36 THE DISRUPTION ISSUE
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A literary magazine born in disruption - creating throughout the pandemic
“No one stops creating things just because we can’t go outside.”
- Brandon Bennett, BRAG editor-in-chief
Since January 2020, Manchester-based literary magazine BRAG have found success after the publication of their first issue Where Has It Gone, featuring poetry, short stories, interviews, and ‘smoke-long’ horror. It would be erroneous to assume the success of BRAG stops there. They went on to release their second issue Anything Human, a process which went a lot smoother than the first issue and worked “like a well-oiled machine”, as editor-in-chief Brandon Bennett phrased it. Late on a bleak Wednesday evening, aAh! sat down for a casual, virtual chat with Brandon to find out how the pandemic had disrupted the publishing process of BRAG.
While sipping on a citrusy IPA, Brandon told us: “Within the first issue, we were faced with a lot of communication barriers.” These barriers were the result of online communication with industry professionals, which delayed the issue by three weeks. Like many independent businesses trying to establish themselves, the marketing of BRAG was increasingly difficult with the shift to online spaces. “We would have loved to have done launch events, and gone to literary festivals to show off what we’ve done,” said Brandon. Instead of physically launching and promoting BRAG, Brandon revealed social media, particularly Twitter, was a huge help. Through Twitter, editors were able to communicate with writers who they admire and have managed to expand their readership to both America and India. The BRAG editors say they have ‘stepped it up a gear’ for issue II and indeed, they have. This latest instalment features poetry from Canadian poet, Karen Solie, Welsh poet, Lowri Williams, and art by Luby Cunningham, as well as a new ‘smoke-long paranoia’ section. The full-colour artwork on the front cover is by the mysterious artist Miles Lounsbach.
Words - Holly McKay Design - Jessica Wise
