To celebrate its first half-century and to launch itself into its second, The Malahat Review will publish a theme issue on Victoria writing past, present, and future in Autumn 2017.

Victoria is known nationally and internationally for a remarkably vibrant writing scene that has a depth of accomplishment spanning more than a century, one equalling, if not rivaling the achievements of literary cities…to the east…that are two, three, even ten times its size.

Since 1967, as an anchor of Victoria writing, The Malahat Review has had the good fortune to launch and sustain the reputations of many Victoria writers by publishing their work at all stages of their careers. Victoria PAST, Victoria PRESENT, Victoria FUTURE aims to honour this beautiful “long-term” relationship in a festschrift that will reveal where Victoria writing has come from, where it is today, and where it may be heading. 

Victoria PAST, Victoria PRESENT, Victoria FUTURE will feature poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction that exemplifies “Victoria-ness,” however that may be construed—something more subtle than high tea, flowering baskets, and rain—alongside interviews of local writers and reviews of current Victoria-authored books.

What are we looking for?

Victoria PAST

The Malahat Review wishes to celebrate Victoria’s writing roots by publishing previously unpublished poems, short stories, and creative nonfiction by local writers who are no longer with us. We welcome suggestions as to who we should consider and also urge the literary executors of our deceased writers to contact us.

Victoria PRESENT

The Malahat Review invites Victoria-based writers to submit poems, short stories, and creative nonfiction. Writers of Victoria’s “present” are those who have made or are making a place for themselves in Victoria’s literary community, whether it is through a first or second book, or their tenth.

Victoria FUTURE

The Malahat Review invites Victoria-based writers who are at the beginning of their literary careers to submit their poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. They need not be “young” in years—the Malahat is not ageist—but should be making their first forays into print. A Victoria “futurist” may have published one book or no book at all.

Who is a Victoria writer?

A Victoria writer must live within the boundaries of the Capital Regional District. The Malahat Review recognizes that there is a worldwide diaspora of Victoria writers; however to obtain an accurate view of both Victoria PRESENT and Victoria FUTURE, The Malahat Review will only consider those writers who currently live in the greater Victoria region. Writers of Victoria PAST must have lived in the CRD during a significant period of their writing lives.

Submission Guidelines

  • Eligible Writers must live in Victoria’s Capital Regional District, and be Canadians or Canadian residents. Brief biographical notes must be included in all cover letters. 
  • Poetry submissions may consist of three to five poems (six pages of poetry maximum), on any subject and in any style.
  • Submissions of short fiction may be up to 6,000 words in length, on any subject or any style. Unless the stories are very short (i.e., less than 1000 words long each), no submission may consist of more than one story.  
  • Creative nonfiction may range from 1,000 to 6,000 words in length on any subject or in any style.
  • The Malahat Review seldom publishes unsolicited book reviews. No book reviewed in this issue will be assigned to a Victoria-based critic.
  • Contact information, (full, name, mailing address, and email address) must appear on the first page of all submissions.
  • All submissions must be paginated.
  • Poetry submissions must be single-spaced; fiction and creative nonfiction submissions must be double-spaced.
  • For fiction and creative nonfiction, please include the word count on the first page of your submission.
  • Previous publication is considered to be any appearance in print or online, including on or in a newspaper, newsletter, magazine, anthology, chapbook, book, e-book, website, electronic magazine, personal blog, Twitter, Facebook, or other social-media platform. Please note that even if the print run or circulation of the print publication where the work has previously appeared is small, this is still considered previous publication. No work that has been excerpted elsewhere is eligible for submission; nor is a work that has been revised since its original publication.
  • The Malahat Review discourages simultaneous submissions.
  • The Malahat Review pays an honorarium of $60 per printed page.
  • All submissions must be sent to The Malahat Review via Submittable

Submittable

  • Preferred file formats: doc, docx, and pdf.
  • Poetry submissions must be saved in a single file; please do not submit each poem in your submission in a separate file.
  • For all genres, please include your cover letter as the first page of your submission.
  • No submissions in any genre sent by regular mail will be considered.

Queries: malahat@uvic.ca

Submission Deadline Extended to May 18, 2017