Outgoing Reviews Editor, Victoria McIntyre, asks incoming Reviews Editor, Cid V Brunet, some questions.
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Victoria McIntyre: In your opinion, what are the components of a great review?
Cid V Brunet: Reading a great review is like finding an enthusiastic trail guide who can lead you into the heart of any story. The guide has been there already, they know what to expect and what to look out for. Great reviews offer positive, confident, and honest critical feedback while never losing sight of the bigger picture; how the writing works as a whole.
VM: What key beliefs or sources of inspiration shape your writing practice? What inspires you as a reviewer and an interviewer?
CVB: I find developmental editing to be so much fun when done collaboratively. At its best, editing can feel like a conversation between writers who are both nerding out super hard. That intensive attention to detail can polish every sentence.
I draw a lot of inspiration from the editing process as a writer because it reminds me that, even if we write in isolation, we are not alone. Editing is one of many ways we build community and become better, together.
VM: What kind of submissions are you most excited to see?
CVB: I’m especially excited to read pitches from new and emerging writers who want to review the work of new and emerging writers. I also want to hear from underrepresented writers who want to uplift voices from their own communities.
In terms of content, I’m interested in poetry and fiction (of course!) but please send me pitches to review short stories, novellas, graphic novels, translations, memoirs, anthologies, or other experimental hybrid forms.
VM: What is your favourite colour and why?
CVB: Green! It’s so cool that humans can see more shades of green than any other colour.
VM: If someone were to interview you about something other than writing or editing, what might it be about?
CVB: Houseplants! I recently learned that the concept of having (or not having) a ‘green thumb’ is total trash and was holding me back. Since then, I’ve been learning the specific care requirements for alocasias, philodendrons, and many more. I’d love it if someone interviewed me about diy sphagnum moss poles, aroid soil-mix recipes, or how to compare fertilizers… I can talk about houseplants forever!
VM: Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our readers?
CVB: I can’t wait to hear your pitches!
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Cid V Brunet (they/them) published their debut memoir, This Is My Real Name, with Arsenal Pulp Press (2021). With recent poetry publications in CV2 and Eavesdrop magazine, Cid has been working on their MFA through UBC’s optional residency program while living in Montreal / Tiohtiá:ke. They enjoy caring for an ever-growing collection of houseplants and trying to identify wild mushrooms.
Victoria McIntyre is a writer currently working on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓əta (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She is the outgoing Reviews Editor of PRISM international and has just completed an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. While working on her thesis, a speculative fiction novel, she was mentored by Nalo Hopkinson. In 2023, Victoria associate produced the Brave New Play Rites Festival. She co-directed a staged reading of her play, A Line of Dust, at the Heliconian Club, where she was the 2022-2023 Playwright-in-Residence. In 2024, her pilot script for her original series, “The Boys at St. B’s,” was a Semi-Finalist in the GEMfest International Screenplay Competition. You can find her shorter works in The Hart House Review, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, The Goose, Last Leaves Magazine, and other publications.