The ''American Literary Review'' is an American national biannual literary magazine of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

, and

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

. Since its Fall 2013 issue, ''ALR'' has been an online digital publication. Print publications are cataloged under .

History

''ALR'' was founded years ago, in 1990, by the creative writing faculty of the Department of English of the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

and the now bygone Center for Texas Studies at the

. The Center for Texas Studies, at that time, was led by James Ward Lee, PhD (born 1931), longtime professor of English at

UNT UNT or University of North Texas is a state university in Denton, Texas. UNT or Unt may refer to: * Unt (surname), an Estonian-language surname * Unt (album), ''Unt'' (album), a 2024 album by Pinhead Gunpowder * ("A New Era"), a political party in ...

, Department Chair, and a prolific writer, and A.C. Greene, an author and former newspaper editor, notably of the ''

Dallas Times Herald The ''Dallas Times Herald'', founded in 1888 by a merger of the '' Dallas Times'' and the '' Dallas Herald'', was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas ( USA) area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, an ...

.'' ''ALR'' published the first issue in the spring of 1990. Lee edited the first two issues in the spring and fall of 1990. In the first issue, he wrote an editorial expressing hope that the name and tagline, "''American Literary Review: A National Journal of Poems and Stories'', will prove to be neither pretentious nor presumptuous." The founding objective was to showcase a range of genres and styles from emerging and veteran writers. To encourage freedom of expression, risk-taking, and experimentation, Lee said that ''ALR'' would not publish scholarly articles. That sentiment is not too dissimilar from that of the late Theodore Weiss, founding editor of the former and influential '' Quarterly Review of Literature,'' who also felt that scholarly articles and criticism might stifle writers. ''ALR's'' third issue (spring 1991, vol. 2, issue 1) was edited by poet and faculty member Scott Cairns. The first issue received more than 160 submissions. The printed issues, prior to 2013, were typically 120 pages,

digest size Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine, but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately . It is also a and format, similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes evolved from the printing ...

, perfect-bound with color card cover featuring a photo submission. In 2004, ''NewPages'' characterized ''ALR'' as having roughly a 2:1 poetry to fiction ratio, with a casual touch of both traditional and experimental forms. In 2020, ''ALR'' announced that "due to institutional budget cuts as a result of grappling with the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are forced to go on a temporary hiatus."

Prize winners

The ''ALR'' awards three annual prizes, for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Uncategorized * Joshua Poteat Nonfiction * Maureen Stanton * 2008: Karin Forfota Poklen * 2009: Julie Marie Wade * 2010: Sabine Heinlein * 2011: Barbara Cameron * 2011: Starre Vartan (runner-up) * 2012: Robert Long Foreman * 2012: Vernita Hall (runner-up) Fiction * Mary L. Tabor (spring 1999) * Melissa Jeanne Miller (1956–1991) * 2008: Michael Isaac Shokrian * 2009: Marylee MacDonald * 2010: Karen Heuler * 2010: Nora Khan (runner-up) * 2010: Emily McLaughlin (runner-up) * 2011: Marc Dickinson * 2011: Sean Madigan Hoen (runner-up) * 2012: Lydia Kann (runner-up) * 2012: Dustin Parsons Poetry * 1990: Sheryl St. Germain * 1997: Renée Ashley * 1998: Debora L. Innocenti * 2001: Sam Witt * 2007: Jeffrey Levine * 2008: Roy Bentley * 2009: Arthur Brown * 2010: Jude Nutter * 2011: Joseph Duemer * 2012: Eileen G'Sell * 2012: Allan Peterson (runner-up)

Editors

''ALR'' is largely student-run with

creative writing faculty editorial oversight. Editor-in-chief : unknown–present: Jehanne Dubrow † Fiction co-editors : 2009–present: Miro Penkov : 2009–present: Barbara Rodman, PhD Creative nonfiction editor : 2008-present: Bonnie Friedman Poetry co-editors : 1995–present: Bruce Bond, PhD † : 2000–present: Corey Marks, PhD Former editors-in-chief : James Ward Lee, PhD † (founding editor) : Scott Cairns, PhD : Barbara Rodman, PhD : William J. Cobb, PhD : Corey Marks, PhD : John Tait, PhD : Miro Penkov Former Poetry editor : Nancy Eimers Former advisory board members : 1990–1997: John Henry Irsfeld † ;Notes: † Member, Texas Institute of Letters

Submissions

''ALR'' seeks literary mainstream, creative nonfiction, and poetry. , it was receiving 150 to 200 unsolicited manuscripts a month and accepts 12 to 16 per issue. Submissions are reviewed from October 1 to May 1 and published within two years of acceptance. In round one of the referee process, judges, which include graduate students, read all submissions and make preliminary selections. Faculty editors for each category review make final selections for official recognition and publishing. Separate judges for prizes in each category then make their selection. At all stages of the process, the identity of writers is not known by

referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titles ...

Bygone publications of the same name

* ''The American Literary Review'' of

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...

, was a privately owned quarterly literary magazine. It was edited by Lee Bates Hatfield (born 1953). The publication ran from 1973 to 1983. Its

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

code is . Its holding company was a Massachusetts non-profit corporation of the same name, "The American Literary Review, Inc." * ''The American Literary Review'' of New York City never existed. Rather, it was proposed in 1931 as a review of books. A prospectus for investors was copyrighted and is stored, along with other information, at the

Widener Library The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, housing some 3.5million books, is the centerpiece of the Harvard Library system. It honors 1907 Harvard College graduate and book collector Harry Elkins Widener, and was built by his mother Eleanor Elki ...

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. * ''American Literary Review'' of

Augusta, Maine Augusta is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Maine. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Maine, 12th-most populous city in Maine, and third ...

, was a weekly literary and scientific newspaper founded in 1870 by LaForest Almond Shattuck, M.D. (1846–1930). By May 1871, circulation had reached 75,000 and covered every state and territory. Shattuck stepped down as editor 1871 due to poor health.

References

;Notes ;Inline citations

External links

*
Article: "A Portrait of Three UNT journals Illustrates Rewards, Challenges of Publishing," by Amelia Jaycen, UNT Office of Research and Economic Development
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Literary Review 1990 establishments in Texas 2013 disestablishments in Texas Biannual magazines published in the United States Defunct literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1990 Magazines disestablished in 2013 Magazines published in Texas Online literary magazines published in the United States Online magazines with defunct print editions Poetry magazines published in the United States Poetry publishers University of North Texas Mass media in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex