JANUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER

New Year, New Look

You may notice that this newsletter has a new look. Our new logo, created by

Janet Hansen, award-winning designer of book covers and other graphics, is just one piece of the gorgeous redesign of The Kenyon Review. The full design will be revealed with the Winter 2023 issue, available later this month. To get your copy, subscribe now!

A Bridge into the Past: An Interview with Guest Editor Laura van den Berg

In addition to its new design, our Winter 2023 issue includes a folio of fiction selected by Laura van den Berg and Paul Yoon. Yoon and van den Berg are acclaimed fiction writers (both won Guggenheim Fellowships in 2021) who are married to each other, but until they agreed to guest edit this folio for KR, they had never collaborated on a project. They arrived at the theme of “bridges” because they were seeking stories that would bridge their sensibilities. We interviewed van den Berg about the process of working with her husband on this project. 

Laura van den Berg: On the surface, we have very different sensibilities, but I think, at a core level, we value a lot of the same qualities in fiction: a sense of urgency and mattering; upended expectations; a distinct voice; language that has electricity moving through it. 

To read the rest of the interview, click here. 

Fiction Contest Open: Submit by January 31

We are now open for entries to our 2023 Short Fiction Contest, judged by Danielle Evans. Any writer who has not yet published a book of fiction is eligible. Submit your story, of no more than 3000 words, by January 31, 2023. The winner will be published in The Kenyon Review and receive a full scholarship to our Summer Residential Writers Workshops. Submit now!

Summer Writers Workshop: Apply by February 15

The deadline to apply for our Summer Residential Writers Workshops is February 15, 2023. Don’t miss your chance to work with this year’s all-star faculty: David Baker, Dan Beachy-Quick, Lan Samantha Chang, Victoria Chang, Leila Chatti, Melissa Faliveno, Mitchell S. Jackson, Alexandra Kleeman, E. J. Levy, Robert Lopez, Rajiv Mohabir, Cleyvis Natera, Alan Shapiro, Grace Talusan, Paul Tran, and Nick White.

The Kenyon Review Writers Workshops, in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, are generative, with an emphasis on creating new work. Writers get inspiration, space to take risks, and plenty of time to write. Join us for one of two sessions: June 11–17, 2023, or July 9–15, 2023, both held on the verdant campus of Kenyon College. Apply now!

Young Writers Summer Residential Workshops: Apply by March 1

We are also now accepting applications for our Young Writers Residential Workshops. High school students, ages 16–18, are invited to join us on the campus of Kenyon College for one of two inspiring sessions: June 25–July 8, 2023, or July 16–19, 2023. Our supportive literary community welcomes young writers from around the world every summer.

Applications are due March 1, so apply now!