New Lit on the Block :: Torrid Literature Journal

Torrid Literature Journal is a new publication of poetry and fiction available quarterly (January/April/July/October) online and in print.

Editors Alice Saunders, Aisha McFadden, Tiffani Barner started the publication because, as Alice tells me, “We're lovers of words. In addition, we want to help bridge the gap between writers and readers. As we mention in our inaugural issue, voices want to be

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Visit the NewPages Magazine Webstore to purchase single copies of a variety of current literary magazines from just one site!

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What I'm Reading: The Mimic's Own Voice

I've known Tom Williams for many years through my work with NewPages; we have one of those "AWP Annual" friendships - a beer or two over the course of the conference - and then business-as-usual e-mails throughout the year. I was surprised when he told me he'd published a book, and of course, I was curious to read it, not having spent much time reading Tom's other works (which is my own fault,

New Staff at NewPages

NewPages welcomes Kirsten McIlvenna as the NewPages Magazine Review Editor. In addition to her editorial work, Kirsten is also a web content writer for Cadmium Design Studios, a freelance editor, and a freelance writer for Great Lakes Bay Regional Lifestyle Magazine. At Saginaw Valley State University, Kirsten was editor-in-chief of Cardinal Sins art and literature magazine where she served on

Versal Turns Ten!

From Versal Editor Megan M. Garr:

In 2002, one Australian and two Americans walked into a bar. They came out with Amsterdam's first international literary and arts journal.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Versal. Boom.

Publishing an incredible range of the world's literary and art talent, and widely acclaimed for its strong and wide-reaching aesthetic and innovative design, Versal is

New Lit on the Block :: THE VOLTA

THE VOLTA is a multimedia project of poetry, criticism, poetics, video, conversation (audio), and interview (text). THE VOLTA is home to the following:

Inspired by a piece of Ian Hamilton Finlay's, EVENING WILL COME is a journal of prose writing, often by poets on the how, what, and why of their writings. Founded in 2010, new issues appear nn the first day of each month.

FRIDAY FEATURE presents

Carol D. Reiser Book Award

The Carol D. Reiser Book Award is given annually to the children’s book or books published the preceding year that most effectively inspires community service and volunteerism in children. This award was established by the Metro Atlanta Corporate Volunteer Council, where Carol was co-founder and past president, and is a living tribute to Carol Reiser’s lifelong commitment to community. Judges are

Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their February Short Story Award for New Writers. This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation greater than 5000. The next Short Story Award competition will take place in May. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place:

A "Genre-Bender" by Leesa Cross-Smith

A Modest Guide to Truculence/Survival: Girls

HEY, FIRST OFF: Ignore everything. But if you hear only one bird, listen. It could mean something. Wait. I take that back. Ignore everything but the one bird and the pulsing, cracked-white sky. And don’t keep love letters. You can keep some letters, but don’t keep any letters. Never under any circumstances keep a letter unless you want to keep a

Job :: Kelly Writers House Program Coordinator

After seven years as the Kelly Writers House Program Coordinator, Erin Gautsche will be moving on - to a new job (at the International Sculpture Center).

Applications for the full-time position of Program Coordinator at the Kelly Writers House are now being accepted. If you wish to apply, please submit applications through Penn's jobs site here.

Or go to Jobs@Penn and enter this reference

New Lit on the Block :: Birdfeast Magazine

Birdfeast Magazine is a new online quarterly of poetry edited by Jessica Poli.

Poli says she started Birdfeast Magazine because "online magazines are making poetry more accessible than ever, and we wanted to take an active part in this. Our mission is to make available the best poetry from both emerging and established writers."

As such, Birdfeast Magazine offers readers "an eclectic mix of

Passings :: Doris Betts

Doris Betts, the celebrated Southern writer who for decades nurtured others as a creative writing professor at UNC Chapel Hill, died Saturday at the age of 79. [Winston-Salem Journal]

World Book Night

World Book Night is a celebration of reading and books which will see tens of thousands of people share books with others in their communities across America to spread the joy and love of reading on April 23.

Working Classics

The Grand Valley State University Community Working Classics Program, winner of the American Philosophical Association’s national award for “Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy,” offers intensive, introductory-level college courses in the liberal arts free of charge at selected locations. Courses are taught by GVSU faculty and students.Having developed a curriculum and logistical framework

Women Writers and the Persona Poem

Why We Wear Masks: Three Contemporary Women Writers and Their Use of the Persona Poem by Jeannine Hall Gailey examines the works of Louise Glück, Margaret Atwood, and Lucille Clifton. Featured in Poemeleon, an online journal of poetry.

