Carolyn Kuebler to become editor of the New England Review

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury College has announced the appointment of Carolyn Kuebler as editor of the New England Review, a quarterly literary journal published by the college. She will assume her new responsibilities in January 2014, when Stephen Donadio steps down from his role as editor, a position he has held since 1994. Until the end of the year Kuebler will continue to serve in her current position as managing editor while preparing for the transition.

Since her arrival as managing editor in 2004, Kuebler has worked closely with Donadio to select fiction, nonfiction, poetry and translations for publication in the New England Review. She coordinates the production, marketing, fundraising and design of the literary quarterly, including its website. Kuebler initiated the NER Vermont Reading Series and NER’s internship program for Middlebury students, and also currently advises independent undergraduate projects in writing and publication.

“Carolyn was the obvious choice to take the reins at NER,” said Tim Spears, Middlebury College vice president for academic affairs. “In her work as managing editor, she has been open to new literary voices and enhanced the publication’s ability to provoke thoughtful discussion. She is ideally suited to maintain NER’s reputation as one of the nation’s most distinguished literary journals.”

Kuebler earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury in 1990, majoring in English with a concentration in Italian, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Bard College in 2001. She was the founding editor and publisher of Rain Taxi, a quarterly book review publication based in Minneapolis, and subsequently served as associate editor at Library Journal in New York. She has published book reviews, critical essays, and short fiction in numerous journals and newspapers, and has recently completed a novel. 

“I’m excited about the opportunity to lead NER into its next phase, responding to changes in reading habits and technology, but also continuing to offer readers a magazine that demands and rewards their full attention,” said Kuebler. “I look forward to further strengthening the journal’s connections to the college, the students and our broader community as well.”

Spears praised Donadio’s leadership over the last two decades. “Stephen’s careful editing has helped to bring out the best in NER’s writers,” said Spears. “His unique eye for contemporary literature has helped make NER one of the top literary magazines in the country.”

While at NER, Donadio has published the work of some of the best new poets and fiction writers, in addition to memorable translations, plays and nonfiction of all kinds, including letters from abroad, historical explorations, and cultural criticism. In just the past decade, 21 poems published in NER appeared in the Best American Poetry series, and 28 stories were selected or listed as notables in Best American Short Stories. The current poet laureate of the United States, Natasha Trethewey, published some of her early work in NER, and continues to publish with NER today. Donadio credits much of the magazine’s reputation for first-rate poetry to the efforts of C. Dale Young, NER’s longtime poetry editor.

Donadio said, “More than anything else I’ve wanted to do my best

to insure that every issue of the New England Review could be picked up 20 or 30 years from now and still seem fresh and compelling, in keeping with Ezra Pound’s demanding dictum that ‘literature is news that stays news.’

“Carolyn Kuebler has shared this vision,” added Donadio. “She is also a highly respected professional in the literary world. There could be no one better qualified to lead NER into the next phase of its distinguished history.”

After taking academic leave in 2013, Donadio will resume teaching and advising students in his capacity as Fulton Professor of Humanities at Middlebury, also serving as director of the college’s Program in Literary Studies. He will maintain an association with the New England Review as editor at large.

More information about the New England Review is available on the journal’s website.