Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

three elements

Each issue of 3Elements publishes works that respond to three words for that issue. The Summer 2018 issue words were Jazz, Cradle, Recluse. Gregg Chadwick’s artwork “Jazz Life (Central Avenue)” is the featured cover image.

river teeth

The cover image of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative is, appropriately, a sunset photo by David FitzSimmons, ushering out nineteen years of publishing as the journal heads into their twentieth anniversary!

salamander

“Lotus III” by Colette Brésilla is the unique oil on canvas art for the cover of the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Salamander (#46).

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

This week’s covers are from some of the many Alternative Magazines we have listed at NewPages as a reminder of this useful resource for both reading and submitting writing.

earth island journal

Earth Island Journal combines investigative journalism and thought-provoking essays that make the subtle but profound connections between the environment and other contemporary issues. Writers guidelines here.

feminist studies

The focus of Feminist Studies 44.1 (2018) is life writing and new approaches to studying women’s autobiographies, including Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Gertrude Stein, Kamal Das, Gayle Rubin and Judith Butler, as well as works by Estelle Carol, Alexandra Ketchum, Olga Zilberbourg, Corey Hickner-Johnson, Hiliary Chute, and Ashwini Tambe. Submissions guidelines here.

progressive

The Progressive is a journalistic voice for peace and social justice at home and abroad, steadfastly opposing militarism, the concentration of power in corporate hands, the disenfranchisement of the citizenry, poverty, and prejudice in all its guises. Writers guidelines here.

parabola

One of my favorites, Parabola is published quarterly by the Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition, a non-profit, non-denominational, educational organization. Each issue devotes 128 highly illustrated pages to a universal theme. Submission guidelines here.

humanist

The Humanist magazine applies humanism — a natural and democratic outlook informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion — to broad areas of social and personal concern in pursuit of alternative ideas. Writers guidelines here.

funny times

And we all need to retain our ability to laugh and bring humor into our days. The Funny Times helps us fulfill this need as America’s longest-running ad-free monthly humor publication in a newspaper format. 

 

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

catamaran spring 2018

Roland Petersen‘s “American Bathers, 2017” on the cover of Spring 2018 Catamaran captures the essence of summer; this publication belongs in every beach tote and travel bag to take along on your summer adventures!

ragazine

Ragazine.CC May/June 2018 celebrates the work of Alison McCauley with photographs from her Cannes Film Festival collection as well as an interview by Jean-Paul Gavard-Perret.

one

“Becoming” by Steven DaLuz is the ethereal artwork featured on the cover of the newest issue of One, an online magazine of poetry.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

 pembroke

Happy Anniversary to Pembroke Magazine celebrating its 50th issue with this lovely acrylic on canvas, “Couple” by Mahirwan Mamtani.

subprimal poetry

The cover of the online Subprimal Poetry issue 11.0 is “Blissful Deletion” by Willow Margarita Schafer, about which the artist comments: “I wanted to try and visually depict what nothingness feels like on a human level: a sort of calm fragmentation that is very hard to shake.”

concho river review

Untamed Photography by Tim L. Vasquez is becoming a regular here with his stunning cover images, this time on the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Concho River Review.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

massachusetts review

“Percy Lightfoot, Star Pupil, Trent School, 2017” by Amy Johnquest is featured on the cover of The Masachusetts Review Spring 2018 issue in addition to a full-color portfolio of her work inside.

hanging loose

Hanging Loose 109 features a full-color art portfolio by Elizabeth Hershon as well as “Dreams” on the cover.

into the void

Into the Void issue 8.2 (2018) is one that required a double take with “Blindness: Study #0” by Pedro Aires, “A young architect from Portugal interested in experiementing with mulitiple creative processes.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

gettysburg review

The Gettysburg Review Spring 2018 features the fun funky mixed media collage of Margaret Rizzio both on the cover and a full-color internal portfolio. 

glimmer train

I love this Glimmer Train #102 cover image of fresh fruits. Though not the kind of tropical fruit we see here in Michigan, this makes me look forward to summer farmers markets. Cover art: “I Miss My Mother” by Jane Zwinger.

cimarron review

The bright sunshine adds to the summery feel of “White Door Bird” by Toni La Ree Bennett, a photo that spans both the front and back covers of the Winter 2018 Cimarron Review.

