about
About the Drum
You don't read The Drum. You listen to it.
The Drum Literary Magazine publishes short fiction, essays, poetry, novel excerpts, and interviews exclusively in audio form. The Drum is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization, and your source for Literature Out Loud.
Listen Online or Download
Each of The Drum's quarterly issues brings you new literature you can weave into your daily life. Listen online or download the audio to listen to on your mp3 player and/or to share with up to five friends. Use our tags to choose a story as long as a dog-walk, or an essay that will last you for your ride to work. You can send a friend a humor piece to lighten her day, or you can pass on a serious piece to spark discussion.
If you're visiting The Drum on an iPhone or iPod, you can listen to audio simply by tapping the play button for a particular file. To store an audio file on your iPod or iPhone, you'll need to download the audio to your computer before importing it into your iTunes library.
For more information about The Drum, go to our FAQ.
Our Story Badges
Use our handy badge system to find a story that's just right for you--or to send to a friend.
Our genres:
Short Fiction
Poetry
Novel Excerpt
Essay
Our Themes:
Crisis (identity or otherwise)
Relationships
Family
Comedy
SMALL: under 10 minutes
MEDIUM: under 20 minutes
LARGE: under 30 minutes
EXTRA LARGE: the long stuff, max. 40 minutes
Masthead
Henriette Lazaridis, Editor
Henriette Lazaridis' debut novel THE CLOVER HOUSE will be published on April 2, 2013 by Ballantine Books. Her shorter work has appeared in Salamander, the New England Review, Middlebury Magazine, The New York Times online, The Millions, Rowing News, and Narrative Magazine. She was a founding member of the writing blog beyondthemargins.com. She spent nearly two decades in academia, teaching at Harvard for ten years after earning an M.Phil. on a Rhodes scholarship as well as a Ph.D. One of her favorite things about being an academic was getting to read papers aloud at scholarly conferences--a sure sign that she would someday start a magazine like The Drum. Being bi-lingual in Greek and English, Henriette is fascinated by the sound of words, and still isn't sure how to pronounce "dispute" or why you don't say the p in psychology.
KIRUN KAPUR, POETRY EDITOR
Kirun Kapur grew up in Hawaii and has since lived and worked in North America and South Asia. Her work has appeared in AGNI, Poetry International, FIELD, The Christian Science Monitor and many other journals and news outlets. She is the winner of the 2012 Arts & Letters/Rumi Prize for Poetry and the 2013 Antivenom prize. Her first book, Visiting Indira Gandhi’s Palmist, will be published by Elixir Press in 2015. Kirun is co-director of the popular, Massachusetts-based arts program, The Tannery Series, and is an ardent devotee of bacon, bourbon and road trips. You can find her at www.kirunkapur.com.
READERS
The Drum is indebted to the work of its readers, newly on board for 2018.
Fiction Readers
Lara McLeod
Emily Franklin
Maria Pinto
Essay Readers
Joanne Barker
Carol Newman Cronin
If you're interested in applying to be a reader for The Drum, use our contact form to get in touch.
Donate and Shop
Advertise with the Drum
Thanks for your interest in advertising with The Drum Literary Magazine.
Podcast/Website Combo Ads: Each $50 ad gets your organization presented as a sponsor at the end of one of our audio pieces, where it will remain permanently wherever The Drum is listened to--and that includes our growing podcast audience. We will also place a 180x180 banner ad at the bottom of each page of our website for three months. Your $50 ad reaches those interested in Boston's Literary District, of which The Drum is an Executive Partner, and, most importantly, it supports us in our mission to pay creators for their work, covering the cost of one story. Email us at theeditors [at] drumlitmag [dot] [com] and use Buying a Banner Ad in the subject of your email.
The Legal Stuff
Terms of Use
Welcome to the website (the “Site”) of The Drum , an online literary magazine for your ears, publishing short fiction, essays, and interviews in audio form. The Site is made available to you by The Drum Literary Magazine, Inc. (“DLM,”“we,” or “us”). Please read these terms of use carefully before using the Site. If you continue to browse and use the Site, whether or not you register or become a subscriber, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by these terms of use. If you do not agree with any of these terms of use, please do not use our Site. You understand and agree that we may change these terms of use at any time without prior notice. You may read a current copy of the terms of use at any time by selecting the “Terms of Use” link on the Site. The revised terms of use become effective at the time of posting. Any use of the Site after that date will constitute your acceptance of the revised terms of use. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate the registration or subscription of any user who does not abide by these terms of use.
