April 26, 2011 | Announcements

Triquarterly Online Home to Story of 2010

University’s literary journal runner-up for best new online magazine

By Wendy Leopold

EVANSTON, Ill. --- TriQuarterly Online (TQO), Northwestern University’s longtime literary journal, was named a runner-up for the 2010 Million Writers Award for best new online magazine. TQO made the transition from print to Web magazine less that a year ago.

In addition, a story in TQO’s first online issue -- Jane Hamilton’s “The Scarf Dancers” -- was named a Million Writers Award Notable Story of 2010.

The short story, published in TQO 138, Summer/Fall 2010 issue, was accompanied by an interview with Hamilton. In the interview, Hamilton -- the author of six novels -- talks about short story writing, the future of books, contemporary publishing and other topics.

Jason Sanford, founding editor of “storySouth” online literary journal, established the Million Writers Awards in 2004. He named “Lightspeed Magazine” as the best new online magazine.

In what can be considered good news for writing, Sanford said it was difficult to pick this year’s best new online magazine “because so many great magazines debuted in 2010.”

“It is tremendously gratifying that in only one year TriQuarterly Online has won readers across the world and recognition within the United States,” says Reginald Gibbons, the professor of English in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences who also co-directs the MA/MFA in creative writing program in the School of Continuing Studies.

“This recognition is proof that writing as an art is still alive and well even in the age of the Internet,” adds MA/MFA program co-director S.L. Wisenberg. “Readers want more nourishment than is available from a tweet here and there.”

Jenny Boully, whose “A Short Essay on Being” was published in TQO’s summer issue, is a nominee for the Essay Prize, which is given yearly by the University of Iowa to the work that best exemplifies the art of essay writing.

Susan Harris is the Triquarterly Online faculty adviser. She is the editor of “Words Without Borders,” which won the 2010 Million Writers Award for best online magazine.