 

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

new england review

Monolith by Jeanne Borofsky on the cover of Volume 29 Number 1 2018 welcomes readers to the party celebrating New England Review‘s forty years of publication.

hotel amerika

Kourtney Roy‘s pouting princess portrait entitled “Mythology” from autopotraits I is an intriguing cover choice for Hotel Amerika‘s Spring 2018 issue.

ndr

Croatian-born artist Moondrusannah’s artwork, featured in the online 8.1 issue of New Delta Review, is from her Illustrated Dreams Diary, of which she says, “Any clue to What Girls Really Dream About? I’m just starting to find that out myself, and I like what I see.”

 

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

thema spring 2018

Thema‘s cover photo for their Spring 2018 issue is “Question the Answer” by Kathleen Gunton, appropriately fitting for the theme: “Is There a Word for That?” Perhaps not a word, but a beautiful image instead. Upcoming themes in search of submissions: “Where’s the food truck?” (July 1) and “The critter in the attic” (November 1).

georgia review

 The cover and internal art portfolio of Georgia Review‘s Winter 2017 issue features a very different kind of garden life by sculptor Toshihiko Mitsuya: Aluminum. “Far from static,” Mitsuya says of his medium, “it takes on the feelings of its surroundings – the wind, the light an the hands that touch it.As a material, aluminum starts in a huge factory and ends in something precious yet transitive: the installation reclaims an industrial material back to nature.”

kaleidoscope

As unique as the vision through the cylindrical optic toy, Kaleidoscope is a publication “exploring the experiene of disability through literature and the arts.” Kristin Gehrmann’s “The Vial Keeper” reflects the Winter/Spring 2018 theme: Life’s Unpredicatbiilty. Now available open access online, readers unfamilar with this journal should defnitely check it out.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

louisville review

Gerald Plain’s photo “Spider Rock, Canyon DeChelly, Arizona” dizzying perspective draws readers into the newest issue of The Louisville Review (#82, Fall 2017). Inside, The Children’s Corner features high school sophomore Haemaru Chung’s poem “Waking Up.”

cherry tree

Looking forward to summer, I enjoy this cover image (also a bit dizzying) on issue four of Cherry Tree national literary journal published out of Washington College: “Children Running in Backlight (Dozza, Italy)” by Claudio Cricca.

writing disorder

The Art of Miss Fluff is featured in the Winter 2017-2018 issue of The Writing Disorder, and online quarterly of new and emerging writers and artists. Fluff is “an enchanting design brand created by artist, Claudette Barjoud.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

raleigh review coverThe Spring 2018 issue of Raleigh Review Literary and Arts Magazine features “Eve,” a lush collage by Geri Digiorno.

rattle

“Summer Rain” by Kristina Gehrmann on the Spring 2018 cover of Rattle poetry journal brightened my day, as did the special section inside the publication, “Tribute to Immigrant Poets,” which includes works by 18 poets who “no longer reside in their country of birth.”

antioch review

“Challenging Transitions” is the theme of most recent issue of The Antioch Review. Like the theme, David Battle’s cover image could be broadly interpreted but also directly reflective of Robert S. Fogarty’s Editorial, “The Brooklyn Bridge and Other Transitions.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

 

missouri review

The Missouri Review v40 n4, 2017 features intriguing cover art by Su Blackwell entitled “Heroines of Literature,” a finely crafted paper sculpture. More of Blackwell’s work can be viewed on her website.

booth

According to Editor and Founder Robert Stapleton, Booth 11 is a “stunning collection of contemporary femal writers. The issue includes new fiction, nonfiction, poetry comics, lists, and interviews by such esteemed authors as Emily St. John Mandel, Joyce Carol Oates, Marya Hornbacher, Elizabeth Strout, Krista Christensen, Aubrey Hirsch, Brenda Shaughnessy, and so many more. This full-color literary journal offers a powerful argument for the strength of female authors working in American letters.” Beginning it all: cover art by Tara McPherson.

true storyThe cover image by Lucy Engelman made me open Issue 15 of Creative Nonfiction’s monthly publication, True Story,  the opening paragraph of “This Is My Oldest Story”  by Emily Brisse made me drop everything and just read. It begins: “In May of 1992, a little before the end of fourth grade, my best friend Kristy and I and a few others from our street – Ryan, Tim, Tom, maybe Naomi – hopped on our bikes and started riding. Most of us had younger brothers, and we left them at home. We didn’t tell our parents we were going. They thought we were in the basement of Tim’s house, playing Tetris, and although their anxiousness had relaxed by inches over the past two and a half years, we knew that any request to bike farther than the outlined boundary of our street would receive a firm no. So we just went.”

