The Peak

In 2019, Ghazala Hashmi, a former English professor, became the first ever Muslim and Indian American State Senator in Virginia. In another historic feat, she won the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor in June 2025 and will appear on the ballot for the statewide election this coming November. Shenandoah’s Special Features Editor, Nadeen Kharputly, sat down with Senator Hashmi for a conversation about her early life, her career in education, her transition to a political career, and how literature has shaped her life—and her desire to make life better for her constituents.

Shenandoah intern Kaia Beddows sits down with nonfiction editorial fellow Stevie Billow for a conversation about their writing journey, creative inspirations, and the curation behind the essays featured in Shenandoah’s 75th anniversary edition.

Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly chats with Shenandoah contributor Holly M. Wendt about their experience living in Annville, a small town in Pennsylvania.

Contributor Dan Reiter discusses his new book On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories from Florida's Space Coast. You can find his short story "Deep-Water Drift" in Shenandoah Vol. 65.1 Fall 2016.

Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly chats with Shenandoah contributor Robin Gow about what it’s like to live in the small town of Breinigsville, Pennsylvania.

In this interview, guest Comics Editor Qiana Whitted, discusses her lifelong love of comics and her experience editing the comics section of Shenandoah's 75th anniversary edition.

Shenandoah contributor Martin Cloutier discusses the interplay between gender and romantic attraction as explored in his debut novel, as well as his unflinching commitment to truth telling in his work, and the ways he achieves it. Cloutier’s flash fiction story “Punishment, Inc.” was featured in issue 63.1. Find it here.

Contributor Emma Sloley talks to us about the release of her new novel, The Island of Last Things. Emma’s story “Sugartown” appears in our 75th anniversary issue.

Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly chats with Shenandoah contributor Matthew Vollmer about what it’s like to live in his small town of Blacksburg, Virginia.

Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly interviews Shenandoah contributor Sonya Lara to gain insights about what it’s like to live and write in the small town of Ripon, WI.

We’re thrilled to help celebrate the forthcoming launch of Mubanga Kalimamukwento’s novel The Shipikisha Club, out from Dzanc Books in March 2026, by collaborating on the reveal of the cover, designed by Michelle D’Urbano.

The short story “Camp” by Shah Tazrian Ashrafi, appears in volume 74.1-2, our 75th anniversary issue, and explores the dystopian world of a mother who has lost her daughter in an accident. “Camp” is a place where parents who have lost their children can go and find a child to replace the one who has died. The story explores many facets of grief, and we talked to Shah about where the idea for the story came from, the power of a good dystopia, and his literary mentors.

Contributor Rob Macaisa Colgate highlights the significance of collection, reflection, and accessibility to the process of creating their debut. Rob’s poem “The Body Is Not An Apology Except For Mine Sometimes” appears in issue 74.1-2.

In this Q&A, Nadia Alexis talks about her new collection of poetry and photography, Beyond the Watershed, which focuses on various experiences of a Haitian American daughter and her Haitian immigrant mother.

Nonfiction editor DW McKinney and former associate editor Moriah Katz have essays in the anthology Mamas, Martyrs, and Jezebels: Myths, Legends, and Other Lies You’ve Been Told About Black Women (Black Lawrence Press, 2024). Corresponding through a living document, they discussed their individual essays, their dream anthologies, and taking up space as Black women writers.

Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly interviews Shenandoah contributor Megan Mayhew Bergman to learn about what it’s like to live in her small town of Shaftsbury, VT.

Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly chats with Shenandoah contributor Ann Fisher-Wirth about what it’s like to live in the small town of Oxford, Mississippi.

Shenandoah contributor Desiree Santana discusses what shaped her poem “The Starving Time,” which was a runner-up for the Graybeal-Gowen Prize and appears in issue 73.2.

Shenandoah contributor Michelle Donahue shares some of her revision process for her short story “Moon Jump,” which appeared in issue 73.2.

Welcome to Small Town Dispatches, a new feature on The Peak that recognizes the efforts of sustaining a writing practice in places with unconventional resources. In this installment, Special Features editor Nadeen Kharputly interviews Shenandoah contributor Melissa Helton about living in Hindman, Kentucky.

Helena Pantsis discusses her vision, including original artwork and genre-defying writing, for their debut story anthology. Their artwork “Again Boy” was featured in issue 73.2.

Associate editor Moriah Katz and author Dorsía Smith Silva discuss motherhood, healing within the family unit, and the creative process behind the author’s debut poetry collection, In Inheritance of Drowning. Smith Silva’s poem, “I Asked About Desire” is featured in volume 73.1

Shenandoah contributor Luisa A. Igloria talks about the themes and origins of her new poetry collection, as well as her time as Virginia’s Poet Laureate.

Four of Shenandoah’s editors talk books that have inspired them, books they wish they had read, and books they think more people should read.

Welcome to Small Town Dispatches, a new feature on The Peak that recognizes the efforts of sustaining a writing practice in places with unconventional resources. In this installment, Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly interviews Shenandoah contributor Shamala Gallagher about living in Athens, Georgia.

Welcome to Small Town Dispatches, a new feature on The Peak that recognizes the efforts of sustaining a writing practice in places with unconventional resources. In this installment, Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly interviews Shenandoah contributor Laura Villareal about living in Lockhart, Texas.

David Siew Hii, Shenandoah’s associate poetry editor, interviews poets! To showcase their voices, the questions in the interview were removed, leaving behind only the voice of the writer. In this interview, Majda Gama talks about being an accidental Virginian, what makes a lifestyle, cats from the Middle East, and how poetry and prose party differently. Read her poem Graybeal-Gowen Prize-winning poem, “In Great Aunt Noor’s Salon,” here.

Intern Chloe Duensing emailed with editorial fellow Mubanga Kalimamukwento to discuss her life, her work, and what she is looks for as an editor.