Established in 2015 in Singapore and now based in New York City, Half Mystic Press “was born out of both loss and necessity,” says the founder and editor in chief, Topaz Winters. “I grew up as a pianist, guitarist, and singer-songwriter…. After a rare illness diagnosis, playing music became suddenly physically excruciating. In the weeks and months that followed, I ached for a way to stay tethered to the musical communities I loved, and so founding a music-focused press felt less like a conscious decision than like a lifeline.”
Half Mystic publishes work that engages with music in a variety of literary genres: poetry, essay, and short story collections; memoirs, novellas, and full-length novels; and hybrid forms. Although Half Mystic also publishes some work that is not overtly about music, its call for submissions asks authors to reflect in their cover letters about what music means to them. And, as the editors write, music can take many forms as it manifests in poetry and prose: “When we ask for music, we mean rhythm, we mean story, we mean luminescence and chaos, pulsing loneliness, ordinary madness, thunder on loop, violent quietude, stuttering wonder. We mean prayer and outrage, cataclysm and resurrection.” Publishing two titles and one journal per year, Half Mystic is open to manuscript submissions year-round with a $10 submission fee, though fee waivers are available to writers facing economic hardship. Recent titles include Haley Wooning’s poetry collection Willows Wake and Walk Away, released in November, which explores the aftermath of trauma as an unnamed speaker retraces her steps through misty forests and crumbling childhood fairy tales. This spring the press will publish Matt McBride’s poetry collection At the Mercy of the Flies, and in July, Half Mystic will unveil the thirteenth issue of Half Mystic Journal. “On the horizon,” Winters says, “we’re dreaming up reading series, limited edition vinyl pressings, interactive projects, and much more.” She calls each new release “a note in a perpetually unfolding song.”
