It’s my sad duty to inform y’all that this week’s story is the final story for Dog versus Sandwich.
Changes in my personal circumstances, and an increasing squeeze on my time have meant I’ve had to make some tough decisions, and the administrative side of maintaining a weekly website has become more and more difficult to keep up with over the last couple of months. After some internal debate, I made the decision that I would rather close the magazine than put out a product I couldn’t give the attention it needs or deserves.
Small press publishing exists in a constant cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Magazines and webzines come along, survive as best they can, and then die, to be replaced by new projects and bright-eyed, naive new editors. Some may see cause for dismay in this constant entropy, but I see it as a sign of hope. Change is what keeps the small press vibrant, dynamic, and saves it from stagnation.
When I began DvS, I decided to give it a month or two to assess whether there was enough interest to make it worth continuing. The fact that I’ve kept it going for ten months is testament to the enthusiasm of those authors, readers and reviewers who recognised something in the project that they identified with, and who took it into their hearts. Weirdos:-) I’m proud to say it was never possible, even for a second, to think of DvS as “my” project. It has always felt like the product of a very strange, shifting gestalt. I’ve been privileged to connect with a lot of intelligent and talented people, who happen to share my slightly demented aesthetic. I’m grateful to all of you.
DvS may return in some other form, down the track. Or it may not. Whatever the case, I’m immensely proud fo the pieces I’ve published here. I’ve loved them all, I had a lot of fun publishing them, and I hope you all had some fun along the way, too.
Peace,
Ben
