Kevin Wilson, “A Birth in the Woods”
In the years before my wife and I decided to have a baby, I tortured myself by writing story after story about monstrous babies that ruined the lives of their parents. I could not stop doing it. This was one such story. Now that I have a beautiful son, Griff, who is pure light, I wonder what dark part of my brain contained these narratives, and I hope that it is closed to me for the near future.
Kevin Wilson was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the author of a story collection, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, which won the Shirley Jackson Award, and a novel, The Family Fang. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of the South and lives in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Recommended Stories 2012
The task of picking the twenty PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories each year is most difficult at the end when more than twenty admirable and interesting stories remain. Here are our Recommended Stories, listed, along with the place of publication, in the hope that readers will seek them out and enjoy them. Please go to our website, www.penohenryprizestories.com, for excerpts from each year’s recommended stories and information about the writers.
Jamil Ahmad, “The Sins of the Mother,” Granta
Mary-Beth Hughes, “The Widow of Combarelles,” A Public Space
James Terry, “Road to Nowhere,” The Iowa Review
Alix Ohlin, “The Cruise,” World Literature Today
Mary Swan, “Washington’s Teeth,” Zoetrope
Publications Submitted
Stories published in American and Canadian magazines are eligible for consideration for inclusion in The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories. Stories must be written originally in the English language. No translations are considered. Sections of novels are not considered. Editors are asked not to nominate individual stories, and stories may not be submitted by agents or writers.
Beginning with The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2013, editors may submit online fiction for consideration, but such submissions must be sent in hard copy to the address below. The publication’s contact information and the date of the story’s publication must accompany the submissions.
Because of production deadlines for the 2013 collection, it is essential that stories reach the series editor by May 1, 2012. If a finished magazine is unavailable before the deadline, magazine editors are welcome to submit scheduled stories in proof or manuscript. Publications received after May 1, 2012, will automatically be considered for The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2014.
Please see our website, www.penohenryprizestories.com, for more information about submission to The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories.
The address for submission is:
Laura Furman, Series Editor, The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories
The University of Texas at Austin
English Department, B5000
1 University Station
Austin, TX 78712
The information listed below was up-to-date when The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2012 went to press. Inclusion in this listing does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories or Anchor Books.
African American Review
Saint Louis University
Adorjan Hall 317
3800 Lindell Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63108
Nathan Grant, editor
aar.slu.edu
quarterly
Agni Magazine
Boston University
236 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215
Sven Birkerts, editor
agni@bu.edu
agnimagazine.org
biannual
Alaska Quarterly Review
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
Ronald Spatz, editor
www.uaa.alaska.edu/aqr
biannual
Alimentum
PO Box 776
New York, NY 10163
Paulette Licitra and Peter Selgin, editors
editor@alimentumjournal.com
alimentumjournal.com
biannual
Alligator Juniper
Prescott College
220 Grove Avenue
Prescott, AZ 86301
Abby Durden, managing editor
aj@prescott.edu
prescott.edu/alligator_juniper
annual
American Literary Review
PO Box 311307
University of North Texas
Denton, TX 76203-1307
Miroslav Penkov, editor
engl.unt.edu/alr
biannual
The American Scholar
1606 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009
Robert Wilson, editor
scholar@pbk.org