 

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

willow springs

Willow Springs Issue 81 features this brightly colored image, originally a 13 x 13 silkscreen. The “inside cover” replicates this image, but with “Spokane Garbage Goat” replacing the issue number. I had no idea what this was, so promptly headed to Google, where I learned of the iconic status of said goat. Absolutely delightful, as is artist Chris Bovey’s work, more of which can be found at Vintage Prints.

copper nickel

Rebecca Berlin’s marker on paper “Circles That You Find” brightens the cover of the Spring 2018 (#26) issue of Copper Nickel. See more of her work at Rebecca Berlin Art.

fiddlehead

Keeping with vibrant colors, The Fiddlehead Winter 2018 (# 274) issue features Monika Wright’s “With Powerful Intention” acrylic on canvas. In her artist’s statement, Wright comments, “With organic shapes, fluid light, lines and circles, I am employing universal symbols of unity, wholeness and infinity connected by lines, representing the boundaries which separate us, but which also highlights our shared path.” See more of her work here.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

southern humanities reviewSouthern Humanities Review continues celebrating its fifty years in print with issue 51.2, lush cover art by Victoria Marie Bee, & the buzzards came & undressed her  (pigment print, 2016).

crazyhorsePublished by the Department of English and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Charleston, the cover image of Crazyhorse Fall 2017 is “Blue Hole,” a digital photograph by Shane Brown.

writing disorderAnnelisa Leinbach’s vibrant art is featured on the home screen as well as in a portfolio for the Winter 2017 issue of The Writing Disorder online literary magazine.

 

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

into the void“The Cowards” by French photographer Iva Iova on the cover of Into the Void #6 is from her series, The Remains , of which she writes, “The last decade held a concentration of questionable political and social events. [. . . ] A population raised and educated to be Deaf, Cowards and Heartless.”

salamanderKikki Ghezzi‘s oil on linen entitled “Snow Flake” is featured on the cover of Salamander #45 with a full-color portfolio of more of her works inside the issue. She writes, “My paintings are increments of time and increments of marks and strokes in a meditative moment. They are the time of a walk, the time of process. The kind of ‘glow”’ time in my paintings is infinite in both directions, outward in accumulated, immeasurable brush strokes and inward towards a glow point.”

oneOil on canvas “21 August 2017” by Lynn Boggess invites readers into the December issue One  online poetry magazine, which features a “Second Look” section in which writers discuss poems they admire. This issue’s Second Look is Patrick Kavanagh discussing The Great Hunger.

 

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

leaping clearOne of the cover images, “Lotus Buddha” by Christine DeCamp, for the online publication Leaping Clear is reflective of its mission, to promote “accomplished artists whose work is informed by dedicated meditative and contemplative practices.” There is more from DeCamp and other visual artists and writers in the Fall 2017 issue.

river teethThe cover image of the fall 2017 issue of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative is a gorgeous waterfall photo from White Mountains, N.H. by David FitzSimmons.

concho river reviewTim L. Vasquez of Untamed Photography offers a seemingly surreal image for the cover of the fall/winter 2017 Concho River Review.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

georgia reviewIt’s hard to get the full effect of the Fall 2017 The Georgia Review cover art, which features work by poet and photographer Rachel Eliza Griffiths printed on mirror metallic stock.  A portfolio of her work and essay, “What Has Changed,” is included in the issue, with an introduction by Jenny Gropp.

field

An untitled enamel on plywood by Mose ” Mose T” Tolliver attracts readers to the Fall 2017 issue of Field: Contemporary Poetry and Poetics.

cincinnati reviewLove love love Mary Jo Karimnia‘s work, which she describes in her Artist’s Statement, “I draw in the backgrounds and enhance certain areas with glass beads. Cropped purposefully to omit faces, the images – such as teenagers in costumes at cosplay conventions, dancers in Bolivia, and Catrina icons at a Day of the Dead festival – emphasize how costumes can allow us to explore alternative personae in an anonymous way, which helps us to learn about our past or to imagine a future in which the acceptance of eccentricities is the norm.” The Cincinnati Review Winter 2018 includes her work on the cover as well as a portfolio inside.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

the boiler“Dying of the Already Dead” by Gloria Ceren is featured on the cover of the online fall 2017 issue of The Boiler along with additional works within the publication.

