If literary magazines were rock concerts, HAD would be the midnight set you hear about for years. It’s bold, eccentric, and unapologetically alive. This is a press built for writers who delight in not knowing exactly what’s coming next.
Founded and run by Aaron Burch and Crow Jonah Norlander, HAD doesn’t tiptoe. They publish “heart‑punching contemporary pieces that aren’t going to wait three days to call you back.” They make submitting into something dangerous—in the best way.
It’s not just publishing. It’s ritual. It’s adrenaline. It’s a kind of literary performance.
Because HAD is one of the few mags that makes you feel alive. You don’t just wait for their issue—you check the clock, you wonder what shape the next call will ask for, you send work at 2:45 AM because why not. Their unpredictability is not chaos—it’s invitation: write, risk, show up.
And when they accept you? That skull matters.
To Aaron, Crow, and every editor and guest editor in the HAD orbit: this spotlight is yours. You’ve made uncertainty feel electric. You’ve made rejection part of the fun. You’ve made a space that feels dangerous and generous at once.
We see you. We celebrate you.
#IndieLitMagGala 2025 Spotlight: Spark to Flame Some journals are built to publish poems. Others are built to make connection happen.Spark to Flame
There’s something rare and steady about a journal that knows exactly what it is—and makes no apologies for it. ALOCASIA is one
Founded in 2015 and still standing strong a decade later, Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine isn’t trying to be edgy, obscure,
The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.
