I want to watch it again to get all the details. I also really enjoyed the show On the Verge with Julie Delpy and Elizabeth Shue.

Why do you love what you do for SR?

There are so many reasons!!! First, I truly feel grateful for the relationships I form with all of the interns. It feels like an extended family, and we really look after each other. I also like providing a high quality publication opportunity to so many authors and artists. It’s always a thrill to send acceptances and to support creative careers.

What are your long-term goals for SR?

I would really love it if I could get interns more involved in the local community. This seems to be tough due to Covid restrictions right now. I’m hoping that as students get used to being back on campus they will be more outgoing with events.

What are you most excited about in Issue 28?

We have some super innovative poetry! Curating this section was a fun experience because we got so much good work that was really out of the box. We grabbed a lot of varied content!

How did you get into the lit mag world?

Oh, it started in high school! When I was a senior I was the editor of the literary magazine at the Cincinnati Public Library. It was called Seven Hills Review, and I was in charge of curating content for several issues. So it has been a lifelong passion.

What advice do you have for people trying to get published?

Absolutely read the lit mag you are sending work to. You would be surprised how many submissions we get that are nothing like what we publish. It makes me sad because it sets the sender up for failure.

What are you most proud of right now?

I have a really great group of interns right now who are self-motivated and driven. It’s so wonderful when students take charge of their roles within the magazine and create innovations.

What are you looking forward to right now?

I am really looking forward to creating the team for next semester’s internship. This is the time of year when I assign roles to interns and choose new trainees. It’s always a joy to match students to roles.

Where is your favorite place you’ve traveled?

Oh my, this one is so hard! There is no possible way to pick just one. My heart grows 10 sizes when I travel. I feel alive and happy when I get to explore other places. I have been to 50 countries so I can’t even narrow it down. It’s like a slideshow of memories in my head. My most recent trip abroad was to Morocco, and it was simply stunning. I really enjoyed the history and geography. It’s such a diverse country.

What’s your all-time favorite book and why?

I have so many. It’s usually the book I am reading now. A book I recommend a lot is Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History.

What’s your coffee order?

Decaf Americano.

To learn more about Trish, visit her website, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Contributor Update, Patricia Colleen Murphy: Bully Love

Today we are thrilled to announce the news of Superstition Review’s founding editor Patricia Colleen Murphy. Patricia’s poetry collection titled Bully Love will be published April 1st, 2019 and is currently available for preorder. Bully Love is a journey of displacement and an education in human and natural relationships. The collection has previously won the 2019 Press 53 Award for poetry and is a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection.

The collection is available for preorder here.

Congratulations Patricia!

Contributor Update, Patricia Colleen Murphy: 2019 Press 53 Award for Poetry

Patricia Colleen MurphyToday we couldn’t be more excited to announce that Superstition Review’s founding editor, Patricia Colleen Murphy, has won the 2019 Press 53 Award for Poetry for her collection Bully Love. Bully Love was selected by Press 53 Poetry Series Editor Tom Lombardo from a field of more than 400 entries from forty-five states and the district of Columbia and will be published on April 1, 2019, as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection. Congratulations to our wonderful founding editor!

An interview with Patricia can be read in Issue 18 of Superstition Review.

Authors Talk: Patricia Colleen Murphy

Patricia Colleen Murphy

Today we are pleased to feature author and founding editor of Superstition Review, Patricia Colleen Murphy as our Authors Talk series contributor. In an interview with Cass Murphy (previous interview editor and podcast blogger for Superstition Review), Patricia discusses her recent publication of her collection of poems in Hemming Flames.

She discusses the value of informing the audience of “both process and person” during poetry readings to help put the “poems in perspective.”

Although one review described her poems as “mean,” she expresses that her goal while writing this collection was “to be honest, to be true, and to be kind” even in the face of evidence that would prompt otherwise. We learn about the personal choices she made to create this brutally honest collection of poems in Hemming Flames.