Chestnut Review

If you're at #awp2026 in Baltimore, stop by and say hello. Hanging out with @chestnutreview.bsky.social. We can talk books or writing or whatever.

CHESTNUT REVIEW is an always-open, online literary magazine with a dedicated staff. They treat all artists with respect, pay the maximum they are able, respond to submissions within 30 days, and celebrate their contributors relentlessly. See for yourself at booth 741!

@chestnutreview.bsky.social is an always-open, online literary magazine with a dedicated staff. They treat all artists with respect, pay the maximum they are able, respond to submissions within 30 days, and celebrate their contributors relentlessly. See for yourself at booth 741!

Cast Your Longest Shadow is a wonderful new chapbook by Jad Josey that will draw out the very deepest of your emotions.

“Imagine saddle and bit and reins
instead of freedom.”

Among other amazing chapbook authors, Jad will be joining us at Charm City Books on March 6th for our AWP offsite event.

“That dog died when the boys were four, and they were young enough when she went, thankfully, that memories of her went clean out of their heads after it happened.”

Check out this beautiful prose from our 7:3 issue. Link in bio.

#chestnutreview #litmag #prose

When discussing his poem, Sodïq Oyèkànmí jokes: “Maybe I never really needed therapy anyway; maybe I just needed to spill my heart onto these pages.” And that is just what he does in his work “[my therapist says i need to find another way to unburden myself]”

chestnutreview.com/sodiq-oyekan...

Today’s throwback is from our first year, issue 1:4! Check out Michael Steffen’s piece “Before Smartphones.”

Link in bio.

#chestnutreview #litmag #poetry #tbt

“I adore you and I hope you are well. I wanted to explain where I’ve been because I’m
sure, of all the people in my life, you’re worried about me most.”

“All Dreams Come From Louisville” by Nicholas Hilbourn

chestnutreview.com/nicholas-hil...

Find me at AWP!
Reading @riverteeth.bsky.social
Signing @sugarhousereview.bsky.social
Reading @chestnutreview.bsky.social
Signing @finishinglinepress.bsky.social
💕💕💕

“This poem is for my daughter, Felicity, who embodies her name to the fullest. Fostering her has been the most incredible part of my life—a true love of liberation and choice."

- Lauren Saxon on “I’m going to turn into a blueberry”

chestnutreview.com/lauren-saxon...

“I won’t tell you what she says next only that as I dress I can still hear my own voice”

Feroze says, “I wanted to put the artist in the poem and have her undeniably in charge without putting words in her mouth...”

chestnutreview.com/jen-feroze-f...

“Giving Care” by Sue Mell is a real, unflinching, and deep story about a woman’s experience caring for her elderly mother with dementia. This chapbook uses serene, natural, visuals to discuss this complex relationship between mother and daughter. Link is in our bio.

“I’m curious to know the taste /of moonlight, how it feels /between the seams of who /I was and where I want to be.” A poem for all the dreamers, gardeners, and people still figuring themselves out, Shei Sanchez’s “Planting Stars by Moonlight”

chestnutreview.com/shei-sanchez...

Join us on Friday, March 6th at AWP for our offsite reading event! From 6-8 pm, take some time away from the bustle of the conference and branch out into the city with us at Charm City Books (only 15 minutes away from AWP venue).

Did you read Barton’s reflection in today’s Patreon post yet? Read from a writer who has been picking up wisdom from past contributors and sharing them with you as often as she can. Link to Patreon in bio.

#chestnutreview #interviews #pastcontributors #reflection #writingadvice

That's right, we're participating in @chestnutreview.bsky.social's #AWP26 Scavenger Hunt. Stop by our booths #527 and #529 to pick up a card on March 5th-6th, and let the literary hunt begin!

@awpwriter.org

You could win $50 at AWP! Be on the lookout for this card and complete the scavenger hunt around the Bookfair; it’s a great chance to meet some of our fellow presses!

Just be sure to return the card to us (Booth 741!) by the end of the Bookfair on 7/3.

Stop by and say hello! #awp2026 #awpbaltimore #awpbookfair #chestnutreview #chestnutreviewchapbooks

In a work that is both devastating and all too real, Michael Okafor describes his thoughts: “I start with one thought or memory and at the end of that is another (unrelated) memory waiting to take the baton.”

#chestnutreview #poetry #memory #streamofconsciousness #grief

Happy Chapbook Saturday! In the spirit of things, this week we’re showing our love for our wonderful chapbook authors over the years.

Treat yourself or a loved one this Valentine’s Day with chapbooks for all tastes, available on Amazon, linked on our website! (Link in bio).

“Vernacular,” by Marvellous Igwe, beautifully demonstrates the frustration and pain dealt from losing cultural languages to colonial erasure and a history of violence.

chestnutreview.com/marvellous-i...

Please note: chapbooks are submitted through our Auxiliary Submittable page.

Are you working on a Chapbook?

We take submissions during the Spring and Autumn reading periods via Submittable.

Spring Reading: March 1 – April 30
Autumn Reading: October 1 – November 30

#chestnutreview #chapbooks #literarymagazine #litmag #poetryreaders

“My daughters make young snakes / from the lilac yarn / they dip into bathwater.” Quinn Rennerfeldt’s full poem “Young Snakes” is available at the link in our bio!

#chestnutreview #litmag #poem #snakes #winterissue

Thinking about our recent writers retreat. What an excellent, memorable time! Our Patreon on Wednesday will offer a reflection from our very own James Rawlings. Subscribe at any level today to get the message sent to your inbox. Link in bio.

#merida #mexico #writersretreat #chestnutreview #patreon

Thinking about our recent writers retreat. What an excellent, memorable time! Our Patreon on Wednesday will offer a reflection from our very own James Rawlings. Subscribe at any level today to get the message sent to your inbox. Link in bio.

#merida #mexico #writersretreat #chestnutreview #patreon

We’ve got two scholarship spots left for Wales 2026. Link to scholarship is in bio. You could be 4 steps away from the chance to go on this beautiful writing retreat. Apply soon as scholarships are limited.

#wales #writingretreat #chestnutreview #scholarship

“Faith is shaped like my mother, like her knuckles / when she kneads dough in the kitchen.”

Check out Hajer Requiq’s “Iman” and more at the link in our bio!

#chestnutreview #litmag #poetry #beirut #iman

BOULDERS by Esperanza Cintrón is a celebration of Detriot, its steadfast heartiness and surprising beauty in the face of change and the difficulties of humanity; it is a reflection on nature in a way you’ve never seen before.

#chestnutreview #litmag #chapbook #poetry #boulders

TAN’S DONUTS by Maya Cheav is an imaginative exploration of the life of a family in the aftermath of the Cambodian genocide told throigh the lens of a donut shop.

Buy your copy today at #barnesandnoble and more.

#chestnutreview #litmag #chapbook #chapbooksaturday

Early bird registration for our Summer 2026 Wales writing retreat ends soon! Secure your spot by Jan 31st! Link in bio. #chestnutreview #litmag #poetry #prose #retreat