1. Issues of The Drum on the Site
Each issue of The Drum available on the Site will contain links to audio recordings (individually, an “Audio,” and collectively, the “Audios”). As permitted by these terms of use, you may listen to the Audios online or download them. Most, but not all, of the Audios will be available without charge, and access to some Audios is restricted to subscribers. If you prefer not to become a subscriber, you will be able to listen to a selection of the Audios in each issue, but access to all the Audios will require a subscription.
DLM is not responsible for the content of any of the Audios, which reflect the views of their authors.
2. Subscribing to The Drum and Posting on Forums
All users of the Site will be able to access some Audios from each issue of The Drum without charge, but in order to access the Audios identified as Premium, you’ll need to become a subscriber. In order to become a subscriber to The Drum (a “Subscriber”), click on the “Subscribe” button located on the Home Page and complete the information requested. All subscribers must be at least 13 years of age.
A Subscription allows access to all Audios, including those identified as Premium, as well as the archives, and requires payment of a subscription fee, which we may change at any time. A Subscription provides access to The Drum’s full content for twelve months beginning at the time of payment and ending twelve months after that time. Once you have subscribed, you’ll create your own Subscriber user name and password. You may terminate your subscription at any time by contacting us. We may terminate your subscription at any time, with or without cause, without any liability to you.
Subscribers can post on any public forums using their Subscriber user name and password. If you aren’t a Subscriber but want to post, you can register to create and use a user name and password. There is no charge to register in order to be able to post. If you’d like to register, click on the button located on the Home Page and complete the information requested. You must be at least 13 years of age in order to register.
You are responsible for all activity conducted on or through your registration or subscription, and you may not share your registration or subscription with anyone else. By registering or subscribing, you agree that you (i) will update any information you provide in the process of registering or subscribing and (ii) will not take any actions designed to compromise the performance or integrity of the Site or interfere with its proper working, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to any aspect of the Site.
3. Proprietary Rights and Limited License
The Site and each issue of The Drum contain material that is owned or licensed by DLM and is protected by United States and foreign intellectual property laws, including without limitation copyright. All these intellectual property rights are reserved, and your use of the Site and The Drum gives you no rights in or to the content.
You may view, download Audios only as permitted by these terms of use, and print pages from the Site, in each case for your own personal, non-commercial use, subject to the restrictions set out below and elsewhere in these terms of use. You may download Audios on your own personal devices, and you may share the Audios you download with up to five individuals for their own personal, non-commercial use, provided that each individual with whom you share an Audio agrees not to further copy or distribute the Audio. The license to share Audios does not constitute a grant or waiver of any rights of DLM and the author of the recorded work in the Audio. You must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original content on any copy you make. You may not reproduce, upload, post, transmit, modify, sell, or download or distribute (except as provided above) the contents of the Site and The Drum or information on sites accessible through links on the Site, provided that you may modify any content that you create and post.
This limited license will automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by us at any time. Upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession, whether in electronic or printed format.
All trademarks, logos, service marks, and trade names displayed on the Site or on content available through the Site that are not owned by DLM are the property of their respective owners.
4. Materials You Create and Public Forums
The Site may have sections such as blogs, bulletin and message boards, or chat areas that provide you the opportunity to exchange ideas and information, such as comments on the works featured in The Drum. While using the Site, you agree that you will not upload, post, transmit, distribute, or otherwise publish through the Site or any service or feature made available on or through the Site, any materials that may be illegal or unlawful, may infringe any third party's legal rights, or are capable of giving rise to legal action whether against you or us or a third party (in each case under any applicable law), nor may you advertise or solicit on the Site. By posting or submitting materials to the Site, you represent that you have all necessary rights in and to such materials; that such materials will not infringe on any personal or proprietary rights of any third parties; that such materials will not contain defamatory, indecent, or otherwise unlawful content; and that such materials will not contain any viruses or other destructive features.
