Originally founded by Rudolfo Anaya, Gene Frumkin, David Johnson, Patricia Clark Smith, and Lee Bartlette in 1989, the Blue Mesa Review emerged as a source of innovative writing produced in the Southwest. Over the years the magazine’s nuance has changed, sometimes shifting towards more craft-oriented work, other times re-aligning with its original roots.

In the past two years (beginning with Issue 21), we’ve transformed even further with a rotating editorial board to create a fresh magazine every year. Our most recent publication, Issue 22, features a fiction contest won by up-and-coming writer Steven Ramirez. Issue 23 will be a flip issue, with one side celebrating the best of contemporary craft, and the other featuring work that experiments with style and form.