About The Malahat

Mandate

The Malahat Review, established in 1967, is among Canada’s leading literary journals. Published quarterly, it features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction. On occasion, it also publishes interviews, essays, and issues on a single theme or author, such as P.K. Page (No. 117), Reviewing (No. 144), Robin Skelton (No. 160), The Green Imagination (No. 165), Lorna Crozier, Patrick Lane, and Aesthetic Kinship (No. 170), Essential East Coast Writing (No. 180), At Home in Translation (No. 188), Mapping Creative Nonfiction in Canada (No. 193), Indigenous Perspectives (No. 197), The Victoria Issue (No. 200), and Queer Perspectives (No. 205).

History

The Malahat Review was established in 1967 by University of Victoria English professors Robin Skelton and John Peter. Thereafter, editors have included Constance Rooke, Derk Wynand, Marlene Cookshaw, and John Barton. Micaela Maftei served as interim editor from January to July 2018. Iain Higgins is the current editor (as of July 2018).

Malahat originally bore the subtitle “An International Magazine of Life and Letters,” reflecting the founding editors’ background in European literature and connections in the international literary community. Under succeeding editors and in step with the growing of a truly national literature, the journal became more strongly Canadian, with a focus on Canadian and international poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction rather than belles lettres and critical work.

Malahat Origins

Previous work study student Karyn Wisselink studied the Malahat's brief history of internationalism, namely, founder Robin Skelton's literary philosophies.

Read her essay here.

Editorial Vision

The Malahat Review is dedicated to excellence in writing. Its aim is to discover the most promising of the new writers and publish their work alongside the best established writers, to present work accurately and attractively to readers, and to increase awareness of Canadian writing in general through perceptive critical comment.

The vision for the journal is determined by the editor, while submissions are selected by the editor and the editorial board. An advisory board, composed of members drawn from the Victoria writing and academic communities, supports and oversees the magazine in the fulfillment of its editorial mandate.