History
In 1970 DeWitt Henry, a Harvard Ph.D. student, and Peter O'Malley, an Irish expatriate, joined together at the Plough and Stars pub to fill a void they felt existed in the literary scene in Boston. Neither one was happy with what was currently being published, and, with their friends and followers, decided to create their own literary magazine. Realizing that they and their supporters would never be able to agree on a specific editorial outlook for the magazine, the co-founders decided that the position of editor would be a rotating one. Since then, Ploughshares has been edited by a different author for every issue, giving the magazine a unique and constantly changing voice. The first issue was published in September 1971.
The magazine soon became recognized as a beacon for talented new writers. Some of the writers whose first or early works have appeared in Ploughshares are Thomas Lux, John Irving, Russell Banks, Sue Miller, Mona Simpson, Ethan Canin, Tim O'Brien, Robert Pinsky, and Jayne Anne Phillips.
1989, Ploughshares became affiliated with Emerson College. Author Don Lee took the reins as Editor-in-Chief, and would serve in that position until 2007.
In 1990, Ploughshares received the first of three large grants from the Wallace–Reader's Digest Funds, and thereafter came rapid growth, state-of-the-art computers, a new design, and aggressive marketing campaigns.
In 2008, Ladette Randolph replaced Don Lee as Editor-in-Chief. The quality of the magazine's content remains the same, though its appearance has changed to reflect its firm place in today's literary world.
Ploughshares has had more selections in The Best American Short Stories than any other literary journal in the past ten years. In the past several years, it has had more stories published in The Pushcart Prize anthology than any other publication, and the magazine continues to be considered one of the most prestigious in the country.
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