''The Masters Review'' is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Established in 2011 by founding editor Kim Winternheimer, the publication serves a platform for publishing and discovering new and emerging writers. Since its inception, The Masters Review has been honored by the

Independent Publisher Book Awards The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also styled as the IPPY Awards, are a set of annual literary awards for independently published books. They are the longest-running unaffiliated contest open exclusively to independent presses. The IPPY Aw ...

for Best Short Story Collection by the American Library Association and Foreword Reviews, a fellowship from Oregon Literary Arts for the work it does for new writers, and has stories recognized in The Best of the Net, The Best Small Fictions, and The Million Writers Award, among others. It is distinguished from many other notable literary magazines by actively seeking work from previously unpublished writers. Working with authors

Lauren Groff Lauren Groff (born July 23, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She has written five novels and two short story collections, including '' Delicate Edible Birds'' (2009), '' Fates and Furies'' (2015), ''Matrix'' (2022), and '' ...

, A. M. Homes,

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), '' The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technolo ...

Kevin Brockmeier Kevin John Brockmeier (born December 6, 1972) is an American writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Wri ...

Amy Hempel Amy Hempel (born December 14, 1951) is an American short story writer and journalist. She teaches creative writing at the Michener Center for Writers. Life Hempel was born in Chicago, Illinois. She moved to California at age 16, which is wher ...

, and

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection ''Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayiti ...

, The Masters Review produces a printed volume of ten stories annually, which showcases and promotes emerging writers. It also publishes fiction and narrative nonfiction by new writers online, as well as stories and essays from guest writers including: Kate Bernheimer, Ben Loory, Manuel Gonzales, Julia Elliot, and Ottessa Moshfegh, to name a few. The publication hosts several contests year round, including its notable Short Story Award for New Writers, which is held twice yearly and awards cash prizes, publication, and connects writers with literary agencies looking for new talent.

The Masters Review (Online)

The Masters Review publishes a great deal of its content online. Fiction, essays, interviews with important literary figures, craft essays, submission opportunities to other literary magazines and publications, book reviews by debut authors, and literary and cultural criticism are consistent features.

A Platform For Emerging Writers

The Masters Review focuses exclusively on emerging writers, which the publication defines as any writer who has not published a novel at the time of submission. They are open to writers with published story collections and writers with novels that were self-published or saw a circulation below 3000 copies, as showcased in

Portland Monthly ''Portland Monthly'' (also referred to as ''Portland Monthly Magazine'') is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 b ...

. The Masters Review accepts submissions and essays from writers around the world as long as stories are written and submitted in English.

Annual Anthology

The Masters Review printed anthology serves as a major endorsement for new writers. Printed annually, a guest judge contributes an introduction and selects ten writers from a shortlist to be published in the collection. Aside from national distribution and high visibility in the printed work, the anthology is also part of an exclusive mailing to agents, with the aim of connecting new writers with representation. The Masters Review Volume III with stories selected by

received an INDIEFAB medal for Best Short Story Collection.

Writers who selected work for ''The Masters Review Annual Anthology''

, The Masters Review Vol. I (2012) * A. M. Holmes, The Masters Review Vol. II (2013) *

, The Masters Review Vol. III (2014) *

, The Masters Review Vol. IV (2015) *

, The Masters Review Vol. V (2016) *

, The Masters Review Vol. VI (2017) *

Rebecca Makkai Rebecca Makkai (born April 20, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She is best known for writing '' The Great Believers'' (2018) and '' I Have Some Questions for You'' (2023), which have been positively received by critics and ...

, The Masters Review Vol. VII (2018) *

Kate Bernheimer Kate Bernheimer is an American fairy-tale writer, scholar and editor. Works Kate Bernheimer's first three novels, a trilogy based on Russian, German, and Yiddish fairy tales, ''The Complete Tales of Ketzia Gold'' (2001), ''The Complete Tales o ...

, The Masters Review Vol. VIII (2019) *

Rick Bass Rick Bass (born March 7, 1958) is an American writer and an environmental activist. He has a Bachelor of Science in Geology with a focus in Wildlife from Utah State University. Right after he graduated, he interned for one year as a Wildlife Bio ...

