UnfortunatelyLit 
Dear Readers and Writers,
My name is David Obuchowski, and I am the Guest Editor here at Unfortunately, Literary Magazine for the month of April. Suffice it to say, I’m thrilled. Not only is it an honor and a milestone to be asked to guest edit a literary magazine, but I’m also elated because it’s this specific literary magazine.
The title of the publication, Unfortunately, points to the magazine’s mission, which is to publish works that have been rejected. On its face, it’s an honorable and earnest one—an invitation and a bit of encouragement to new and struggling writers. But, on the other hand, I find a bit of devious, wry humor in its title, and its mission as a whole. Because—and I don’t have any statistics to back this claim up—let’s face it: the vast majority of stories that get published have been previously rejected. And as for the vast majority of writers—well, if they’re not new, they’re struggling.
This magazine not only admits that it’s publishing previously rejected works, it shouts it from the rooftops. It embraces it. And it should. Rejections are not a result of bad writing; they are part of the process. They test us. They challenge us. An aspiring writer may be self-taught or highly educated. They may be overflowing with easy genius. Or, their talents may be hard-earned, or cultivated over decades of arduous work. They might have an agent, or they might be stuck in the query trenches. Either way, there will be rejection. More of it than acceptance.
Of course, that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Getting a rejection can be upsetting, even enraging. But, fortunately, there’s Unfortunately, whose own About section states: “We at Unfortunately, aim to take the sting-and-stigma out of rejections and make the writing world a little less of a hellscape.”
But I think there’s something else lovely about this mission to embrace the hurt: writing so often deals with pain. Whether through observation or experience, we know heartbreak, grief, fear, tragedy, agony, sadness, depression. Writing is a way of processing that. And sometimes through that process, we find hope, joy, comfort, or humor. Writing itself is an exploration of the unfortunate events, characters, emotions of life—whether they are real or imagined.
With that in mind, I not only invite but I urge you to submit your work. Remember, they must have been rejected before at least once. But let’s not call it rejected. Let’s call it tested. Let’s call it challenged.
If you’re curious about the kinds of things that move me, well, to put it simply: I like honesty and authenticity. Don’t be afraid to linger on a moment. For me, the most moving moments are the most subtle and fleeting ones. On the other hand, don’t be shy. Push yourself. Go for the throat. Don’t compromise.
If you’re interested to read some of my own work (which, of course, had been rejected before being accepted), check out my story “Don’t Pick On My Words,” which was published in Unfortunately, (and nominated for a Pushcart and for inclusion in Best American Short Stories). For something less blunt, have a look at my other Pushcart-nominated story, “The Neighborhood, The House,” which was published by Miracle Monocle (University of Louisville). Or, perhaps, “Grapefruit,” which was published by The Baltimore Review.
Thanks for reading. Now, I’m looking forward to doing the same.
David Obuchowski
