Who we are
Founded in 1990, Sierra Nevada Review is a literary journal dedicated to publishing exceptional poetry, short fiction, and literary nonfiction. Produced by students and alumni of the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe's low-residency MFA program in creative writing, the journal publishes two original issues each year, appearing on March 1 and September 1.
Submission window for fall issue: April 1 - June 1
Submission window for spring issue: October 1 – December 1
Submission response time may vary between a few days and several months.
For updates on opportunities outside of the general reading periods, follow us @sierranevadareview.
Our mission
We publish writing that feels urgent, alive, and attentive to the world. We are interested in work that examines contemporary culture and its intersections with art, labor, consumerism, resistance, diaspora, and the environment. We believe that all art carries political meaning, and we are drawn to writing in particular that rewards rereading—work layered with complexity, resonance, and surprise. Above all, we seek singular voices and stories that linger.
Send us your very best short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. We typically do not accept genre fiction.
To see what we’ve published in the past, check out our previous issues.
Meet the team
June Sareceno, Founder
June Sylvester Saraceno is the author of Feral, North Carolina, 1965, listed in BuzzFeed as one of “18 Must-Read Books from Indie Presses” in 2019. Her work has appeared inThe Rumpus, Southwestern American Literature, Big Muddy, Adirondack Review, and many other journals. In addition to fiction, she writes poetry and has three collections in print:Altars of Ordinary Light, of Dirt and Tar, and The Girl from Yesterday. She is director of the low residency MFA program in creative writing at UNR-Tahoe, and director of the popular literary speaker series Writers in the Woods. More information can be found at www.junesaraceno.com
Jamey Baumgardt, Faculty Advisor
Jamey Baumgardt is the faculty advisor for the Sierra Nevada Review. He is a writer and multidisciplinary artist working primarily in painting and printmaking. His writing has appeared in Split Lip Magazine, OLIT Magazine, JMWW, Flash Fiction Magazine, and the 2023 Saints and Sinners LGBTQ+ short story anthology. His visual art has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the large-scale multi-panel mural As Americans of Good Conscience at the Common Well in Boise, Idaho in 2026. He holds a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Washington and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. Learn more about Jamey at www.jameybaumgardt.com.
Jeffrey Slagle, Managing Editor
Jeffrey Slagle (he/him) is pursuing his MFA at UNR-Tahoe. He earned his BA in English at UNLV and works as a substitute teacher for the Clark County School District. He has spent most of his career educating others and adding his voice to horror and science fiction.
Dani Kuntz, Senior Editor, Poetry
Originally from Arkansas, Dani serves as Poetry Editor for Sierra Nevada Review and manages social media for Okay Donkey and Lit Match Collective. She also holds an MFA in Creative Writing-Poetry from UNR Lake Tahoe. Her work appears or is forthcoming in foofaraw zine, Sangam, The Talon Review, A Thin Slice of Anxiety, and elsewhere. Keep up with Dani on IG @daninkuntz and Bluesky @danikuntz.com.
Macy Hurwitz, Senior Editor, Nonfiction
Macy D. Hurwitz (she/hers) is a writer and editor from Sunset Valley, Texas. She started her professional writing and editing career in journalism before moving into government communications and outreach for various state, local, and federal agencies. She recently received her MFA from the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe, and these days she writes about the systems that shape our lives, the natural world, and the changes and challenges facing her beloved hometown.
Corrine Bollendorf, Fiction Reader
Corrinne Bollendorf (she/her/hers) is a writer with an MFA in fiction from UNR-Tahoe where she was a recipient of the Two Pines Award for Outstanding Creative Work. Her most recent work appears in The Los Angeles Press, Oranges Journal, and forthcoming from Passages North. She writes about identity and violence. You can find her on Instagram @corrinneypoo.
