Ploughshares
Encyclopedia
Ploughshares is an American literary magazine
founded in 1971 by DeWitt Henry
and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars
, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, Ploughshares has been based at Emerson College
in the heart of Boston
. Published in April, August, and December in quality paperback, each issue is guest-edited by a prominent writer who explores personal visions, aesthetics, and literary circles. Guest editors have been the recipients of Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, National Book Awards, MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, and numerous other honors.
, a Harvard Ph.D. student, and Peter O'Malley, an Irish expatriate, joined together at the Plough and Stars pub to fill a void they felt existed in the literary scene in Boston
. Neither one was happy with what was currently being published, and, with their friends and followers, decided to create their own literary magazine. Realizing that they and their supporters would never be able to agree on a specific editorial outlook for the magazine, the co-founders decided that the position of editor would be a rotating one. Since then, Ploughshares has been edited by a different author for every issue, giving the magazine a unique and constantly changing voice. The first issue was published in September 1971.
The magazine soon became recognized as a beacon for talented new writers. Some of the writers whose first or early works have appeared in Ploughshares are Thomas Lux
, John Irving
, Russell Banks
, Sue Miller
, Mona Simpson, Ethan Canin
, Tim O'Brien
, Robert Pinsky
, and Jayne Anne Phillips.
1989, Ploughshares became affiliated with Emerson College
. Author Don Lee
took the reins as Editor-in-Chief, and would serve in that position until 2007.
In 1990, Ploughshares received the first of three large grants from the Wallace–Reader's Digest Funds, and thereafter came rapid growth, state-of-the-art computers, a new design, and aggressive marketing campaigns.
In 2008, Ladette Randolph
replaced Don Lee as Editor-in-Chief. The quality of the magazine's content remains the same, though its appearance has changed to reflect its firm place in today's literary world.
Ploughshares has had more selections in The Best American Short Stories than any other literary journal in the past ten years. In the past several years, it has had more stories published in The Pushcart Prize anthology than any other publication, and the magazine continues to be considered one of the most prestigious in the country.
Editor-in-Chief / Executive Director: Ladette Randolph
Managing Editor: Andrea Martucci
Fiction Editor: Margot Livesey
Poetry Editor: John Skoyles
Founding Editor: DeWitt Henry
Founding Publisher: Peter O'Malley
.
Each year, Ploughshares honors the best short story and poem published in the journal with the Cohen Awards, which are sponsored by their longtime patrons Denise and Mel Cohen. Finalists are nominated by staff editors, and the winners are selected by the advisory editors. Each winner receives a cash prize of $600.
.
Named after Emerson College's former president, the John C. Zacharis First Book Award was instituted in 1991 to honor the best debut book by a Ploughshares writer. The award alternates annually between poetry and fiction and carries a cash prize of $1,500 to the winning author.
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
founded in 1971 by DeWitt Henry
DeWitt Henry
DeWitt Henry is an American author and editor.Born in 1941 in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Henry earned his A.B. from Amherst College in 1963. He is a founding editor of Ploughshares, a literary journal, and served as its editor and director from its inception in 1971 to 1995...
and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars
The Plough and Stars
The Plough and Stars is a bar located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1969, and named after the play by Sean O’Casey, the bar has a rich literary history and is today a popular music venue...
, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, Ploughshares has been based at Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
in the heart of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Published in April, August, and December in quality paperback, each issue is guest-edited by a prominent writer who explores personal visions, aesthetics, and literary circles. Guest editors have been the recipients of Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, National Book Awards, MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, and numerous other honors.
History
In 1970 DeWitt HenryDeWitt Henry
DeWitt Henry is an American author and editor.Born in 1941 in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Henry earned his A.B. from Amherst College in 1963. He is a founding editor of Ploughshares, a literary journal, and served as its editor and director from its inception in 1971 to 1995...
, a Harvard Ph.D. student, and Peter O'Malley, an Irish expatriate, joined together at the Plough and Stars pub to fill a void they felt existed in the literary scene in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Neither one was happy with what was currently being published, and, with their friends and followers, decided to create their own literary magazine. Realizing that they and their supporters would never be able to agree on a specific editorial outlook for the magazine, the co-founders decided that the position of editor would be a rotating one. Since then, Ploughshares has been edited by a different author for every issue, giving the magazine a unique and constantly changing voice. The first issue was published in September 1971.
