JULY/AUGUST 2023 NEWSLETTER

Send Us Your Work!

The Kenyon Review will open for general submissions tomorrow—Friday, September 1, 2023—and remain open for the entirety of the month. We allow simultaneous submissions and charge no submissions fee.

Please see our submissions page for more information and submit through our Submittable page. 

Announcing the 2023 KRALA Honoree

The Kenyon Review is pleased to announce Walter Mosley as the recipient of the 2023 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement (KRALA).

KRALA was established in 2002 to honor careers of extraordinary literary achievement and to recognize writers whose influence has shaped the American literary landscape. It celebrates writers for the courage of their vision, their unparalleled imagination, and for the beauty of their art.

Walter Mosley is one of the most versatile and admired writers in America. He is the author of more than sixty critically acclaimed books that cover a wide range of ideas, genres, and forms including fiction (literary, mystery, and science fiction), political monographs, writing guides, a memoir in paintings, and a young adult novel called 47.

Developmental Editing Fellowship Applications Open September 15

Applications for The Kenyon Review Developmental Editing Fellowship for Emerging Writers open on September 15 and run until November 1. The fellowship, now in its second year, will provide support for emerging writers who demonstrate exceptional talent, promise, and commitment to their chosen craft. Participation in the program involves one-on-one mentorship by an experienced editor on the KR team through regular virtual meetings over a period of four months. Learn more here, and submit on our Submittable page when the application period opens.

Why We Chose It: "All's Well" by Margaret LaFleur

By Senior Editor Caitlin Horrocks

“All’s Well” by Margaret LaFleur appears in the Summer 2023 issue of The Kenyon Review.

Short stories are not, on the whole, a particularly cheerful genre. I have participated in my share of online conversations where teachers, editors, and readers plead for recommendations of funny short stories, happy short stories, stories that feature at least as much light as darkness, and, crucially, do so in convincing ways. In the speedy span of a short story, a happy ending can feel too speedy, tacked on or false, as if the author were trying to tie everything up in an artificially tidy bow. In future crowdsourcing, I’ll eagerly recommend Margaret LaFleur’s story “All’s Well,” which arcs beautifully and meaningfully towards the rare ending in which all is indeed more or less well.

Read the rest of the Why We Chose It (and the story) on our site!