Vallum Award for Poetry Winners

2011 Winners of the Vallum Award for Poetry appear in the Winter 2012 (9:1) "Pakistan" issue and can also be read online:First Place: "Telecommuting Spouses" by Peter RichardsonSecond Place: “Veninum Lupinum” by Jack MillerHonorable Mentions"Dark Matter" by Roxanna Bennett"Tougher Than Leather" by Joseph Anderson"Up Ahead" by Lucy Ricciardi

New Lit on the Block :: Gambling the Aisle

Gambling the Aisle is a biannual (summer and winter) of fiction, poetry and artwork made available on the web and in PDF.

Editors Patrick Kelling (Fiction), Adam Van Alstyne (Poetry), John Cross (Visual Art) share that they started Gambling the Aisle "because we wanted to provide a space in which writers and artists could express non-cannological work. We believe the terms of art should be

Passages North Contest Winners

Issue 32 of Passages North features the winners of their 2011 poetry and nonfiction contests:Elinor Benedict Poetry PrizeJudged by Henry HughesWinner: "Nocturne" by Charlotte MuseThomas J. Hruska Memorial Nonfiction PrizeWinner: "Mrs. Anderson [Or a Study of Apocalypse as an After-School Special]" by Julie Marie WadeHonorable Mention: "Dog Nation" by David Jaicks

Asian American Literary Review Forum

The Spring 2012 issue of The Asian American Literary Review features a forum in which Min Hyoung Song asks participants about the "continuities between the earlier generation of writers which first raised the banner of an Asian American literature and a later generation of writers which inherited it," and whether or not it "even make[s] sense to talk about contemporary American writers of Asian

Gary Finke Creative Writing Prize Winners

Winners of the Gary Finke Creative Writing Prize appear in the 2011/2012 annual issue of The Susquehanna Review. Interviews with each author are available to read on the publication website.Winning Writer in Prose: Andrew Boryga Winning Writer in Poetry: Mary Hood

The Writer and Community

". . . there can be a danger in community: we tend to devalue that which seems to have been created without the community's sense of values - created, in a sense, without community consent. . . Every writer worth her salt knows that at some point she'll have to stand apart from the community. She'll have to skip a bunch of readings and cocktail parties, leave her online writing group, or choose

2011 Nano Prize

The most recent issue of NANO Fiction (v5 n1) features the winner and finalists of the 2011 NANO Prize:WinnerSarah E. Harris, "The Kitchen"FinalistsLauren Hall, "Trickster"Kevin O'Cuinn, "Shore Leave"Erica Olsen, "Ing and Ing"

Happy 200 Paris Review!

"There are two basic rules for running a literary quarterly: a) it should come out four times a year; b) after five or ten or fifteen years, with the passing of its generation, it should die. The Paris Review has failed to observe either of these rules. . . " Read the rest Editor's Note by Lorin Stein here.

New Lit on the Block :: Emerge Literary Journal

Editor Ariana D. Den Bleyker is the driving force behind Emerge Literary Journal, a publication of poetry available quarterly online and biannually in print. Each issue features all new poetry, with the print issues showcasing the “best” material accepted throughout the preceding reading period. Copies of the print issue will be made available through Lulu.Emerge is aptly named, as Bleyker notes

Yalobusha Review 2012 Contest Winners

Winners of the 2012 Yalobusha Review contests are included in YR: 17. Marylee Macdonald's story, “The Pancho Villa Coin,” was selected by William Gay for the Barry Hannah Fiction Prize, while Sandra Beasley chose Billie R. Tadros's poem, “Reactor,” for the Yellowwood Poetry Prize.

The Creative Process

Orange Coast Review's 2010 issue is focused on "The Creative Process." The Editors write: "What's astounding about the process is that sometimes, though the poem or story doesn't come out the way we'd hoped, it actually comes out better. What at the moment we finish seems like a monstrosity, turns out to have, like Frankenstein's creation, more humanity, insight and compassion than the original

New Lit on the Block :: The Bad Version

The Bad Version is a new print, digital and online quarterly of fiction, poetry, and "essays of the young and curious."The Editors of The Bad Version are Sanders I. Bernstein, Pat Chesnut, Mark Chiusano, Christian Flow, Daniel Howell, Teddy Martin, Kevin Seitz, James Somers, Daniel Wenger, and Esther Yi, with Art Director Trevor Martin and Staff Illustrator Sally Scopa. Editor Teddy Martin

2011 Wabash Poetry Prize Winners

Sycamore Review editors culled 20 finalists from a Wabash Contest record of nearly 600 entries. From these, former U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Glück has selected Maya Jewell Zeller and her poem “Caterpillars” as the winner of the 2011 Wabash Prize for Poetry. Glück also chose Carrie Causey and her poem “Woman in the Wall” as this year’s contest first runner-up and Michael Tyrell as second runner-up