zone threeBilly Renkl’s “Watching the Sky #2” collage of antique British chromoolithographs is the cover art for v32 n2 of Zone 3 literary journal. Renkl says of his work, “Vintage and antique paper can be surprisingly beautiful, and I find the way that it carries its history with it moving.”

poet loreThe front cover of Fall/Winter 2017 Poet Lore features a photograph of Coyote Bluffs, Arizona by Ariel Body of Live Laugh Design.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

cleaverThe cover image for issue 19 of Cleaver Magazine online is mixed media/map entitled “He had an Awkward Relationship With The Truth” by Emily Steinberg.
foliate oakPhotographs by street photographer J. Ray Paradiso are featured on the cover screen for the online Foliate Oak Literary Magazine.
hamilton arts lettersCatherine Heard’s work can be found on the cover of Hamilton Arts & Letters Magazine 10.1 as well as featured in an online portfolio. Her work “work interrogates the histories of science, medicine and the museum. Simultaneously attractive and repulsive, her works delve into primal anxieties about the body.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

gettysburgHalloween, detail by Bo Bartlett, is seasonally appropriate for the Autumn 2017 cover of The Gettysburg Review. More of Bartlett’s work is also featured in a full-color portfolio inside the publication.
bellevue literary review“Finding Home: Family & Connections” is the theme of Bellvue Literary Review‘s Fall 2017 issue, with cover art and internal portfolio by father and son Paul and John Paul Caponigro.
massachusetts review The Massachusetts Review “back-to-school” fall 2017 issue features “He Who Is as if Death Were Not,” an archival pigment print on German etching paper from Ayana V Jackson‘s series To Kill or Allow to Live in the issue.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

concis“Field Tripping” by Katie Buchan is the eye-catching cover on the concīs Summer 2017. This online and e-pub journal devoted to brevity is available as PDF download.
fugue“The Spaces Between” by Laura Berger is featured on the cover of the online issue of Fugue (52). Managed and edited by graduate students in the English and Creative Writing Programs at University of Idaho, Fugue  features poetry, plays, fiction, essays, visual-text hybrids, and interviews.
kenyonDo I pick EVERY Kenyon Review cover? Maybe, but when covers make me laugh or do a double take, that’s worth sharing. The artist is Milan, Italy-based Emiliano Ponzi.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

malahat reviewI have to admit to being slightly creeped out by The Malahat Review cover art “Fly Face” by Aurel Schmidt – but at the same time, I can’t bring myself to look away from the fine detail of this pencil and acrylic on paper.
missouri reviewSandy Skoglund‘s “Fox Games” is the perfect image for The Missouri Review  Summer 2017 theme “Mischief Makers.”
able museI’m not sure if the cover images “Remote Lighthouse” by David Mark / “Delta Flyers” by Barry Jones was intentional – with the black and white lighthouse – given the special art feature in this Summer 2017 issue of Able Muse: A Zebra Theme – a photographic exhibit of zebra imagery from artists worldwide.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

kenyon review“Roaring Reading,” the July/August 2017 cover illustration by José Luis Merino, is a perfect compliment to the slim format of The Kenyon Review.
oneAnother slim design, “Serenity Overflowing” by Chris Ogden is the cover photo for issue 12 of One, an online journal of poetry.
ragazineThe cover of Ragazine.CC, a global online magazine of arts, information & entertainment, is a photo of the German duo Shari Vari, whose music is featured in this issue’s special section, “The Summer Seven: Listen to the Best Bands from Europe.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

true story resurrectionI simply can’t resist this chicken on Issue 9 of True Story, Creative Nonfiction‘s monthly, pocket-size publication of longform nonfiction narrative.This month’s story is “Resurrection” by Rebeca Dunn-Krahn. I have no idea yet what a chicken has to do with it, but I plan to find out!
themaThis Thema cover photo by Eleanor Leonne Bennett made me smile, but then as I read the theme for this issue, it made me laugh out loud: “Second Thoughts.” Yup. That’s the look.
writing disorderDanny Ochoa’s artwork is featured on the summer 2017 cover of Writing Disorder, an online literary journal. More of his illustrations and comics are included in this issue as well.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

