American Literary Review
# American Literary Review

The American Literary Review is an American national biannual literary magazine of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Since its Fall 2013 issue, ALR has been an online digital publication. Print publications are cataloged under ISSN 1051-5062.

## History

ALR was founded thirty-three years ago, in 1990, by the creative writing faculty of the Department of English of the University of North Texas and the now bygone Center for Texas Studies at the University of North Texas. The Center for Texas Studies, at that time, was led by James Ward Lee, PhD (born 1931), longtime professor of English at UNT, Department Chair, and a prolific writer, and A.C. Greene, an author and former newspaper editor, notably of the Dallas Times Herald. 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, 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 UNT 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. As of 2011, 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.

