On Wednesday 9^th October the Cathedralian Society were very pleased to support Joe Santamaria, one of our Alumni, launching the first printed edition of his brand new literary magazine at the school’s Cresswell centre.

Copies of the magazine were available, and Joe held a Q&A along with some of his colleagues and contributors.  We were also treated to a reading of her two contributions to the magazine by Jessica O. Neill, which were very well received.
 

Joe is trying to create a new literary magazine, which will publish the best new and emerging writers out there.  Called “Iceberg Tales,” they are passionate about uncovering ambitious, thought-provoking pieces of work that they know are hovering just below the surface.

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Initially inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg theory of fiction, they began to think about what the image of the Iceberg could mean for them as lovers of literature. They thought of the vast, mysterious depths shimmering in rays of moonlight just below the surface of the water. They thought about the moments of fleeting, fragile beauty present just for a moment, before retreating back within the caverns of the ocean. And, as they so often do, they thought about literature.

Poetry, Short Stories, Criticism and Flash Fiction make up far more of, what those at Iceberg Tales think of as, literature than is indicated by their commercial footprint. Likewise, there is a rich and diverse pool of literary talent hovering just out of view, yearning for a chance to express itself. It is their aim to shine a light on this wonderful, vibrant and diverse world beneath the surface. They hope that readers will find something in their pages that makes them want to look a little deeper.

The magazine is operating online (icebergtales) to garner and maintain the interest of readers and new pieces are published every few weeks. The aim of the online publication is to establish a sense of quality and trust in their readers so that some of them will seek to purchase print editions, which will initially be published twice a year.

It is Joe’s ambition to apply for larger arts grants over the next few months, using the debit print edition as part of his portfolio, to hopefully secure larger funds which would then go on to finance further print editions next year.  Longer term Joe’s aim is for the magazine to become a self-financing business. There are currently two members of the Iceberg Tales team, including myself and they both have other jobs in addition to their work with the magazine.

Joe describes himself as a proud Cathedralian and he is hugely grateful to the school for equipping him with the skills he has today. For his teenage years, the school and the teachers within it provided him with an answer to most of the questions he found himself asking.