gettysburg reviewThe Summer 2017 issue of The Gettysburg Review features paintings by Tina Newberry. In addition to this untitled cover piece, there are eight works in a full-color portfolio inside. It’s also worth a visit to her website to view her Barbies series.
brickYou have to take a close look at this detail from “Iron Horse” by Kent Monkman on the cover of Brick #99 to get the full effect of the kind of cultural/historical mishmash that makes up this image and a great many of his works.
hermeneutic chaos“Myth” by Eiko Ojala is a papercut illustration for the cover of the May 2017 issue of Hermeneutic Chaos Journal, an online bi-monthly publishing poetry and prose.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

river teethLove this summery landscape photo by David FitzSimmons on the Spring 2017 cover of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative.
cimarron reviewA look back to fall, this macro focus on the cover of Cimarron Review #198 is “Ornamental” by Kathleen Galvin. This beautiful image decieves the trecherous nature of these “Sweet Gum Balls” that blanket the ground beneath their trees in the fall.
nimrod“Leaving Home Finding Home” is the Spring/Summer 2017 theme of Nimrod International Journal published out of The University of Tulsa. The photograph is “After Loss, The Photographer Collects Small Homes in the Hope of Finding Love” by Ashley Inguanta.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

cargoThis cover photo “Fête de la Rose” by Rebekah West introduces readers to Cargo, an online nonfiction journal featuring work with strong narrative and interior journey, such as immersion reportage, memoir, and personal essay as well as photography and visual art.
concho river reviewTim L. Vasquez of Ziva-Gato Impressions contributed this gorgeous photo for the cover of Concho Review Review: Literature from Texas and Beyond, Spring/Summer 2017.
weberRecognizing “the exciting literary, artistic, and scholarly work that is currently produced along the Wasatch and beyond” is the focus of the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of Weber: The Contemporary West. Pam Bowman’s “Becoming” is constructed of cotton rope and string, vinyl, steel, wood, paint, caulking cotton, and shown as installed in a 25′ x 35′ gallery space, 2013.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

field 96Field Contemporary Poetry and Poetics Issue 96/Spring 2017 from Oberlin College Press features the unique “Self Portrait in Single-breasted Suit with Hare” by Sam Taylor-Wood (2001).
kenyon reviewThis work by Jody Hewgill on the cover of Kenyon Review draws readers in to the featured poetry theme for this May/June 2017 issue, “Nature’s Nature.”
into voidThe dramatic “Suffering” by Virginia Vilchis is the cover art for the Summer 2017 of Into the Void Arts and Literature from Dublin, Ireland – available in print and digital copy.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

georgia reviewErin McIntosh is the featured artist in this 70th anniversary issue of The Georgia Review, with one of her works from Geometric Series on the cover and several more inside along with an introduction about the artist and her work.
glimmer train“Forgetten” by Jane Zwinger on the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of Glimmer Train is a welcome symbol of spring that reflects the blossoming trees lining our city streets this April.
ruminateThe cover of Ruminate Spring 2017 features an untitled piece from the 2017 Kalos Visual Art Prize Winner Lucas Moneypenny. More of his work as well as that from Second Place winner Chakila L. Hoskins and Honorable Mention Carolyn Mount is included in the issue.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

themaThe cover photograph for the Spring 2017 issue of Thema by VHoward fits this issue’s theme perfectly: “Take the zucchini and run.” And also gave me a jolt of hope for summer’s soon arrival!
willow springsThe Spring 2017 cover photo of Willow Springs is by Polish-born photographer Marta Berens from her ongoing series Suiti – documenting the culture of the people of Alsunga, Latvia.
carveWhile the ship in the bottle is the focal point of Justin Burks’s image on the Winter 2017 issue of Carve, it was actually the Kit-Cat Clock that drew me in. Burks is a graduate of the Art Institute of Dallas and founder of Birdhouse Branding, a creative agency that helps develop and design brands, websites and illustrations for individuals and organizations.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

hotel amerika“Calmly on Fire,” a found photograph and collage on paper by Lorna Simpson, makes it difficult for readers to look away from Hotel Amerika Winter 2017.
into voidPublished in Ireland, this spring 2017 issue of Into the Void cover features “Two Boys in the Woods” by Refael Salem.
animal magazineUnusual beauty seems to be my theme this week, finishing off with “Red Heart Boat” by Andy Levine on the cover of the online Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

sewanee review “This iteration of the Sewanee Review [Winter 2017], designed by Peter Mendelsund and Oliver Munday, signifies the first substantial redesign this magazine has undergone since Allen Tate’s commissioning of legendary printer P.J. Conkwright in autumn, 1944,” writes Managing Editor Robert Walker. He thanks the designers “for their beautiful, idiosyncratic vision, which so seamlessly incorporates the old into the new.” NewPages agrees.
gettysburg review spring 2017The Gettysburg Review Spring 2017 whimsical cover is a detail of “The Young Owl” by Kevin Sloan.
missouri review“Stress Test” by Eugenia Loli is the eye-catching cover art on The Missouri Review v39 n4 (2016)

