News
Summer (May, June, July) 2026
- All open calls are closed. We are currently reading.
- The Joy Bale Poetry Prize: It has been our pleasure to host the annual poetry prize named in honor of Joy Bale Boone for more than 20 years. The prize was awarded for the last time in 2026. Looking ahead, we hope to reframe our efforts and honor Joy by celebrating a Kentucky poet whose impact and influence echo her own.
- Like most journals run by college faculty, many of us are not on contract in the summer. We'll still be checking email and resolving problems but responses will be slower.
Shout Outs
- Reebie Flowers
- Congrats to Ric Stueker with his new book Coasting America.
- The Baird's Corner Writing Group, founded by Robert Villanueva, is an online writing group which has existed since 2002. Join them at The Bard's Corner website.
- Thank you to the following websites for promoting our competitions free of charge:
- Congrats to Alessio Zanelli with his new book!
- Thank you to A.S. Coomer!
Special Thanks to our Sponsor!
A Brief History
By Laurie MacKeller
Professor Mick Kennedy joined ECTC in 1999 to teach and advise the college's journal, then called ECCO His enthusiasm for poetry readings and literary events sparked my involvement from 2000 to 2009, and I joined the bimonthly writers' group he created, despite initially not writing poetry. With his support, I wrote my first poem, and the group became a regular part of my life, meeting at various locations and enjoying both social and serious literary discussions.
Kennedy also organized monthly poetry readings, inviting notable writers like Kentucky Poets Laureate Richard Taylor, Joe Survant, and others. He was instrumental in revamping the college’s literary journal by renaming it the Heartland Review and making it a nationally recognized journal. He organized a contest to promote the journal, named in honor of Joy Bale Boone, and I participated in the reading and ranking of submissions.
His efforts helped bring in submissions from across the U.S. and abroad, significantly raising the journal's profile.
Revised: 12 May 2026
