Current News
Our mission for our magazine
The Watershed Journal is a grassroots literary magazine produced in the mountains of Northwestern Pennsylvania. We believe in the power of storytelling, in both visual and written forms, as a way to transcend our perceived differences and inspire one another. We also believe in transcendent influence of the natural world, ubiquitous in our region of the state. Our mission is to publish a quarterly, custom-printed and designed magazine that combines the written word and photography of our region in a way that enhances all of our stories and empowers our readers.
Who we are
Our extremely local magazine began with a group of writers. We are dedicated to creating a space for local storytellers in our region of the Pennsylvania Wilds to publish their work in a literary magazine, both online and in print. Our mission is to lift each other up through our poetry, short stories, personal essays, photography, artwork and other modes of storytelling. We believe that everyone has a voice and a creative expression that is worth sharing.
We are always accepting submissions from writers of all ages, experiences, and backgrounds with ties to the western Pennsylvania Wilds area. Find out more about The Watershed Journal Literary Group production team and Board of Directors here.
What makes us different?
The people who live in the mountains of Northern Appalachia are accustomed to exploitation. As early settlers advanced westward, they discovered the dangers and the beauty of the rugged landscape of the region–a landscape that still hasn’t quite been tamed, though it has been pillaged for lumber, coal and other valuable resources. Those who chose to make a home in the mountains stayed for good and the legacies of these intrepid men and women are still present today in the small towns where people rally together to help others in crisis, stay connected to the land, and carry themselves with pride even in the most dire circumstances. And they have seen dire circumstances recently as the glory days of American manufacturing have been replaced by savvy corporate outsourcing and, as natural resources run out, the company homes and factories have, one by one, been abandoned and left to rust.
Although this is a region of the country with rich traditions and in close proximity to buzzing urban centers where politics, pop culture and academia thrive, Northern Appalachia, specifically our piece of the Pennsylvania Wilds, has had little representation in our national discourse. However, very recently, there has been a growing interest in the region. Books like Hillbilly Elegy have proved that one man’s story of growing up in Northern Appalachia is relevant to understanding the plight and perspective of the “silent majority”.
But to truly understand a people and place who have been largely underrepresented, we need to hear more than just one or two stories. That’s why our model for The Watershed Journal is very different than most other literary magazines. We are place our value on being inclusive instead of exclusive. We believe what we publish in our magazine is valuable because it is authentic, not because it meets some arbitrary or subjective literary standards of quality. We take in submissions for free from writers, photographers, artists and storytellers across three counties and we elevate the work of each individual with diligent editing and impeccable design. What we have found in our first three editions is that the quality of our publication is catching the eye of college professors and professional writers who are often bewildered when we tell them that we try not to reject any submitters.
Another important feature of what we do with The Watershed Journal is to provide free quarterly workshops before the submission deadline for each edition. We have had teachers, professional writers and poets present sessions on Elements of a Short Story, Punctuation in Poetry, Sensory Language, How to Reach Your Target Audience and much more. These workshops are open to all writers, regardless of their affiliation with the Journal and we use our social media pages to determine the areas of interest for the sessions so that we’re best meeting the needs of our writers.
Want to know more?
- Submit your work for our next issue!
- Find out more behind the scenes in About Us
- We have Online Exclusive content from our greater community that you can dive into reading right now.
- Enjoy our podcast featuring Writers of The Watershed Journal
- Get plugged in with local writing and literary events in the area!