Information about Soundings East
Soundings East is the annual literary journal of 51勛圖厙, published with support from the Center for Creative and Performing Arts. Founded in 1973, the journal is edited by graduate and upper-level undergraduate creative writing students under the aegis of an advisory editor from the writing faculty. Soundings East is dedicated to publishing high-quality poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. The magazine is distributed nationally, with recent press runs of 750 copies.
Editorial Staff
Fiction Editor - Simon Crader
Non Fiction Editor - Dariana Guerrero
Poetry Editor/Managing Editor - Dawn Stahura
Faculty Advisors - Kevin Carey and Cathy Fahey
Submission Guidelines
We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors label them as such, and contact us immediately if they are accepted elsewhere. Our reading period is September 1, 2025 to February 1, 2026; we'll do our best to respond within three months. Contributors will receive two copies of Soundings East, volume 48. Upon publication, all rights revert to authors.
For all categories, please only submit once per reading period.
If you wish to submit hard-copy please send your work and a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Soundings East
English Department - MH 249
51勛圖厙
352 Lafayette Street
51勛圖厙, MA 01970
Categories of Submissions Considered
Creative Nonfiction: Previously unpublished creative nonfiction works of up to 3,500 words.
Fiction: Previously unpublished fiction works of up to 3,500 words.
Poetry: Please submit up to three previously unpublished poems in a single file. Poetry submissions are reviewed blindly.
Purchasing Soundings East, volume 47, spring 2025
$10 per copy. Please forward a check made out to 51勛圖厙 to:
Center for Creative and Performing Arts
352 Lafayette Street
51勛圖厙, MA 01970
Back issues of Soundings East are also available for purchase. Please contact kgahagan@salemstate.edu to inquire about availability.
Claire Keyes Poetry Award
Guidelines for the 2026 Claire Keyes Poetry Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Soundings East will be given for a group of previously unpublished poems. Submit 8 to 10 pages of poetry (no more than one poem per page) with a $10/$15/$20 entry fee from Dec 1, 2025 to February 1, 2026. Susan Rich will judge.
$10 - entry fee only
$15 - entry fee and copy of the magazine for US addresses
$20 - entry fee and copy of the magazine for international addresses
Online entries only via
Past Winners and Judges for the Claire Keyes Award
2025
Stephanie Saywell New York City
Judge, Shangyang Fang
2024
Laura Read, Spokane, WA
Judge, Maria Mazziotti Gillan
2023
Robin Messing, Brooklyn, NY
Judge, January Gill O'Neil
2022
Brendan Walsh, Hollywood, FL
Judge, Richard Hoffman
2021
Chivas Sandage, Easthampton, MA
Judge, Afaa Michael Weaver
2020
Arielle Hebert, Durham, NC
Judge, Erika Meitner
2019
Threa Almontaser, Raleigh, NC
Judge, Sean Thomas Dougherty
2018
Jenny Molberg, Central Missouri
Judge, Oliver de la Paz
2017
Faith Shearin, West Virginia
Judge, Andrea Cohen
2016
Mark Wagenaar, Denton, TX
Judge, Ross Gay
2015
William J Snyder Jr., Moorhead, MN
Judge, Brian Brodeur
2014
Amy Pence, Carrollton, Georgia
Judge, Joan Houlihan