What is Optimism Monthly
Optimism Monthly is a magazine of Poetry, Prose, and Art.  It is published out of Prague, in the Czech republic and has represented writers writing in Prague, as well as other areas around the world, since April 1995. The writing is presented with a strong respect for the text. The text is eleven point type with wide columns and lots of clean white space around them.  We try our best, with the budget we have, to contain as many styles of strong unique writing as possible and to make each issue a beautiful object.  Their appearance on a coffee table draws people to them and their shortness prompts people to read them, often straight through. It is 29 x 21 cm and contains sixteen to twenty pages each month. The covers are high quality, full-color photographs, reproductions of paintings or multimedia.  Inside there are black and white photographs, ink drawings, collages, etc. It is sold for 49 crowns (about a dollar and a half) at English-Language book stores in Prague,and at a growing number of book stores throughout Europe, the United States and Australia. It is published ten months of the year in English and has contained writers from all over Europe as far east as Bulgaria, and writers from the United States and Australia.  To date it has published over one-hundred and thirty writers, many for the first time, as well as more established writers. Occasionally it includes a free six page, booklet of poems or micro-fictions published by Presidential Press, Prague under the Optimism umbrella. For a free sample copy, send 5 US Dollars by Postal Money Order to:

Timothy C. Otis
Mojmirova 9
140 00 Praha 4
Czech Republic

UPDATE 2003

While Optimism Monthly no longer publishes a monthly hard copy version, many back issues are still available through the above address. The cost is $5 USD per back issue which includes overseas first class air mail delivery within three weeks.

The understock of the publication continues to sell locally at THE GLOBE BOOKSTORE AND CAFE and at SHAKESPEARE & SONS. The literary community continues to embrace Optimism Monthly as one of the flagship publications for the English speaking creative community.

An anthology of the publications print run is being compiled for release at a later date.

Many of the featured writers in Optimism Monthly have gone on to larger audiences with their own published works.