Hello friends, 

Long time no see. 

In June it became clear that I was suffering from a hardcore depression that usually hits me in the fall months (last October I spent two weeks sobbing in my bathroom). While the cyclical nature of my depressive symptoms are not a surprise to me ever, it was obvious that this time it was untenable; I needed a break, something I've never taken in the six years I've been running Drunk Monkeys. 

I'm grateful to the literary community as a whole but notably my staff, especially Matt Guerrero, our founder, who backed this leave of absence with his whole heart, Chris Pruitt and Sean Woodard who kept me afloat, and Candice Kelsey and Trapper Markelz, who both had endless patience as I juggled their chapbooks (available in our shop and on Amazon!) through the fog of sadness. Overall, everyone was pretty cool about the whole thing, though if you've emailed me in that time and are wondering why you didn't hear back I'd suggest following the journals you submit to on social media, lest you miss important updates. 

But look, enough about my dumb brain. We're back, and we're gonna run a December issue to make up for the absence. And we have Cat Conway's NOCTURNES coming out very soon. 

One thing that happened over the hiatus is my love of literature grew exponentially. I was honored to spend time in Tennessee at the SAFTA residency, and spent time with writers Alexa White, Robin Reid Drake, Brynn Martin, Catie Garbinsky, and Erin Elizabeth Smith. I wrote some poems and worked on my novel. I read a lot— might I suggest October contributor Shari Caplan’s The Red Shoes? I haven't focused on anything like reading and writing in a while, and I was grateful for that Tennessee landscape, those woods, that neighbor dog. SAFTA is great and you should apply.

Things are so terrible in the world right now, and we only have each other. It's not the worst thing, a community. Sometimes it's the greatest thing, actually. 

Stay safe, stay spooky, and see you next month.

Always, 

Kolleen CH