Welcome to Porchlight
Shining a Light on Emerging Southern Voices
When we first began thinking about an online literary journal—when it was just an unrealized whim—we couldn’t have imagined the welcome and support so many writers have offered through encouragement and shared submissions.
After settling on our name, which just felt right, we compiled a wish list of Southern authors, most of them friends and acquaintances as well as writers whose work we admired, and started emailing and asking for submissions.
The first person I emailed—and the first writer to respond—was the kind and talented Ron Rash. Within a couple of days from that initial contact, Ron sent “The Cottage,” a story from a new unpublished collection titled The Far and the Near. Not just the absolutely best kick-off to our efforts, Ron’s generosity and willingness to share his work made us think Porchlight might quickly find a niche in the Southern literary wordscape.
Ron’s giving nature was echoed by others, giving us a first content drop that also includes poets Gaylord Brewer, Jesse Graves, Jeff Hardin, and David Tucker, short stories from Sheldon Lee Compton and Jennifer Kates, and an essay from Ellen Morris Prewitt.
I also contacted J. Michael White, literary executor of the late William Gay, who contributed “Lillith,” a story William wrote in the mid-1960s when he was a twenty-something, unpublished author trying to find his voice. To accompany the story, Porchlight revived a 2011 interview William did with then-MTSU student Derrick Hill, an intern with the Tennessee Literary Project.
Our second content drop in late September for subscribers is equally impressive: short stories from Robert Morgan, George Singleton, Taylor Brown, and Eli Cranor, poetry by Lynnell Edwards, Rosemary Royston, Clinton Waters, and Malcolm Glass (four ekphrastic poems with accompanying photos), and three novel excerpts from Nathan Gower, Mark Powell, and Peter Farris—a Georgia writer who has a devoted following in Europe, especially in France, and whose work Porchlight is pleased to introduce to a wider audience.
Southern writers—even ex-pats now living outside the kudzu-swallowed states—are invited to submit to Porchlight in short fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction (including essays).
Short story authors, we hope, will compete in our first contest, the William Gay Memorial Prize. Guidelines are posted now on this website.
We also hope you’ll support Porchlight with a subscription to further our goal of publishing familiar and emerging voices in Southern literature.
Whether you’re a reader drawn to the grit and grace of Southern fiction or a writer searching for your place in a rich literary tradition, you’ve found your people.
At Porchlight, our mission is simple but powerful: “To champion the evolving voice of Southern literary fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction by lifting up writers and connecting them with a wider audience. We're here to nurture talent, celebrate authentic storytelling, and build a vibrant, inclusive community around the written word.”
Here’s what you can expect:
Interviews with today’s leading Southern authors;
Curated writing contests with real opportunities;
Calls for submissions to share your work;
Editorial services and resources to help you grow.
This is more than a journal — it’s a front porch for conversation, discovery, and storytelling.
So pull up a chair, stay a while, and stay tuned. There’s a lot of heart, heritage, and hope to be shared here — and we’re just getting started.
Welcome to Porchlight.
Dr. Randy Mackin
Editor-in-Chief
Porchlight: A Journal of Southern Literature
randy@readporchlight.com
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