Here’s how the digital flipbook issue works: Click on the cover or the headline to get to the issue. In the issue window, the double-chevron icon at lower right brings up a reader window with a toolbar so you can zoom in and out, download a PDF, etc.
A few tips: The toolbar’s box icon fills your whole screen with a flipbook in spreads, which is easier to read on some screens, and the best way to view the magazine. You can navigate back to the Table of Contents by clicking the link at the bottom of any page. There’s also a gallery button that will let you scroll through page thumbnails.
If the flipbook doesn’t act right on your device or browser, you can download it as a PDF. We also have every article and story available as individual posts in the sidebar. (That also helps people find content in web searches, use it for promotional stuff, etc.)
THIS ISSUE
Happy Anniversary to us and from us! This issue marks our second anniversary of our second round of publishing this little digital home of great Southern and Southwestern fiction, poetry, music, food, and culture.
Thank you for your continued reading as well as for your continued patience. We sure hated to skip an issue, but it was truly unavoidable. Once again, a few planned features ran late or fell through altogether, and a couple choice fiction pieces got placed elsewhere. We are all unpaid volunteers with dayjobs and myriad other things continually pulling at our sleeves, but we’re determined to keep this labor of love going.
At least that shows we didn’t just throw y’all some AI slop. True to the Real in our name, this magazine will always feature 100% organically written fiction, poetry, and essays from 100% real, human writers. (But we refuse to give up our em dashes! The bots shouldn’t get to ruin those for everyone else.)
Congratulations to our own John Dufresne, whose novel My Darling Boy is long-listed for the 2026 American Voice in Literature Award from the Mark Twain House and Museum, and to Teddy Jones, who won the Story Circle Network’s 2026 Sarton Award for Historical Novel for A Family of Good Women.
In this issue: Austin Keith takes us on a personal trip inside the Larry McMurtry Literary Center. (Big thanks to George Getschow for coordinating that!) Diana Finlay Hendricks reminisces about her family bond with late great songwriter Todd Snider. David Bray gives us a little taste of his poem collection. We’re also proud to present short stories from John Dufresne, Zack Strait, and Maureen Welch; a novel excerpt from Teddy Jones (courtesy of Stoney Creek Publishing); a poem from Denise Duhamel; and an essay from Diana Finlay Hendricks musing on her late mother’s beloved fountain pen collection.
And of course, as usual, we also have a solid selection of recommended books and music.
We’ve already started work on the next issue, slated for August/September.
As always, the biggest challenge we face every issue is pulling enough content together in time. So we are open for submissions. We have also partnered with Stack’s submission service, which is free for authors.
Our submissions guidelines are posted in more detail on the website. We also welcome reviews and recommendations for Southern and Southwestern books, music, arts, and food. Those often take the longest time to put together for each issue.
Real South/West is still a 100% reader-supported publication. We’ve got a web developer helping us spiff up the site. He’s also working out a metered paywall for premium content later. The reviews and recommendations will always be free, as well as some back issues. In the meantime, we’re putting up the ol’ PayPal tip bucket to help defray expenses.
Thanks again, y’all!