Anticipation has been building for D.E. Hardy’s new project, Claudine: A Literary Magazine. The publication launched this week with an all-star TOC and has already received a wave of stellar reviews. Personally, I’m always thrilled to see a new micro market on the scene. Thanks to D.E. for answering these questions!
***
Myna: Tell us about Claudine. What do you publish? What are you looking for when choosing pieces?
D.E.: Claudine is a monthly magazine that publishes original prose micros—fiction and CNF—and prose chapbook reviews.
I’m looking for pieces that punch above their word count, pieces that make you say “whew!” when you’re done reading, pieces that compel you to read them again and again.
Myna: Are there any specific styles or subject matter you especially like (or dislike)?
D.E.: I like stories that linger, stories that surprise, stories that awe. I naturally gravitate toward image-dominant or fabulist pieces. I love an extended metaphor. I’m a sucker for myths, fairy tales, and anything featuring sea creatures. But I wouldn’t describe Claudine as a magazine specializing in those.
On the flip side, graphic or gratuitous violence are a hard pass for me. Please, writers of the universe, do not send me your serial killer stories.
Myna: Why did you choose to focus on the micro form?
D.E.: I chose to focus on the micro form for a few reasons. Personally, as a writer, I love the form. I find the word-count restraint oddly freeing.
Micros are the ultimate puzzle—how to put a universe in a tiny box. Reverse Pandora.
I love micros as a reader, as well. The last few years haven’t been easy, personally, and then, on top of that, there’s the current state of the world. My life doesn’t always afford time for longer reads, yet I find I need little bursts of literature to get me through the day. Micros are like medicine in that way. Take two and feel more human in the morning. Claudine is my give-back to the universe. I have been sustained by micro prose, and I want others to be sustained.
Myna: From your submission guidelines: “We love myths, fairy tales, fabulism, slipstream, and haunting vibes, but horror is not the best fit, neither is fantasy nor sci fi that leans more genre than literary.” Can you give us a little more guidance on how much genre is too much?
D.E.: Thank you for this question! Isn’t this the trickiest line? Reasonable minds will disagree. For Claudine, we use the word genre as code for “plot-dominant” pieces, not subject matter. We’re more of a character/language-forward lit mag. But where the line actually falls? Oof, that’s a tough one. I like pieces that work on me on a foundational level. Myths being a prime example of pieces that do that kind of work. Fairytales too—and those are typically quite plot-forward. Their vibe is psychological, though, and that’s what attracts me.
I’m hopeful once we have a few issues under our belt, Claudine’s sensibilities will become more obvious. As a writer, I just hate the idea of others spending their good time on markets that don’t suit their work. Even though rejections are part of the game, they still eat at the soul a little. I hate turning down work that’s otherwise wonderful, but not a constitutional fit for Claudine.
Myna: I love that you’re dedicating a special section to new writers. What prompted you to do this?
D.E.: Thank you so much! This category is born of gratitude. Truly, there is no element in Claudine that was chosen on a whim. I didn’t start writing seriously until my mid-40s. I was lucky to place my first few stories. I truly had no idea what I was doing. I was blessed, too, to be shepherded by kind editors. I view Claudine’s New Writer category as me holding the door open for the next person to walk in.
Myna: What are you looking for in terms of chapbook reviews? How should reviewers go about submitting? And how can chapbook authors get their books reviewed?
D.E.: Currently, I’m the only reviewer. We can’t yet afford to pay outside reviewers although bringing on a Reviews Editor to write Claudine reviews is high on my to-do list once we can scale that stipend.
The process to request a review is a little serpentine. I try to give a sense on our website.
It helps me so much when writers reach out and tell me about their book. I can’t know every chapbook everywhere—especially those published outside the US where I live—and so, writers emailing me about their own work keeps me informed.
As mentioned, it’s just me, at the moment, and I’m limited by being a lone human. (When are my multiverse selves going to show up??) I can’t scale more than two reviews in an issue. Plus, I’d like to balance reviews by category (CNF/fiction) and theme wherever possible. So how to land a review in Claudine? That’s currently more of an art than a science. Not a satisfying answer, I realize.
Myna: Do you edit the stories you accept? Is the writer part of the process?
