Stress and Coffee--Editrice Note

Those are the two overwhelming preoccupations of The Toucan Editrices when they are not having heartfelt, poignant debates over submissions. Well, Editrice Laura prefers oranges. And Editrice Liz likes a good novel, but we do it all for you, toots.

We hope everyone and everything had a good summer. This is the first time the bird did not vacation—you may recall a certain yellow-covered Summer Issue that came out ‘round July 1st. Yes, he was on a beach with a beautiful girl, but dang, it was work! Once again, we’d like to thank all our contributors. We now receive consistent submissions and will only cease to publish upon the death of both Editrices (which may or may not be caused by a deluge of submissions). Just when we thought our luck as complete ruddy amateurs was dwindling, MORE came. This is encouraging. And we still want to encourage you to send us the writing from under the bed. Make sure you dust it off first, and take a look at guidelines and all relevant stuff on www.thetoucanonline.blogspot.com. Then when you have ensured you are enclosing a work of…we’re afraid “genius” will scare you, so we’ll go all Monty Python, “Personal Best”—send em’ to thetoucanmag@gmail.com, and the debating shall begin.

This issue is a bit shorter than the two previous, but it sure hits the mark for quality. The scales are tipped for fiction, we admit. Maybe it’s the alliteration, fall, fiction, “Flower Power”…and by the time you finish that one you’ll have even more questions about what’s in the mascot’s cigar. But there’s a sobering, bracing quality to the work. Suicide is contemplated, death is pondered, realizations laid bare, voyages meet with “Various Crash Landings” and THE HIPPY IS GOING EXTINCT! Eventually, “It All Becomes Fiction” and fall is as good a time as any to remind ourselves of that. But we do wish our readership would avoid bears, otherwise you might be pondering death sooner than you think. We do not “Refuse To Educate”: “Mountain Guide For Avoiding Bears” is our PSA. “Charming”, isn’t it?

Having beaten around the bush sufficiently, you probably are all expiring from curiosity about the absolutely adorable, incredibly handsome and manly model on our cover. The story behind it is a little cagey, but we will tell you that that fine bird is the original, the one, the only. You can see him for yourself somewhere outside Chicago. He’ll call “rrKKK, rrKKK” and your heart will melt to the point where he could pick it out of your chest with his beak and gently toss it back to you (toucan courting ritual, no joke). Our love to this bird, but especially the San Fran Dan.


Making like trees and leafing,

Liz and Laura, Toucan Editrices