Slush reader, late 1980s

aikigypsy

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One of my characters lands in New York and wants to get a job as a slush reader for Tor. He is smart, but has no college education, is on the run from the law, and may not be using his real name.

What credentials would he need to be a slush reader, if any?
Could he subsist on what he is paid? His standards for food and living quarters are very low.
 

Karen Junker

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I was under the impression that slush is read by unpaid interns who then pass anything of interest to the editors and assistant editors. I could be wrong. Maybe someone who knows more will show up!

I was a second reader for Tor briefly a few years ago -- so I'm just going by what the editor whose manuscripts I was reading told me. Things may have been different in the 80s.