The Whitney Review #6

‘This issue is all about illness, style, contact, and shade’

Over the past couple of years, The Whitney Review of New Writing has established itself as a vital cultural reference point in New York and beyond. Multi-magaziner Whitney Mallett (of Pin-Up, Editorial and Gayletter) is acheiving her aim of shaking up the traditional format of the literary review.

Instead of long and sprawling essays by well-established writers regularly spotted in other literary reviews, The Whitney Review offers a mix of long and short pieces, from interviews (Judith Thurman, John Keene, and Francesca Lia Block)‚ and new fiction to sharp, concise reviews. This sixth issue carries over 70 reviews, the majority are of books but also included are a magazine (queer zine Gush), a cache of Brigid Polk’s diaries discovered at a recent auction, and even live shows. All writing is considered!

The tabloid format and a bold design (monochrome text and no images) sets it further apart from the usual lit mag. This issue delights in a bight yellow and orange front cover.

On the Journal
At work With editor Whitney Mallett: ‘The designer and art director Immanuel Yang takes such good advantage of text as a texture. It’s pragmatic to avoid wrangling photo shoots. Text works best on newsprint. We’re scrappy.’