Orchard Valley Review is online and print newsletter runs by San Jose State University Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing students. Our goal is to deliver relevant content and provide publication opportunities for great works of poetry, fiction and non-fiction in the MFA program. We also strive to supply pertinent resources to prospective MFA students and the writing community.

The OVR is named after the orange orchards that have been historically abundant in the Silicon Valley, long before it became a mecca for the technology and internet industries. San Jose State University is also home to the Center for Steinbeck Studies, which is housed within the largest U.S. library west of the Mississippi at 1.5 million items and 475,000 square feet of space. SJSU is the oldest public university in the state of California, and served as the processing center for the 2008 U.S Olympic team before their departure to Beijing. SJSU has also been on the forefront of social movements, with alumni including 1968 Olympic medallists Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

The city of San Jose has the distinction of being the third largest city in California and tenth in the United States. It is home to most of the leading technology companies in the world, while being close proximity to the metropolis of San Francisco.