The Whiting Foundation has announced the winners of its 2019 Literary Magazine Prizes, the largest national award given to nonprofit literary magazines. In addition to recognizing excellence in literary achievement, the prize aims to help publications find new audiences, create new funding, and reach sustainability.

The Common, a print and digital literary journal at Amherst College in Massachusetts, was awarded $60,000. The judges said this about the magazine: “The Common’s exemplary resources for teachers and its devotion to elevating new writers will help bring into being a new generation of readers and thinkers.”

$30,000 was awarded to the print publication American Short Fiction in Austin, Texas, on which judges commented, “Budding talent appears in company with venerated masters, and the magazine’s deep investment in its Austin community gives it a strong foundation for creating national resonance.” Another $30,000 was awarded to The Margins, the digital publication and editorial arm of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Judges called The Margins “an indispensable incubator for audacious intellect and human complexity.”

In addition, Black Warrior Review and The Offing were awarded $6,000 print and digital development grants, respectively. The judges described Black Warrior Review as “a singular beacon for adventurous writing” and commended The Offing for its “unswerving commitment to amplifying marginalized voices, and its sharp but compassionate understanding of what writers need to thrive.”

The Whiting Literary Magazine Prizes were launched in 2018; the inaugural winners were A Public Space, Fence, and Words Without Borders.

Image Credit: The Whiting Foundation