_Fall_Winter_2006_cover.jpg) | |
| Discipline | Literary journal |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Edited by | Jodee Stanley |
| Publication details | |
| History | 2004-present |
| Publisher | |
| Frequency | Biannual |
| Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt  ) | |
| ISO 4 | Ninth Lett. |
| Indexing CODEN (alt · alt2) · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus · W&L | |
| ISSN | 1547-8440 |
| Links | |
Ninth Letter is a literary magazine that publishespoetry,fiction, andnonfiction. It is an interdisciplinary collaboration between theSchool of Art + Design and the Creative Writing Program at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.[1]Ninth Letter exists in two related but distinct forms: a biannual print magazine and awebsite that features new electronic content on a continuous basis. In 2004, the first issue was published. It included fiction fromPulitzer Prize recipientRobert Olen Butler,Katherine Vaz, and an interview withYann Martel, the author of theMan Booker Prize-winning novelLife of Pi.[2]
Notable contributors includeRoxane Gay,[3]Jaquira Díaz,[4]John Sibley Williams,Ismail Kadare,Jennifer Percy,Kathy Fagan,Lynne Sharon Schwartz,Janice N. Harrington,Lisa Russ Spaar and other writers.
Work published inNinth Letter has been selected for many awards anthologies such asBest American Nonrequired Reading,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 inBest American Essays. Roxane Gay's “To Scratch, Claw, or Grope Clumsily or Frantically," appeared inBad Feminist after it was published inNinth Letter. At an editorial meeting,Philip Graham 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.”.[5] It was later honored as a notable essay inThe Best American Essays2013 edited byCheryl Strayed andRobert Atwan.
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.[6] 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."[7]
Newpages describesNinth 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."[8] The journal is ranked as one of the best places that publish fiction and nonfiction.[9][10]
It has also been lauded for its commitment to diversity[11]