SQF: Why did you start this magazine?
Melissa Martini: After graduating, I dove right into full-time work. I was a project coordinator for an executive search firm for two years. I was making good money, but I found myself craving creativity. After studying creative writing for four years in undergrad and then two more years in graduate school, I wasn't used to my life lacking literature like that.
I was volunteering for indie lit mags, writing on the side, and submitting my work, but I missed my entire life revolving around creative writing. It didn't help that my full-time job was bordering on abusing me and the pandemic left me ambitious and looking for more out of life than just waking up, working, and then going back to bed. So, I quit my full-time job and started Moss Puppy Magazine.