Meridian is an annual literary magazine produced at the University of Virginia in conjunction with the university’s MFA in Creative Writing Program, whose students serve as the magazine’s editors.
Founded in 1998, Meridian has featured the works of numerous Pulitzer Prize Winners, National Book Award Winners, and established writers including Charles Wright, Rita Dove, Yusef Komunyakaa, Seamus Heaney, Ann Beattie, George Garrett, Heather McHugh, Richard Bausch, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Cathy Song, and Eric Pankey.
But don’t let the big names fool you. As a magazine edited by early career writers, we value nothing more than showcasing tomorrow’s talent, often publishing a new author’s first story or poem. We welcome and carefully read every submission that comes our way.
Meridian poetry and prose has appeared in Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, the Pushcart Prize anthology, and New Stories from the South. Our stories have also been short-listed for the O. Henry Prize, and our fine authors and poets have gone on to win many awards.
Meridian also features regular author interviews, book reviews, photography, and artwork. The magazine’s current print run is about 300 to 400 issues. We plan POD distribution starting with issue 47.
Current Staff:
Kaitlyn Airy, Editor-in-Chief
Sébastian Butler, Poetry Editor
Tafara Gava, Fiction Editor
Coby-Dillon English, Nonfiction Editor
ethan s. evans, Web and Social Media
We only accept online submissions of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, and artwork via our Submittable site. We no longer accept postal submissions. Our open reading period for fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction is approximately July 1 through October 31. Additionally, we run two contests in the summer and fall.
The authors we publish receive two complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears and can purchase more at a reduced rate. We do accept simultaneous submissions; however, if we accept your work for publication, it is your responsibility to immediately notify all other magazines it is no longer available. Similarly, if someone else accepts your work, withdraw your work from Meridian on Submittable as soon as you can.
We try to respond within six months, but we have sometimes taken longer. Please note that our offices are typically closed May 5 through August 15.
Our editors take great pleasure in publishing new voices, so please do not submit in any genre if you’ve been published in our pages within the past three years. Once three years have passed, we hope you’ll try us again. (Note: If your work has appeared on the website only, you may feel free to submit your work for consideration in our print publication.)
We generally do not accept creative work by current University of Virginia students. University of Virginia students should not send unsolicited work.
Are you a visual artist? We would love to consider your art for inclusion in Meridian, either as cover art or as an interior portfolio. Please check our Submittable site for current calls for artwork and the most up-to-date information about page sizing.
Meridian typically asks for the rights to publish an author’s work in a single print edition and also in future retrospective editions of the magazine. We currently make our entire magazine available in a print- and copy-protected viewer. Links to several prior issues are available on our contributors’ page.
After we publish poetry or prose in Meridian, all rights revert to our authors. If you wish to reprint, repost, or redistribute work in any form, it is your responsibility to contact the writer and secure permission. You do not need Meridian‘s permission to reprint, though we always appreciate an acknowledgment of first publication, when feasible.