ABOUT HORSEHEADS

Horseheads is named after an assumption. In the summer of 2020, co-editors Elana and DJ both read, and thoroughly enjoyed, Lorrie Moore’s short novel Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? The novel, set in the fictional town of Horsehearts, NY, served to further solidify Elana and DJ’s bond over literature. Around the same time, they decided to start a literary magazine together. It just needed a name, and the editors had a feeling that the right one would naturally present itself to them. Several weeks later, while on a road trip through upstate New York, Elana noticed an exit for a town called Horseheads and, seeing it as a sign, stopped there for a slice of pizza. She told DJ immediately, and thus came about the assumption that perhaps this was the very town that inspired Lorrie Moore’s fictional Horsehearts. It all felt a little too perfect, a sign from the universe that this was to be the name of their little magazine.

The overall goal of Horseheads is to bring people together. Our current focus is on aspects of life that the Covid-19 pandemic has forbidden us, with our first issue about concerts, though our mission will surely change with the times. Each issue will have a theme and feature creative nonfiction essays dealing with said theme. Through sharing our life experiences, we hope to create a community of writers and sustain this community through readings and events. And with our specific themes that essentially require all submitters to write something new, we hope that our publication will serve as a way to get folks to exercise their writing abilities. The result is an intimate reading experience in which souls are bared and cherished memories are re-lived on the page.