New Lit on the Block :: The Palisades Review
The Palisades Review was named in tribute to Founder and Editor-in-Chief Mea Cohen’s hometown, Palisades, New York. “Given that so much of what I have personally written takes place in this town, and that the magazine is all about featuring the personal experience, I felt the name was fitting!”
The Palisades Review offers a new short-form nonfiction quarterly that favors “compressed stories that reverberate and deepen our collective sense of self, stories that are charged within by the extraordinary capacity of language to create community from individuals.”
Founded in the summer of 2022, The Palisades Review publishes works both in print and online, and Cohen’s background and experience speaks to her ability to manage the journal. Her own work has appeared in Ladygunn, The Gordon Square Review, OPEN: Journal of Arts and Letters, The Pinch, Passengers Journal, On The Run, and Five on the Fifth. She received an MFA in creative writing and literature from Stony Brook University, where she was a Contributing Editor for The Southampton Review. After seven years of work in the publishing industry, for companies such as David Black Literary Agency, Trident Media Group, and Audible, she founded The Palisades Review and is also a Partnerships Manager at Stitcher Podcasts.
As for the inspiration for The Palisades Review: “This magazine was truly born from a terrible bout of insomnia,” Cohen confesses. “I had tons of morning time, given that I was abruptly waking up at 5:00 am, and I wanted to start a magazine for a long time. There are many magazines currently seeking flash fiction, but not too many seeking short-form nonfiction. This magazine was a venture to fill that void and has blossomed into so much more.”
Cohen explains, “While I may be largely running this magazine alone, I have a great network of support. I have friends and colleagues who frequently act as second readers, I’ve reached out to other magazine professionals to ask for advice, and I am constantly making an effort to network. There’s nothing like establishing a community to make you feel empowered to do something you’re passionate about.”
That passion lends itself to Cohen’s disciplined approach to the work writers send. “I read every submission that comes in via Submittable. I also frequently read other magazines and solicit writers I’d love to feature in The Palisades Review, writers whose work embodies the type of vibrant language readers can deeply connect with. I answer most submissions within five days, and I’m actively paying attention to our Submittable page daily. If a piece comes in that needs some work but shows great potential, I’m inclined to work with the author and provide feedback. Please send your work! I live to read it!”
Writers whose works shone through the process to be included in the inaugural print issue include Annie Cooperstone, Loisa Fenichell, Shareen K. Murayama, L.E. McKinney, Emma Kaiser, Molly Guadry (who also provided an interview about her work and writing in the short form), Amie Whittemore, Rob Taylor, Robert Mata, and Tammy Delatorre. Print copies of the publication are currently only available at New York locations on the “stocklist,” but there is also an online-only feature called OF THE MOMENT. “Here,” Cohen explains, “we publish writing about a timely matter. Be that matter the war in Ukraine, Multiple Sclerosis awareness week, or anything else you can think of as fitting, send us your writing. We want to read it.”
For the future of The Palisades Review, Cohen says, “We intend to keep printing! Keep print alive! We also intend to run contests in the future and have special issues with dedicated themes. Sounds fun, right?”
Indeed! Writers and readers can join in by visiting The Palisades Review today!
