Submission Guidelines
American Literary Review welcomes submissions of previously unpublished poems, short stories, and essays. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please let us know immediately via Submittable if your piece is accepted elsewhere. Please note that all submissions will be considered for online publication only.
We are open from October 1 – December 1 and January 1 – May 1 for general submissions of poetry, fiction, and essays. General submissions can be sent to us through our online submission manager for a fee of $3. There is a 300-submission cap per genre, after which the corresponding submission portal will close.
The reading period for our 2025 ALR Awards contest is from June 1 – September 1. We accept contest entries in poetry, fiction, and essays. Visit Submittable for complete guidelines.
Why the $3 fee? This fee covers the administrative and IT costs associated with our online submissions system. To request a fee-waived submission, email americanliteraryreview@gmail.com.
Our Flash Flood showcase, featuring prose and prose poetry of 1000 words or less, runs during the first two weeks of each month during the academic year. Flash Flood is currently open and will close on February 15th. Visit our Flash Flood page for complete guidelines.
We do not accept submissions via email or via postal mail, except from incarcerated writers or others who do not have internet access. We also do not accept any previously published work, including online publication and “revised” or altered versions of stories, poems, or essays. Unsolicited manuscripts received outside the reading period will be returned unread. Submissions of work created in part or in whole with generative A.I. or LLMs will not be accepted. At this time, we are unable to leave feedback on submissions. We do not consider edits once a piece has been submitted, so please send only finished pieces.
Please note that all current students and students who have graduated within the past 3 years from the University of North Texas are not eligible to submit to ALR.
To withdraw individual poems, please send a note via Submittable. To address other issues with a submission (incorrect files, etc.) please email us at americanliteraryreview@gmail.com. We are unable to refund submission fees for withdrawn submissions.
We respond to submissions in approximately four to six months. Please do not query about the status of your submission until six months have passed.
Fiction Guidelines:
Submit only one story at a time. American Literary Review seeks distinctive, character-driven stories. We have no set maximum for length, but stories under 8,000 words have the best chance of publication. We generally avoid novel excerpts unless they can stand alone as stories. Please double-space all submissions.
Poetry Guidelines:
Submit up to five poems at a time. Poetry selections are made by a widely-read group with eclectic tastes who look for the best poems, regardless of form or subject matter. Poems should be single-spaced. There is no word or page limit for poems.
Essays Guidelines:
Submit only one work at a time. We welcome creative nonfiction essays in all forms, including flash, and we are interested in both traditional personal essays and ones that push the boundaries of the genre. We have no set maximum word count, but most essays we publish are shorter than 8,000 words. Please double-space all submissions.
Art Guidelines
We are looking for art to feature on the title page of our online literary journal. Please send 5-10 original images in a standard web-readable format (we prefer JPEG) and an artist statement. Each piece should have a title. There is no submission fee for art.
We are more likely to publish work accompanied by an artist’s statement that discusses its themes and its relationship to craft.
To get a good sense of what we’re looking for, we recommend viewing artwork featured in previous issues. Recent featured artists include Kathleen Frank, Jean Wolff, Benjamin Statser, and Chris Lael Larson.
Reviews and Interviews
We do not publish unsolicited book reviews or interviews at this time. The ALR editorial team publishes several interviews and book reviews in each issue, typically featuring recent small- or independent-press books. To send review copies to ALR for possible review, please contact us or use the mailing address below.