About me and why I am interning at Taddle Creek

I was—and technically still am—a lawyer (yes, I can notarize that document for you). The question people tend to ask of former lawyers is why they stopped practising law. If you knew me, you would not ask that. You would ask instead how I ended up as a lawyer in the first place. My transition into the literary world is less a career change than an attempt to correct a misstep. The legal world is full of hard-working, brilliant people, some of whom are well-suited to what they are doing. I wish those people luck.

I left my job at an amazing firm of talented lawyers in early spring of this year, with the vague intention of seeking out an internship at some point. In the beginning, I was somewhat distracted by my other goal of going to things. One of those things was TCAF. Just inside the door, I was beckoned over by two lonely looking men seated behind a display of colourful magazines bearing the title Taddle Creek in an attractive typeface. Typeface is important to me, so I approached. The exchange began something like this:

Potential Intern: What is Taddle Creek?

Editor: It’s a literary magazine.

Potential Intern: Like Descant?

Editor: [raised eyebrow] Better than Descant.

Potential Intern: Why better?

Editor: Because we do not produce special issues on dogs.

I couldn’t disagree with this logic, and my suspicion gave way to curiosity. After further conversation, I was willing to concede that my ignorance as to Taddle Creek’s existence might have been due to oversight on my part, not on theirs. I was sent home with a free magazine, and a warning that my application for the internship would only be considered if I sent it the next day.

Three glasses of wine and six hours later, my cover letter was complete. After a grueling interview process that included a whole day spent drinking free beer with writers in the Steam Whistle green room during a reading event, I was invited to be a protégé.