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

boilerThe Boiler winter 2017 online quarterly of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction features this stunning scene “Horses in Winter” photograph by Ellumyne.
chargrin river reviewChagrin River Review online journal of fiction and poetry is edited by faculty at Lakeland Community College, outside of Cleveland, Ohio. The cover photo for their December 2016 issue, with its unique road reflections, is by Michael Kinkopf.
cleaverI’m pretty sure that’s a cockroach orchestra portrayed on the cover of Cleaver online lit mag #16: “The Maestro” by Orlando Saverino-Loeb.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

carolina quarterlyAimee Bungard is the featured artist in the Winter 2017 issue of The Carolina Quarterly, with “Eyeris” on the cover and a portfolio of her work inside, in a style which she describes as “ecological expressionist.”
mud seasonMud Season Review publishes one story, one portfolio of poems, one essay or piece of narrative nonfiction, and visual art online monthly. The newest issue features artwork by Talal Alyan, who “renders loss into concise and vivid images that feel like an assault on the soul.”
positPosit online publishes “finely crafted, innovative, contemporary literature and visual art. Our tastes are broad, but we lean towards the experimental.” And the cover art of issue #12 is proof positive, featuring Steve DeFrank’s “Big Hairy Mess.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

malahat reviewLawrence Paul Yuxweluptun ‘s “Christy Clark and the Kinder Morgan Go-Go Girls” draws readers to the Winter 2016 cover of The Malahat Review, with guest editors Philip Kevin Paul (poetry), Richard Van Camp (fiction), Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (CNF) making selections for the theme “Indigenous Perspectives.”
fiddlehead winter2017I was mesmerized by Ann Manuel’s “Blur I” on the Winter 2017 cover of The Fiddlehead, Atlantic Canada’s International Literary Journal.
salamander plainAnd just one more splash of color to brighten a winter’s day: “Gouache on Newspaper” by Elizabeth Doran on the cover of Suffolk University’s Salamander #43.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

writing disorderThe Writing Disorder online quarterly literary journal continues to publish some of the most provocative artwork from emerging artists. Paintings by Cameron Bliss are featured on the Winter 2016-17 cover as well as within the issue.
superstition review 18 cover“My Beating Heart” by Rossitza Todorova welcomes readers to Superstition Review‘s issue 18, a fully accessible online literary magazine produced by creative writing and web design students at Arizona State University.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

zone threeThis week’s theme for covers seems to be ‘the fantastical from the literal.’ Philippe Pirrip‘s “Curved Plan” is featured on the cover of Zone 3 Fall 2016. Pripp describes his artistic approach as “a visual play of identities” and “a resistance to conform to literal figurations of what is and what has been depicted as being queer.”
southampton reviewOf the cover of Winter/Spring 2017 The Southampton Revi Editor-in-Chief Lou Ann Walker comments: “Because this issue’s theme is the muse, all of the art in this issue was chosen for its emphasis on story and the fantastical places imagination can go. Take, for example, the cover, ‘Stopping by Woods,’ created by Corinne Geertsen. How did that ballerina in her tutu come to be juxtaposed with that extraterrestrial spaceship?” Indeed.
chattahoochee reviewThe Chattahoochee Review Fall2016/Winter2017 cover art “War Bonnets: Never Out of Style for Long” by Lucy Julia Hale is representative of her artistic approach, which she describes: “I am drawn to see deeply into paper artifacts / mass-produced photographic images of our interiors and exteriors – / where we have lived.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

concho river reviewThe most recent issue of Concho River Review: Literature from Texas and Beyond features a photograph by Tim L. Vasquez, Ziva-Gato Impressions, that provides me with a ray of warmth during just the start of our coldest months of winter here in the north.
skidrow penthouseWith cover art by Ric Best, the color scheme of issue 19 of Skidrow Penthouse is another kind of warming image – one that invites readers into what Editors Stephanie Dickinson and Rob Cook consider “our best issue yet.”
crazyhorseThe reproduction can’t quite seem to do justice to the vibrancy of the blue, red, and orange hues on the Fall 2016 cover art of Crazyhorse. “City” by W. Case Jernigan provides a unique perspective, as does the content of this publication. A full list of contents for the current issue can be found here.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

