Chautauqua

In the fall of 2025, Chautauqua entered a new chapter as an independent online literary journal rooted at UNCW. We continue to carry forward the Chautauqua movement’s ethos of reflection, dialogue, and shared discovery and to embody the Chautauqua philosophy: the belief that literature thrives at the intersection of arts, learning, spirituality, and leisure. These four pillars that have long defined the Chautauqua spirit are at our core.

​​Our editorial process reflects what we call the Chautauqua Way: a collaboration between graduate and undergraduate students in the Department of Creative Writing, working alongside professional editors to read, discuss, and shape the work that fills our pages.

Each issue is a gathering place for stories, essays, and poems that explore what it means to be alive, curious, and connected.​

​We remain devoted to publishing diverse voices, both emerging and established. We aim to cultivate an attitude of hope, to celebrate difference, and to invite writers and readers alike to step onto our metaphorical porch: a place where conversation flows freely, ideas are shared, and every voice finds a listener.

Qualities sought include a mastery of craft, attention to vivid and accurate language, a true lyric "ear," an original and compelling vision, and strong narrative instinct. Above all, the editors value work that is intensely personal, yet somehow implicitly comments on larger public concerns-work that answers every reader's most urgent question: Why are you telling me this?

Chautauqua is, and has always been, about community—one that listens, engages, and grows together.

See Current Issue