West Trade Review

"Somewhere Between Gravity and Dust" by Zizipho Godana

"Ice Cubes that Remember Champagne" by Janine A. Willis

"The Thread You Follow" by R.C. Blenis

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Nonfiction

Fiction

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Volume 16 Winter 2025 Collection of Online Exclusives

We’re excited to present the Winter 2025 edition. It features poetry by Nathan Erwin, Rita Mookerjee, Ewen Glass, T. De Los Reyes, and Anya Kirshbaum among others; fiction by Janine A.Willis; cnf by R.C. Blenis

Cover art by David Deweerdt (IG: @davidpeintladifference)

Read it now.

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Poetry

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Phyllis Grant Zellmer Prize for Fiction

Submissions Open January 15th for our fifth annual fiction contest. Entries should be no more than 5,000 words. Contest is open to emerging writers only.

See submission guidelines here.

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West Trade Review Prize for Poetry

Submissions Open January 15th

Are you ready? The fifth annual West Trade Review Prize for Poetry opens January 15th. This year’s judge is Jason Schneiderman.

The contest is open to emerging writers only.

Writers may submit up to three previously unpublished poems per entry.

Details here.

Trill: Poems That Resonate

A New Poem Each Week

We are looking for poems that perform Olympic feats with language that leave a reader in wonder while still referring back to the basic things that make us human. We want powerful imagery and enjoy the juxtaposition of images in interesting and unexpected ways Look for a new theme each month and a new poem published on our website each week.

Click here for details and the list of upcoming themes.

December's theme: letting go; January's theme: sound

Roots and Words: Essays on the Creative Life

We are looking for nonfiction essays that explore creative life expansively conceived (broader than only literary).

We are seeking personal essays exploring creative practice, reading practice, engagement with literature, support for the literary or creative life, hopes/desires/goals for the arts and creative life, experiences with authors or creative figures, arts community involvement, etc.

Submission Open Year-Round.

Details here.

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Need honest, constructive criticism to maximize your manuscript’s potential? Consider working with one of our professional editors who can offer detailed developmental feedback. The Iron Oak Editions editorial critique team is here to help you refine your work, a short individual piece, or a full book manuscript.

Meet our Editorial Critique Team and request feedback.

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Lane Osborne’s “Unfinished” from the Spring 2024 print edition was listed in the new Best American Essays 2025 anthology as one of the "Notable Essays & Literary Nonfiction of 2024.

Congratulations, Lane!

Lane Osborne earned his MFA at Warren Wilson College and teaches at Coastal Carolina University, where he serves as the faculty nonfiction editor for Waccamaw. His work, previously nominated for a Pushcart Prize, a finalist for the Rash Award in Fiction, and a semifinalist for the Cleaver Magazine Short Essay Contest, has appeared in various journals, including Chautauqua, storySouth, Broad River Review, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Oxford Magazine.

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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SUBSTACK

We're happy to announce Roots & Words, the new Substack from Iron Oak Editions and West Trade Review. We’re so excited about this new platform and all the new developments for the journal and the press that are on the horizon.

Get access to our free monthly newsletter as well as the exclusive content for monthly and annual subscribers like new weekly poems, new essays that explore creativity and the creative life, weekly generative creative writing prompts, and live conversations (craft talks, book club discussions, etc.).

Details here.