woven tale pressIssue #9 of the monthly online journal The Woven Tale Press features the steel scupture “Facing the Elements Blindfolded” by Ruud Schrijvershof, with addtional images of his works included inside the publication. The Woven Tale Press is a fine arts and literary magazine with the mission to grow Web traffic to noteworthy writers, photographers, and artists.
sounder review“Lion” by Cesar Valtierra draws readers in to Issue 6 of The Sounder Review, an online and print jounral of art, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Based in Upstate New York, TSR “strives to question, redefine, and challenge conventional viewpoints; to usurp the definition of reality and truth.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

fiddlehead“to pursue the unattainable” (2011; mixed media on paper; 22″ x 30″) from Carol Collicut’s  Marcus Aurelius Series is featured on the autumn 2016 cover of The Fiddlehead: Atlantic Canada’s International Literary Journal and looks similar to a form of asemic writing.
into voidPublished out of Dublin, Ireland, this second issue of Into the Void Arts and Literature features “In the Dream I’m Falling” by Zach Moroney on its cover.
southeast reviewNewPages will always favor any lit mag cover that features the Detroit Tigers “D” on its cover. Though the black and white rendition of “An Ode to Farad #1” by Jamea Richmond-Edwards doesn’t quite do it justice, readers can find the full-color image inside The Southeast Review v.34 n.2, as well as and interview with the artist by Jessica Reidy.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

new guardThis whimsical “Dinosaur Feeding Frenzy” by Robert C. Jackson on the cover of Vol. V of The New Guard is an oil on linen, three panels sized 48″ x 36″ or 48″ x 108″. The issue itself is a contest winners frenzy, featuring winners, finalists and semifinalists of the The New Guard Vol. V Knightville Poetry Contest and the Machigonne Fiction Contest.
catamaran literary readerI couldn’t look away from this child’s searching expression on the fall 2016 cover of Catamaran. “Via Mal Contenti” by Bo Bartlett is an oil on linen (82 x 56; 2006) is as haunting as Founder and Editor in Chief Catherine Segurson’s closing words in her editor’s letter: “. . . please remember to vote this November, because we are responsible for the world our children will inherit.”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

fieldJorge Mayet’s De Mis Vivos y Mis Muertos (2008, electrical wire, paper, acrylics, fabric) is featured on the cover of the poetry journal Field‘s fall 2016 issue. Inside, readers can find a symposium on the work of C.D. Wright, with essays by Jenny Goodman, Laura Kasischke, Pamela Alexander, Sharon Olds, Kazim Ali, and Stephen Burt.
river teethThis fall 2016 cover of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative features the photography of David FitzSimmons, “Sweet Gum and Moon, Ashland, Ohio.”
the gettysburg reivewIn keeping with what seems to be a ‘tree’ theme, this acrylic on panel by Eric Green, entitled “Pole,” is just sample of the kinds of stark yet lush images included in his full-color portfolio inside The Gettysburg Review, winter 2016.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

black warrior reviewI think Black Warrior Review covers make the pick every issue, with Luanne Redeye’s (Self)Image on the Fall/Winter 2016 cover just another example of why. More from her “Genre Paintings 2011 – ” series can be found inside the publication, as well as here on her website.
mssachusetts reviewThe cover of The Massachusetts Review (v57 n3) features Nina Chanel Abney’s What, 2015 (unique ultrachrome pigmented print, acrylic, spray paint on canvas). More of her work is also featured in the publication and can be viewed in her online portfolio here.
subprimal poetry artThe cover of the seventh issue of Subprimal Poetry Art features Three Shadows by Kate Viola, who says the painting was “inspired by the haunting arias often found in operas.” Subprimal Poetry Art is a open access online publication of words with music, words alone, and artwork.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

crabfat magazinePhotographer John Chavers’ kaleidoscope image is featured on the October 2016 online issue of Crab Fat Magazine, a journal “founded on the principles of inclusive & diverse writing/publishing.” And they mean it.
georgia reviewThe Georgia Review has been turning heads for 70 years and will be celebrating through the year with a variety of special events that they will update on their website. The Fall 2016 cover art (“#1637”) is by Masao Yamamoto, whose work is also featured with an introduction and full-color, twelve-page portfolio within.

