Cleaver Magazine

Cleaver Magazine Cleaver Magazine publishes sharp-edged art & literary work by established & emerging voices. To “cleave” is both to stick tight and to fall away.

Cleaver Magazine shares “cutting-edge” artwork and literary work from a mix of established and emerging voices.We publish a quarterly literary magazine with poetry, short stories, essays, flash prose, visual art, graphic narratives, and visual art. Look for the literary quarterly in March, June, September, and December. In each issue we present several emerging writers and alongside established wr

iters and artists. We see ourselves as facilitators and stewards of the literary and artistic work that we publish. In addition to our literary quarterly, we publish weekly and daily features, including Life As Activism (poetry and prose with a social justice theme), writer-to-writer craft essays, author interviews, travel essays, and reviews of books from small and independent publishers. Our weekly in-house advice columnist, “Ask June” opines on matters punctuational, interpersonal, and philosophical, spinning wit and literary wisdom in response to your ethical quandaries. Our podcast On The Edge is a virtual poetry reading series, available for download on iTunes and SoundCloud. Our radio plays feature original short scrips performed by professional actors. The scripts are available for download as PDF files; the recordings are free for listeners on iTunes and SoundCloud. About our name: “cleave” is a Janus word, also known as an “auto-antonym”, meaning both itself and its opposite. A cleaver is the most broad-edged and brutally efficient kitchen knife, designed to be swung like a hammer for the most effective channel of force. “Cleave” also means to come together with strong attachment. Submissions guidelines at the Cleaver Magazine website. For book review queries, see the masthead on our website. For other queries, email: [email protected]

GREAT NEWS for nonfiction writers: Cleaver Senior CNF Editor Sydney Tammarine is available for one-on-one writing clinic...
07/03/2025

GREAT NEWS for nonfiction writers: Cleaver Senior CNF Editor Sydney Tammarine is available for one-on-one writing clinics this summer!

Have Sydney read your essay (up to 3000 words) and offer constructive written feedback regarding what’s working, what needs attention, and how to improve in key craft areas. The first 10 submissions will receive an expedited turnaround and special price.

Sydney Tammarine’s work has appeared in Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, B O D Y, LIT Magazine, and other journals. Her work was selected as a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2021 and 2024. Sydney is Assistant Professor of English at Davis & Elkins College.

https://cleavermagazine.submittable.com/submit/330781/summer-special-creative-nonfiction-clinic-with-sydney-tammarine

“Someday, you’ll be spurned. For now, you need, at least, to know how to act viciously. Surely, you’ve wanted to strangl...
07/01/2025

“Someday, you’ll be spurned. For now, you need, at least, to know how to act viciously. Surely, you’ve wanted to strangle someone. A sibling, a friend?”

EXPOSURE, a short story by Liana Johnson, appears in our new issue. Read Cleaver 50 now! https://www.cleavermagazine.com/exposure-by-liana-johnson/

"That morning when Lydia woke up, she saw that she’d become a refrigerator. It must have happened fairly quickly since s...
07/01/2025

"That morning when Lydia woke up, she saw that she’d become a refrigerator. It must have happened fairly quickly since she was certain she had woken around two a.m. to give the baby a bottle."

THE REFRIGERATOR, flash fiction by Frances Blankenship, appears in our current issue, Cleaver 50.

https://www.cleavermagazine.com/the-refrigerator-by-frances-blankenship/

"There’s a bagel place I like a block away from work. I go in there and order 'an everything with nothing,' which the ca...
06/30/2025

"There’s a bagel place I like a block away from work. I go in there and order 'an everything with nothing,' which the cashier thinks is funny, and I guess I do, too."

EVERYTHING WITH NOTHING is one of three micros by Crockett Doob appearing in Cleaver 50. https://www.cleavermagazine.com/three-micros-by-crockett-doob/

"I know without fully seeing you when I stand up from my palette at the foot of your hospital bed. This is the day, mayb...
06/30/2025

"I know without fully seeing you when I stand up from my palette at the foot of your hospital bed. This is the day, maybe this is the hour. Or maybe it will be the following hour. Or the hour after."

AS YOU WIND DOWN, an essay by Jay Hodges, was a semifinalist in our Duality Short Nonfiction Contest. Read the issue now!

https://www.cleavermagazine.com/as-you-wind-down-by-jay-hodges/

"Each has an animal head built into the rounded handle, a crow with a sharp yellow beak, an anteater with wide eyes, a m...
06/29/2025

"Each has an animal head built into the rounded handle, a crow with a sharp yellow beak, an anteater with wide eyes, a monkey with slicked back hair and an outstretched arm, a faded pink flamingo with long painted lashes, still another a leopard waving a skinny tail. Mr. Rothenbloom never uses them, instead they stare at Mrs. Rothenbloom, her hands moving in waves along the keys of the piano. The animals watch her, exchange glances, tilt their heads to hear better."

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, short fiction by Elise Wallen-Friedman, appears in Cleaver 50. https://wp.me/p30UXE-jgN

Address

Chestnut Hill, PA

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cleaver Magazine posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Cleaver Magazine:

Share

Category