In the spring of 1986, I rented the cheapest post office box I could afford, placed some ads calling for submissions, and waited. In a few days, the first poem arrived from a writer in Stanardsville, Virginia. It was exciting to visit the Post Office, open my little box and dig out envelopes with postmarks from all across the United States. By fall 1986, I had a good selection for a first edition magazine called NOSTALGIA.
I’d spent years fishing my writing for publication. Was a welcome change casting my net on the other side of the boat. I was hooked and became committed to an adventure that has endured 40 years.
What a catch! Every spring, every fall, for 30 editions, NOSTALGIA ran. I did all typing and a local printer duplicated hundreds of pages which I brought home in boxes, spread out on the dining room table, put a headphone of music on, comfy shoes, and in about 8 hours had 1,000 books assembled, ready for stapling and trimming. Family and friends fled in fear I’d enlist their help. Often, though, my dear children and husband took pity and assisted in the monotonous assembly process. I loved the smell of fresh ink and celebrated each new edition, rushing them off to subscribers, friends, libraries, Bed & Breakfast Inns, leaving them in hotels, business and hospital lobbies.
When NOSTALGIA began, my son was 14, my daughter was 11. I was thirty-something and my husband had dark shiny black hair. By the 30th edition in 2001, I’d turned fifty, coloring my hair, and my gray-headed husband and I had a grandchild. The cost of my publishing habits had ballooned! I downsized to a newsletter entitled NOSTALGICALLY for 6 editions. After a short sabbatical, SECONDWIND appeared for 6 editions. Now HEART with 20 editions to date. There were days I wanted to quit, like when my computer crashed or the printer needed a toner, stretching the family budget. But strangely, unexplainably, I cannot. The heart has reasons, reason cannot understand.
From 1988 to 2025, Nostalgia Press has paid $17,000.00 in cash awards to writers and donated to public libraries throughout the United States. Some writers fill pages with thoughts and stash like hiding money. Most want theirs read and shared. I like sharing mine too.
Please ~ experience HEART ~ subscribe, share!
Connie Lakey Martin, Editor
Email: nostalgiapress@gmail.com
View Listing @ Poets & Writers Magazine
“I am of course lost in this journey I’m on, but I do remain confident though I am lost, it will be a great adventure, this adventure will surpass my wildest imagination. So call me a fool, but I’m happy to be lost” ~ Micheline Jean Louis, Author
You must be logged in to post a comment.