The Southeast Review :: NewPages Guide to Literary Magazines

The Southeast Review

Publisher’s description: The Southeast Review, established in 1979 as Sundog, is the literary magazine housed at Florida State University—recently named by The Atlantic as one of the nation's top graduate-level creative writing programs. Edited and managed by graduate students in the FSU Creative Writing Program and a faculty consulting editor, the mission of The SER is to present emerging writers on the same stage as well-established ones. In each semi-annual issue, we publish literary fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, interviews, book reviews, and art. Our annual contest issue features the World's Best Short Short Story Contest, with Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler as judge, as well as The SER Poetry Contest and, new in 2008, Narrative Nonfiction Contest.

The SER prides itself as a valuable resource for writers, and we are continually updating our online companion with free podcasts, interviews, essays, and notes on craft from the likes of Lee Smith, Jennifer Knox, Enid Shomer, David Gessner, Rick Moody, and Ann Patchett. With nearly sixty members on our editorial staff from throughout the country and the world, we strive to publish work that is representative of our diverse interests and aesthetics, and we celebrate the eclectic mix this produces.

Recent issues:

A celebration of The Southeast Review’s thirtieth issue in print, Vol. 30.1 is our biggest yet, featuring two glossy color sections—one featuring egg-ceptional sculptures by Michael Kesselman that pair eggs and machinery, and another showcasing a full-color comic by Leslie Salas. This issue also features the winners and finalists of our 2011 Poetry, Narrative Nonfiction, and World’s Best Short-Short Story contests, as well as fiction that sends us back in time to meet Tolstoy, poetry that has us wandering orange groves in Spain, and nonfiction that demonstrates the way family ties can strangle as easily as they bind.

Volume 29.2 of The Southeast Review is bursting with original comics and art—including a fold-out section showcasing two panoramic charcoal drawings by Echo Miriam Railton. We’ve also selected top-notch fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction that takes us strolling on the deck of the doomed naval ship Olympia, invites us into a little pickup headed for an Alaskan trucking highway, and hands out front row tickets for a reluctant reenactment of Blues Brothers. All that, plus recent book reviews and revealing interviews featuring Leslie Epstein, Mark Halliday, and Frederick Reiken, might make this our best issue yet.

The Southeast Review’s Volume 29.1 is our biggest issue yet, containing the work of more than forty writers and artists, including the winners and finalists of our 2010 Poetry, Narrative Nonfiction, and World’s Best Short Short Story Contests. Inside, readers will encounter cameos by Miss Scarlet and Captain Ahab, a boy’s self-destruct button, dancing monkeys, a trip to Death Valley, and a mariachi band. This issue also features a comic by Kaitlin Baudier and paintings by Jenna Gribbon, as well as work from Elena Stefoi, Amina Gautier, W. Todd Kaneko, Chad Faries, and an inspiring interview with Melissa Pritchard.