COME ON IN! WHAT’LL YOU HAVE?
(Warning to writers: Tabard Inn has been closed to submissions for many years and is unlikely to open up ever again.)
This is the cover of issue one.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the TABARD INN. For those unfamiliar with Chaucer, the Tabard Inn was the place his pilgrims stopped to rest and tell their tales before they continued on their way to Canterbury. Some were old-fashioned, and others were bawdy, and it is this duality to his work that defines this magazine. Between the covers of any of our issues, you will find many stories of all kinds . . . .
Too many publications on the market today want their material to be so watered-down they can easily pander to all ages (so they can cash in on kids, one of the hottest demographics in history). Others look down their aquiline noses at excessive material, considering it to be trash. But then, to be fair, there’s the other side of the spectrum, where everything is about senseless gore and absurd violence. In other words, people of this latter camp believe they can just give us sizzle and throw out the steak. Sorry, folks, but I’m a meat-eater. The rarer, the better.
Yes, the stories that appear in this magazine can go to whatever extremes the writer desires. BUT! I don’t like senseless garbage. There has to be content. Plot and characterization are a must. Remember, these are stories, and as such must have some kind of structure, no matter how askewed it is. Didactic stories are all right, provided the story entertains. I don’t tolerate out and out preaching.
There are two regular columns (and one of them was unpopular enough for me to cancel it before publishing the last issue), but THAT IS IT. My focus is fiction. It is my passion, it is what keeps me alive, and it is my work. You won’t find many poems here, either, and there are no reviews.
Thanks for reading my pitch, and I hope you order your copies soon. Pleasant journey, and I hope to see you all again.
Sincerely,
John Bruni
The cover of issue two.
The cover of issue three.