''Fifth Wednesday Journal'' (''FWJ'') was a non-profit American literary magazine established in 2007 by Vern Miller that published fiction, essays, visual art, interviews, and book reviews both in print and online. ''Fifth Wednesday Journal'' was established in

Lisle, Illinois Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago in the Illinois ...

. It ceased publication in 2019.

History and background

The journal was founded in 2007 by a group of writers in Lisle, Illinois, who believed there was no magazine that represented the writers of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

within its suburbs. This group met every month that had a fifth Wednesday, and the first issue was published in fall of 2007. The group decided to use guest editors, changing with each issue, in order to achieve a wider aesthetic range in the magazine. The journal was distributed in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, with content from established and new writers. Notable writers who contributed to the journal include

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

winner

Luis Alberto Urrea Luis Alberto Urrea (born August 20, 1955 in Tijuana, Mexico) is a Mexican-American poet, novelist, and essayist. Life Luis Urrea is the son of Alberto Urrea Murray, of Rosario, Sinaloa, Mexico and Phyllis Dashiell, born in Staten Island, New Y ...

, Richard Jones,

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

winner Roger Reeves, and

Shelley Memorial Award The Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need, and is ...

recipient

Ed Roberson Charles Edwin (Ed) Roberson (born December 26, 1939) is a distinguished American poet, celebrated for his unique diction and intricacy in exploring the natural and cultural worlds. His poetic voice is informed by a background in science and visual ...

. More contributors of note included Sterling D. Plumpp, Laurence Lieberman,

Elise Paschen Elise Paschen is an American poet and member of the Osage Nation. She is the co-founder and co-editor of Poetry in Motion, a program which places poetry posters in subways and buses across the country. Career and education The daughter of renowne ...

, Stephen Dixon,

Marge Piercy Marge Piercy (born March 31, 1936) is an American progressive activist, feminist, and writer. Her work includes '' Woman on the Edge of Time''; '' He, She and It'', which won the 1993 Arthur C. Clarke Award; and ''Gone to Soldiers'', a ''New ...

, Edith Pearlman,

Rosellen Brown Rosellen Brown (born May 12, 1939) is an American author, and has been an instructor of English and creative writing at several universities, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Houston. The 1996 film ''Bef ...

Bob Hicok Bob Hicok (born 1960 Grand Ledge, Michigan) is an American poet. Life Hicok is a professor of creative writing at Virginia Tech, where he has taught since 2003 with the exception of the 2015-2016 academic year when he taught at Purdue as a full-t ...

Kim Addonizio Kim Addonizio (born July 31, 1954) is an American poet and novelist. Life Addonizio was born in Washington, D.C., United States. She is the daughter of tennis champion Pauline Betz and sports writer Bob Addie (born Addonizio). She briefly atte ...

, Dave Smith,

Lynne Sharon Schwartz Lynne Sharon Schwartz (born March 19, 1939) is an American prose and poetry writer. Biography Schwartz grew up in Brooklyn, the second of three children of Jack M. Sharon, a lawyer and accountant, and Sarah Slatus Sharon; she married Harry Schwar ...

Tony Hoagland Anthony Dey Hoagland (November 19, 1953 – October 23, 2018) was an American poet. His poetry collection, ''What Narcissism Means to Me'' (2003), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His other honors included two grant ...

, and Charles Wright. Contributing and guest editors included Illinois Poet Laureate Kevin Stein,

Plimpton Prize The Plimpton Prize is an annual award of $10,000 given by ''The Paris Review'' to a previously unpublished or emerging author who has written a work of fiction that was recently published in its publication. The award was named in honor of longti ...

winner Daniel Libman,

winner

Alice Mattison Alice Mattison (born March 18, 1942) is an American novelist and short story writer. Life Mattison was born in Brooklyn and attended Queens College and Harvard University, where she received a doctorate in literature. She has lived in New Have ...