theamericanscholar.org
quarterly
American Short Fiction
PO Box 301209
Austin, TX 78703
Jill Meyers, editor
americanshortfiction.org
quarterly
The Antioch Review
PO Box 148
Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387-0148
Robert S. Fogarty, editor
antiochreview.org
quarterly
Apalachee Review
PO Box 10469
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Michael Trammell, editor
apalacheereview.org
biannual
Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies
PO Box 1890
Arkansas State University
State University, AR 72467
Janelle Collins, editor
arkansasreview@astate.edu
altweb.astate.edu/arkreview
triannual
Ascent
Concordia College
Department of English
901 South Eighth Street
Moorhead, MN 56562
W. Scott Olsen, editor
ascent@cord.edu
readthebestwriting.com
triannual
The Asian American Literary Review
c/o Gerald Maa
6243 Adobe Circle
Irvine, CA 92617
Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis and Gerald Maa, editors in chief
editors@aalrmag.org
aalrmag.org
biannual
The Atlantic Monthly
600 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20037
C. Michael Curtis, senior fiction editor
theatlantic.com
monthly
Avery Anthology
Stephanie Fiorelli, Adam Koehler, Nicolette Kittinger, editors
submissions@averyanthology.org
averyanthology.org
biannual
Baltimore Review
PO Box 36418
Towson, MD 21286
Barbara Westwood Diehl, senior editor
baltimorereview.org
annual
The Bark
2810 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
Claudia Kawczynska, editor in chief
editor@thebark.com
thebark.com
bimonthly
Belles Lettres: A Literary Review
Washington University in St. Louis
The Center for the Humanities
Campus Box 1071
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
Gerald Early, editor
cenhum.artsci.wustl.edu/publications/belle_lettres
biannual
Bellevue Literary Review
Department of Medicine
NYU Langone Medical Center
550 First Avenue OBV-A612
New York, NY 10016
Ronna Wineberg, JD, senior fiction editor
blreview.org
biannual
Black Clock
California Institute of the Arts
24700 Mc
Bean Parkway
Valencia, CA 91355
Steve Erickson, editor
info@blackclock.org
blackclock.org
biannual
Black Warrior Review
PO Box 862936
Tuscaloosa, AL 35486
Danilo John Thomas, fiction editor
http://bwrsubmissions.ua.edu
bwr.ua.edu
biannual
BOMB
New Art Publications
80 Hanson Place
Suite 703
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Betsy Sussler, editor in chief
generalinquiries@bombsite.com
bombsite.com
quarterly
Boulevard Magazine
6614 Clayton Road
Box 325
Richmond Heights, MO 63117
Richard Burgin, editor
boulevardmagazine.org
triannual
Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers
PO Box 714
Lexington, VA 24450
Stephanie Wilkinson and Jennifer Niesslein, editors
editor@brainchildmag.com
brainchildmag.com
quarterly
The Briar Cliff Review
3303 Rebecca Street
PO Box 2100
Sioux City, IA 51104-2100
Tricia Currans-Sheehan, editor
currans@briarcliff.edu
briarcliff.edu/bcreview
annual
Brick
Box 609, Station P
Toronto, ON M5S 2Y4
Canada
Nadia Szilvassy, managing editor
info@brickmag.com
brickmag.com
biannual
Callaloo
English Department
Texas A&M University
4212 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-4212
Charles Henry Rowell, editor
callaloo@tamu.edu
callaloo.tamu.edu
quarterly
Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women
PO Box B
Corvallis, OR 97339
Rebecca Olson, senior editor
editor@calyxpress.org
calyxpress.org
biannual
Camera Obscura
c/o Sfumato Press
PO Box 2356
Addison, TX 75001
M. E. Parker, editor in chief
editor@obscurajournal.com
obscurajournal.com
biannual
The Carolina Quarterly
CB# 3520 Greenlaw Hall
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3520
Phil Sandick and Lindsay Starck, fiction editors
thecarolinaquarterly.com
triannual
Chicago Review
5801 South Kenwood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
Joel Calahan and Michael Hansen
chicago-review@uchicago.edu
humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/review
quarterly
Cimarron Review
205 Morrill Hall
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078-4069
Toni Graham, editor
cimarronreview@okstate.edu
cimarronreview.okstate.edu
quarterly
The Cincinnati Review
PO Box 210069
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0069
Michael Griffith, fiction editor
editors@cincinnatireview.com