D.E.: I edit if I think an element of a story isn’t pulling its weight compared to the rest. The writer is 100% part of that process. I view editing as a conversation. When I give edits that are beyond nips and tucks (or typos), I try to leave a comment about why I’m making the suggestion so the writer has a rationale to chew on. I’ve found this style of feedback very productive. This is how I worked when I was a prose editor at Chestnut Review. I cannot tell you how often this approach has garnered a response from the writer that is light-years better than my suggestion. I’m mindful that I’m the springboard, not the diver.
Myna: If Claudine had a theme song, what would it be?
D.E.: Ooooooh. I love this question. Can the answer be the entire Radiohead Kid A album? Is that cheating?? I like music and prose that are both legible and mysterious. I love how Kid A vibes. It works my brain in ways I don’t completely understand. That’s how I want a Claudine reader to feel—enriched, yet a touch unsettled. More human.
Myna: Tell us about your role. What do you do? What takes the most time? What is your favorite part of this job?
D.E.: I do everything from website to photographer to first reader to editor. Right now, the internet and social media components are taking quite a bit of time. This will simmer down, I think (hope), as we become more established.
My favorite part? That’s easy. The slush pile. I LOVE the slush pile. Call me dorky, but I view submissions as little presents in my inbox. I am legit thrilled every time a new one comes in. And I love seeing repeat submitters in the queue—I feel like we’re de facto friends. I’ve felt this way at every lit mag I’ve worked at—Chestnut Review, The Offing, The Rumpus, Quarterly West. I am such a slush nerd. Pure joy.
Myna: Tell us about your career trajectory. How did you get here?
D.E.: I feel a little like I got here in a windstorm ala Oz. Truly, it’s like I dropped out of nowhere. I did not grow up wanting to be a writer. I’m a lawyer who turned to writing in lieu of a midlife crisis. My writing career didn’t start until the pandemic. Before then, I had been working (slowly) on a novel on my own. I didn’t know many writers, nor did I have formal training. When everything went online in 2020, suddenly, I had a front row seat to all sorts of literary happenings—classes, readings, panels I would never have been able to attend in person.
That was my lemonade out of that putrid lemon of a year.
I found flash fiction then, too, and flash changed my writing and writing life completely. Since then, I’ve been on staff at several lit mags and had the pleasure of publishing a number of flash pieces and short stories. I got my MFA in 2024. Now Claudine. Total Oz, right?
Myna: I imagine readers would like to read some of your own stories! Where can we read your work?
D.E.: Thank you for asking! My body of published work is housed at dehardywriter.com. Two stories I’m particularly proud of are “Back Together Again” (winner of the 2025 Baltimore Review Flash Fiction Contest) and “What We Believed” (chosen for Best Microfiction 2023).
Myna: Show us a picture of Claudine!
D.E.: Here’s a favorite from when she was about seven weeks old. She’s always been an old soul.
Myna: Do you have any non-writing hobbies?
D.E.: I would love to tell you that I’m an avid jigsaw puzzler and knitter, which are two things that used to be true, but Claudine (the cat) has put a full stop on both of those activities.
Myna: What’s next for Claudine? And what’s next in your own writing life?
D.E.: For Claudine, the goal is to expand our readership and start building a financial model where we can sustain ourselves for the long term. We’ll be launching a series of seminars and workshops in 2026 that will deep dive into all things micro. I adore a nerdy close read. That kind of work feels so good on the brain. I mentioned earlier I have a MFA (dual, fiction and nonfiction). Despite all that work to earn that degree, I rarely (read: never) had a chance in that program to apply the close reading techniques we studied to micro prose.
MFA programs really drag their heels on teaching flash fiction, in general. That’s got to change.
Micro prose deserves the same attention and rigor as its wordier brethren. We’ll be rolling out Claudine’s Werd Nerds soon, and this nerd is super excited about it!
In terms of my own writing, I’m working on a novel and a hybrid memoir. I’m told if I keep working consistently on those, some day they will be finished. Maybe that’s true? We shall see.
Myna: What do you wish I’d asked?
D.E.: Oh my stars, my answers here are pages long! Perhaps the best unasked question is “For a publisher of micro prose, aren’t you a bit wordy?” hahahaha.
***
D.E. Hardy’s work has appeared in Pithead Chapel, Fractured Lit, X-R-A-Y Magazine, Lost Balloon, Flashback Fiction, among others. Her work has been anthologized in Best Small Fictions and Best Microfiction, and twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. D.E. recently won Baltimore Review’s flash fiction contest for 2025. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and can be found online at dehardywriter.com.
Find D.E. on Twitter or Bluesky
Myna Chang 