Draft: the journal of process

09/12/2022

We'll be at the Bookfair in Iowa City on April 8 for Mission Creek Festival 2023! All literature events are free and open to the public, but if you want the full festival experience, early bird passes are on sale now at www.missioncreekfestival.com

17/01/2022

Issue 7 is here! Explore drafts of director Chris Radcliff’s film THE STRANGE ONES & Carmen Maria Machado’s story THE HUSBAND STITCH, along with a never-before-published draft from ✨Ursula Le Guin👑..

Iowa City artist Mark Vollenweider’s amazing portraits inspired by Machado’s story are also available for purchase on our website.

Featuring a never-before-published draft from Ursula Le Guin, a deep dive into "The Husband Stitch" by Carmen Maria Machado, and script drafts of "The Strange Ones" by Chris Radcliff

05/11/2021

So pleased to be included within this auspicious group of Iowa City literary journals via this Andersonian-inspired shoot at FilmScene.

Issue 7, featuring a screenplay by Chris Radcliff for the film The Strange Ones, first and final drafts of Carmen Machado's "The Husband Stitch", and a never-before-seen draft from Ursula le Guin, will be out soon! Preorder, as ever, available now at our website.

22/09/2021

❌From the Annals of Rejection❌
“I’m afraid we can’t use it…”

A most genteel rejection from the The Threepenny Review

14/09/2021

WRITERS’ SPACES spaces that fascinate us. We love to see where a writer spends her time and the objects she keeps within her creative field. Visit our website at https://www.draftjournal.com/ to see even more spaces from our contributors. We’ll be sharing more pics here, too! Happy drafting.

06/05/2020

Taking it back to our roots with Issue 0 -

Before there was draft, there was draft: the preview, of which we printed a 50-copy run and handed out to folks at AWP 2010 in Washington D.C. in order to promote this idea that we had. This issue has never before been for sale.

26/03/2020

Amy Butcher shares an amazing 20-step exercise adapted from poet Jim Simmerman’s “Twenty Little Poetry Projects,” with a downloadable PDF available at our site

an amazing 20-step exercise adapted from poet  Jim Simmerman’s  “Twenty Little Poetry Projects”

25/03/2020

Mary Miller serves up a writing prompt to do with a friend, even if you're at a distance

a collaborative exercise in literary genetics

25/03/2020

Check out a writing prompt from draft featured today in the The University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums wonderful Nature Journal Challenge project. Great for kids and adults alike

NATURE JOURNAL CHALLENGE DAY 10:

A special part of this project has turned out to be the interaction with other groups in developing the daily prompts. Today's prompt comes from Draft: the journal of process, featuring first and final drafts of stories, essays, and poems along with author interviews about the creative process. The following was submitted by Draft and adapted from an exercise by artist/writer Lita Kurth:

"Find a leaf. Regard this leaf and describe it in great detail (size—use estimated numbers—color, shape, flaws, all its little parts) until you notice ~something~. Describe the discovery.

Now write TO the leaf, anything from a respectful letter to a rant.

Finally, let the leaf write back.

Save the leaf, closing it between the pages of your journal for safe keeping."

We know these are personal projects and journeys, but would love to see what you wrote to the leaf. Share if you'd like!