We are not responsible for any materials posted by others on our Site, which may not reflect the views and opinions of DLM. Although we have no obligation to screen, edit, or review posts, we reserve the right to monitor posts and remove any that we consider, in our sole discretion, to be in breach of these terms of use, and to deny access to anyone who violates these terms of use. DLMEXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY MATERIAL COMMUNICATED BY THIRD PARTIES THROUGH THE SITE OR FOR ANY CLAIMS, DAMAGES, OR LOSSES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE SITE.
While we have no ownership rights in any materials you create and post or submit to the Site, by doing so, you are granting DLM a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, unrestricted, worldwide license to use, display, sublicense, adapt, transmit, incorporate in other works, and copy such materials on or via our Site and any other form, media, or technology now known or later developed.
5. Links to Other Sites
Links to, or embedded images from, other web sites may appear from time to time on the Site, to offer additional resources on related subjects, but we have not reviewed all of these linked sites or embedded images and are not responsible for the contents or accuracy of any such linked site or image. These links and images are provided as a convenience to you and do not imply our endorsement of the site. You should take precautions when downloading files from all web sites to protect your computer from viruses and other destructive programs. If you decide to access any linked sites, you do so at your own risk.
6. Personal Information
In the course of your use of the Site and/or the services made available on or through the Site, you may be asked to provide certain personal information to us. Our information collection and use policies with respect to the privacy of personal information that you provide are set forth in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these terms of use. You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for the accuracy and content of all information that you provide to us. If we need to contact you, we may do so using your email address.
Please be aware that personal information—such as your name or email address—that you voluntarily disclose on services such as blogs, bulletin and message boards, or in chat areas that are accessible to other users could be collected and disclosed by others. DLM cannot take any responsibility for such collection or disclosure.
7. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
DLM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE OR ITS CONTENTS (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE CONTENTS OF ANY AUDIOS OR OTHER MATERIAL CREATED OR COMMUNICATED BY THIRD PARTIES), WHICH ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, DLM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS AND NEGATES ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE. FURTHER, DLM DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS CONCERNING THE ACCURACY, LIKELY RESULTS, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, OR RELIABILITY OF THE MATERIALS ON THE SITE OR ON ANY SITES LINKED TO THE SITE, OR THAT THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED AND ERROR-FREE; THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED; OR THAT THE SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE FROM VIRUSES, WORMS, OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
IN NO EVENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE, SHALL DLM, OR ANY OF ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR CONTENT OR SERVICE PROVIDERS, OR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THE SITE, BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS, LIABILITIES, LOSSES, AND EXPENSES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, COMPENSATORY, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF ANTICIPATED PROFITS, BENEFITS, USE, OR DATA, OR DUE TO BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING FROM, OR DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO,THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR THE CONTENT, MATERIALS, AND FUNCTIONS RELATED TO IT, EVEN IF DLM OR AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSSES. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESTABLISHING SUCH PROCEDURES FOR DATA BACK UP AND VIRUS PROTECTION AS YOU DEEM APPROPRIATE. IN NO EVENT SHALL DLM OR THE OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES IDENTIFIED ABOVE BE LIABLE FOR OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CONTENT POSTED, TRANSMITTED, EXCHANGED, OR RECEIVED BY OR ON BEHALF OF ANY USER OR OTHER PERSON ON OR THROUGH THE SITE. IN NO EVENT WILL DLM’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE) ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OF USE OR YOUR USE OF THE SITE EXCEED, IN THE AGGREGATE, THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, FOR ACCESSING THE SITE.
Some jurisdictions do not allow exclusion of implied warranties, orthe limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you. Any action on any claim against DLM must be brought within one year following the date the claim first accrued, or it will be deemed waived.
8. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold DLM and our affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising in any way from your use of the Site, your placement or transmission of any message, content, information, software, or other materials on or through the Site, or your breach or violation of the law or of these terms of use. We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with our defense of such claim. You will not in any event settle any claim without our prior written consent.
