RABBLE REVIEW No.10 (and No.11) Update!
The next edition of RABBLE REVIEW is on the way and arriving this summer. Here's how progress has been going so far, along with a sneak peek of what to expect in Issue 10 (and 11!), our second twin issue.
Hello reader. I know, it has been awhile since you have heard from me. Unless you read our newsletter. Or follow our Instagram account. Or you’re a contributor for the upcoming issue. Yeah...anyways, our last issue dropped in October 2025 and a lot has happened since then. Both with RABBLE REVIEW and the world around us. So I’m sure you have been wondering where Issue 10 is, right? We opened submissions in October after the launch of Issue No.9, closed that call at the end of November, and now…where? Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that it’s still not here, we’re aiming to have it out in August. The good news is that you are getting another twin issue. That’s right, our Issue 10 submission pile was so impressive that we decided to split it into two issues. How exciting! So allow me to update you on that process and what you can expect from our next two issues:
Issue 10, What to Expect:
For starters, this issue was compiled and created with our largest editorial team so far. Our editorial team is now made up of five individuals. Which is two more than we had for Issue No.9, and one more than our previous maximum. Andrew Adjei (me), Angel Neri, Jeremy Hurdis, and our two newest editors, Valerie Vargas, and Rowan Crosthwaite. We actually worked with Rowan on Issues 5 and 6 (our previous twin issue), but they have returned to help shape the next phase of RABBLE REVIEW. Valerie joined us just after the release of Issue No.9 and she has been an amazing addition to the team. So right off the jump, the shape, voice, and even taste of RABBLE REVIEW has changed. Which is great news because almost five years in we want to keep things fresh and exciting. New faces means new viewpoints, and ideas. This was extremely valuable as we had received our biggest submission haul ever. Over 200 people submitted work for Issue 10, and we would not have been able to get through it all with our smaller team.
A larger submission pile did not necessarily mean that we were going to have two issues. From the start I was under the impression that it would mean we would have our largest rejection pile. And while that still ended up being true, the idea for a twin issue didn’t appear until we were well into our review of the submissions. We hadn’t yet finished reading the submissions, but an overarching theme began to form. As a reminder, RABBLE REVIEW has never solicited work with a specific theme in mind. Someday we will do a themed issue, but 10 issues in, we have shaped the narrative of each issue based around the work we have received. We certainly have our political perspective that is infused into every issue, sure, but each issue’s voice is always a surprise for us. We basically work backwards from what we have. It’s a fun process and slightly unfair to the great submissions we receive that don’t really gel with the other works we love. But landing on a specific narrative and shaping our issue around that theme gives each issue a cohesion and a specificity to the moment in time that we publish that issue in. And for Issue 10 and 11 we found that our favorite submissions were speaking to very specific ideas and concepts that we felt spoke to our current moment with refreshing clarity and intention.
One idea that we found particularly evocative was the one we ended up landing on for Issue No.10. It was that of hunger. Both literally and figuratively. Hunger for change, hunger for community, and sometimes actual, literal, hunger, as a result of poverty, or global conflict. The pieces that spoke to that idea spoke to it with such clarity, but when paired with other works, that hunger really poked at a yearning that transcended borders, barriers, and even (sometimes) political ideology, to a certain extent. There is a darkness, and loneliness, that is coming from our contributors as they respond to this moment in time, and through that we found that pull and tension. Folks are wrestling with some really devastating concepts. It was exciting to read, and it ended up coloring our submission pile. By the time it came to putting our selections in order, we knew what we wanted to say because our contributors had stated it so clearly and loudly. It’s a darker issue, but there is a shared solidarity that we feel will leave readers feeling stirred, compelled, and even energized. I’ll leave it there, and I’m excited for you to experience this for yourself. I’ll have more to share as we finalize the issue, but I just wanted to share those themes to give you something to chew on while you wait. We hope to have Issue 10 ready for launch this August. You can visit the RABBLE REVIEW No.10 page to see who will be in the issue, and early July we will be ready to share the official cover art for Issue 10. And let me just tell you, it is stunning, and done by a previous cover artist. Can you guess who?
Issue No.10 Progress Report:
In terms of the actual work that needs to be done, Issue 10 is in order. That means we have placed each poem, artwork, and prose piece in the release order. We pair works with each other, and build that narrative over the course of the book. We are still waiting to hear back from a few contributors to make sure we have permission to publish their work. But we know how the issue will start, and how it will end. Any work that gets withdrawn at this point will just be removed from that timeline, but I can technically read the issue cover to cover. Even though it’s not yet in book form, and most of the pages haven’t been created yet. That step falls to our EIC and designer, Angel Neri, who is already hard at work creating those beautiful pages you have come to love. So yes, there is still plenty of work to get done, but we are on schedule and feeling very excited.
