The editors of The Ocean State Review decided to think big. The literary journal’s inaugural issue features Pulitzer Prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri and National Book Award-winner Julia Glass along with other distinguished writers and poets.

The Ocean State Review was launched at the June 2011 URI Ocean State Summer Writing Conference (OSSWC), and the first issue showcases the work of writers and poets who have presented at the University or its Ocean State Summer Writing Conference.

Assistant Professor of English and conference director Peter Covino initiated the idea of a literary journal that would be published to coincide with—and celebrate—the fifth year of the popular summer writing conference, which began in 2007 and attracts writers from Rhode Island and beyond interested in improving their craft.

The Ocean State Review will be published annually in June, and will feature fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Submissions for the 2012 journal will be accepted September 6 through February 12. The 2012 Ocean State Summer Writing Conference will be held June 21–23.

To learn more or obtain a copy of The Ocean State Review, visit the conference website at uri.edu/summerwriting.