9. Compliance with Local Laws.
The Site is controlled and operated by DLM in the United States and is intended for use within the United States. DLM makes no representation that materials on the Site are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who choose to access the Site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.
10. Miscellaneous
Any claim relating to the Site shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these terms of use shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in Massachusetts. You further consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of these courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. If any provision of these terms of use is deemed unlawful, void or unenforceable, then such provision shall be severed from the terms of use and the remainder of the terms of use shall remain in effect.
The effective date of these terms of use is May 1, 2010.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act Compliance
If you believe that any materials posted on the Site by others infringe on the copyrights of another party, please contact us. We comply with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act applicable to Internet service providers. Please send a written notice describing the infringement to our designated agent at the following address:
Designated Agent
The Drum Literary Magazine, Inc.
P.O. Box 380959
Cambridge, MA 02238
E-mail: theeditors@drumlitmag.com
Your notice must include the following:
- A physical or electronic signature of the owner, or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly being infringed;
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or, if the claim involves multiple works at a single online site, a representative list of such works at the site;
- Identification of the allegedly infringing material on the Site, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate such material on the Site;
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, or, if available, an email address;
- A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the materials in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting the website (the “Site”) of The Drum, an online literary magazinefeaturing audio recordings of exciting new works (the “Audios”) made available to you by The Drum Literary Magazine, Inc. (“DLM”). DLM is committed to protecting your privacy. We’ve developed this Privacy Policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate, disclose, and make use of personal information that you provide to us on this Site. By using the Site or by registering or subscribing to The Drum, and voluntarily providing personal information in connection with your registration, subscription, or use, you are consenting to our use of the information you provide as described in this Privacy Policy.
The Information We Collect
A subscription, which requires a fee, is required in order to access some of the Audios available on the Site. As part of the subscription process, you will be asked to provide an email address, your full name, a username, and a password. You may choose to add other information to your user profile. You will also be asked for credit card or billing information.
In order to post comments on the public forums, you will need to register, and will be asked to provide an email address, your full name, a username, and a password. You may choose to add other information to your user profile.
As the Site is not intended for use by those under the age of 13, you will also be asked to provide your birthdate, whether you subscribe or register.
We may collect certain non-personally identifiable information when you visit the Site, such as the type of browser and operating system you are using, the IP address you are using to connect to the Site, and the name of your Internet service provider. This type of information helps us ensure consistent delivery of the Site and improve our services.
Cookies
Like most major websites, we may use “cookies” to store information during your use of our Site. Cookies are small pieces of code that are stored in a designated file on your computer. They do not provide us with any personally identifiable information and cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.
We use cookies as a convenient feature to save you time, and to help us both understand how our Site is used and improve the Site. For example, we may use cookies to personalize your experience at our web pages or recall your specific information on subsequent visits (for example, to recognize you by name when you return to the Site). If you would prefer not to receive any cookies, most browsers can be set to refuse cookies or to alert you when one is being sent. It is possible, however, that some portions of this Site may not function properly if the cookies are disabled.
Updating or Removing Your Personal Information
You may update or remove from our database any information you provide us at any time by accessing your account settings. However, removing some types of information, such as your email address, may require cancelling your subscription. Please contact us if you would like to take this step.
How We Use Your Personal Information
We will use the personal information you provide in connection with your use of the Site. We may also use it (in a way that is not personally identifiable) to improve our service and add new features. If we need to contact you, we may do so using your email address.
Please be aware that personal information—such as your name or email address—that you voluntarily disclose on services such as blogs, bulletin or message boards, or in chat areas that are accessible to other users could be collected and disclosed by others. DLM cannot take any responsibility for such collection or disclosure.
How We Share Your Personal Information
DLM will not sell to or share with any other party the information you provide to us except (a) if it is for the purpose(s) you provided it; (b) with your consent; (c) as may be required by law or as we think necessary to protect our company or others from injury; or (d) with vendors who provide services to us, such as hosting services, tech support, database managers, and credit card processors.
Links to Other Sites
This Privacy Policy applies only to our Site. Our Site may provide links to—or embed media from—other websites that are not under our control. These other sites do not follow our privacy policies and procedures, and may place their own cookies on your computer. You should review the privacy policies on those sites to understand how they will protect any personal information you provide.
