LSU Press and The Southern Review are pleased to announce the appointment of Sacha Idell as the new coeditor and prose editor for the esteemed literary journal. Originally from Northern California, Idell has called both Japan and New York home before earning his MFA from the University of Arkansas where he was a Walton Fellow and a fiction editor for The Arkansas International.
“We’re so pleased to have Sacha here to continue our tradition of publishing diverse voices and to extend our translation reach,” said coeditor and poetry editor Jessica Faust.
Idell’s own writing has appeared in many national publications including the Chicago Tribune, New England Review, and Ploughshares, while his translations of Japanese writers like Kyusaku Yumeno and Toshiro Sasaki can be found in Asymptote and The Literary Review.
“The Southern Review’s masthead has long been composed of exceptional names in literature and Sacha’s appointment continues that tradition while providing a fresh editorial focus,” said LSU Press interim director Laura Gleason.
A 2018 finalist for the Lamar York Prize for fiction with work published or forthcoming in Electric Literature, The Saturday Evening Post, and Gulf Coast, Idell brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm for creating conversations between American and international literary communities.
“For both readers and writers, The Southern Review opens a window to the world and I’m delighted to be a part of that practice by seeking out more work in translation and writing from under-represented voices,” said Idell.
Founded in 1935 on the campus of Louisiana State University, The Southern Review publishes distinct literary voices from around the world that both evoke the innovation of its founders, Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks, and respond to the diversity of its contemporary readership. With each new issue The Southern Review strives to discover and promote engaging, relevant, and challenging literature—including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry—and feature exciting visual art from across the South and around the world.