An Alabama student built a statewide magazine for young writers. Its first issue launches September 26, judged by Big Fish author Daniel Wallace

Longleaf, a new independent literary magazine for Alabama student writers, publishes its debut issue on September 26, with novelist Daniel Wallace, the Birmingham-born author of Big Fish, serving as guest judge.

Longleaf, a new independent literary magazine for Alabama student writers, publishes its debut issue on September 26, with novelist Daniel Wallace, the Birmingham-born author of Big Fish, serving as guest judge.

Longleaf was founded by Lily Shah, a high school student who wanted to give young Alabama writers a serious place to be published as contests and journals for student work have grown scarce. The magazine is free to enter, free to read, and open to students across the state in grades 9 through college.

The debut issue will publish work in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and cover art, and will offer more than $1,000 in awards to student writers and artists, including a $500 Longleaf Prize for the best work in the issue and $150 in each category. Every selected contributor is published in the issue.

"So much strong writing by students in this state never finds a home," said Lily Shah, Longleaf's founding editor. "I wanted to build one, a place where young Alabama writers are read closely and taken seriously. Having Daniel Wallace read this first issue means the world to me, and to everyone who submitted."

Submissions closed on August 30 after a strong response from student writers and artists across the state. Work is read blind by Longleaf's readers, who selected the finalists, and Daniel Wallace chose the winners from among them. The debut issue launches September 26 at readlongleaf.org, free to read.

The awards are funded entirely by local sponsors. SBR Properties is the presenting sponsor of the $500 Longleaf Prize. FirstBank sponsors the Poetry Award, Renasant Bank the Cover Art Award, Five Guys the Fiction Award, and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams the Nonfiction Award, with additional support from Alabama Colon & Gastro, P.C. and The Snail on the Wall bookstore. Longleaf is run by volunteers, and every dollar raised goes to student awards and a small honorarium for the guest judge.

Daniel Wallace is the author of six novels, including Big Fish (1998), later adapted into a film and a Broadway musical. A Birmingham native, he received the Harper Lee Award in 2019 for a lifetime of contribution to Alabama letters.

Press release (PDF) Daniel Wallace photo (high-res) Longleaf logo

A reversed logo for dark backgrounds is here. When publishing Daniel Wallace's photo, please credit the photographer, Kate Medley.

Lily Shah, Founding Editor
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