Speaking of, I mentioned we’re having a twin issue. Issue 11 isn’t in order but we have finalized the work we will be including in that issue. We have also already settled on the theme for Issue 11, and we think it works nicely next to Issue No.10. We will not begin further work on Issue No.11 until Issue 10 is out in the world. But our plan is to have Issue 11 ready for launch in October. We actually chose October for a reason. The theme we landed on for that issue kind of (sort of) coincides with the mood and themes you typically find during the month of October. When you think of October, what jumps to mind? I won’t say more than that. I’m a tease, sorry. Blame my ex.
That was a joke.
What Did Not Make it into Issue No.10:
Now for the work we didn’t take. I always like to be very clear and transparent about our tastes and selection process. This is just for that aforementioned transparency, but also to help any future submitters know what we are (and definitely are not) looking for. We won’t be opening submissions until December for Issue No.12, so you have time to start thinking. Maybe it’ll be a themed issue, who knows. But anyways, let’s drill down on the selection process for Issue No.10 and 11. Because with two new editors, our tastes and preferences became even more complicated and varied. In a good way. But that complication wasn’t helped by the fact that we received the most amount of submissions, as I have mentioned earlier. That large pile of submissions also had a broader shape of viewpoints and approaches to the question, what makes a good RABBLE REVIEW submission? Many folks submitting work were new to RABBLE REVIEW, and many of them may have misinterpreted our mission statement, and what we were looking for. I actually wrote a blog about the type of work our team tends to bristle at and honestly, much of that hasn’t changed. Even with Rowan and Valerie joining the team. If anything the two of them made our taste profile even more strict.
Again, I don’t want this to come across as mean, I intend for this to be instructive and helpful. But a lot of people see, “leftist,” and assume it’s a synonym for liberal. When in reality, we are to the left of most establishment liberal positions. That isn’t to say that we won’t accept work from liberals. Quite the contrary, some of our favorite works find a commonality with our shared struggle, even if the work (or its author) don’t align with the viewpoint of the editorial team. Most people (in the United States at least) identify as liberal. With that said, there is plenty of work we received that was essentially dead on arrival. The works that lean into a neo-liberal world view won’t be received well by our team. What’s an example of that? Well, maybe hyper partisan view points that sort of glorify specific politicians. Please don’t wax poetic about former US presidents. Work that glorifies a bygone era in very vague ways, i.e, “we used to be a people that cared, now we’re so divided,” etc, always feel vague and dishonest. There is no clarity of perspective when you talk about how great things used to be. There are exceptions here, of course. Speaking about a neighborhood that was culturally flattened due to gentrification, for example, is more interesting. But leaning into patriotism (of any nation), or nationalism, is not a winning strategy, and genuinely doesn’t make for interesting work. This viewpoint is already the established viewpoint of empire and the imperial core. That is not a viewpoint operating from a marginalized position. Fascism isn’t threatened by neo-liberalism, if anything it was born out of it. Take that understanding and add it to the fact that the editorial team at RABBLE REVIEW is made up of people who have been directly impacted by the policies and positions of neoliberalism. Status quo politics does nothing to move the needle, and on its own, it’s a boring position to be writing from. Look at the state of things and ask yourself what a truly innovative solution would look like. That should be your starting point with the work you share with us.
What do you want the world to look like today? If your answer is found in the not so distant past, then you have already lost. Because none of us on the team want that at all. RABBLE REVIEW launched Issue No.1 during the Biden administration. We were fighting for a different world post Trump 1, but, crucially, our radical perspective was still held during a moment in time many would consider less fraught in comparison to where we are now in 2026. If your political world view does not take into account actual struggles we faced in the years leading up to this present moment then it is not something we will ever find worth sharing. Stated another way, if that picture of the former presidents that Barack Obama shared yesterday made you, happy, well, maybe avoid sharing that view with us. And because I’ve kinda gone a bit deep into US policy, here's another reminder. Most of our team is based in the United States but one of our editors literally lives in Canada. And while we certainly publish work that speaks to United States policy directly, it shouldn’t be the primary point of view in your analysis. It can be, but it isn't always going to land for obvious reasons. Issue 10 will be publishing work from contributors currently living in China, Iran, Columbia, Pakistan, Germany, Kenya, Gaza, Nigeria, India, and more. Obviously your work can speak to country specific policies or ideas, but you should always be gesturing at something more universal. We want to share work that will be thrilling for anyone across the world. Works that can successfully do that will always rise to the top. To finalize that point, if your work engages in the political world and it is operating under a world view that was, at some point, broadly accepted by the mainstream then it probably isn't a belief system that needs amplifying. We are seeking something more radical than the status quo from years past.