The Healthy Diet: Feasting on Literature

"You can't make a love of literature an agenda. That will just turn it into a weapon to fuel your own exalted sense of self-importance and make you obnoxious to other people. You can, however, ask whether your personal diet of language, form, symbol, and narrative is richer than what can find in an ad for cheap beer or fancy watches. You can ask whether you are feasting on culture 'veggies' or

New Lit on the Block :: Vine Leaves Literary Journal

Vine Leaves Literary Journal is a quarterly online (PDF, Scribid) and print annual of vignette prose, poem, script, and art/photography.Editors Jessica Bell and Dawn Ius started Vine Leaves after looking at the literary landscape:The world of literature nowadays is so diverse, open-minded and thriving in experimental works, that there doesn’t seem to be any single form of written art missing from

Bellevue Literary Review Prize Winners

The winners of the 2012 Bellevue Literary Review Prizes are featured in the Spring 2012 issue:Goldenberg Prize for FictionSelected by Francine ProseWinner: “Trotsky in the Bronx” by Harry W. KoppHonorable Mention: “Terminal Device” by Jennifer Lee Burns Archive Prize for NonfictionSelected by Susan OrleanWinner: “The Crazy One” by Annita SawyerHonorable Mention: "Mustard Seed" by Jessica

NewPages Updates

Added to the NewPages Big List of Literary Magazines:Sprung Formal [P/O] - poetry, fiction, reviews, essays, artMascara Review [O] - poetry, fiction, reviews, translations17 seconds: a journal of poetry and poetics [O]drafthorse [O] - poetry, fiction, nonfiction, artNorthwind [O] - poetry, fictionYalobusha Review [P] - poetry, fiction, nonfictionThe Bad Version [P] - poetry, fiction,

Million Writers Award Nominations

The Million Writers Award for the year's best online short story is now open for nominations until April 9.

Publishing Women Writers

Tired of all the conversation about the disparity of women's writing being published? Me too. And so is Roxane Gay. She offers this simple way to end the issue: "The solutions are obvious. Stop making excuses...Stop parroting the weak notion that you’re simply publishing the best writing, regardless. There is ample evidence of the excellence of women writers. You aren’t compromising anything by

Black Lawrence Press Big Moose Prize Winner

Jen Michalski has been announced the winner of the Black Lawrence Press 2012 Big Moose Prize for her novel The Tide King. Jen Michalski's first collection of fiction, Close Encounters, is available from So New (2007); her second, From Here, is forthcoming from Aqueous Books (2013); and her collection of novellas is forthcoming from Dzanc (2013). She also is the editor of the anthology City Sages

Oulipian Writing Anyone?

The Chicago Reader seeks submissions of Oulipian as part of Wordplay Week. Using a well-known 'bar joke,' writers create a version of the story. The selected entries (99 of them) will be posted on the site throughout the week. Submisssons close at 2pm today.

New Lit on the Block :: The Conium Review

Based out of Portland, Oregon, The Conium Review is a biannual print journal of fiction and poetry published by Conium Press.Editors James R. Gapinski, Uma Sankaram, Tristan Beach, and Susan Lynch shared their view of the publication: "The Conium Review publishes fringe literature, both in subject and style. Issues of The Conium Review vary in length, because we don’t use quotas — we simply

New Lit on the Block :: From the Depths

From the Depths is a quarterly (March, June, September, December) of fiction, poetry, prose poetry, creative nonfiction published by Haunted Waters Press. The magazine is available as an online digital, PDF download, and in print.Editors Susan Warren Utley and Savannah Renée Warren say that From the Depths was first conceived as a way to showcase the works of contributors in a format that is both

2011 Anderbo Poetry Prize Winner

The winner of the 2011 Anderbo Poetry Prize judged by Debora Greger is Susan Cohen of Berkeley, California for "Their Voices." She receives $500 and publication. Honorable Mention goes to Casey Charles for "She Dreams for Me." Both poems can be read online at Anderbo.

New Lit on the Block :: Straight Forward

Straight Forward publishes poetry and photography quarterly (March, June, September, December) digitally using Issuu and essays and reviews on their website.Lindsey Lewis Smithson is the Founder and Editor, with Martha Borjon Kubota work "tirelessly" as the Assistant Editor."In the most basic sense," Smithson says, "Straight Forward started to simply publish clear, concise poetry. On more than

Gemini Magazine Poetry Open Winners

“Renga for an Absent Lover,” by Sheryl Mebane, won the 2012 Gemini Magazine Poetry Open and the $1,000 prize. A jazz musician, Sheryl is the author of the jazz novel Lady Bird. The second place prize of $100 went to Gerardo Mena for “A Nursing Home Boxer to a High School Volunteer,” and Christina Lovin won the third place award for “11/11/11.” Honorable mentions: “Depression Is My Happy Place,”