Hello Readers!
We have a few announcements, so I’ll jump right in. The staff has been shaken up a bit. We thank Chelsea Cobb for her time as Fiction Editor, but she’s had to step down due to availability issues. I’ve taken over the role for the time being. Philly Chapbook Review has also lost a few readers, but is pleased to welcome some new ones to our team; Natasha Sharma and dana belott have joined the poetry team, while Fan Du, Evan Goldenbaum, and Emelia Delaporte have joined PCR as readers of poetry or prose, as needed.
Submission Stats
One of the reasons readers have become so important is because of the amount of submissions we receive. During our Summer submission period, we hit new highs, receiving 196 pieces of short fiction and 1,136 poems from 441 writers in 50 different countries. We accepted three short stories and seventeen poems for inclusion in Issue 14 for an acceptance rate of about 1.5% in both categories.
Best of the Net 2027
September was also nomination time for the 2027 Best of the Net Anthology. With the input of all five editors, six poems were chosen and the nominations submitted. Congratulations to Robin Arble, Colleen S. Harris, Li-Young Lee, Nivara Lune, Alexandra Meyer and Scott Weaver on their nominations! Click on the names of their nominated poems below to view their work.
- “Petrified” — Alexandra Meyer
- “Self-Portrait as River Delta” — Nivara Lune
- “Inflammation As Girl” — Colleen S Harris
- “The Blessed Knot” — Li-Young Lee
- “Annotating The Inferno” — Scott Weaver
- “February Prayer” — Robin Arble
New Schedule & Delayed Issue
As Philly Chapbook Review nears the end of our third year of existence, I’m happy to look back at what’s been built with pride. All that time without a break can be both creatively and administratively exhausting, though. Now that we’ve gained a regular audience, with over 850 email subscribers through SubStack and thousands of social media followers, I’m taking this opportunity for a change that I expect will make publishing easier.
Beginning with Issue 14, PCR will no longer be published on a “rolling” basis; instead releasing all issue content at once in the style of print literary magazines. Since we need time to get ahead of things, Issue 14 will not be released until January 1, 2027, though we will be posting some preview content. We appreciate you bearing with us as we make this transition.
Finally, while we will continue to list the chapbooks we can find each month, both poetry and prose, we have ended our weekly new books posts.
Thank you for your attention, and support,
Aiden Hunt
Creator & Managing Editor
Contents
October ’26: Best of the Net, New Staff & New Schedule
Managing Editor Aiden Hunt shares about Philly Chapbook Review’s staff changes, Best of the Net nominations, submission stats, and new publication format in this editor’s note to Issue 14.
“I always feel like I have so much to say to my mother and in this poem, I selected a few memories to share. In a way, this creative choice is symbolic of waving my white flag…” Read three poems by Natalie Zhang, along with a few words about “Flagship.”