Also, as a quick aside, I’m pretty sure we received at least one submission during this last submission period from someone who was speaking positively about Ronald Reagan (both in general and as a comparison to Trump). Let me be clear, as a queer Black man…your work is automatically rejected if you speak highly of that decrepit demon. Also, also, on a similar point, we do not care about the founding fathers. We don’t! Why would we?! God! I don’t care about what they would have wanted, or if they're rolling in their graves! Good! They should be rolling over a fire in hell! I want housing for all! I want my trans friends to get gender affirming care. I want women to be able to safely get an abortion if they ever need it! I don’t want billionaires to exist! Literally! Just, ugh! Sorry, again, I want to be constructive, but also…yuck. Why would a leftist journal publish a kind word about Ronald Reagan of all people? Or Thomas Jefferson? Or George W. Bush? I know Donald Trump is evil and bad, but the past doesn't change for the better in comparison. There are plenty of lessons to be learned from the past, but can we skip the lessons that came from former slave owners who committed genocide against the indigenous population to get what they wanted? Like, please be for real.
To Conclude:
I do hope that was a little bit helpful, I meant for it to be helpful. And to be clear, not all of our rejections did operate in the ways I previously described. Many submissions we rejected did impress us, but it may have fallen short in other areas. Sometimes a work is good but imperfect structurally. Maybe you used a word or phrase that kept it from being the right good fit. Maybe a piece was good but too long at the top and didn’t find its stride until too late into the piece. Sometimes (rarely) a piece is too short, and it could have used a little expansion. And the other unfortunate truth is that we had several works that would have been accepted during a lighter submission period. If you received a rejection letter in June, you were almost in the issue. I’m sure hearing that isn’t exactly much comfort, but it’s true. We had a few works that were absolutely amazing, but we just didn’t know how or where to place it among our final selections. It’s never a good feeling to pass on amazing work, but it happened with a few pieces this time around.
With that said, rejection or not, please submit in the future! Issue 12 submissions will open after Issue 11 releases. Some of our acceptances this time around were from people submitting work for the first time. So we’re delighted to be part of their creative journey. Sometimes an accepted piece is just about time and place. Sometimes your work requires a bit more time in the oven. But we’re all in the community here, so if you ever want specific feedback on your work, don’t hesitate to reach out. I share all this feedback to be constructive. It is truly a privilege to receive work from so many people, and an even greater privilege to actually be able to read or view it.
Anyways, that’s pretty much all I can share right now about Issue 10 and 11. We’re thrilled to share the works we have received. As we were putting the works in order I routinely found myself being blown away at the sheer volume of talent we have collected for these issues. You all are superstars, and I love being able to bring your work to our audience. I was also reviewing our back issues, because earlier in June, Angel Neri, and I had the pleasure of attending the IE Anarchist Bookfair. During my free time I opened our older issues just to get a sense of what fresh eyes would be seeing when they opened our issue, and you know what? We have an amazing magazine, holy shit. And the folks that came by our table were equally impressed. I don’t mean to brag but, we’re sort of amazing, and I’m proud of the work we have done, and continue to do. That work would not be possible without you, our readers, and contributors. So thank you for your support. I genuinely believe that our creative output has the power to fight back against the encroaching storm of fascist ideology that we have seen creeping up all around the world. You create amazing work in a world that so often devalues and denigrates the creatives who give it that texture we crave. Please continue to create and share your work, because we need it now more than ever. I love you all, and cannot wait to share more about our upcoming issues.
If you haven’t already then check out our newsletter, and subscribe to updates that get delivered straight to your inbox. We also have content on our YouTube channel that features readings, editorial discussions, and more. And of course, our back issues are available to read. Please do so, you might just find your next favorite poem, or piece of art, or prose. And if after all of that, you want to support us financially, you can do that too! We are reader supported, every dollar you donate goes to creating more RABBLE REVIEW, sending us to events, and more.
Thanks again, reader. I’ll be back again soon. Take care of yourself and each other.
Andrew Adjei
Managing Editor, Fiction Editor
Andrew Adjei is a 34 year old writer and editor living in California. Andrew helped create RABBLE REVIEW in early 2020 alongside fellow editor, Angel Neri, and has been the Fiction Editor for the magazine ever since. Prior to RABBLE REVIEW, Andrew, was a student editor for Riverside City College's literary journal, MUSE, and also a contributor of their Spring 2017 issue.
Andrew primarily writes fiction, and has a B.A in English-Creative Writing from Cal-State, Long Beach. In addition to writing and editing Andrew is an avid gamer, angry bisexual, and occasional Twitch streamer. He has brought his livestreaming skills to RABBLE REVIEW's own livestreams.