Security of the Information You Provide
We believe we have taken reasonable steps to protect the information you provide us from loss or theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.
International Users
If you are visiting our Site from a location outside of the United States, your connection will be through and to servers located in the United States and all information you provide will be processed and securely maintained in our web servers and internal systems located within the United States. By using this Site, you authorize the export of personal information to the USA and its storage and use as specified above when you provide such information to us. This policy and our legal obligations are subject to the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the USA, regardless of the location of any user. Any claims or complaints must be filed in the USA in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Changes to this Policy
This Privacy Policy is effective as of May 1, 2010. Since our policy may change periodically, without notice, please check back here from time to time to review our current Privacy Policy. Your use of the Site after the posting of any changes to this Privacy Policy means you accept such changes.
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, need to contact us about the information you’ve provided, or want to terminate your registration or subscription, you may email us or write to the following address:
P.O. Box 380959
Cambridge, MA 02238
faq
Submitting work
How do you make an audio file of my work?
Once we've accepted your work for publication in The Drum, we will arrange with you either to meet in person and record your piece, or to have you make the recording yourself and send us the file. The Drum is based in Boston and may occasionally record audio in the offices of Grub Street Writers.
What if I don't want to read my own work aloud?
No problem. We can arrange to have a different reader create the recording with us. That reader will have no rights to your text, which is owned by you, or to the audio, which will be owned by The Drum.
Does The Drum pay contributors?
Yes, as of our September 2015 issue, The Drum pays a $50 honorarium to contributors.
I'd like to submit a story, poem, or essay. Should I send you a sound file?
Please submit your work using the handy submission management software provided by Submishmash. If we like the piece and choose to publish it in audio form, we will be in touch with you about how to make the recording. See our Submission Guidelines for more detailed information.
The only exception to this policy is our Dispatches feature. Submissions to Dispatches should be sent in audio form. For more details on this exciting feature, see our Submittable page.
Will I be able to create another recording of this piece for another website, podcast, or other form of distribution?
Absolutely. You'll retain all rights to your work except the rights to the particular recording of it that will appear in The Drum.
Will I be able to publish my piece in print form at a later date?
Yes. The Drum holds only the rights to the particular audio created for The Drum and holds no rights to the print form, though we may ask you for those rights (which you may decline to give) in the event that we decide to put together a special print collection at some later date.
How long will my piece be available to listen to?
Each story or essay will be available on the website for six months. After that, it will be available for purchase from the archives.
What if my piece has already appeared in print form elsewhere?
Your piece can still appear in The Drum in audio form, provided that any contract you might have with the previous publisher doesn't claim an exclusive right to any future audios.
Using The Website
Can I download the audios?
Yes, you can download audio files to an mp3 players or listen to them on the website.
Can I share the audios?
Yes, but if you choose to share the audio files, we ask that you limit your sharing to five other listeners (who in turn cannot share them further). While we want to spread the word about our new writing, The Drum can't operate without the support of paying listeners.
Discussion
Can I comment on an audio?
Of course. We encourage listeners to participate in constructive discussions about specific works or, through our broader discussion forum, about more general aspects of reading and writing.
Can I upload my own audio?
No, but at some later date, we may create a forum for listeners to share their own recordings of public-domain work or of their own work.
Donations
How can I donate to The Drum?
Click on the donate button on the home page to use our Paypal system. Thank you!
What are other ways in which I can help The Drum?
Spread the word. Buy a t-shirt and wear it proudly. If there's a reading series in your area, contact us about making a connection. Contact us at theeditors@drumlitmag.com about internships.
Readers/Performers
Do you pay the readers?
Unfortunately, though we would love to, we're not able to pay our readers at this point.
How can I read aloud for The Drum?
If you have experience with acting or voice-over work and would like to contribute your time, please do get in touch with us at theeditors@drumlitmag.com.
Do I retain the rights to the recording of someone else's work that I create for The Drum?