Lit Mag Covers Picks of the Week

raleigh reviewThe Raleigh Review Fall 2016 issue features “Red Madonna” by Geri Digiorno on its cover, an appropriate welcome to its contents, which Editor Rob Greene comments: “Many of us enter the arts as a way to heal . . [the arts] is about real people trying to make a better world. We hope the work in this volume guides you a better understanding of humankind.”
carolina quarterly“Jenna’s First” by William Paul Thomas adorns the cover of The Carolina Quarterly Fall 2016, with a full-color portfolio of his work within. “I paint representations of disembodied heads of people in my social circle and sometimes scrawl text directly over their likenesses,” Thomas writes in his Artist’s Statement. “As it relates to my portraits, whatever the viewer derives from looking is the correct interpretation. I embrace symbolic ambiguity while clinging to observational specificity.”
haydens ferry review“My work explores narratives that recognize the urgency and conflict in our continuing attempts to connect to the world around us,” writes Hanna Dansie in her Artist’s Statement. Her work is featured both on the cover of the Spring/Summer 2016 Hayden’s Ferry Review and with several internal pages as well.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

lalitambaLalitamba, which means Divine Mother, calls itself a “journal of international writings for liberation” and was inspired by a pilgrimage through India. Each issue, the cover is meditaion on the publication’s focus and inspiraiton. [No photo credit.]
michigan quarterly reviewMichigan Quarterly Review Summer 2016 cover photo is a rich perspective on the beauty of summer. “A Patch of Green” photo by MIchael Owen, 2014.
subprimalCynthia Low’s artwork appears both on the cover and is featured inside Subprimal Poetry Art, an online journal. See the full print and Low’s commentary here.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

river teethThis week’s covers just say “summer” to me, starting with this Spring 2016 issue of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative. The cover photo is of Chipmunk Creek, Richland County, OH by David FitzSimmons.
gettysburg reviewThe Gettysburg Review Autumn 2016 issue features The Letter A, detail by Alexandra Tyng, 2012, oil on linen. The publication also includes a full-color portfolio of eight of his works.
ragazineThe online publication Ragazine features Castles in the Sky, oil on watercolor paper by Laura Guese, and also includes an interview with her in the issue here.

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

It’s been a while since we’ve done some cover art features, so thanks to you readers who let us know how much you appreciate this post!
colorado reviewIrresistable: Colorado Review‘s Summer 2016 cover image is just so summery with this full-cover-wrap photogray by Lenny Koh of Lenny K Photography.
themaThema‘s Summer 2016 cover is reflective of this issue’s theme: “Lost in the Zoo.” Cover photograph by Kathleen Gunton.
cimarron reviewAlong with Cimarron Review‘s Spring 2016 issue, I almost had a whole cat theme going. This one taps my appreciation for whimsy with Sabrina Barnett’s photo “Greens (2).”

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

crazyhorse 89Still Life with Apple by David Harrison is a rich oil on canvas acquired for the Spring 2016 issue of Crazyhorse, which also includes the winners of their Crazy-shorts! Short-Short Fiction Contest.
sarah katharina kayssI liked this slightly dizzying photo on the cover of Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley. Credit goes to German photographer Sarah Katharina Kayß, whose work provides unique perspectives on architecture.
colorado reviewI want to believe it is the Blue Bird of Happiness that adorns the Spring 2016 cover of Colorado Review [no photo credit given].

Lit Mag Covers :: Picks of the Week

three elements reviewBenjamin Duke’s Home Again, Home Again fills the front and back covers of the Spring 2016 (#10) issue of 3 Elements Literary Review, an online publication that challenges writers and readers alike with issues themed with three elements. Spring’s elements are Measure, Cleave, and Sliver.
apple valley review spring 2016Taking the old and making it new again is this spring issue of the online Apple Valley Review, which features cover artwork: “Cabin in the Woods, North Conway, New Hampshire,” 1848, oil on canvas by Thomas Cole.
michigan quarterly reviewSix Million is the photograph by Conor MacNeill on the cover of Winter 2016 Michigan Quarterly Review. It was taken in Berlin at the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas – the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and is companion to the opening essay by Philip Beidler, “This Way to the Führerbunker: Gertrud-Kolmar-Straße, Berlin, Mitte.”