For this edition of Inside the Den, we’re thrilled to celebrate two years with Cee Pugsley, one of our most trusted fiction readers. Cee brings a remarkable level of insight and consistency to the fiction queue, offering thoughtful, incisive feedback that helps shape the stories we consider for publication. Their sharp editorial instincts and steady presence behind the scenes have become an essential part of the work we do at Black Fox.
Black Fox Literary Magazine: How did you become a reader for Black Fox?
Cee Pugsley: I answered a call for readers on the mailing list.
BFLM: What kinds of stories or themes are you most drawn to?
CP: Both as a reader and writer, I really enjoy fauna as a motif and metaphorical tool. I also enjoy work that has a strong voice and sense of levity while exploring serious issues such as gender, sexuality, and the climate crisis.
BFLM: What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to reading a submission?
CP: When I can tell that an author is trying hard to sound like a writer. Your voice will be more authentic if you just try to sound like your most interesting self.
BFLM: What makes a submission stand out (in a good way)?
CP: Small very specific details that give an immediate sense of time and place.
BFLM: What’s something you’ve learned from reading submissions that surprised you?
CP: There are certain elements I see time and again that I wouldn’t have guessed were so common.
BFLM: What’s a story you love and think about often?
CP: There are so many. “The Way We Live Now” by Sontag comes to me often. The story that made me want to write short fiction was “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried” by Amy Hempel.
BFLM: If your personality were a literary genre, what would it be—and why?
CP: Probably be some variety of free verse poetry because I don’t say a lot but when I do it’s something necessary, and I don’t like having to follow rules when they feel arbitrary.
BFLM: Many thanks, Cee, for the care and clarity you bring to every piece of fiction you read. We’re lucky to have your voice on the Black Fox team.
Stay tuned for more staff spotlights in upcoming editions of Inside the Den—because every page begins with a reader.
Cee Pugsley is a parent of two and transcriptionist from Baltimore City, Maryland. They’re active in their city’s thriving literary and artist community, and a recent alum of the Tin House writer’s workshop. Their work can be found most recently in Frigg Magazine.
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