Come and Go Literary

My name is Nick Campanella. I’m a fiction writer with an MFA in creative writing from CUNY Queens College. My focus is fiction, but I delve into non-fiction and poetry every once in a while.  I am currently working on a fiction novel and a memoir chapbook.

I am founder, senior editor, acquisitions editor, publicist, SEO specialist, social media manager, developer, graphic designer, and contributing writer to what is now a simple literary journal for those who are interested in submitting their own flash fiction, short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, and essays.

I also work in Queens for a small business software comparison website! I’m a blog writer and reporter for all things CRM software (if that’s of any interest to you). I love being able to write for a living. I really feel like I won the lottery.

Where Are We?

Come and Go is one part blog and one part literary journal. This website first started out as a simple writing blog where I would showcase my work, but it’s turned into so much more over the past four years. You can find a little bit of everything here.

Do you want to read book reviews or check out some books that I find inspirational in regards to my writing and the writing process in general? Check out my monthly reading list and book reviews.

Or do you want to submit your own work? See my submission guidelines for more details on what I’m looking to publish.

Maybe you just want something quick to read? You can find hundreds of posts I’ve written over the years or read some of the work many amazing writers have submitted.

The Origins of Come and Go

When I first started community college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Becoming a writer never crossed my mind. I was taking all kinds of weird classes like piano, bowling, restaurant management, psychology, biology, statistics, and some English classes that were required.

But then I found myself in an American literature survey course that changed everything. We read Whitman, Thoreau, and Emerson; we read about the modernists; we covered everything. One of the few writers that really stood out to me, whose words Do I dare disturb the universe? can be found tattooed on my right bicep, was T.S. Eliot. We read “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and it stuck with me ever since.

During my time at Queens College, where I went on to pursue my BA in English and MFA in creative writing, I found myself falling in love with all the short forms of writing: hint fiction, flash fiction, micro fiction, short stories, poetry, one-act plays, ten-minute plays, and everything else in between. I wanted my writing blog to highlight all these genres.

I also wanted to try to find a way to think of a title for this journal that would not only represent my love of short stories, poems, plays, and essays, but also go back to the works that completely changed my life. As I read Prufrock over and over and over again, Come and Go finally clicked — and stuck.

My Mission

After interning in a publishing house and holding various writing jobs, I’m interested in doing more than just being a writer. I want to help people make a difference in the world with their writing. People don’t understand the power of words until they read their own work and know something’s changed permanently. I didn’t know at first. It took a long to realize it, but now look at me. I can’t get enough of the writing world. I hope to get you to feel the same way with your writing.

Follow Me On Social Media

Finally, if you want to follow my blog on social media, you can find me on Instagram at comeandgoliterary. You can see some behind the scenes pictures like my horribly unorganized desk, my typewriter, and the notebook where all my stories and poems come from.

I also have a Twitter if that’s your thing. That’s just getting started and not nearly as exciting as Instagram, but you can follow me at @ComeandGoLit.