We spoke with Susan Nguyen, editor in chief of Hayden’s Ferry Review, in our latest member spotlight.
What is the history behind Hayden’s Ferry Review? When was it founded and what is its mission?
Hayden’s Ferry Review was founded in 1986, the year after the MFA in creative writing program was created at Arizona State University. We are located in Tempe, Arizona, on the ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities. The journal’s name comes from Tempe’s previous name, Hayden’s Ferry, which was a ferry service that operated on the Salt River.
In 2023, I launched the Hayden’s Ferry Review literary editing and publishing course; student editors in this course now help produce the journal and all of its offerings. In 2024, as a class, we jointly came up with Hayden’s Ferry Review’s first mission statement:
“Hayden’s Ferry Review looks for well-crafted work that takes risks, challenges readers, and engages us emotionally and artistically. The makeup of our editorial team changes every year, and we pride ourselves on our values of inclusivity and multiplicity, seeking to uplift emerging writers and artists. We are interested in creative work that takes risks with language and form, work that challenges boundaries/borders and systems of power, work that examines historically marginalized experiences, as well as work that identifies as hybrid or genre-nonconforming. As a diverse team of editors, we are invested in highlighting voices traditionally underrepresented in the literary landscape, including writers and artists in BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, TGNC, disabled, and economically marginalized communities. Through our publications and events, we aim to showcase a variety of stylistic and artistic modes.”
Can you tell us about your most recent issue?
Issue 77 just came out in Fall/Winter 2025, and we’re very proud of it! Our cover artist, Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi, was spotlighted in the Washington Post right around the time our issue was published, so that was very exciting for us. We had quite a few pieces that explored the ocean as a means to navigate identity, migration, gender, and more—including “Fish Skin” by Molly Biskupic; “My Gender in the Epipelagic Zone” by Ari Koontz, which was a winner of the 2025 AWP Intro Journals Project; and “Perception” by Faith Palermo, which examines the marine oil industry and MTV’s show Catfish. It all felt very serendipitous.
You can read select pieces from the issue online on the homepage of our website and watch our Issue 77 virtual launch party here.
Hayden’s Ferry Review celebrates its fortieth anniversary in 2026. How are you celebrating, and what are your hopes and goals for the magazine’s future?
We’re still solidifying our plans! Follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter to be the first to find out.
What is the Thousand Languages Project?
The Thousand Languages Project is our sister project, which translates pieces from the Hayden’s Ferry Review archive to celebrate translation and the past work we have published. The translators are students in the Thousand Languages Project internship; these students look through the archive to select the pieces they are most interested in translating each semester.
How can bookstores or libraries, as well as individual readers, order or subscribe to Hayden’s Ferry Review?
Visit our online store to order a subscription or purchase an issue. We also sell “I Got Rejected from Hayden’s Ferry Review” tote bags and mystery back issues! We introduced “poet against empire” berets and a handful of different bumper stickers this past year at AWP, and they sold out very quickly. We’re hoping to restock those and our “Manifesting a Better Poem” totes soon.
How can interested writers submit their work to Hayden’s Ferry Review?
We plan to open for submissions sometime in June 2026. We usually offer at least 50 free submissions in each genre specifically for underrepresented writers. Submit! You can read more about our submissions guidelines on our website.
