A hearty hello and welcome to Americana: The Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture, an academic, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the publication of exceptional American creative writing and American Studies scholarship, 1900 to present. We are especially interested in publishing material that examines such issues as social justice, human rights, environmental awareness, the human condition, diversity, love, compassion, ethical and moral obligations. In other words, we are passionate about projects that empower and uplift humanity.

The study of American history is not only a worthy endeavor it is a critical one. Only after knowing and understanding our past can we insure positive change for the future.

We, at Americana: The Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture, believe that there exists no better record of the history of America and Americans than in our culture. There we will find the hopes, needs, dreams, and desires of the people.

Through the careful analysis of our twentieth and twenty-first century American culture, we can more clearly understand where we have been and who we have been and thus consciously consider where we want to go, who we want to be, how we want to live, and what public policies we want to endorse as twenty-first century Americans. This process will also help us formulate our identities and find our political, sociological, and spiritual direction. We also believe that our creative writers contribute to cultural creation and heartily support their work.

To those ends, we publish three periodicals: Magazine Americana, Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture, 1900 to Present, and Review Americana: A Literary Journal. All of the work submitted to these periodicals goes through the rigorous process of peer and editorial review. We are a green, eco-friendly organization and, as such, do not print hard copies of our periodicals. By nature, these publications are ephemeral, fleeting. We believe hard copies of periodicals waste precious world resources and, thus, prefer to keep our periodicals online. We save our publication of hard copies for more permanent and lasting works like those published in our book division: we publish paperback creative writing and American Studies books through Press Americana.

We hope you'll visit Press Americana. Our featured titles include Reel Histories: Studies in American Film, Americana: Readings in Popular Culture, and 14 Conversations with Scholars of American Popular Culture. We are also featuring Samantha Stone and the Mermaid's Quest by B.B. Hunt from our fiction imprint, Hollywood Books International. To learn how to submit to the press, click here.

Review Americana: A Literary Journal features the best in American creative writing. We are dedicated to supporting exceptional American writers, those who will be creating our future American culture. In the review, we publish poetry, short fiction, short drama for stage and screen, creative nonfiction, essays about the art of creative writing, and essays about the teaching of creative writing. In the Spring 2009 edition, you'll find work written by Donald Dewey, Jeff Lacy, Yonatan Maisel, Henry Marchand, Ed Miller, Jacqueline Powers, J.R. Solonche, Paul Kareem Tayyar, and Richard Thieme. We invite you to submit for the Fall 2009 edition. The deadline is 15 October 2009. You can find the submission guidelines here.

Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture, 1900 to Present, features peer-reviewed scholarly research papers written for an academic audience. In our Spring 2009 edition, you'll find articles on Finding Nemo, CSI: Miami, reality television, and the repertoire of black American popular culture. You'll also find an interview with Jonathan B. Vogels, author of The Direct Cinema of David and Albert Maysles (Southern Illinois University Press 2005). We invite you to submit for the Fall 2009 edition. The deadline is 15 October 2009. You can find the submission guidelines here.

Lastly, Magazine Americana features shorter blog or op-ed style articles as well as longer features written for a general audience. Our writers are not satisfied by observing a cultural phenomenon; rather, they seek to analyze that phenomenon, to answer the eternal question, "Why is it so?" Our hope is that answering this question will lead us to a better understanding of our culture and thus lead us to a better understanding of ourselves. This process is very important as we begin to formulate our political opinions, indeed our very identity, in the twenty-first century. We invite you to submit articles for MA. We publish on a revolving basis, so there is no deadline. Send your work whenever you're ready.

We are heartened that you have decided to wander through our site, and we welcome your comments and suggestions. We would also like to extend a personal invitation to you to become a member of our Institute by making a contribution to our Endowment Fund when you click on the DONATE button below.

Members will keep up to date on conferences and other pop culture events by reading their monthly e-newsletter. In addition, the newsletter provides an informal forum for any announcements or commentary members would like to exchange. But, perhaps most importantly, your donation to our Endowment Fund supports the work of American Studies scholars and American creative writers.

We hope you'll join us soon! We look forward to your contributions to this important American Studies community.

Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief

Leslie Wilson, Ph.D.

Board of Directors

Leslie Wilson, Ph.D., Chairman
Melissa Croteau, Ph.D.
Randy Fallows, Ph.D.
Alex Weinberg
Don Wilson

Technical Director

Don Wilson

Think Tank - Editorial Board - Advisory Boards

Roger Aden Jose Alamillo Roger Aronoff Joe Austin Christopher Bigsby Michelle Brattain Adam Braver Kevin John Brophy Barbara Ciccarelli Joan Connor Melissa Croteau Tom De Haven Kathleen Dixon Erica Doss Cynthia Franklin Franklin Frascina Lisa Gabbert Reebee Garofalo Philip Graham Anita Helle Marilyn Kallet

Kit Kelen Bobby Kreiner John Lent Chuck Maland Wendy Martin Ron McFarland Jeff Meikle William Howard Moore Adam Piette Julian Pleasants T.V. Reed Don Rett Richard Schur David Stuart Janet Walker Amy Sage Webb Alex Weinberg Jeff Williams Don Wilson Leslie Wilson Richard Yarborough

 

Magazine Americana Contributors

Arthur Alvarez Roger Aronoff Geoffrey Baker Andrea Banda David Banks Carol Morgan Bennett Jenn Book Jenn Brandt Alissa Burger Lee Carleton Jennifer Cho Casey Clabough Deirdre Clemente Miguel Colayco Michael Cornelius Brian Cowlishaw Melissa Daniels Susan Muaddi Darraj Karen Dodwell Christy Donaldson Chris Driver O. Dumer Neil Earle Kristin Ecklund Jessie Embry Shawntel Ensminger Christopher S. Glover Sherrie Gossett Claudia K. Grinnell Katherine L. Hall Amy Hezel Blake Hobby Kim Hoyt

Crystal Ikeda Reed Irvine Wayne Jebian Cliff Kincaid James Kirschke Carolee Klimchock Peter Kratzke Joe Leibowitz O. Levitski A. Davis Lewis Jenny Alexander Lewis R. Lucci Jae Maliszewski William Matthew McCarter Fiona Mills Jill Newton Annette Olsen-Fazi Sue Orenstein Alexander Pitofsky Carrie Pitzulo Jason S. Polley Earen Rast Jennifer Reed Pamela Reisel A. Joan Saab Scott Schaffer Cathy Schlund-Vials Anish Shah Ron Shook Paul Tayyar Diego Mattos Vazualdo Allan Waggenheim Caroline Wall Jill Gold Wright

 

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