Zyzzyva is a triannual magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 of writers and artists. It places an emphasis on showcasing emerging voices and never before published writers in addition to the already established. Based in San Francisco, it began publishing in 1985. ZYZZYVAs slogan is "The Last Word," referring to "zyzzyva

Zyzzyva

Zyzzyva is a genus of tropical American weevil often found in association with palms. It is a snouted beetle. "Zyzzyva" is the last word in many English-language dictionaries....

", the last word in the American Heritage Dictionary. A zyzzyva is an American weevil

Weevil

A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...

. The accent is on the first syllable.

Editors

The founder was Howard Junker

Howard Junker

Howard Junker is a writer and the author of An Old Junker. He blogs on weekdays at www.howardjunker.comHe founded the literary magazine ZYZZYVA: West Coast Writers & Artists in 1985 and retired in 2010....

. He retired from the magazine in 2010 and named Laura Cogan as editor-in-chief.

Awards

Work from the magazine has received the Pushcart Prize

Pushcart Prize

The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....

 and the O. Henry Award

O. Henry Award

The O. Henry Award is the only yearly award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American master of the form, O. Henry....

 and has been included in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading

The Best American Nonrequired Reading

The Best American Nonrequired Reading is a yearly anthology of fiction and nonfiction selected annually by high school students in California and Michigan through 826 Valencia and 826michigan...

.

Notable contributors

Notable contributors to the magazine have been Aimee Bender

Aimee Bender

Aimee Bender is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal plots and characters.-Biography:Bender received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego, and a Master of Fine Arts from the distinguished creative writing MFA program at University of...

, Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie

Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. is a writer, poet, filmmaker, and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a Native American. Two of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven , a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film...

, Robert Clark Young

Robert Clark Young

Robert Clark Young is an American author of novels, essays, short stories and journalism. Recurring themes in Young's fiction include the relation between alcoholism, the abuse of power, and institutional dysfunction in American life, while his nonfiction has recently focused on eldercare topics...

, Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami

is a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...

, Daniel Handler

Daniel Handler

Daniel Handler is an American author, screenwriter and accordionist. He is best known for his work under the pen name Lemony Snicket.-Personal life:...

, F.X. Toole

F.X. Toole

F.X. Toole is the pen name of boxing trainer Jerry Boyd . Toole is most noted for writing the collection of short stories Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner, which were adapted into the Oscar-winning movie Million Dollar Baby in 2004. F.X. Toole's posthumous novel Pound for Pound was released in...

, Peter Rock

Peter Rock

Peter Rock is an American novelist born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is an associate professor of creative writing at Reed College....

, Kate Braverman

Kate Braverman

Kate Braverman is an American novelist, short story writer, and poet, originally from Los Angeles, California.-Life:Braverman has a BA in Anthropology from University of California, Berkeley and an MA in English from Sonoma State University...

, Po Bronson

Po Bronson

Po Bronson is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco, California.-Personal history:Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford University in 1986 and briefly worked as an assistant bond salesman in San...

, and Diane di Prima

Diane di Prima

Diane Di Prima is an American poet.-Early life:Di Prima was born in Brooklyn. She attended Hunter College High School and Swarthmore College before dropping out to be a poet in Manhattan...

, among others.

External links

• Guide to the Zyzzyva records at The Bancroft Library