The Art of the Literary Magazine, an exhibition of the top 10 covers of World Literature Today from the past 50 years, will open at the University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in fall 2026. From July 1 to July 15, 2026, we are inviting readers to vote on their three favorites—from a shortlist of staff picks—published between 1977 and 2026. RC Davis-Undiano, WLT’s executive director, will announce the winner at the exhibition opening on Thursday, September 17, which begins at 6:00 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend, and admission is free.

The Top 10 Covers

Michel Butor Issue (Spring 1982) [Pencil Sketch by Émile Butor]

The Many Sides of Poet Bob Dylan (September 2005) [Photograph by Rowland Scherman]

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (March 2006) [Photograph by Justin Griffiths-Williams]

Graphic Literature (March 2007) [Illustration by Gabriel Bá]

Photography Special Issue (March 2013) [Photograph by Phil Borges]

Puterbaugh Fellow Andrés Neuman (May 2014) [Photograph by Simon Hurst]

Speculative Fiction (May 2018) [Illustration by Gediminas Pranckevičius]

Redreaming Dreamland (Spring 2021) [Artwork by Ebony Iman Dallas]

Muses (May 2022) [Artwork by Holly Wilson]

NSK Laureate Cherie Dimaline (January 2026) [Photograph by Shevaun Williams]

All voters who choose the cover that receives the most number of first-place votes will be entered into a drawing to receive a free, signed copy of the WLT centennial anthology, A Compass on the Navigable Sea, compiled by WLT editor in chief Daniel Simon (U.S. addresses only).

Click here to vote!

After the opening on Sept. 17, the exhibition will be on view through the end of December 2026 during the museum’s regular visiting hours, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The museum is located at 555 Elm Avenue in Norman.