GHLL is a literary journal published by Truman State University

Truman State University

Truman State University is a public liberal arts and sciences university in Missouri, United States and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. About 6,000 students attend Truman, pursuing degrees in 43 undergraduate and 9 Graduate programs. It is located in Kirksville in...

.http://engling.truman.edu/publications.asp Founded in 1990 by Jack Smith, a professor of English

English studies

English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...

 and Philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 at North Central Missouri College as an inexpensively-produced outlet for student and faculty work, the annual quickly grew to a regional and national mission. Towards the end of its existence as a print publication, the magazine typically consisted of 300 pages of poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

 and nonfiction prose

Prose

Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...

, with a full-color cover.

In 2005, financial exigencies threatened to finish the journal’s run, and the decision was made to shift to open-access, web-only publication. The first digital issue was XVII. It was among the earliest of academic literary magazines available exclusively online and quickly collected a 'Best of the Web" award http://www.powells.com/blog/?p=3693

Listings in professional directories characterize the editorial policy as open, though with “emphasis on craft.” "Admirably, GHLL reviews poetry and novels from lesser-known, independent presses"http://www.newpages.com/magazinestand/litmags/reviews_archive_2003/2003_10/oct2003.htm

Prose is selected by Jack Smith, verse by poet and novelist Joe Benevento. The editorial board as of 2008 consists of Geoffrey Clark, Erin Flanagan, Barry Kitterman, Robert Garner McBrearty, Midge Raymond, Doug Rennie, Jude Russell, Nat Smith, John Talbird, and Mark Wisniewkski.

GHLL has a tradition of openness to first-time authors, though a number of writers have made multiple appearances, including fiction writers Karl Harshbarger, William Eisner, Ian MacMillan, DeWitt Henry

DeWitt Henry

DeWitt Henry is an American author and editor.Born in 1941 in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Henry earned his A.B. from Amherst College in 1963. He is a founding editor of Ploughshares, a literary journal, and served as its editor and director from its inception in 1971 to 1995...

 (founder of Ploughshares

Ploughshares

Ploughshares is an American literary magazine founded in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, Ploughshares has been based at Emerson College in the heart of Boston...

), Virgil Suarez

Virgil Suárez

Virgil Suárez is a Cuban American poet and novelist. He is a professor of English at Florida State University. He is one of the leading writers in the Cuban American community, known for such novels as Latin Jazz and Going Under....

 and Walter Cummins. Regularly contributing poets include Lisa Alexander Baron, Jim Thomas

Jim Thomas (poet)

Jim Thomas was an American poet, and professor at Truman State University, from 1964 to 1994.He served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.-Works:...

, Joanne Lowery, Lee Rossi, David Lawrence

David Lawrence

David Lawrence may refer to:*David Lawrence, pseudonym of English poet & TV scriptwriter David Harsent *David Lawrence , Canadian actor *David Lawrence , English cricketer...

, Mark Belair, Nancy Cherry, Sudie Nostrand, Terry Savoie, Francine Marie Tolf, Fredrick Zydek, William Jollif, Lee Slonimsky, Terry Godbey, Rachel Squires Bloom and Yvette Schnoeker-Shorb, as well as the first poet laureate

Poet Laureate

A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...

 of Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, Walter Bargen

Walter Bargen

Walter Bargen is an American poet, the first Poet Laureate of Missouri, a position which he held from February 13, 2008 to January 2010.-Biography:...

. The journal is indexed by numerous directories,http://www.missouribooks.org/node/40 including the American Directory of Writer's Guidelines, Writers’ Market (various editions), the International Directory of Literary and Little Magazines, Index of American Periodical Versehttp://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/poetryja.html