John Ralston Saul has called Alberta Views "the new model for what a magazine can be in Canada."
[4] In a speech at the 2009 NMAs,[5] Flanagan said she founded Alberta Views to counter provincial stereotypes.
The magazine publishes three long-form (3,000+ word) stories every issue as well as original short fiction and essays.
Alberta Views departments include columns by Governor General's Award and Giller Prize-nominated author Fred Stenson ("Wit") and former Banff National Park superintendent Kevin Van Tighem ("This Land"), book reviews, arts listings, a ministerial profile ("Meet the Minister"), community profiles and "Eye on Alberta," a mix of news stories, blog posts, speeches and poems from across the province and country.
Past contributors to Alberta Views have included notable journalists, magazine writers, essayists, artists, academics and politicians including Katherine Ashenburg, Todd Babiak, Karen Connelly, Marcello Di Cintio, Will Ferguson, Curtis Gillespie —co-founder of Eighteen Bridges magazine, Katherine Govier, Alex Himelfarb, Greg Hollingshead, Jay Ingram, Robert Kroetsch, Sid Marty, Linda McQuaig, Omar Mouallem, Andrew Nikiforuk, John Ralston Saul, Paula Simons—a long-time writer for the Edmonton Journal, Kevin Taft, Chris Turner, Andrew Unger, Aritha van Herk, Thomas Wharton, and Rudy Wiebe.