The Drum retains all rights to the particular recording you make for us. However, you do have the right to use the recording in promotion for your career, so long as you note that the recording was made for The Drum (the recording will have an intro that will specify that it is part of The Drum).
news
General
Submissions Are Closed
Submissions to The Drum are closed once and for all as we move on to other projects.
For Past Contributors
We are grateful to all our contributors for sending us their work over the years. Note that while your work for The Dru will remain in our archive here, you, as always, hold the rights to the text and to any future audio you choose to record.
A Range of Audio Stories
Over the years, The Drum published special audio literary projects beyond our weekly short fiction and essays. MuseFlash with Grub Street's Muse and the Marketplace conference, Zip-Code Stories with WBUR, Stories on the Street, and recorded live events with the Boston Book Festival and Grub Street were just some of the additional programs we created. You can find them here on our archive site.
Crossing the Line: A Reading Co-Sponsored by The Drum Literary Magazine and the Boston Book Festival
Join us for tales of law-breaking, rule-bending, and genre-busting. The event will feature bestselling/award-winning authors Matt Bell, Jenna Blum, Christopher Castellani, and Marie Myung-Ok Lee. There will be a short, fun (anonymous?) transgression-oriented questionnaire - best answer wins a free drink!
Where: Storyville, 90 Exeter St. Boston, MA
When: Friday, March 8th 6 - 7:45 p.m.
Free Admission. Cash Bar and Food
Hosted by Dawn Tripp & Henriette Lazaridis Power
BOOKS, ACTUALLY
Ten Boston authors got together with The Drum to create flash-fiction pieces set during the Boston Book Festival. Characters include a Globe reporter covering the BBF, a teen whose mother is a best-selling author, a homeless young man who loves poetry, and many others. Download the Moveable Feast app for iPhone and iPad, tap "take a tour" and look for the tours with the Boston Book Festival logo. You can listen to the story read by the author, or read the text. And it's all free!
Reviews and Write-ups
Since we launched in May 2010, we've had some great write-ups on various blogs and websites. The two latest can be found at The Things They Read and The Rumpus.
On The Things They Read, Melanie Yarbrough likes what The Drum offers: "Rather than an attempt to reinvent the wheel of storytelling, The Drum is a platform that uses the accessibility of technology to promote stories and their authors rather than tear them down. The short story and its telling are very much alive at The Drum, and I look forward to see the work they continue to highlight."
The Rumpus' Seth Fischer says he's "selfishly thrilled to see a lit mag making [authors reading their own work aloud] a focus." He says Celeste Ng's "Trick" "blew [him] away.
Older reviews and promos:
http://www.hugohouse.org/content/pub-crawl-drum
http://thewriterscenter.blogspot.com/2010/06/discovery-friday-drum.html
The Drum on Fox 25's Things To Do
Before the weekend of the Boston Book Festival, The Drum gets some visibility thanks to our cool logo [at 2:32 into the video]. The Drum is the official literary magazine of the Boston Book Festival.
LOUNGE LIT: Transgressions New Date! July 19
Take a walk on the wild side. Sounds like Lou Reed knew about our fourth Lounge Lit event when he wrote those lyrics. Join local writers Dawn Tripp, Chris Abouzeid, Chris Castellani, Holly LeCraw, Ethan Gilsdorf, and Drum founding editor Henriette Lazaridis Power as they read their short essays and stories about transgression. Law-breaking, rule-bending, convention-busting, paradigm-shifting. They'll do it all. And we decree that the statute of limitations has expired on any story these writers tell! WBUR's Adam Ragusea will host the event. Lounge Lit is co-sponsored by The Drum, the Boston Book Festival, and WBUR. The Transgressions event takes place from 6pm-8pm at the Middlesex Lounge at 315 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, MA. Tickets are on sale now and are just $20 in advance ($25 at the door): reserve your spot today! Click here for more information.
The Drum's PerambuLit on All Things Considered
WBUR correspondent Sacha Pfeiffer interviews Drum editor Henriette Lazaridis Power and Drum contributor Ethan Gilsdorf about PerambuLit, the create-your-own-adventure story they co-wrote along with Jenna Blum, Daphne Kalotay, Matthew Pearl, Catherine Elcik, Becky Tuch, and Steven Brykman, almost all of whom have contributed to The Drum as well. PerambuLit was put together for the 2011 Boston Book Festival with the tremendous help of Matthew Doyle and the whole team at Broadcastr.
