A Look Back: Highlights from 2025
As we get ready to step into 2026 — and launch BLR’s 25th anniversary! — let’s take a look back at what made 2025 such a special year. From new publications to fascinating conversations, this year was all about celebrating writers, stories, and community.
(Speaking of community, shown above are editor-in-chief Danielle Ofri and assistant poetry editor Saleem Hue Penny, who got a chance to meet in person when Danielle visited Saleem’s hometown of Chicago.)
Author Anne Fadiman wows at BLR‘s Book Salon
Danielle Ofri, Editor-in-Chief
“The only thing better than interviewing a favorite author is discovering what a kind and gracious person they are. My interview with Anne Fadiman at BLR’s Book Salon was a delight—she was erudite, funny, genial, thoughtful. Discussing her classic—The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down—was like a homecoming. Discovering her essay collection about book lovers—Ex Libris—was like a delicious treasure hunt. Afterward, Anne talked with every attendee who had a question or brought a book to be signed. But the real pearl was the next morning, when I discovered, to my horror, that I’d forgotten to get signatures on six more copies (for people who’d purchased books but couldn’t attend the event). Generous to a fault, she invited me to meet in her hotel lobby, just before her train back to New Haven. I dashed up to catch her, and she signed them all. Each with a personal note.”
Watch the BLR Book Salon with Anne Fadiman
More great conversations: BLR BookTalks with Venita Blackburn and Pria Anand
BLR‘s Weekly Read series dusts off past gems
Stacy Bodziak, Managing Editor
“There are so many gems tucked away in BLR’s back issues. When an issue is first published, that content is front and center, but soon it’s time for the next issue, and so on, and those past stories, essays, and poems quietly fade into the background. So a real standout for me this year was launching BLR’s Weekly Read newsletter, which features those BLR gems. Our team loved rediscovering these writings — there is an element of nostalgia, of course, but also just pure joy to be able to share them with our readers anew. Each Weekly Read newsletter has a section titled ‘Why this story/essay/poem?’ Well, let us tell you!”
Explore BLR’s Weekly Read series
More to explore: Visit BLR’s blog for news about events, calls for submissions, and to stay on top of all things BLR.
Animalia issue’s live reading sparks community
Doris W. Cheng, Associate Fiction Editor
“A high point this fall was our launch event to celebrate the Animalia-themed issue. With the goal of furthering connections with the BLR community, we hosted our first ever live online reading: Twenty-four writers shared their work before an audience of more than 100, whose enthusiastic support provided rocket fuel for the evening. To be in communion with other writers and readers—to be immersed in the brilliant words of beautiful humans—was nourishing, invigorating, and the perfect respite from an exhausting news cycle.”
Watch the live online reading with authors from BLR’s Animalia issue
Writers from the issue shared photos with their furry friends
Impactful conversations with BLR Prizewinners
Lauralee Leonard, Associate Fiction Editor
“During my conversation with Fiona Ennis, the author of the fiction prize-winning story ‘The Veil Thins,’ she and I were able to touch on how a walk in the hills of Ireland evolved into a story of a young nun whose Iived experience brings her into a conflict of faith. I had read some of Fiona’s other published stories which take on wider social issues in Ireland, so I was not surprised when the conversation led to the place stories can play in examining how social rules affect one’s life choices. Fiona’s work as a lecturer in English and Philosophy came through so nicely when she left us with the idea of how short stories begin at a point of rising tension. That brief statement stays with me still in my own writing, editing, and reading. Grateful to BLR and Fiona for the opportunity to talk with the creator of this tale.”
Reflecting on BLR’s past and future together in NYC
Melissa Pagnotta, Communications Manager
“This summer, the BLR team and board met in person for an exciting strategy meeting in NYC. Even though one of my favorite strengths of BLR is its international community, it is such a special treat to meet in person. We sat in a circle and brainstormed while expansive views of the city surrounded us. The energy was palpable. We shared why we each love BLR, identified the journal’s greatest strengths, reviewed its history, and sketched out our vision for BLR’s future. The group then conceptualized ideas to expand BLR’s educational offerings and events, many of which are being rolled out this spring. I am thrilled to see what is in store for BLR’s 25th anniversary year and beyond. This group of passionate, intelligent, and talented people reaffirmed for me that BLR’s next chapter will be marvelous.”
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BLR would not be possible without the generosity of supporters like you. We are deeply grateful to have you as part of the BLR community, and can’t wait to celebrate our 25th anniversary with you!