| storySouth | |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Literary journal |
| Language | English |
| Edited by | Terry Kennedy |
| Publication details | |
| Publisher | Spring Garden Press (United States) |
| Publication history | 2001-present |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Links | |
storySouth is an online quarterly literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, criticism, essays, and visual artwork, with a focus on the Southern United States. The journal also runs the annual Million Writers Award to select the best short stories published each year in online magazines or journals. The journal has been named a "hot site" by USA Today and profiled in books such as Novel & Short Story Writer's Market. Works published in storySouth have been reprinted in anthologies such as Best American Poetry and Best of the Web.
Contents |
storySouth was founded in the autumn of 2001 by fiction writer Jason Sanford and poet Jake Adam York. While storySouth focuses on the traditional genre of southern literature, the journal generally attempts to expose the newest generation of writers from the American South. Sanford and York turned over publication of storySouth to Spring Garden Press in 2009[1] and now serve as Editor Emeritus for the journal, but no longer handle day-to-day editorial responsibilities.[2]
The journal has published pieces on such prominent authors such as Forrest Gander and Charles Wright, historical figures like George Wallace, and topics ranging from the trivial to the sociological. Works published in storySouth have been reprinted in anthologies such as Best American Poetry 2008, Best of the Web 2008, and e2ink: The Best of the Online Journals, and have won a number of awards and honors.[3]
The journal is listed as a contributing press by the Pushcart Prize and is among the American literary journals listed in Best American Short Stories.[4] StorySouth reaches on average a 1,000 individual readers every day. [5]
storySouth also runs the annual Million Writers Award, started in 2003, which honors the best online short stories of the year. The award has become one of the premier online literary awards and was named a Hot Site by USA Today.[6] The award was also profiled in a six-page feature interview with editor Jason Sanford in the 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market[7] and mentioned in The 100 Best Trends, 2006: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore as an example of the emerging online literary movement.[8]
storySouth was one of the early journals of the online literature movement.[9] Early on, storySouth's influence in the publishing world was evidenced by a feature interview with Jason Sanford in the 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market in which the role of the Internet and the influence of the Million Writers Award was featured.
Part of the growing influence of storySouth has been the sometimes combative nature of its editors. An essay of Sanford's called "Who Wears Short Shorts? Micro Stories and MFA Disgust"[10] sent repercussions through the online literary community, as it ripped into the claimed incestuous nature of Master of Fine Arts programs and creative writing workshops. The essay prompted a large amount of online discussion on the merits of Sanford's claims.[11]
In addition, the journal's editors were heavily involved in the debate around the alleged plagiarism of Southern author Brad Vice. Both of storySouth's editors defended Vice's action[12] and their essays on the affair were mentioned in the subsequent press coverage[13] and on numerous blogs.[14] StorySouth editor Jake Adam York is one of the critics whose epigraph will be published in the upcoming reprint of Vice's book.[15]