The North Carolina Literary Review (NCLR), produced at East Carolina University, publishes interviews and literary criticism about North Carolina writers and high-quality poetry, fiction, drama, and creative nonfiction by North Carolina writers or set in North Carolina. Our definition of a North Carolina writer is anyone who currently lives in North Carolina, has lived in North Carolina, or uses North Carolina as subject matter.
A cross between a scholarly journal and a literary magazine, NCLR has won numerous awards and citations, including six from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals: the Best New Journal award in 1994, the Best Journal Design award in 1999 and 2010, the Parnassus Award for Significant Editorial Achievement in 2007, the Phoenix Award for Significant Editorial Achievement in 2014, and Best Public Intellectual Special Issue in 2023.
Latest News
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NCLR Releases Fourth Issue of the Year
The Fall issue feature rounds out with pieces by Ashely Harris, Vivian Bikulege, Paula Gallant Eckard, and more. (Cover art by Nysie Hurst)
Current Call for Submissions
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2026: Saluting Veterans’ Writing
This special feature section of NCLR seeks to bridge the gap between military personnel and civilians by celebrating veteran writers and their impacts on literary and cultural studies.
Upcoming Events
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Find the Lit Review at Two Events in November
Find us in Greensboro and Durham the first weekend of November!
From the Archives
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“Summer Night” at Weymouth Center
Friday from the Archives: Two poems accompanying “Weymouth: A Writer’s Place—From Thomas Wolfe to Tom Wolfe” by Bertie E. Fearing from NCLR 3 (1994) NCLR enjoyed attending the biannual North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last month, held at the beautiful Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines.
Book Reviews
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Bailey Reviews Ballingrud
Saturday Review: “The Baroque Power of Nathan Ballingrud’s New Novella,” a review by Dale Bailey, forthcoming in NCLR Online Winter 2025 of Nathan Ballingrud’s novella Crypt of the Moon Spider (2024).
Editors’ Blog
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Our First Crowdfunding Campaign
How has NCLR touched you? Your first story or poem publication? An interview or essay that brought serious critical attention to your writing? A review of your latest book—or a review that prompted you to read a really good book? An essay about a North Carolina writer you’d not heard of before, and now you’re…
North Carolina Literary Review
East Carolina University
Mailstop 555 English | Greenville, NC 27858-4353
NCLRstaff@ecu.edu | 252-328-1537
