Author: Grace Li
I’m excited to share the next installment of our Student Spotlight Series, with the Yin Literary! We are joined by Sophia Pan, the Editor-in-Chief of Yin Literary, to discuss the intersection between East-Asian identity and writing.
Q1. Please introduce yourself and the Yin Literary.
Hi! My name is Sophia Pan, and I am the EIC of Yin Literary, an East Asian themed magazine!
Q2. What moment or experience inspired you to start the Yin Literary, and how has it shaped how you lead this literary magazine?
I remember how difficult it was as a new writer to even just be able to dip my feet into the water that was the publishing industry, and having no clue what to put in a “third person bio” when all I had was about 100 rejections or a months-long waiting time for the submissions I hadn’t been rejected on (yet). So, I started Yin Literary aspiring to become a magazine that would be more new-writer inclusive, alleviate some of the turmoil in having nothing to write in a third person bio, all within 48 hours.
Q3. What role do you think youth literary magazines play in the contemporary literary scene?
I think younger magazines provide niche corners and detailed attention to pieces that might otherwise not have found a place in the more mainstream institutions. I know that in the case of Yin, we personalize each submission’s email, and really do give every piece the time and effort it deserves when reading.
Q4. What kind of work do you look for when selecting submissions?
This is a difficult question—ideally, my answer would be “all of them”! But really, I think it depends on each piece; while I do love a good poem revolving around an issue’s theme, honestly, I love any work that is willing to take risks and showcase an artist’s voice, and have certainly overlooked the “not aligning with the theme” bit just to be able to publish a really well written piece.
Q5. Do you have any favorite pieces that you’ve published?
All of them. You should read all of our issues in their entirety 
. I think some pieces that stood out to me in the reading process were “EGRESS TRIAGE” by Hayden Park and “Enter” byYajnaseni An, both in our second issue, and “Learning to Haunt” by Bea Sophia in our third issue.
Thank you so much to Yin Literary for having this interview with us! Please check out their work at their website: https://www.yinliterary.net/
The Megaphone 