''Ninth Letter'' is a literary magazine that publishes

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

, and

nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

. It is an interdisciplinary collaboration between th
School of Art + Design
and the Creative Writing Program at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

. ''Ninth Letter'' exists in two related but distinct forms: a biannual print magazine and
website
that features new electronic content on a continuous basis. In 2004, the first issue was published. It included fiction from

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

recipient Robert Olen Butler,

Katherine Vaz Katherine Vaz (born August 26, 1955) is an American writer. A Briggs-Copeland Fellow in Fiction at Harvard University (2003–9), a 2006–7 Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the Fall, 2012 Harman Fellow at Baruch Colleg ...

, and an interview with Yann Martel, the author of the

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

-winning novel ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, India who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. He s ...

''. Notable contributors include Roxane Gay,

Jaquira Díaz Jaquira Díaz is a Puerto Rican fiction writer, essayist, journalist, cultural critic, and professor. She is the author of ''Ordinary Girls'', which received a Whiting Award in Nonfiction, a Florida Book Awards Gold Medal, was a Lambda Literary A ...

John Sibley Williams John Sibley Williams (born December 7, 1978, in Melrose, Massachusetts) is an American poet, educator, and literary agent. He is the author of "As One Fire Consumes Another" (winner of the 2018 Orison Poetry Prize), "Skin Memory" (winner of the 20 ...

, Ismail Kadare, Jennifer Percy,

Kathy Fagan Kathy Fagan Grandinetti is an American poet. Biography Kathy Fagan earned a B.A. in English from California State University, Fresno in 1980. She holds an M.F.A. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. She teaches at Ohio ...

Lynne Sharon Schwartz Lynne Sharon Schwartz (born March 19, 1939) is an American prose and poetry writer. Biography Schwartz grew up in Brooklyn, the second of three children of Jack M. Sharon, a lawyer and accountant, and Sarah Slatus Sharon; she married Harry Schwa ...

, Janice N. Harrington,

Lisa Russ Spaar Lisa Russ Spaar is a contemporary American poet, professor, and essayist. She is currently a professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Virginia and the director of the Area Program in Poetry Writing. She is the author of nu ...

and other writers.

Awards and honors

Work published in ''Ninth Letter'' has been selected for many awards anthologies such as

Best American Nonrequired Reading ''The Best American Nonrequired Reading'' was a yearly anthology of fiction and nonfiction selected annually by high school students in California and Michigan through 826 Valencia and 826michigan. The volume was part of ''The Best American Series ...

, Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories, Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Best Creative Nonfiction, Best New Fantasy, Best New Poets, Best of the Net, and New Stories from the Midwest. It has also been honored in Best American Essays. Roxane Gay's “To Scratch, Claw, or Grope Clumsily or Frantically," appeared in '' Bad Feminist'' after it was published in ''Ninth Letter''. At an editorial meeting,

Philip Graham Philip Leslie Graham (July 18, 1915 – August 3, 1963) was an American newspaperman. He served as publisher and later co-owner of ''The Washington Post'' and its parent company, The Washington Post Company. During his years with the Post Comp ...

learned that Gay competed in Scrabble tournaments. So, he said, “Hey, let’s contact her and ask if she’d be interested in writing an essay about that for us.”. It was later honored as a notable essay in ''The Best American Essays'' ''2013'' edited by Cheryl Strayed and

Robert Atwan The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. The journal has also received many national and international awards for graphic design, and has been featured in the design awards annuals of both STEP Inside Design and HOW Magazine. In 2005 Ninth Letter was named Best New Literary Journal by the Council of Learned Journals, an affiliate of the Modern Language Association. In a 2021 spotlight, The Bennington Review described a recent issue of Ninth Letter as an issue marked by "amazing pieces of poetry and prose" and "visually stunning pages of artwork sprinkled throughout." Newpages describes ''Ninth Letter'' as "a fun project that ticks all the normal lit journal boxes while providing energy and flash where other journals play it low key." The journal is ranked as one of the best places that publish fiction and nonfiction. It has also been lauded for its commitment to diversity

References

External links

ninthletter.com
{{University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus Poetry magazines published in the United States Biannual magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2004 Magazines published in Illinois University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign publications 2004 establishments in Illinois

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links