Bethany Hohenberger, Fiction Reader
Bethany Hohenberger (she/her) received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at UNR-Tahoe after a brief stint as an undergrad dance major. An Ohio native, she currently lives in Las Vegas. By day, she dreams up fantasy worlds about her adopted city. By night, she watches movies for her podcast AniMoWa: The Animated Movie Watch and curates booklists for her Substack, thereadingchallenger.substack.com.
Hunter Howard, Fiction Reader
Hunter Howard holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. Originally from California, he is now based in Las Vegas and explores existentialism through speculative fiction. A fascination with storytelling lead him to quit his job as a salesman, and now when he isn't working toward his first novel, he is organizing D&D games, playing soccer, and running writing workshops for the community.
Sarah Bun, Nonfiction Reader
Sarah Bun is an award-winning writer, cookbook author, and certified health coach. She covers food, travel, culture, art, history, entertainment, business, and health and wellness. Her writing work has been featured in several publications, including edible Reno-Tahoe, Eater Vegas, Nevada’s NPR's Desert Companion, and Comstock's Magazine. Currently, she is pursuing her MFA in creative writing nonfiction. More information can be found at sarahbun.com.
Zachary Prince, Fiction Reader
Zac Prince is a writer and lover of fiction, working toward his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Reno. When he’s not writing short stories about dysfunctionally cynical characters, he spends his time reading, running soundboards, and heckling his wife.
Shawnee Shahroody Spitler, Fiction Reader
Shawnee Shahroody Spitler is an MFA-Fiction candidate at UNR-Lake Tahoe. She graduated from U.C.Davis earning a B.S. in environmental biology and a J.D. from King Hall. She works as an executive coach and spends a lot of time reading, writing, researching, and hiking. Her writing explores themes of biracial identity, intergenerational influence, coming of age, and activism. Her work has appeared in Hip Mama, Montana Parent, and Wilderness House Literary Review. She lives, works, and plays in Montana with her husband, two sons, and an Australian Shepherd.
Dan Hyatt, Fiction Reader
Dan Hyatt grew up in the Pacific Northwest, served in the Navy both in Viet Nam and later as a Navy Jag. He has two grown children and 7 grandchildren, retired as a United States Administrative law Judge in 2015, and is currently pursuing a MFA in creative writing at UNR.
A.C. Spectre, Poetry Reader
A.C. Spectre is a Northern Nevada-born writer whose work explores technology, power, and the absurd. Shaped by a past as enduring as the desert, her work interrogates systems, identity, and the ways people resist the worlds built around them.
Danielle Day, Fiction Reader
Danielle Day is a poet and MFA-Fiction student at UNR-Tahoe. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Nevada State University and works as a writing assistant at the College of Southern Nevada. Her short, speculative fiction is often haunted by ghosts and other regrets, and she has published poems on family, motherhood, and self-discovery in Level Up and Shine Magazine.
Ana Jimenez, Nonfiction Reader
Ana is a multi-disciplinary creative who writes poetry and creative nonfiction as a second generation native Las Vegas desert dweller. She is a contributing writer for the local arts and culture magazine, Devoid and is currently working on a project that includes her two life-long loves of visual art and the written word.
Casey Tuohy, Fiction Reader
Casey Tuohy is a native Nevadan who settled down in Texas after retiring from a career in the Navy. He is working toward an MFA in Fiction at UNR-Lake Tahoe, where he is honing his craft to write about his experiences in the military, relationships, and exploring the psychological impacts and the ironies that add a dark humor to life.
David Slattery, Poetry Reader
David E. Slattery, MD is a first-year Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing candidate at the University of Nevada Reno, at Lake Tahoe-Incline Village, Nevada. He has recently retired from his 30-year career as an emergency medicine physician. Besides practicing clinically, he served as the Director of Research and Professor of Emergency Medicine for the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has served, as an Associate Editor, Section Editor, and currently serves as a Peer-Reviewer for several emergency medicine, EMS, and scientific/medical journals. David’s interest in poetry began almost a decade ago after experiencing the poetry and storytelling of the Irish/Welch Poet David Whyte, and he desires to someday contribute moving and meaningful poetry to this rich literary landscape.