Read the transcript and/or hear the audio here.
VOLUNTEER FOR THE DRUM AT THE BOSTON BOOK FESTIVAL
The Drum is looking for some friendly folks to help with our audio project at the Boston Book Festival. The project is called BOOKS, ACTUALLY, and it's a collection of audio flash fiction pieces set during the Festival, written by a bunch of local writers and Drum contributors. Festival-goers can use their smartphones to listen to the stories that are geotagged to specific locations around the BBF area. What's a volunteer's job? To sport a handsome Drum t-shirt while telling people about the stories and showing them how to download the app and listen to the audio. If you're interested in taking a shift on October 27th, email Henriette Power at editor@drumlitmag.com.
The Drum Presents PERAMBULIT for the Boston Book Festival
If you're attending the Boston Book Festival on October 15, 2011 (and why wouldn't you be?), get ready to do some walking. Working with Broadcastr, and with Broadcastr's inimitable Matthew Doyle, The Drum has brought together a group of established and up-and-coming Boston-based writers to produce PerambuLit, a Create-Your-Own-Adventure story for the Boston Book Festival.
PerambuLit is an audio story that lets festival-goers experience a fictional narrative both by listening to it as they walk along its various routes. As you walk around Back Bay, you'll hear Ethan Gilsdorf, Jenna Blum, Daphne Kalotay, Matthew Pearl, Steven Brykman, Catherine Elcik, Becky Tuch, and Henriette Lazaridis Power reading the story segments they've created especially for the Boston Book Festival's Copley Square location.
To learn more about this exciting audio-narrative project, click here. To learn about Broadcastr, the platform for sharing location-based audio--and the people who've made PerambuLit possible, visit their website here.
The Drum's PerambuLit in the Boston Herald
An October 15, 2011 article about new technologies in publishing and at the Boston Book Festival cites The Drum and PerambuLit as one of the "rainbow of options" for festival-goers.
Selections from the Young Adult Writers' Program
For September 2011, the beginning of the school year, we're featuring three writers from Grub Street's Young Adult Writers' Program. Hau Nguyen, Ally Engelberg, and Molly Zimetbaum participated in YAWP over the previous academic year, and we are delighted to be giving the work of these talented young writers a new audience. For more information on YAWP, click here.
Drum Contributor Jenna Blum's Paperback Release
The paperback edition of Jenna Blum's second novel, The Stormchasers, will be released on April 26. You can pre-order the book here. Jenna recorded a chapter of The Stormchasers for The Drum in May 2010, just prior to the novel's publication.
Drum Contributor Jonathan Papernick's New Release
A new edition of Jonathan Papernick's collection of short stories The Ascent of Eli Israel with an introduction by Dara Horn will be published in May 2011.
The Drum on WBUR
Almost everything you ever wanted to know about The Drum, in an interview for WBUR's Radio Boston program. Hear Jennifer Haigh and Henriette Lazaridis Power speak with Sacha Pfeiffer about how audio enriches the experience of literature, and listen for clips of Haigh, Shubha Sunder, and the readers of our first Stories on the Streets piece.
Drum Contributor Randy Susan Meyers' Paperback Release
Randy Susan Meyers read a chapter from The Murderer's Daughters for The Drum back in May for our inaugural issue. The novel has just been released in paperback.
Announcing the Winner of The 2011 Drum/Side B Dual Publication Award
Caralyn Davis is the Winner of the 2011 Drum/Side B Dual Publication Award for her short story "Wallow". Randy Ross is the Finalist for his flash-fiction piece "One Day in Thailand". Hear them read their work here, and read the work in print in Side B Magazine's current issue.
