A Local Literary Journal to Support!

For those literary-minded or those just wanting to find something a little different than the ordinary novel to read, this is for you. If you've never heard of a literary journal, they are collections usually made of short stories, essays, and poems by different authors allowing for a broad range in subject matter and style. Perhaps the production of these kinds of books is common knowledge, but I didn't learn about them until I entered college and was able to work with Zone 3 Press at Austin Peay State University.

If you've never gotten a journal from Zone 3, you're missing out. Established in 1986, this nationally distributed journal is printed twice a year. It is a non-profit press that encourages emerging authors which is one of the many reasons you should try to support and promote this locally produced journal that publishes submissions from all over! Zone 3 offers book competitions for poetry collection and nonfiction publishing-- and I can say, owning some of these books myself, that Zone 3 only puts out excellent work. In addition, Zone 3 contributes to the experience of Austin Peay with their visiting writer series. They allow writers to visit and read from their works, and in several cases, these writers have stopped by the creative writing classrooms to share their knowledge. I have sat through a few classes led by visiting writers, and those were some of the most profound class days I experienced. 

If you live in Clarksville and have never heard of Zone 3, it is something you need to learn about now! You can check out the press's full website here, and if you have interest in purchasing one of their journals or contest books, here! I highly recommend An Imperfect Rapture by Kelly Beard as well as A Woman, A Plan, An Outline of a Man by Sarah Kasbeer. I was able to read through both of these during two different semesters of working at Austin Peay, and they were simply amazing!