Booth Literary Journal Completes 15th year; Celebrates Launch of Booth 19
by Kellie Stewart
May 2024
The completion of the 2023-24 school year marks the 15th year since the debut of Booth, the online and print literary magazine hosted by the Butler MFA program.
This year, the Booth team continued to grow the literary magazine through participation in various events, including hosting a booth at the 2024 Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, held this year in Kansas City, MO, releasing their newest issue, Booth 19, in collaboration with writer Michael Martone’s new memoir, “Table Talk and Second Thoughts”, and hosting a launch party celebrating the issue and the Indianapolis literary community.
“We’ve continued to expand our local presence in Indiana and to develop our sense of collaboration,” said Booth Managing Editor Jeff Marvel.
“By publishing this year’s edition of Booth as a double-bill with Michael Martone’s new memoir, we’ve taken another approach to weaving an outside project into our own. And by hosting a launch party featuring Booth writers, as well as authors publishing with other Indy literary groups, we’re continuing to find ways that Booth can platform literature beyond the constraints of the pages of our magazine.”
The lit mag, which debuted in 2009 and was founded by Butler English senior lecturer and Booth Editor-in-Chief Robert Stapleton, has published many recognizable names in the literary world in the years since it began, including Roxane Gay, Lee Martin, Alissa Nutting, Jonathan Lethem, Matt Bell, and Brad Watson, among others—and published interviews with Viet Thanh Nguyen, Cheryl Strayed, Jonathan Franzen, George Saunders, Karen Russell and others. Booth publishes two print issues yearly, usually in summer and winter.
The journal offers members of the Butler MFA community the opportunity to help curate and edit content for a literary journal and to interview visiting writers for potential publication. The staff is composed of current students, faculty, and alumni who fill editorial staff and reader positions. New members are invited to apply to join each fall semester.
“To work on Booth is to stand toe-to-toe with peers in the MFA program and debate the merits of form and content, testing each submission’s mettle as a fresh piece of writing,” said Marvel. “It’s also an opportunity (and obligation) to read hyper-contemporary works within your chosen genre, which provides an intimate view of the modern literary landscape.”
Working for Booth for an entire school year fulfills the MFA program’s community service requirement.
“One of our favorite adventures [this year] was taking our Booth staff members to the AWP Conference, which was held this year in Kansas City,” said Associate Editor Katie Peterson.
“We usually set up at the bookfair and take turns staffing the table and attending various events and conferences. We had a riot traveling together, and it’s also a fun and validating opportunity for us to meet readers of Booth, as well as some of our contributors.”
This year’s AWP Conference also served as the launching pad for the newest issue, Booth 19. In addition to Michael Martone’s memoir, which invites the reader into Martone’s memory bank of hanging out with writers like Kurt Vonnegut, John Updike, Adrienne Rich, Louise Gluck, George Saunders, and many more, Booth 19 also includes ‘Boothy’ work from a variety of writers and original craft interviews with Viet Than Nguyen and Jo Ann Beard. The featured visual artist is American novelist Michael Dahlie.
“As a magazine, Booth always seeks the unexpected,” said Marvel. “We publish writing that exhibits a satisfyingly balanced mix of concept, gravity, and execution, continually redefining the identity of Booth as a magazine.”
The Booth 19 launch party, held at the Tube Factory Artspace, served as both a celebration of the new issue and the Indianapolis literary scene.
“Our amazing genre editors introduced and read from one of their favorite pieces published in Booth 19. It was a great opportunity for attendees to hear work we were so proud to publish but also get a glimpse of the people behind the publication,” said Peterson.
Looking ahead, Marvel says the focus will remain on growing the brand’s reach in Indianapolis and beyond.
“I hope Booth continues evolving and developing. The impact of distance-learning at the height of Covid stress pushed us to refresh and regrow, and I think in doing so, we’ve emerged more strongly rooted, with farther reaching vines, connecting us better to our readers and the Indy literary scene.”
Booth offers two open submission windows, from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30th and from Jan. 1st through March 31st.
Learn more about Booth literary journal, submissions guidelines and policies, and purchase Booth 19 on the Booth website: https://booth.butler.edu/
Follow Booth on Facebook and Instagram: @boothajournal