Power the Plough: A Letter from Jenny Molberg

Dear Ploughshares Patrons,

Since its beginnings fifty-four years ago, Ploughshares has been committed to raising writers’ voices. I am honored to have been named the journal’s fourth-ever Editor-in-chief, joining an important tradition of editors devoted to celebrating great literature: DeWitt Henry, Don Lee, and Ladette Randolph.

I am committed to Ploughshares’ tradition of innovative publishing, collaborative editorial curation, and fostering a thriving literary community that supports a diverse array of emerging and established writers. At a time when the arts and humanities are under attack, I look to the etymological origins of the ploughshare: a sword hammered into an agricultural tool–the transformation of a weapon into an object of peace and cultivation.

Now is an exciting time for Ploughshares: this year’s Emerging Writers’ Contest brought in over 3,500 submissions, and we have over 5,000 active subscribers. Many of our recent contributors have been recognized as recipients or finalists for prestigious awards, including the Booker Prize, the O. Henry Prize, Pushcart Prizes, National Book Awards, and Whiting Awards, and others. Among many other standout commendations, Mosab Abu Toha’s “Two Watches” and Emily Schulten’s “Nocturnal,” both published in our Spring 2024 issue, have been selected by Terence Winch for the last volume of Best American Poetry.

We are so grateful for your support of the award-winning work we publish, and we will continue to work diligently to recognize imaginative, inspiring literature–work that speaks truth to power, work that calls us to action, to joy, to love, and to change.

The future needs art. I am excited to usher in many more years of great publishing at Ploughshares and to support the work of our visionary guest editors, who consistently reinvigorate and expand the work we do at the journal. We’re also gearing up to launch new projects that revive and reframe Ploughshares’ archive–stay tuned for more exciting in-person and virtual programming.

This season, we hope you’ll consider including Ploughshares in your end-of-year donations. Thank you for your continued support; we’re proud to share this communal space with you.

Sincerely Yours,
Jenny Molberg, Editor-in-chief of Ploughshares