A series of covers from literary organizations that publish Intro Journals Project winners' poetry, fiction, and nonfiction

Intro Journals Project

The Intro Journals Project is a literary competition for the discovery and publication of the best new works by students currently enrolled in AWP member programs. Program directors are invited to nominate students' works, which are selected for publication in participating literary journals, including Colorado Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, Mid-American Review, Puerto del Sol, Quarterly West, Reed Magazine, and Tampa Review.

2023 General Editor

Dave Essinger

2023 Intro Journals Project Winners


Poetry

Selected by Jennifer Moore

  • “Ghost Eulogy”
    Sara Verstynen
    Northwestern University
    Reed Magazine

  • "Sadie”
    Shannon Moran
    University of Missouri-Kansas City MFA program in Creative Writing and Media Arts
    Hayden’s Ferry Review

  • "Visiting a Friend on a Snowy Night”
    Chengru He
    University of Utah Creative Writing Program
    Colorado Review

  • “Three Days After My Mom Starts Hospice, My Son Can't Sleep”
    Angela Voras-Hill
    University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Creative Writing Program
    Mid-American Review

  • Countdown
    Carrie Johnson
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    Quarterly West

  • “Etymology of a Meal”
    Veronica Silva
    University of Central Florida Creative Writing MFA
    Iron Horse Literary Review

  • “14 Minute Sonnet”
    Grace Smith
    West Virginia University MFA in Creative Writing
    Puerto del Sol

  • “Equinox”
    Brian Czyzk
    University of North Texas
    Tampa Review

Honorable Mention

  • “Some Wound of Color”
    Nate Metz
    Santa Clara University

  • “Letters from Atlantis”
    Daniel Barton
    University of Illinois at Chicago

  • “upon viewing Hunt’s Scapegoat (1856)”
    Savannah Moix-Rogers
    Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop

  • “Hurricane Season"
    Chelsea Hill
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • “A Smile is not a convincing argument”
    Monir Gholamzadeh Bazarbash
    Purdue Creative Writing Program

  • “Kylix”
    M. Sage Flint
    Central Washington University

  • “Apophatic Poem”
    Jennifer Loyd
    Texas Tech University

  • “Blood & Guts”
    Charlotte Smith
    St. Olaf College

Fiction

Selected by Gwen Kirby

  • “A Vanishing”
    Blake Chernin
    Purdue Creative Writing
    Iron Horse Literary Review

  • “Deborah Forever”
    Kasey Peters
    University of Nebraska-Lincoln
    Hayden’s Ferry Review

  • “For Someone”
    Madeline Simms
    University of Alabama
    Quarterly West

  • “Wisdom Teeth”
    Liina Koivula
    Eastern Washington University MFA Program
    Puerto de Sol

Honorable Mention

  • “Stranger”
    Jake Zawlacki
    Louisiana State MFA Program

  • “Old Queens”
    Steven Archer
    University of Central Florida Creative Writing MFA

  • “My Girlfriend the Wax Specialist”
    Victoria Hulbert
    University of Mississippi MFA Program

  • "Mythologies and Fruiting Bodies"
    Sasheene Denny
    University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Creative Writing Program

Creative Nonfiction

Selected by Sonya Huber

  • “Hair”
    Ciara Alfaro
    University of Minnesota MFA Program in Creative Writing
    Mid-American Review

  • "Lost Wingman”
    Laura Joyce-Hubbard
    Northwestern University
    Reed Magazine

  • “The Archer”
    Jacob M. Hall
    Texas Tech University
    Colorado Review

  • “Ṣọkọyọ̀kọ̀tọ̀”
    Kanyinsola Olorunnisola
    University of Alabama
    Tampa Review

Honorable Mention

  • “Queer Paranoia at the Dua Lipa Concert”
    Kurt Ostrow
    The Ohio State University MFA Program in Creative Writing

  • “My Problem Was I Didn’t Leave Him”
    Allison Field Bell
    University of Utah Creative Writing Program

  • “What Blood Remembers”
    Akira Ritos
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Creative Writing

  • “Your Lovely Gaza”
    Tayma Al-Astal
    Marshall University