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Nonfiction Editor's Proclivities

As a genre, creative nonfiction is a murky one—with no collective, universal definition. However, the essays I’m looking for should have universal appeal.

To give you a better idea of what types of writing intrigue me, I’m going to follow the lead of my fiction colleagues and borrow from a section The Southeast Review’s website called, "The Bedside Table." These are the writers I keep close and that best characterize my interests as a reader. I’m listing authors of both fiction and nonfiction, as I believe the best narrative nonfiction is built from fiction technique.

In no particular order—other than alphabetical:

Kim Addonizio, Steve Almond, Julianna Baggott, Aimee Bender, Kate Bernheimer, Kevin Brockmeier, Dave Eggers, Lorrie Moore, Thisbe Nissen, Joyce Carol Oates, Flannery O’Connor, Mary Robison, Philip Roth, David Sedaris.

Literary journals that I have a particular affinity for:

AGNI, Conjunction, Fence, McSweeny’s, The Paris Review.

I think the commonalities among these authors & what these journals publish are quirky, unique voices, sharp storytelling, and—above all—innovation. By extension, those are the things that make up my vision for The Southeast Review’s creative nonfiction section. Usually, the essays I choose employ techniques used by fiction writers (i.e. close scene, dialogue, detailed description, et cetera), some are experimental in structure, others are humor pieces, some are social commentary, but they all—without exception—have text that is evocative and interesting all the way through. I want to finish reading the essay and be so compelled, so moved, that I need to reread it again.

What I’m not looking for: academic prose, interviews, scholarly articles, or freshman comp-type research papers. Those types of writings have homes; yet, that home is not The Southeast Review.

Samantha Levy
Creative Nonfiction Editor

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