American Literary Review

American Literary Review welcomes submissions of previously unpublished poems, short stories, and essays. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if noted in your cover letter. Please note that all submissions will be considered for online publication only.

The reading period for our 2024 ALR Awards contest is from June 1-October 1. We accept contest entries in poetry, fiction, and essays. Visit Submittable for complete guidelines.

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 for each genre, after which the respective submission portal will close.

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.

We do not accept submissions via email or via postal mail, except from incarcerated writers or others 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. We do not consider edits to work once it has been submitted, so please only send finished pieces.

Please note that all current students and students who have graduated within three 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 respond to submissions in approximately three 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.

Essays Guidelines:

Submit only one work at a time. We welcome essays in all forms, including flash, and we are interested in both traditional 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.

Recent featured artists include Benjamin Statser, Chris Lael Larson, Oscar J. Gillespie, and Mihee Nahm.

Reviews and Interviews:

We do not publish unsolicited book reviews or interviews at this time. The ALR editorial team does publish several interviews and book reviews in each issue, typically featuring recent, small/independent press books. To send review copies to ALR for possible review, please use the mailing address below or contact us at americanliteraryreview@gmail.com:

American Literary Review            

1155 Union Circle #311307

University of North Texas Denton, TX 76203