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Bewildering Stories

Round Tables and Discussions

by Don Webb

Rachel Parsons asks a good question about an occasional Department of ours. The particular reference was to the Discussion in issue 345 about Mark Twain’s article. Rachel had posted comments in the Forum and wondered how one gets invited to a “round table.” My explanation tried to touch all the bases, and we agreed it might be of interest to readers generally.

What happens if someone sends in a commentary that happens to be the only one on a particular topic? It may appear in The Challenge, The Critics’ Corner or the Letters department. As long as the message meets our guidelines, stays on topic, and adds something interesting, it stands a good chance.

But I can’t make any promises: the Forum is automatic and moderated; Departments are edited, like the rest of the issue. A message that’s well-suited to the Forum may be of less interest in a regular issue. Or maybe it’ll be the other way around; a lot depends on circumstances.

Remember that anything in Bewildering Stories — from issue 1 on — is open to discussion. To round tables? If anyone would like to organize one and it seems successful, we’d probably be interested.

Copyright © 2009 by Don Webb for Bewildering Stories

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