From the Editor: August 2018

The coming of autumn is a time of transition. Though my son doesn’t begin school until after Labor Day, in many places, parents, teachers, and kids are preparing to go back to the classroom in the next few weeks. Some mamas have kids headed off to college or grad school and away from home. Some have kids moving up to middle or high school. And some are sending their toddlers to preschool or Kindergarten for the very first time. But even if it’s not time for a big grade change, the beginning of the school year marks a new adventure. Kids will be working with different teachers and classmates and will be having novel experiences. At the same time, we mamas will be facing our own transitions as we let go and watch our kids grow and learn.

We also have some changes at Literary Mama as we prepare for the new publishing year ahead. We’ve had to say goodbye to several department editors this summer, and we’ve been delighted to welcome several new editors. Check out their profiles on our staff page.

Karna Converse, who started at Literary Mama as a Blog Editor, then worked as the Managing Editor, and for the past two years served as our Editor-in-Chief, has left us as well. We appreciate her hard work for Literary Mama and will miss her here. We wish her all the best as she moves on to her next chapter.

We’ve expanded our already excellent Senior Editor team—Hope Donovan Rider as Managing Editor, Libby Maxey and Christina Consolino as Senior Editors—to include Andrea Lani as another Senior Editor. This strong, thoughtful group of mamas is dedicated to making Literary Mama the best it can be. I’m excited to continue working with them as I take over the role of Editor-in-Chief. We’ll keep all the good things going while also expanding on new ideas and plans.

Our next issue publishes on September 19. Until then, read our archives, keep up with our blog, and say hi to us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The coming season will bring big transitions for us all. But with those changes come new possibilities: friendships to build, opportunities for working together, and a whole new year of sharing the best literary writing by mothers.

Thank you for your continued support.
Amanda Jaros
Editor-in-Chief