The magazine soon became recognized as a beacon for talented new writers. Some of the writers whose first or early works have appeared in Ploughshares are Thomas Lux
Thomas Lux
-Biography:Thomas Lux was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, son of a milkman and a Sears & Roebuck switchboard operator, neither of whom graduated from high school. Lux was raised in Massachusetts on a dairy farm. He was, according to those who knew him in high school, very good at baseball,...
, John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
, Russell Banks
Russell Banks
Russell Banks is an American writer of fiction and poetry.- Biography :Russell Banks was born in Newton, Massachusetts on March 28, 1940. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in upstate New York, and has been named a New York State Author. He is also...
, Sue Miller
Sue Miller
Sue Miller is an American writer who has authored a number of best-selling novels. Her duties as a single mother left her with little time to write for many years, and as a result she did not publish her first novel until 1986, after spending almost a decade in various fellowships and teaching...
, Mona Simpson, Ethan Canin
Ethan Canin
Ethan Andrew Canin is an American author, educator, and physician. He is a member of the faculty of the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa....
, Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien (author)
Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who often writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American servicemen who fought there...
, Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of which are collections of his own poetry...
, and Jayne Anne Phillips.
1989, Ploughshares became affiliated with Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
. Author Don Lee
Don Lee (author)
Don Lee is an American novelist who spent his childhood in Tokyo and Seoul as the son of a State Department officer. He received his B.A. in English Literature from University of California, Los Angeles and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Emerson College. He has also served as the primary...
took the reins as Editor-in-Chief, and would serve in that position until 2007.
In 1990, Ploughshares received the first of three large grants from the Wallace–Reader's Digest Funds, and thereafter came rapid growth, state-of-the-art computers, a new design, and aggressive marketing campaigns.
In 2008, Ladette Randolph
Ladette Randolph
Ladette Randolph is an American author and editor.She has been the editor-in-chief of Ploughshares and a professor at Emerson College since 2008.-Awards:...
replaced Don Lee as Editor-in-Chief. The quality of the magazine's content remains the same, though its appearance has changed to reflect its firm place in today's literary world.
Ploughshares has had more selections in The Best American Short Stories than any other literary journal in the past ten years. In the past several years, it has had more stories published in The Pushcart Prize anthology than any other publication, and the magazine continues to be considered one of the most prestigious in the country.
Masthead
as of February 2011Editor-in-Chief / Executive Director: Ladette Randolph
Ladette Randolph
Ladette Randolph is an American author and editor.She has been the editor-in-chief of Ploughshares and a professor at Emerson College since 2008.-Awards:...
Managing Editor: Andrea Martucci
Fiction Editor: Margot Livesey
Margot Livesey
Margot Livesey is a Scottish born writer. She is the author of six novels, numerous short stories, and essays on the craft of writing fiction....
Poetry Editor: John Skoyles
Founding Editor: DeWitt Henry
DeWitt Henry
DeWitt Henry is an American author and editor.Born in 1941 in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Henry earned his A.B. from Amherst College in 1963. He is a founding editor of Ploughshares, a literary journal, and served as its editor and director from its inception in 1971 to 1995...
Founding Publisher: Peter O'Malley
Advisory Editors
For a list of the Advisory Editors, please see Ploughshares Advisory EditorsPloughshares Advisory Editors
For each issue, Ploughshares has a Guest Editor - usually a writer who has been previously published in the magazine - choose a selection of the material that appears in each issue...
.
Past contributors
Past contributors to the journal have included:- Lee K. AbbottLee K. AbbottLee Kittredge Abbott is an American writer. He is the author of six collections of short stories and teaches writing at the Ohio State University in Columbus.-Life:...
- Joseph BrodskyJoseph BrodskyIosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...
- Ethan CaninEthan CaninEthan Andrew Canin is an American author, educator, and physician. He is a member of the faculty of the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa....
- Raymond CarverRaymond CarverRaymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
- Gillian ConoleyGillian ConoleyGillian Conoley is an American poet, the author of seven collections of poetry. Her work has been anthologized widely, most recently in Norton’s American Hybrid, Counterpath’s Postmodern Lyricisms, Mondadori’s Nuova Poesia Americana , and Best American Poetry...
- Lucy CorinLucy CorinLucy Corin is an American novelist and short story writer currently teaching English at University of California, Davis. Her stories have appeared in The Mid-American Review, Conjunctions, Tin House, Ploughshares, PEN America, and the Iowa Review...
