5 Questions with Elena Tjandra
Elena Tjandra is the editor-in-chief of Debris magazine.
She is a part-time bookseller and PhD candidate in
human geography at the University of Melbourne.
No.1
Tell us a little bit about Debris Magazine’s beginnings. How did you and Julia [Flaster, founder of Debris] begin collaborating with each other, and what seeded the idea around starting a magazine?
The magazine came about during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns. At the time, lots of people were experiencing grief in different forms, including people in our orbit. Julia had the idea of reaching out to them and putting those experiences to paper. We were already friends, having met a few years ago during our Honours, and she asked if I wanted to be involved in making a literary magazine that would house these pieces on grief.
In this way the magazine began to emerge around a conceptual interest [grief], but also the idea that there are people who have stories to tell but might require more support to tell them. There didn’t seem to be many other platforms doing the kind of mentoring we were hoping to provide, and even fewer that would publish very new and/or unpublished writers alongside more established peers. So, as Issue 01 was underway, we realised that this was something we could continue to offer.
No.2
An independent magazine is typically a labour of love, and it’s evident from the issues you’ve published so far, which have been visually pleasing and textually rich, not to mention the brilliant art and writing within. What have you learned so far, and what challenges and/or pleasant surprises you’ve encountered along the way?
This is a good question! Certainly, the process of producing the magazine is becoming easier, with Issue 03 the smoothest yet (with thanks to you and Jon!) so this must mean we are learning something? There are so many things we’ve had to pick up [from scratch], whether that was learning how to apply for grants, choosing paper stocks, understanding how distribution works, or getting over our fear of contacting our favourite high-profile writers. Julia has become really skilled in speaking printer lingo, which has been cool to see.
As far as pleasant surprises go, there are lots of tiny gems I keep finding in the issues. Things like seeing Jumaana Abdu’s and Em Meller’s short stories in Issue 03 ending in the sea, or the symmetry of Shookoofeh Azar’s and Alice Pung’s pieces in Issue 01 where the figure of the baby ends up being similarly linked to expectation and memory.
No.3
Issue 01 was edited by you and Julia, as well as Danny Silva Soberano, Maddee Clark and Anna Yeon; Issue 02 was guest-edited by Alana Lentin, Anna Yeon and Anne-Marie Te Whiu; and Issue 03 was guest-edited by Cher Tan and Jon Tjhia. What is the decision-making process behind deciding who will guest edit (if at all)? What are some future plans you can reveal for the magazine?
It has always been important for us to look for editors who have lots of experience.
At the beginning we wanted to pair editors with writers, choosing editors who would be specifically well-suited to the writer, but as time went on, we realised that this would not be financially feasible, so we ended up picking editors whom we knew could work with emerging writers. This means editors who can identify a good pitch and assess the capacity for the writer to pull it off, all the while having the capacity to work closely with writers to develop their piece. Some pieces are almost fully conceived, but at other times, editors are working with pieces almost from scratch, which means that we also look for editors who can nurture ideas to completion. As for a decision-making process, there was no criteria per se—at the beginning we just began contacting people we knew and liked.
At the moment we’re still basking in the afterglow with the recent publication of Issue 03, so we haven’t set our sights on anything in particular for Issue 04. Some possible plans include doing a call-out for guest editors, and to extend the number of issues editors work in, so as to build on relationships and achieve a bit more stability. There have also been a couple of conversations about design, and how we might make the magazine more playful.
No.4
What would you say to someone who wants to start an indie literary journal like Debris? How do you define the boundary between ‘replication’ (i.e. simply replicating what already exists) and ‘reimagination’ (i.e. attempting to reinvent the wheel)?
My mind immediately goes to funding. Unless you are writing all the pieces yourself and/or can support your practice, funding is so important—in order to pay writers, editors and all the associated costs. I know that is a boring practical answer but it’s what comes to mind, and I think is related to the second question insofar as receiving grant funding puts limits on what you can produce.
Although Debris has been generously supported by different funders, Julia and I are always talking about the line you allude to, of trying to create something new and exciting but having to stay within certain parameters—criteria set by funding bodies, and more implicit ideas of what is desirable and appropriate—which means that there’s the risk of replicating what is already out there. By the same token, with new funding coming in each issue, it does feel like an opportunity to reimagine the magazine—this is especially evident looking at the three issues and seeing how different they are visually. It’s not only because different artists and designers are involved, but it also comes from wanting to create new ways of engaging with the texts.
In short, I’m not sure I can define this boundary, but it’s something that we definitely grapple with.
No.5
What other indie journals do you love? Recommend us some!
Lots! There are exciting things happening in independent publishing at the moment. They are not restricted to journals either, and some projects that I think are fantastic (and are all quite different from each other) include Common Room Editions, No More Poetry, un Magazine, More than Melanin, Tim Coghlan’s Knowledge Editions, Kill Your Darlings, Tart Magazine, Good Sport … and Liminal of course!
(Credit: Jon Tjhia / Design by Zenobia Ahmed)
Find out more
Guest edited by Cher Tan and Jon Tjhia, this third issue of Debris Magazine starts from the premise that knowledge is literally at our fingertips, in ways that have never been possible before. We google, check our inboxes, scroll on social media and consume information almost constantly. From smartphones and smart speakers to public services and intelligence agencies, how is knowledge taken from us and used to shape us? What’s a ‘knowledge economy’ anyway?
Contributors were invited to interrogate the theme—knowledge, and its compulsions— -from all angles: the relationship between knowledge and action, the burden of excessive knowledge, the urge to learn, and others we are yet to discover.
What is knowing for, and how does it affect and intervene in our experiences? How does our desire for ‘truth’ mislead us? Who is owed an explanation? When is knowledge competitive, and why? How does networked knowledge – gossip, group chats, private forums – protect us? When is it threatening? When is knowing enough, enough?
Debris Magazine #3: The Urge to Know features exploration of this theme through non-fiction, fiction, poetry, prose, graphic art or other hybrid forms.
Get it at the Debris website here, or see stockists here.