The First Line Literary Journal: It all starts the same but....

Our Mission
The purpose of The First Line is to jump start the imagination--to help writers break through the block that is the blank page. Each issue contains short stories that stem from a common first line; it also provides a forum for discussing favorite first lines in literature. The First Line is an exercise in creativity for writers and a chance for readers to see how many different directions we can take when we start from the same place.

TFL Specs

Published: Four times a year, starting in 2002 (From 1999 through 2001 we published six times a year.)
Our First Issue: May/June 1999
Our Fiftieth Issue: 12.2 - Summer 2010
Our Seventy-Fifth Issue: 18.3 - Fall 2016
Our One Hundreth Issue: 24.4 - Winter 2022
Cost: $6.00/issue and $25.00 a year. Here's our subscription information.
ISSN: 1525-9382

The First Line is a publication of Blue Cubicle Press, LLC. Here's our contact information.

Editor
David LaBounty has been publishing other people's words since 1999 as the editor of The First Line, Workers Write!, and Overtime. His plays have appeared in Plays magazine and on stages across the country. His articles and stories have been featured in dozens of magazines, journals, and newspapers, and he is the zinester behind Bookstores and Baseball and The Vellum Underground.