Great Moments: Malahat Review

Setting a gold standard for literary publishing

Published on New Year's Day 1967, the inaugural issue of the Malahat Review bucked the norms of the era's university-based literary quarterlies by emphasizing works that broke new ground in poetry, fiction, drama and criticism — from both Canadians and international writers. The two professors behind this fresh approach, Robin Skelton and John Peter, had spent two years planning the birth of a new type of literary magazine — and 45 years later the Malahat Review is not just an iconic literary magazine in Canada, but widely read and respected abroad.

Edited today by John Barton, a highly acclaimed poet with 10 published volumes and a former student of Skelton’s, the Malahat has published 14 works featured in the National Magazine Awards’ roster of finalists during the last five years alone, taking home five gold and four silver awards. The awards confirm not only the formidable stewardship over the years by editors Skelton, Peters, Constance Rooke, Derk Wynand, Marlene Cookshaw and Barton, but also the industry of the writers around the world who see publication in this esteemed UVic-based journal as a jewel in the crown of a successful literary career.

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