Edie Meidav Edie Meidav (born 1967) is an American novelist. Life She graduated with a B.A. in English/Studio Art at Yale University, and received an M.F.A. at Mills College while studying with Robert Hass. In high school, she attended the College Preparato ...

Christine Sneed Christine Sneed is an American author — the novels ''Little Known Facts'' (2013), ''Paris, He Said'' (2015), and ''Please Be Advised'' (2022), and the story collections ''Portraits of a Few of the People I've Made Cry'' (2010), ''The Virginity of ...

Jeffery Renard Allen Jeffery Renard Allen (born 1962) is an American poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He is best known for his novels ''Rails Under My Back'' (2000) and '' Song of the Shank'' (2014), the latter of which was a finalist for the PEN/ ...

Pam Houston Pam Houston (born January 9, 1962, in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American author of short stories, novels and essays. She is best known for her first book, ''Cowboys Are My Weakness'' (1992), which has been translated into nine languages, and whic ...

, Donna Seaman,

Bret Anthony Johnston Bret Anthony Johnston is an American author. He wrote the novel ''Remember Me Like This'' and the story collection, ''Corpus Christi: Stories''. He is also the editor of the non-fiction work, ''Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creat ...

, and

Eileen Favorite Eileen Favorite (born September 10, 1964, in Chicago) is an American writer and teacher and living in Chicago, Illinois. She received a B.A. in English with a French concentration from the University of Illinois, Urbana. In 1999, she received ...

. Interviews in the magazine included

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winner

Elizabeth Strout Elizabeth Strout (born January 6, 1956) is an American novelist and author. She is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization. She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her yout ...

Audrey Niffenegger Audrey Niffenegger (born June 13, 1963) is an American writer, artist, and academic. Her debut novel, '' The Time Traveler's Wife'', published in 2003, was a bestseller. Biography Audrey Niffenegger was born in 1963 in South Haven, Michigan. At ...

Monique Truong Monique T.D. Truong (born May 13, 1968) is a Vietnamese American writer living in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Yale University and Columbia University School of Law. She has written multiple books, and her first novel, '' The Book of ...

Stuart Dybek Stuart Dybek (born April 10, 1942) is an American writer of fiction and poetry. Biography Dybek, a second-generation Polish American, was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Chicago's Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods in the 1950s ...

Richard Bausch Richard Bausch (born April 18, 1945) is an American novelist, short story writer, and Professor in the Writing Program at Chapman University in Orange, California. He has published thirteen novels, nine short story collections, and one volume of ...

, Stephen Dixon,

Robert Coover Robert Lowell Coover (February 4, 1932 – October 5, 2024) was an American novelist, Short story, short story writer, and T. B. Stowell Professor Emeritus in Literary Arts at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation ...

and

Ana Castillo Ana Castillo (born June 15, 1953) is a Chicana novelist, poet, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator and independent scholar. Considered one of the leading voices in Chicana experience, Castillo is most known for her experi ...

. FWJ received grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'' ...

. FWJ had selections in

The Best American Short Stories ''The Best American Short Stories'' is a yearly anthology that's part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the ''BASS'' has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the ...

The Best American Mystery Stories ''The Best American Mystery and Suspense'' is an annual anthology of North American mystery and thriller stories. Prior to 2021, its title was ''The Best American Mystery Stories'' and it was published by Houghton Mifflin through the year 2017. ...

The Best American Essays ''The Best American Essays'' is a yearly anthology of magazine articles published in the United States.Robert Atwan (ed.), Adam Gopnick (guest ed.). ''The Best American Essays 2008'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. It was started in 1986 and is ...

, and New Stories from the Midwest.

References

External links

*
“NewPages” Review

“NewPages” Review 2

“NewPages” Review 3

“Poetry Foundation” events

“Poets and Writer’s” page
Literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2007 Biannual magazines published in the United States Magazines published in Illinois {{US-lit-mag-stub

History and background

See also

References

External links