The Delmarva Review published its fifth annual edition of prose and poetry this week, rising competently at the far end of the writing spectrum, known to discerning readers as literary writing.  I say the “far end” of the spectrum, because it is the place reserved for literature as an art.  This is the place where art and craft combine in the writer’s quest for excellence…aspired to by many, but attained by few.

That sounds intimidating, and perhaps it is to some writers.  But to others it is a rewarding journey.  A literary journal like The Delmarva Review attracts hundreds and hundreds of submissions for the few that are finally published.  Of course, there are space limitations.  For the aspiring and persevering writer, publication in the review is a well-deserved achievement.  Even the best writers receive rejections, but selection for publication is always an occasion to be celebrated.

The Delmarva Review is one of some 3,300 literary reviews around the world.  That sounds like a lot.  But, when you consider there are over 200,000 commercial magazines in production, literary reviews are, indeed, at the small end of the spectrum. It’s interesting that they are growing in numbers, not diminishing.

For those who would like to know more about literary reviews, their purpose and history, I recommend an excellent article by an experienced editor-writer, Paul Soderberg, “The Secret World of Literary Journals,” available to read online at: http://thefeatheredflounder.com/2012/05/the-secret-world-of-literary-journals/

Today, as I and my talented editorial associates stuff envelopes with copies of  The Delmarva Review, to be on their way to readers, this concludes a year of difficult work. “Difficult” because it has been a year of choosing the final stories, essays, and poetry to publish in our fifth edition.  However, like for the authors, it is an occasion to celebrate.  The reward is treating our writers with the respect they deserve and producing a literary journal of quality for readers with high expectations.

We will now wait…and wait…for the comments…for our own critical review.  For you see, even the editors can face rejection.

Of interest to writers, the submission period for the sixth issue of the Review is from November 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013. We publish a print edition as well as a downloadable digital edition, available at Amazon.com. You can see the website for copies, guidelines and a submission link: www.delmarvareview.com

As executive editor of The Delmarva Review, I am thankful for the remarkable talent and generous spirit of all the people who worked on this edition.  All contributed as volunteers.  They include fiction editors Margot Miller and Harold Wilson, nonfiction editor George Merrill, poetry editors Amanda Newell and the late John Elsberg, managing editor Mala Burt, designer Laura Ambler,  copyeditor Jeanne Pinault, and our prose readers, who help to discover the best work. Thank you, as well, to our publisher, the Eastern Shore Writers Association, a nonprofit organization that supports and believes in the literary arts.