Special Programs
Zip-Code Stories
The Drum Literary Magazine and WBUR's Radio Boston are joining forces to bring you Zip-Code Stories, where listeners share their own stories about the neighborhoods that make Greater Boston unique. Zip-Code Stories invites WBUR's listeners to do the talking. Each month, we'll name four zipcodes and we'll invite listeners to submit their own stories about those zipcodes. You'll be able to upload your audio straight onto Broadcastr, and the best pieces will be included in The Drum's Broadcastr playlist. Each month, we'll be featuring one story on Radio Boston. Zip-Code Stories launched on Monday, August 8 2011 with a Daphne Kalotay's "Sunshine Cleaners," set in Brookline's 02246. Subsequent zip-code featured authors include Askold Melnyczuk (02139), Roland Merullo (02151), and Jennifer Haigh (02657). You can submit your work to Zip-Code Stories here. For information on other ways to submit, click here.
Zip-Code Stories: Our October Picks
Zip-Code Stories: Our February Pick
"Off the Map" by Lisa Rogers is our winner for February's round of Zip-Code Stories. Zip-Code Stories is a collaboration between The Drum and WBUR's Radio Boston. Each month, we'll name four zip codes from the Greater Boston area and we'll ask you to send in your 500-word stories (fiction or non-fiction) about one of those zip codes. To read more about Zip-Code Stories, visit our page on WBUR's website. And to hear the four short stories we collected when we launched the program this past August, click here. The zip codes for this round were 01930, 02301, 02131, and 02482.
For the next round, we're opening things up. Send us your 500-word story about any zip code you have something to say about--fiction or non-fiction. Send your Zip-Code Story in by March 15th, or record it straight onto Broadcastr so we can add it to The Drum's playlist. Submission guidelines are here.
Announcing Lounge Lit and Zip-Code Stories
Tickets are on sale now and are just $20 in advance ($25 at the door): reserve your spot today!
Based on our project with Radio Boston series, we're bringing together Holly LeCraw, Steve Macone, Dawn Tripp, Marianne Leone, and Regie Gibson to read short stories inspired by Boston-area zip codes. The evening will be hosted by Drum editor Henriette Lazaridis Power, and Anthony Brooks, co-host of WBUR's Radio Boston.
Put your name on the map by reading your own 500-word Zip-Code Story during our open mic, or just take in tales from around our city (not to mention complimentary beer, wine, and apps).
The series, which supports the Boston Book Festival and The Drum, continues in March and April with more great events, also on sale now. Our special Lounge Lit package gets you tickets for all three for just $50.
Pushcart Prize Nominees
The Drum's 2013 Pushcart Prize Nominees
We are delighted to nominate the following works from among the more than four dozen short stories and essays we published in 2013.
"What Matters," by Lisa Duffy (Issue 34)
"The Fish," by Steve Adams (Issue 34)
"Sanctuary," by Aine Greaney (Issue 35)
We are printing these stories here in a special collection, but you can listen to their authors read them aloud by clicking on the relevant links.
submissions
Submissions
We are no longer accepting submissions
We are no longer accepting submissions to The Drum Literary Magazine.
Thank you to all the writers who sent us their work over the ten years during which The Drum was in operation. We have closed our doors and have moved on to other projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
STORIES ON THE STREET
Want to help The Drum record great prose? Help us with our Stories on the Street feature. Choose an excerpt from a public-domain work, switch on the voice-recording app on your phone, and ask people to read the piece into the mic. Presto! Classic literature brought to life by everyday people. Try matching the excerpt to the location. Bartleby the Scrivener in your office full of cubicles. The food scene in Tom Jones in a restaurant. The ball from Pride and Prejudice at a summer barbecue. Use your imagination--and share it with The Drum!
Stories on the Street Guidelines
To participate in the Stories on the Street feature, here's what you need to do.
- Verify that the work you've chosen to record is indeed in the public domain. One way to check this is to look the book up in the Library of Congress catalog here. Also, the folks over at Libri Vox have a very thorough explanation of public domain here.
- Print out our release form from the pdf below. Sign it and take it to the street with you so that your readers can sign it too, giving you permission to use their voice for The Drum.
- Head out to your chosen spot with your favorite public-domain text and your microphone (the Voice Memo app on an iPhone works fine for this, as an example)!
- Send the audio file to editor [at] drumlitmag [dot] com, along with the release form so that we know we have your permission (and your readers' permission) to use the file.