- Kevin GoodanKevin GoodanKevin Goodan is an American poet and professor. His most recent book is Winter Tenor . His first book, In the Ghost-House Acquainted, won a New England/New York Award from Alice James Books, as well as the 2005 L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award...
- Linda GreggLinda GreggLinda Alouise Gregg is an American poet.-Biography:Although born just miles northwest of New York City, Ms. Gregg grew up on the other side of the country, in Marin County, California. She received both her Bachelor of Arts, in 1967, and her Master of Arts, in 1972, from San Francisco State College...
- Seamus HeaneySeamus HeaneySeamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
- Ann HoodAnn HoodAnn Hood is an American novelist and short story writer; she has also written nonfiction. The author of thirteen books, her essays and short stories have appeared in many journals and magazines, including The Paris Review, Ploughshares, and Tin House. Hood is a regular contributor to The New York...
- John IrvingJohn IrvingJohn Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
- Edward P. JonesEdward P. JonesEdward Paul Jones is an American novelist and short story writer. His 2003 novel The Known World received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.-Biography:...
- H.T. Kirby-Smith
- Peter SelginPeter SelginPeter Selgin is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist, editor, and illustrator. Selgin is currently the at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.-Biography:...
- Li-Young LeeLi-Young LeeLi-Young Lee is an American poet. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. His maternal grandfather was Yuan Shikai, China's first Republican President, who attempted to make himself emperor...
- Robie MacauleyRobie MacauleyRobie Mayhew Macauley was an editor, novelist and critic whose literary career spanned over 50 years.-Early life:...
- Linda McCarristonLinda McCarristonLinda McCarriston, and holding dual citizenship of Ireland and the United States, is a poet and Professor in the Department of Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Alaska Anchorage, teaching Creative Writing and Literary Arts since 1994.-Life:McCarriston had completed her Master of...
- Haruki MurakamiHaruki Murakamiis a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...
- Sabina MurraySabina MurraySabina Murray is an award-winning Filipina American screenwriter, and a novelist currently a Professor in the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst.-Background and career:...
- Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
- ZZ PackerZZ PackerZZ Packer is an African-American author, notable for her works of short fiction.-Life:She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and Louisville, Kentucky. "ZZ" was a childhood nickname; her given name is Zuwena...
- Jim ShepardJim ShepardJim Shepard is an American author and professor of creative writing and film at Williams College.-Biography:Shepard was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He received a B.A. at Trinity College in 1978, his MFA from Brown University in 1980. He currently teaches creative writing and film at Williams...
- Gerald SternGerald SternGerald Stern is an American poet. His work became widely recognized after the 1977 publication of Lucky Life, which was that year's Lamont Poetry Selection, and of a series of essays on writing poetry in American Poetry Review. He has subsequently been given many prestigious awards for his...
- Richard YatesRichard Yates (novelist)Richard Yates was an American novelist and short story writer, known for his exploration of mid-20th century life.-Life:...
- David Foster WallaceDavid Foster WallaceDavid Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, essays, and short stories, and a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California...
Awards and recognition
- 2007 Commonwealth Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC)
- Ploughshares is cited in the Global Politician as being "a leading literary portal."
Cohen Awards
For a list of past winners, see Cohen Awards.Each year, Ploughshares honors the best short story and poem published in the journal with the Cohen Awards, which are sponsored by their longtime patrons Denise and Mel Cohen. Finalists are nominated by staff editors, and the winners are selected by the advisory editors. Each winner receives a cash prize of $600.
John C. Zacharis First Book Award
For a list of past winners, see John C. Zacharis First Book AwardJohn C. Zacharis First Book Award
The John C. Zacharis First Book Award honors the best first book of poetry or fiction by a Ploughshares writer. The award carries a cash prize of $1,500, and feature publication in the "Postscripts" section of the Winter issue. It was started in 1991....
.
Named after Emerson College's former president, the John C. Zacharis First Book Award was instituted in 1991 to honor the best debut book by a Ploughshares writer. The award alternates annually between poetry and fiction and carries a cash prize of $1,500 to the winning author.
In pop culture
- One of the protagonists in Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's novel Under the DomeUnder the DomeUnder the Dome is a novel by Stephen King, published in November 2009. It is a partial rewrite of a novel King attempted writing twice in the late 1970s and early 1980s, under the titles The Cannibals and Under the Dome...
is said to have recently guest-edited an issue of Ploughshares.