cincinnatireview.com
biannual
Coal City Review
c/o Brian Daldorph
English Department
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045
Brian Daldorph, editor
coalcityreview.com
annual
Cold Mountain Review
Department of English
ASU Box 32052
Boone, NC 28608-2052
Leigh Ann Henion, editor in chief
coldmountain@appstate.edu
coldmountain.appstate.edu
biannual
Colorado Review
9105 Campus Delivery
Department of English
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-9105
Stephanie G’schwind, editor
creview@colostate.edu
coloradoreview.colostate.edu
triannual
Concho River Review
Angelo State University
ASU Station #10894
San Angelo, TX 76909–0894
Mary Ellen Hartje, editor
www.angelo.edu/dept/english_modern_languages/concho_river_review.html
biannual
Confrontation Magazine
English Department
C. W. Post of Long Island University
Brookville, NY 11548
Jonna Semeiks, editor in chief
confrontationmag@gmail.com
confrontationmagazine.org
biannual
Conjunctions
21 East 10th Street, 3E
New York, NY 10003
Bradford Morrow, editor
conjunctions.com
biannual
Crab Orchard Review
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Faner Hall 2380—Mail Code 4503
1000 Faner Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901
Allison Joseph, editor
craborchardreview.siuc.edu
biannual
Crazyhorse
Department of English
College of Charleston
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Garrett Doherty, managing editor
crazyhorse@cofc.edu
crazyhorse.cofc.edu
biannual
Cream City Review
Department of English
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201
Ann Steward McBee, editor in chief
creamcityreview.org
biannual
Daedalus
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Norton’s Woods
136 Irving Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phyllis S. Bendell, managing editor
daedalus@amacad.org
mitpressjournals.org/page/ editorial/daed
quarterly (publication by invitation only)
Dappled Things
dappledthings.editor@gmail.com
dappledthings.org
quarterly
Denver Quarterly
University of Denver
Department of English
2000 East Asbury
Denver, CO 80208
Bin Ramke, editor
denverquarterly.com
quarterly
descant
Department of English
Texas Christian University
TCU Box 297270
Fort Worth, TX 76129
Dave Kuhne and Lynn Risser, editors
descant@tcu.edu
descant.tcu.edu
annual
Dogwood
Department of English
Fairfield University
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Kim Bridgford and Pete Duval, editors
faculty.fairfield.edu/dogwood
annual
Downstate Story
1825 Maple Ridge
Peoria, IL 61614
Elaine Hopkins, editor
ehopkins7@prodigy.net
wiu.edu/users/mfgeh/dss/index.html
Ecotone
Department of Creative Writing
University of North Carolina Wilmington
601 South College Road
Wilmington, NC 28403-5938
Ben George, editor
info@ecotonejournal.com
ecotonejournal.com
biannual
Electric Literature
325 Gold Street, Suite 303
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Andy Hunter, editor in chief
editors@electricliterature.com
electricliterature.com
quarterly
Ep;phany: A Literary Journal
Willard Cook, editor in chief
epiphany.magazine@gmail.com
epiphanyzine.com
biannual
Epoch
Cornell University
251 Goldwin Smith Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-3201
Michael Koch, editor
www.arts.cornell.edu/english/publications/epoch
triannual
Event
Douglas College
PO Box 2503
New Westminster, BC V3L 5B2
Canada
Elizabeth Bachinsky, editor
event@douglas.bc.ca
event.douglas.bc.ca
triannual
Exile
134 Eastbourne Avenue
Toronto, ON M5P 2G6
Canada
Barry Callaghan, editor in chief
exilequarterly.com
quarterly
Explosion-Proof
Alex Ludlum, editor in chief
contact@explosion-proof.net
explosionproof.wordpress.com
quarterly
Fantasy & Science Fiction
PO Box 3447
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Gordon Van Gelder, editor
fsfmag@fandsf.com
fandsf.com
bimonthly
The Farallon Review
1017 L Street
Number 348
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tim Foley, editor
editor@farallonreview.com
farallonreview.com
annual
Fence
Science Library 320
University at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222
Lynne Tillman, fiction editor
fence@albany.edu
fenceportal.org
biannual
Fiction
Department of English
The City College of New York
138th Street and Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031