A New Chapter for Sixfold

Dear Sixfold readers and contributors,

My name is Ainsley Ellis, and I am the current editor and publisher of Sixfold. This blog post is meant to provide a brief explanation for our recent delays and a plan for our future.

I officially took over publishing responsibilities from Garrett in May of 2024, after months of discussion and incremental transition. I expressed to Garrett my intention to update the journal slowly, as I wished to avoid the confusion and frustration that I've now caused. However, as I began maintenance on the existing site, it became clear that updates were needed sooner rather than later, as there were many pain points in the submission process that needed addressed.

While I am proud of the work we've done to improve the journal's website and submission process, all of that effort is for naught if we cannot publish work in a timely manner. Keeping the journal running while making numerous changes to our systems and processes unexpectedly slowed publication, and the delays were compounded by personal health issues.

It is in the best interest of the journal and our contributors that we fulfill our outstanding obligations and complete our updates before running another contest. For that reason, we have refunded all entry fees for the Spring 2025 contest. This should have been done much earlier, and I am very sorry for the lack of communication. Submissions will re-open only when we are satisfied that the journal can be run effectively. Details about the planned improvements are outlined below.

As stated earlier, submission improvements are useless if there is no publication. To that end, we want to provide a concrete schedule for fulfilling our remaining obligations to the Summer 2024 and Winter 2024 contributors. Prize money has been disbursed, manuscript proofs are being sent out over the weekend, and the following table outlines the rest of the publication schedule:

My sincere apologies to the contributors, who have been kept waiting for their well-deserved publication.

There are still many improvements that can be made, and we intended to spend the weeks following the Summer 2024 publication increasing transparency and outreach. Here are the changes we plan to implement before re-opening submissions:

• The creation of a full contest schedule, from submission to publication
• Rewritten submission guidelines
• Rewritten terms & conditions
• Additional "How It Works" pages that detail the ranking system and explain our publication process
• Migration of old issues to the new website
• Automated password reset emails
• The creation of a simplified voting form
• Restarting the newsletter
• Return to social media, and begin posting on new platforms

Trust is difficult to gain, yet easy to lose, and these planned changes are intended to carry Sixfold far into the future. If you have ever read or contributed to Sixfold, thank you; we look forward to welcoming you again soon.