AMBER BUDD – Author

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been designing and developing my own literary magazine (with some outside technical help). Now that the magazine’s website is published and the Instagram account is set up, The Orange Rose Literary Magazine is officially accepting submissions! I originally tried coming up with “cool” names for the magazine, many of which were just plain boring. And perhaps “The Orange Rose” sounds like a cool name to some people, but it was actually inspired by my first two cats: Biscotti (an orange tabby), and Rosetta (affectionately nicknamed “Rose”). They’ve been a part of my life for over ten years, and I couldn’t think of a better way to show what their companionship has meant to me as I’ve grown up.

Even though the magazine is still brand new, there’s been a steady stream of submissions coming in every day (many of which have been accepted!). The first issue will be ready for publication soon, and it’s such an excitement to see the shape it’s starting to take. Submissions are open year-round, so any pieces that are sent in after the soft “cut off” date will be held and considered for the second issue. I don’t like having hard deadlines, just because it seems like an unnecessary level of anxiety for a magazine that’s just starting up.

In the future, I’m hoping to start accepting art submissions as well as writing submissions. However, I don’t know when “the future” will actually end up being, so I’d recommend keeping an eye on the Instagram account and submission guidelines to see when I open up the magazine to art.

I’m really enjoying this entire process, and look forward to seeing how The Orange Rose will grow!