Literary Journals and Contests Submission Guidelines
Journals and Magazines
- A Public Space
- AGNI
- American Poetry Review
- American Short Fiction – A quarterly, American Short Fiction strives to discover and publish new fiction in which transformations of language, narrative, and character occur swiftly, deftly, and unexpectedly. They are drawn to evocative language, unique subject matter, and an overall sense of immediacy.
- Antioch Review
- Artful Dodge – an Ohio-based literary magazine that publishes work with a strong sense of place and cultural landscape.
- Arts and Letters
- Arts and Letters PRIME
- The Atlantic* – The Atlantic is always interested in poetry, fiction, and articles of the highest quality.
- Bear Deluxe Magazine – an environmental arts magazine published in Portland, Oregon, since 1993. Though they do look for place-based fiction, they’re not seeking stories with overtly environmental themes. “Stories that find cultural connections beyond purely a sense of place, or take radical new approaches, catch our attention,” says editor-in-chief Tom Webb.
- Blackbird
- Black Clock – Black Clock will open for submissions again in the Fall of 2012
- Black Warrior Review
- Boston Review
- Boulevard
- Callaloo* – the premier journal of arts, letters, and cultures of the African Diaspora. Publishes original works by, and studies of, black writers worldwide.
- Cincinnati Review
- Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art
- Colorado Review
- Crab Orchard Review
- Crazyhorse
- Cream City Review
- Electric Literature
- Fence – If responses to your work tend to include, “I don’t get it,” or “What does it mean?” there’s a chance it belongs in Fence. Begun in the late 90s by graduates of the University of Iowa’s MFA program, Fence created a place for the writers who took up where the language poets left off.
- Fiction
- Five Points is out of Georgia State University and has published work by Madison Smartt Bell, Ursula Hegi, and Alice Hoffman. Prefers stories or self-contained novel excerpts in the 7500-word range.
- Four Chambers, the Heart of Literature in Phoenix, Arizona, accepts submissions of poetry and prose in any style, genre, or form. “We’re a community literary magazine. We don’t limit or restrict ourselves to certain genres or styles. We don’t have a specific aesthetic or agenda. We want to find something for everybody…”
- Georgia Review – “We seek the very best work whether by Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners or by little-known (or even previously unpublished) writers.”
- Gettysburg Review
- Glimmer Train – Monthly competitions.
- Gulf Stream
- Harvard Review
- Hayden’s Ferry Review
- Hunger Mountain
- Indiana Review
- Iron Horse Literary Review
- Kenyon Review*
- Massachusetts Review
- McSweeneys Quarterly
- Meridian
- Mid-American Review
- Missouri Review
- Nashville Review
- New England Review*
- New Ohio Review
- New South
- New Yorker – Founded in 1925 by Harold Ross, The New Yorker continues to be one of the most venerated publishers of short fiction. As such, it has helped make the careers of writers including John Updike, Haruki Murakami, Alice Munro, and Raymond Carver.
- Ninth Letter
- North American Review
- Notre Dame Review – Published semi-annually by the University of Notre Dame’s English Department, the Notre Dame Review offers innovative literary fiction. It has a circulation of 1,500 and has won Pushcart prizes in fiction and poetry.
- One Story publishes one story every three weeks in an artful, easy-to-read format, with the belief that stories are best read alone. Has published work by Judy Budnitz, Alix Ohlin, and Gregory Maguire. Simultaneous submissions OK. Submit literary fiction of 3,000-8,000 words Sept. 1-May 31.
- Paris Review
- Ploughshares
- Poetry*
- Portland Review
- Potomac Review
- Prairie Schooner
- Quarterly West
- Rattle publishes poetry, translations, and essays. “We like poems of any length. Send up to four poems at a time. We’re looking for poems that move us, that might make us laugh or cry, or teach us something new. We like both free verse and traditional forms—we try to publish a representative mix of what we receive.”
- Redivider
- River Teeth invites submissions of creative nonfiction, including narrative reportage, essays, and memoirs, as well as critical essays that examine the emerging genre and that explore the impact of nonfiction narrative on the lives of its writers, subjects, and readers.
- Sonora Review
- Southeast Review
- Southern Review
- Southwest Review
- StoryQuarterly
- Sycamore Review
- Threepenny Review*
- Third Coast
- Tin House
- TriQuarterly – Out of Northwestern University, TriQuarterly was founded in 1958 and has been described by the New York Times as “perhaps the preeminent journal for literary fiction” in America. Has published John Barth, Chaim Potok, and Joyce Carol Oates. Their reading period runs Oct. 1-March 31.
- Virginia Quarterly Review
- Waxwing‘s mission is “to include American writers from all cultural identities — in terms of race, ethnicity, indigenous tribe, gender, class, sexuality, age, education, ability, language, religion, and region — alongside international voices, published bilingually.”
- West Branch
- Willow Springs
- Witness
*On their application page, Bread Loaf Writers’ conference lists these six journals and magazines as examples of those they consider “distinguished”.
Contests
- American Poetry Review Contest
- Arts and Letters PRIME Poetry Prize
- Boston Review Contest
- Columbia Journal Contest
- Colorado Review / Colorado Prize for Poetry
- Colorado Review / Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction
- Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize
- Glimmer Train – Monthly competitions.
- Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest – The contest is open to all writers who have not yet published a book of fiction. Submissions must be 1200 words or fewer. Submissions open Feb 1 through Feb 28 each year.
- Missouri Review Editor’s Prize
- New Ohio Review Contest – deadline March 25, 2012
- Ohio State University Short Fiction Prize
- Ploughshares Contest – Feb 1 – April 2
- Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and Short Fiction – deadline March 15
- Southeast Review Contests – deadline March 15
- Southwest Review Poetry Contest – deadline Sept 30
- Southwest Review Fiction Contest – deadline May 1
- Sycamore Review Wabash Prize for Poetry
- Third Coast Fiction & Poetry Contests – deadline January 15
- Willow Springs Fiction Contest – deadline March 15