, The Masters Review Vol. IX (2020)

New Voices

New Voices appear online throughout the year. This category invites emerging writers to submit fiction and narrative nonfiction, selected by The Masters Review staff. New Voices stories include winners and finalists in The Best Small Fictions, The Best of The Net, and Million Writers Award, to name a few.

Featured Fiction

The Masters Review provides Featured Fiction, or stories written by established guest writers to appear online throughout the year. In this way, the publication aligns their new writers with established talent while offering free access to quality fiction and narrative nonfiction to its readership.

Writers who contributed work for ''The Masters Review Featured Fiction''

* Manuel Gonzales, What Happened to Eloise, (2014) * Ben Hoffman, Other Dangers, (2014) *

, The Punk's Bride (2015) * Ben Loory, The Candelabra (2015) * JM Tyree and Michael McGriff, Our Secret Life in The Movies (reprint, 2015) *

Kelly Luce Kelly Luce is an American fiction writer and editor. She is the author of the short story collection ''Three Scenarios in Which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail'' and the novel ''Pull Me Under''. In 2016 she was named a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute ...

, Lookout (2015) * Adrian Van Young, The Lady Winchester Deciphers Her Labyrinth (2015) * Julia Elliott, The Restorative Unit (2015) * Katie Chase, Creation Story (2016) * Thomas Pierce, A Rogue Planet (2016) *

Brian Evenson Brian Evenson (born August 12, 1966) is an American academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction, some of the latter being published under B. K. Evenson. His fiction is often described as literary minimalism, but also draws ins ...

, Room Tone (2016) *

Lydia Davis Lydia Davis (born July 15, 1947) is an American short story writer, novelist, essayist, and translator from French and other languages, who often writes very short stories. Davis has produced several new translations of French literary classics ...

, The Visitor (2017) * Jac Jemc, Hunt and Catch (2017) *

Ron Rash Ron Rash (born September 25, 1953) is an American poet, short story writer and novelist and the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. Early life Rash was born on September 25, 1953, in Ch ...

, Last Bridge Burned (2018) * Chaya Bhuvaneswar, Heitor (2018) * Kathy Fish, Praise Rain (2019) * Adrian Van Young, Under the System (2019) * Sherrie Flick, Woodpeckers Peck to Establish Territory in the Spring (2020)

Staff

* Kim Winternheimer: Founder * Cole Meyer: Editorial Director * Melissa Hinshaw: Assistant Editor * Brandon Williams: Assistant Editor * Melissa Bean: Reader * Abby Burns: Reader * Jennifer Dupree: Reader * Elena Ender: Reader * Ross Feeler: Reader * Kimberly Guerin: Reader * Lauren Harkawik: Reader * Courtney Harler: Reader * Tom Houseman: Reader * Benjamin Kessler: Reader * Mariya Khan: Reader * Abbie Lahmers: Reader * Meghan Lane: Reader * Melissa Madore: Reader * Emily McLaughlin: Reader * Aurore Munyabera: Reader * Kathryn Ordiway: Reader * Halley Parry: Reader * Ben Perkins: Reader * Fiona Robertson: Reader * Michelle Servellon: Reader * Nicole VanderLinden: Reader * Hannah VanDuinen: Reader * Kelsey Wang: Reader * Rebecca Williamson: Reader

Books published

* ''The Masters Review Volume I with stories selected by Lauren Groff'' (2012). * ''The Masters Review Volume II with stories selected by AM Homes'' (2013). * ''The Masters Review Volume III with stories selected by Lev Grossman'' (2014). * ''The Masters Review Volume IV with stories selected by Kevin Brockmeier'' (2015). * ''The Masters Review Volume V with stories selected by Amy Hempel'' (2016). * ''The Masters Review Volume VI with stories selected by Roxane Gay'' (2017). * ''The Masters Review Volume VII with stories selected by Rebecca Makkai'' (2018). * ''The Masters Review Volume VIII with stories selected by Kate Bernheimer'' (2019). * ''The Masters Review Volume IX with stories selected by Rick Bass'' (2020).

References

External links

The Masters Review
(official website)
Summer Short Story Award for New Writers

''The Masters Review New Voices'' author list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masters Review 2011 establishments in Oregon Literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2011 Magazines published in Portland, Oregon Short story awards