This is The Minison Project
Home of
the minison zine,
TMP Magazine,
and MiniPress.
Give us a read:
TMP
Magazine
It’s Valentine’s Day, but we only have eyes for the wonderful contributors of our MASSIVE February issue! Grab a buddy, human or otherwise, and enjoy our Issue 4!
the
minison zine
The weather’s been chilly, so we’ve been warming up with a nice big bowl of our Soup issue! Our contributors have created a hearty meal– you readers are in for a soup-er treat!
Sonnet Coll’n
Series
The fifth and final volume of our Sonnet Collection Series is here! Our contributors for this volume really made us proud with these fourteen sonnets! Happy Publication Day, Sonneteers!
About Us/Masthead
What is The Minison Project?
Tom Snarsky and Jo Ianni are credited with popularizing the form of a minimal sonnet, or “minison”, which is a very small poetic form with only one rule (and as with any poetic form, we use the word “rule” loosely): make a poem with only fourteen letters total. For example: « cobalt sea glass » (6 + 3 + 5 = 14). The sonnet is, of course, a classic and highly respected form in English poetry, and there is precedent for this kind of idea in Seymour Mayne’s word-sonnets, as well as in the work of Noelle Kocot.
When Tom and Jo collaborated on a micro-chapbook using this 14-letter format, they decided to share their work, and it invited other inventive poets to create beautiful art in this wonderfully small space (cf. Michael O’Brien’s collection of minisons). That’s when the two decided that it was time to start a passion project.
It started out as a simple call for minimal sonnets, which led to an informal zine release, and then another, and now, although not run by Tom and Jo, The Minison Project is alive and ready to go! We can already see the format blossoming into new, related forms, such as the minison coronet mentioned in our Issue #0, and the 14 letter/14 line poem that our EIC is so very fond of.
In our first year, we introduced monthly issues with the minison zine, and a twice-yearly issue for our Sonnet Collection Series (which we have since merged into one project under the minison zine name.) In 2021, we introduced our classic literary magazine, TMP Magazine, and finally, a full two years after our journey began, we introduced our printing press, MiniPress. We are excited to see how we continue to grow and we are so grateful that you’re along for the ride!
Melissa Ashley Hernandez
Founding Editor-in-Chief
Melissa (she/her) has her BA in Acting and Directing and is currently working towards her MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing from DeSales University. She is the founder of The Minison Project and heads all three projects as Editor-in-Chief.
Her prose can be found in two short stories published in 2021, “The Rum Keg Girl” in the Cemetery Gates Media collection, Paranormal Contact: A Quiet Horror Confessional, and “Lady Killer” in Volume 4 of Kandisha Press’ Women of Horror Anthology, Don’t Break the Oath.
Her poetry can be found in the first two issues of the minison zine, The Daily Drunk Magazine, Fahmidan Journal, and Bandit Fiction, among others.
Jocelyn Luizzi
Social Media Manager
Jocelyn Luizzi (she/they) is a writer currently living in Boston, Massachusetts. They are the founder and editor of Write Through the Night, an online magazine dedicated to sharing its writers opinions on books, tv shows, movies, culture, and more. She is an avid reader and writer of both poetry and prose. Their writing can be found in Issue 15 of the minison zine, and Snowflake Magazine.
Follow her on Twitter!
Bel Wolf
Poetry/Nonfiction Reader
Bel Wolf is an undergraduate psychology student whose work has appeared in The Quarry and Sledgehammer Lit. Despite being born in San Francisco, Bel never finished Howl.
Emma McCoy
Poetry/Nonfiction Reader
Emma McCoy (she/her) is a poet and essayist with a love for the old stories. She is the assistant editor of Whale Road Review and co-editor of Driftwood. She is the author of “In Case I Live Forever” (2022), and has poems published in Flat Ink, Paddler Press, and Jupiter Review. She is an honorable mention for Craft Literary’s CNF contest, and a nominee for the AWP Intro to Journals project.
Follow her on Twitter!
Follow Megan on Instagram!
Megan Ridgway
Poetry/Nonfiction Reader
Megan Ridgway is a British poet and writer currently studying an MLitt in Creative Writing. Megan’s work can be found in Storyteller’s Refrain (Issue 2) and Alchemy (2022 Issue).
Laura Bibby
Poetry/Nonfiction Reader
With a BA in Creative Writing from Griffith University, Laura (she/her) loves to write poetry and stories that weave her love of nature with the strange, fantastical, and ominous. Her debut poetry chapbook A KNIFE IN THE DARK (2022) is now available through Bottlecap Press.
When not scribbling in her notebook, Laura can be found playing video games, wandering the botanical gardens, or among the stacks of her local bookstore.
Olly Nze
Poetry/Nonfiction Reader
Olly Nze (he/him) is a Nigerian writer, poet, and editor. When he isn’t tending to his cacti, he writes decent poetry and acceptable prose to keep himself sane. He has been published in Roxane Gay’s The Audacity, Serotonin Poetry, and others. You can read his work here.
Liam Al-Hindi
Fiction Reader
Liam Al-Hindi (he/him) is a graduate of UNO’s English and Creative Writing programs. For him, essays, poems, and stories are all handholds to grip tightly, to escape the violence of our present circumstances. His work can be found in 13th Floor Magazine, and Touchstone Literary Magazine.
You can follow them on social media @loredropout!
Mara Franzen
Fiction Reader
Mara Franzen (they/them) is a writer, editor, actor, and nerd! You can find their work on Book Riot and Warmer, as well as a few other nerd-related sites. If they aren’t writing, they can be found playing Dungeons and Dragons on the internet.
Ashlyn E. Inman
Fiction Reader
Ashlyn (she/her) is a writer, editor, nerd, and brunch enthusiast. She’s currently working toward her MFA in Creative Writing at Fairleigh Dickinson, and her essay “Okay” was included in SOOP’s Women Write Now Anthology. If she’s not reading, she’s probably watching Star Wars (again).
Halina Stone
Fiction Reader
Halina Stone (they/them) is a fiction writer, poet, and fantasy lover hailing from New Jersey. They studied Creative Writing in undergrad at Fairleigh Dickinson University and are pursuing a second Master’s Degree. When not writing, they can be found taking care of their army of succulents or sampling wares at various local cafes.
The Minison Project 