About Amarillo Bay
Amarillo Bay is an online literary magazine containing the finest modern literature.
What Is a Literary Magazine?
While many magazines include one or two works of literature alongside feature stories, advertising, and opinion pieces, this fiction typically appeals merely to the casual reader.
A literary magazine, however, contains only works of literary merit. Since the objective is to present carefully crafted literature—fiction, poetry, and nonfiction—rather than to make money, the editors select works based on the excellence of the writing rather than for commercial viability, confident that their readers recognize and appreciate fine writing.
Literary magazines allow writers to explore new ways of writing free from concerns about the commercial marketplace. They are also a showcase for works of professional writers who have written works that are not appropriate for traditional magazines.
Amarillo Bay uses the online format to continue the tradition of literary magazines. As an online publication, Amarillo Bay avoids the cost of printing, the major expense of most literary magazines. In addition, all work is done by volunteers, and authors receive no monetary compensation.
Check out the works in our current issue and enjoy!
Amarillo Bay History
The magazine’s original editors, Jerry Craven and Bob Whitsitt, met in 1979. They’ve never lived closer than 100 miles apart—and currently live nearly 2,000 miles apart—but they have remained in contact because of the common interests of literature and computers. (The name Amarillo Bay refers to Jerry’s residence in the Texas Panhandle and Bob’s home in the San Francisco Bay area.)
In the first few months of 1997 Jerry mentioned combining their abilities and starting an online literary magazine. Jerry has published poetry magazines and has had many stories and books published. Bob has been working heavily with the Web for the last few years. After some discussion (mostly by e-mail), they agreed to go ahead. Jerry rounded up editors for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and Bob designed the look of the magazine and created the HTML code to make it work. Early in 1999, they produced the first issue of Amarillo Bay.
Therefore, Amarillo Bay represents among the very first of online literary magazines. Starting with Volume 19, its tradition continues. With Volume 19, Julie Wise stepped in as Editor-in-Chief, allowing Jerry and Bob to pursue much-deserved retirement plans.
From Volume 19 forward, Amarillo Bay will appear twice annually. Each issue will include an expanded array of contributions, however, still representing the best of fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction to be found on the web.
Amarillo Bay Staff
The Amarillo Bay staff (all volunteers) manage the day-to-day running of the magazine.
Note: You’ll get the fastest answers to your questions if you contact us using the information on the Contact page.
Current Volunteer Staff
- Julie Wise — Editor-in-Chief, April 2017 –
- Jerry Craven — General Editor, March 1999 –
- Richard Moseley — Fiction Editor, March 1999 –
- Katherine Hoerth — Poetry Editor, August 2014 –
- Gretchen Johnson — Creative Nonfiction Editor, March 2015 –
- Nikki Carr — Copy Editor, February 2016 –
Former Volunteer Staff
- Robert Whitsitt — Publisher and Technical Editor, March 1999 – May 2016
- Lana Bryan — Copy Editor, May 2016
- Julia Morrison — Copy Editor, August 2015
- Rebecca Balcárcel — Creative Nonfiction Editor, March 2005 – February 2015
- Laura Kennelly — Poetry Editor, November 2012 – May 2014
- Jeffrey DeLotto — Poetry Editor, June 2004 -August 2012
- Abigail Seville — Copy Editor, August 2009 -November 2011
- Denise Durham — Copy Editor, July 2006 – November 2011
- H. Palmer Hall — Creative Nonfiction Editor, August 2001 – February 2005
- Jerry Craven — Poetry Editor, November 2003 – May 2004
- Sherry Craven — Poetry Editor, March 2001 – August 2003
- Jeff Todd — Creative Nonfiction Editor, March 1999 – May 2001
- Sandra Gail Teichmann — Poetry Editor, March 1999 – February 2000
Amarillo Bay Directors
The Amarillo Bay Board of Directors provides advice on running the magazine, what kinds of literature to include, and the general direction the magazine will take.
- Jerry Bradley
- Marie Jordan
- Clay Reynolds
Amarillo Bay 