by Olivia Young<\/p>\n
Mare Cierre is a 27-year-old library manager and the founder and creative producer of Hushmarrow, a literary press with a taste for dark fiction, set to release its first magazine Sept. 22. <\/p>\n
The debut issue, \u201cWhat Haunts Us,\u201d will feature pieces of fiction, essays, criticism and original artwork from various creatives. At the heart of it all, Cierre said, is a love for the Bronx and an urge to create something that gives emerging and independent writers a place for their work to live. <\/p>\n
Cierre was born and raised in the borough, with two degrees from Lehman College including a bachelor\u2019s in journalism and a master\u2019s in organizational leadership. She\u2019s currently a student at St. John\u2019s University, working on her second master\u2019s in library and information science. Hushmarrow sits at the intersection of these interests, Cierre said. <\/p>\n
Though it took time for the concept to materialize into what is now Hushmarrow, Cierre said she noticed there is a lack of infrastructure for books, publishing and journalism in the Bronx, with residents typically commuting to Manhattan or Brooklyn for literary hubs. <\/p>\n
\u201cI figured rather than us having to go outside of the borough to find these things, we can create a home for it,\u201d Cierre said. <\/p>\n
The name Hushmarrow refers to \u201chush,\u201d signifying silence and secrets, and \u201cmarrow,\u201d representing bones, \u201cthe things we carry from the time we\u2019re born until we put them to rest in a casket one day,\u201d Cierre said. She likened it to the weight of writers carrying their drafts, revisions and efforts to make themselves known. Hushmarrow is a place for that writing to stay. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a quiet in it,\u201d Cierre wrote on her Substack. \u201cBut there is also something underneath that quiet. There is the body. There is life and death. There is the possibility that something is resting peacefully and the possibility that maybe it isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the focus is to amplify the borough, and ensure consistent literary programming within it, submissions don\u2019t only come from Bronx-based creatives. <\/p>\n
The company has six contributing writers \u2014 whose subgenres range from Black horror and Southern gothic to ecofiction and visual arts \u2014 all of whom have a distinct voice, Cierre said, which is what drew her to them in the first place. Hushmarrow is also supported by four editorial interns, and a programing coordinator and illustrator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the most recent pieces published on the Hushmarrow Substack, \u201cThe Devil at Crossroads: Conjure, the Blues and Black Spiritual Power,\u201d is by contributing writer Alicia Marie. The work describes a scene out of Ryan Coogler\u2019s \u201cSinners,\u201d where Black sharecroppers, tenant farmers and day laborers are dancing in a Mississippi sawmill turned juke joint, as blues musician Sammi Moore gets up to play. His performance pierces the veil between life and death and draws in the film\u2019s vampire antagonists. <\/p>\n
\u201cSammie\u2019s music does not create the evil and it does not belong to the evil,\u201d Marie writes. \u201cIt is simply so powerful that evil hears it. That is a distinction that may feel or seem small until you actually remember how often Black people have been told that the things we carried with us were evil in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the focus on dark fiction \u2014 which encompasses fantasy, horror and psychological thrillers, to name a few \u2014 Cierre believes it\u2019s a genre that isn\u2019t celebrated enough. Just as the Bronx is underrepresented, so is horror, Cierre said. At the library where she works, she said horror is the smallest section. <\/p>\n
\u201cGenre fiction isn\u2019t taken as seriously as a more literary piece or nonfiction,\u201d Cierre said. \u201cIt deserves the same seriousness \u2026 I just wanted a space for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ultimate goal is for Hushmarrow to have a brick-and-mortar location, with a public space for readings, workshops and book launches. This would also create a number of publishing jobs in the Bronx, Cierre explained on her Substack, for editors, writers, designers and other creatives to build a career in the borough. <\/p>\n
By press time, Hushmarrow had more than 1,000 Substack followers and a few magazine pre-orders. Cierre is appreciative of the audience Hushmarrow has online, but fears it\u2019s more widespread right now than centralized in the Bronx. Ahead of the first issue\u2019s Sept. 22 release event, Cierre fears a low turnout, but is excited to see attendees review \u201cWhat Haunts Us\u201d for the first time.<\/p>\n
The event will be at the Andrew Freedman Home, located at 1125 Grand Concourse, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. It will feature live readings from contributors, a first look at the debut issue, a preview of its forthcoming anthology, \u201cThe Things we Bury,\u201d and remarks from Cierre. <\/p>\n
Hushmarrow is also accepting submissions for \u201cThe Things we Bury,\u201d set for release early 2027. The deadline is Nov. 15. <\/p>\n
\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tMare Cierre,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Hushmarrow,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Hushmarrow literary press,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t What Haunts Us,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx writers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx literature,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx literary scene,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t literary magazine,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t dark fiction,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t horror fiction,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t psychological thrillers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t fantasy,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Southern gothic,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Black horror,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t ecofiction,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t independent writers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t emerging writers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t literary publishing,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Andrew Freedman Home,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Lehman College,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t St. John\u2019s University,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx arts,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx creatives,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Alicia Marie,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t The Things We Bury,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t literary events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t publishing jobs,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t literary programming,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t New York City writers\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Olivia Young Mare Cierre is a 27-year-old library manager and the founder and creative producer of Hushmarrow,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[130926,17475,130920,128,104814,130925,130916,130915,130914,130918,130921,130923,115643,130919,130911,130912,130922,24449,121092,130917,130929,130924,130910,9,24,130930,63,87377,130928,83900,12668,129,131,130,130927,130913],"class_list":["post-350408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-alicia-marie","tag-andrew-freedman-home","tag-black-horror","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-arts","tag-bronx-creatives","tag-bronx-literary-scene","tag-bronx-literature","tag-bronx-writers","tag-dark-fiction","tag-ecofiction","tag-emerging-writers","tag-fantasy","tag-horror-fiction","tag-hushmarrow","tag-hushmarrow-literary-press","tag-independent-writers","tag-lehman-college","tag-literary-events","tag-literary-magazine","tag-literary-programming","tag-literary-publishing","tag-mare-cierre","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-writers","tag-nyc","tag-psychological-thrillers","tag-publishing-jobs","tag-southern-gothic","tag-st-johns-university","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-the-things-we-bury","tag-what-haunts-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}