By Bacopa Literary Review 2025 Creative Nonfiction Editor Stephanie Seguin
I am a firm believer that reading stories is the only thing that really allows us to sink into another person’s skin, and see things as they see them. I think reading fiction, or good creative non-fiction, is our best tool for building empathy and understanding.
So when I am reviewing submissions for Bacopa, the first thing I’m looking for is pieces that read like fiction. I want to be immersed in the author’s situation for a short time. I love language used in interesting, beautiful, intentional ways to convey emotion or set a scene. I like a sense of who the narrator is and how they feel. If I can hear a person's voice telling me a story, that story usually goes in the maybe/yes pile.
Also, being an individual with my own life experiences I will naturally gravitate toward certain stories. For instance, I am more apt to be moved by a story about a guy who loved his grandma because I loved my grandma. This, for me, is the magic of this category, reading a story by someone in a vastly different life or place, and finding things in common.
A brief note on what I generally skip: Straight forward reporting of events without emotion or any of the above factors is usually something I pass on.
A brief note on what I always skip: If a piece has even the slightest hint of racism, sexism, homophobia or is condescending to a particular group of people or culture, it is a no for me. I get a fair number of pieces where people have traveled to a far-off place and have thoughts about the locals. Also please don’t send a story about your crazy ex-wife unless the written response from her is included---THAT I would at least put in the maybe pile!)
Creative Nonfiction Editor Stephanie Seguin studied English Literature and French at the University of Florida. She has published humor, short fiction, and personal memoir and spent over 15 years as a freelance editor and teacher of languages.
