From Print to Digital: Transforming The Petigru Review for Today’s Writers
In 2024, the board of directors for the South Carolina Writers Association recruited me with a goal of breathing new life into The Petigru Review. Under the leadership of Kasie Whitener the board wanted to bring the journal from a print journal thought process to a more hybrid that would fit into the 2020s. This year will be the final year of the three year plan. The first two changes came right away in 2024. The first of those changes was themed issues. It is my strong belief that literary magazines benefit from soliciting submissions that incorporate a theme or themes, and/or a certain set of related images. For the 2024 issue, the call for submissions asked writers and visual artists to set their work in the Greater South and to focus their submissions on evoking “place” and/or “voice”. For the 2025 issue, the call for submissions asked writers and visual artists to incorporate the theme of “Taste of the Carolinas” in the works they submitted. For the 2026 issue, our theme will be “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” The second change was starting a creative writing competition for South Carolina college students. Kasie Whitener suggested to the board that the competition be named in memory of Ginny Padgett. The board whole heartedly agreed. The Ginny Padgett Award in Creative Writing was born. I also feel compelled to thank each and every one of our very many donors to the Ginny Padgett Award in Creative Writing over the past couple of years. Without all of y’all, there would be no money to give. The third change that was issue will take place beginning with the 2026 issue. At one time, there were two publications associated with the organization: The Petigru Review and Catfish Stew. Petigru Review has been seen in the past as a more literary publication. Catfish Stew was seen as more genre-oriented and open solely to SCWA members for submissions. It turns out that very many of our members missed Catfish Stew and asked the Board of Directors to reinstate it. However, funds being limited, the Board decided to combine elements of both publications into a single digital magazine. For our 2026 issue, and in combination with our theme of “Things That Go Bump in the Night,” TPR is specifically encouraging writers and visual artists to submit genre fiction. We’ll also be expanding the number of submissions we accept, while looking to rebalance our featured works to incorporate a minimum of 70% SCWA member-generated content. In this way we hope to accomplish the missions of both SCWA publications in a single, expanded format. Finally, because The Petigru Review began its life as a print-based publication, the approach to the magazine has been—understandably—that of a print-based journal. Charles Hall and I, after collaborating extensively, approached the Board with a proposal to change that to a more digitally friendly format. The Board graciously agreed. So for the 2026 issue, we’ll be rolling out a greatly enhanced digital presence on the TPR website, with continuously updated content to include blogs, advertising from TPR patrons, and links to various podcasts and other resources. All of us owe a big thanks to Charles for his vision and his hard work on making this happen. It’s hard for me to overstate how excited I am about the 2026 issue of The Petigru Review. I feel like this coming issue will be by far our best yet. And I encourage all SCWA members to submit their work, to check out the new issue at its Halloween-themed live debut, and to keep checking back with the TPR website for new content after the 2026 issue has its big “reveal”. Andrew Geyer Managing Editor Andrew Geyer