About Us
Roanoke Review was co-founded in 1967 by Roanoke College student Edward A. Tedeschi and teacher Henry Taylor, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for The Flying Change in 1986. Poet James Boatwright and novelist George Garrett served as advisory editors, and the first issue included work by William Stafford, Lee Smith, Kelly Cherry, William Jay Smith, and Malcom Cowley, among others.
Tedeschi and Taylor were ultimately replaced by Robert Walter, who edited the journal for the next thirty years. The Review was taken over in 2001 by Paul Hanstedt, who served as editor for the next fifteen years with the occasional interim leadership of Melanie Almeder and Mary Crockett Hill, who took on the role of editor in 2016.
In its half-century of existence, Roanoke Review has established itself as an accessible read, intent on publishing down-to-earth writers with a sense of place, a sense of language, and—perhaps most importantly—a sense of humor. The Review is also known for its fine cover art, which features some of the best artists of southwestern Virginia. Having shifted to an entirely digital format in 2015, the Review continues this tradition with a new on-line gallery.
2020-2021 STAFF
EDITOR
Mary Crockett Hill is the author of A Theory of Everything (selected by Naomi Shihab Nye for the Autumn House Prize) and If You Return Home with Food (winner of the Bluestem Poetry Award), and coauthor of the history of A Town by the Name of Salem. Her work has been featured on such sites as Poetry Daily and Best of the Net, and in such anthologies as American Poetry: The Next Generation. She is a multiple nominee for the Pushcart Prize and the Virginia Book of the Year. In her other life as a children's book writer, she is author of How She Died, How I Lived, from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and coauthor of the young adult novel Dream Boy. She tweets nonsense @Marylovesbooks.
Co-Managing Editor
Emily Iris Degn is a multilingual travel writer, published poet, model, and professional artist. Her work has been seen in multiple places, including For Women Who Roar: Still Healing, Lunch Ticket Magazine, and the Beyond Words LGBTQ Anthology. After years of volunteering and writing professionally, she went back to school, and is now double majoring in creative writing and environmental studies, with a concentration in gender and women’s studies. She’s from the San Juan Islands, but currently lives in Salem with her partner. She can often be found doing ecofeminist and animal rights activism, painting (@emilydegnart), cooking (@happyvegansfeed), doing yoga, and photographing the Earth (@emfallstoearth @emilyirisdegn). She enjoys green coconut curry, and anything written by Ray Bradbury.
Co-Managing Editor
Olivia Sampogna is a senior at Roanoke College who, like her co-managing editor, is double majoring in creative writing and environmental studies. Elsewhere on campus, she is the program director of the college's radio station, WRKE 100.3, and co-chief editor of its student-produced literary magazine On Concept's Edge. This will also be Olivia's third year serving as a tutor for the Writing Center. In her free time, Olivia most enjoys writing and reading, plant nurturing, painting, pottery, and deciphering the auras of rejection letters.
Proofreader
Charissa Roberson is a junior at Roanoke College, double majoring in creative writing and french with a concentration in screen studies. On campus, she enjoys writing for the Brackety-Ack student newspaper, dabbling in theater, and making coffee at Rooney’s Brews in Fintel Library. She also loves making movies, traveling, studying languages, and playing tunes on her fiddle!
Anthology assistant and social media coordinator
Aspyn Totten is a theater and creative writing double major with concentrations in film studies and classics. They also work as a Diversity Peer Educator on campus. During their free time, they enjoy crafting and baking.
Content Editor and anthology assistant
Olivia Samimy is a senior at Roanoke College from Fredericksburg, Virginia. She's a literary studies major and a communications minor. In her free time she enjoys reading, baking muffins, and attempting strange DIY crafts she found on Pinterest. She's the devoted owner of a chihuahua, and is always ready to argue that chihuahuas are the ideal dog breed.
Book Reviewer
Cameron MacKenzie's work has appeared in Able Muse, The Rumpus, SubStance and The Michigan Quarterly Review, among other journals. His essays have been collected in The Waste Land at 90: A Retrospective and Edward P. Jones: New Essays. His novel The Beginning of His Excellent and Eventful Career is currently out with Madhat Press. He teaches English at Ferrum College.
READing staff
Wes Blackwell, Tess Drzymala, Charlotte Gaston, Quinn Harlan, Destinee Harper, Kenna Jenkins, Keith Kayati, Emma Maras, Sophie Martin, Alena Marvin, Ashtyn Porter, Asia Pumphrey, Sarah Riddell, Charissa Roberson, Jasey Roberts, Olivia Samimy, Rebecca Smith, Aspyn Totten, Chamberlain Zulauf
