American Literary Review

American Literary Review welcomes submissions of poems, short stories, and essays. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but 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. There is a 300-submission cap per genre, after which the corresponding submission portal will close.

Guidelines for submitting to ALR:

• Submissions must be previously unpublished. Including online publication and “revised” or altered versions of stories, poems, or essays.
• Submissions of work created in part or in whole with generative A.I. or LLMs are not accepted. 
• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please withdraw your work immediately if your piece is accepted elsewhere.
• 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.
• We do not accept submissions via email or via postal mail, except from incarcerated writers or others who do not have internet access. 
• Anyone who is or was associated with the University of North Texas in the last three years is ineligible to submit.

To address issues with a submission (e.g., incorrect files), please email us at americanliteraryreview@gmail.com.

We respond to submissions in approximately six months. Please do not query about the status of your submission until six months have passed.

We are unable to offer fee waivers at this time.

Fiction Guidelines:

American Literary Review seeks distinctive, character-driven stories.

•  Submit only one story at a time.
• Submissions should be under 6,000 words. 
•  We generally avoid novel excerpts unless they can stand alone as stories. 
• Double-space all submissions.

Poetry Guidelines:

Poetry selections are made by a widely-read group with eclectic tastes who look for the best poems, regardless of form or subject matter.

• Submit up to five poems at a time. 
• To withdraw individual poems, please send a note via Submittable

Essays Guidelines:

We welcome personal essays in all forms, including flash, and we are interested in both traditional personal essays and ones that push the boundaries of creative nonfiction.

• Submit only one work at a time. 
• Submissions should be under 6,000 words. 
•  Please double-space all submissions.

Annual Contest

The reading period for the American Literary Review Annual contests is from June 1 – September 1. We accept contest entries in poetry, fiction, and essays. See full guidelines here. 

Flash Flood

Our Flash Flood contest is open for submissions on a rolling basis from the 1st to the 15th of each month (excluding December, January, May, June, July, and August). We accept flash fiction, flash nonfiction, and prose poetry under 1000 words. See the full guidelines here. 

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)  with an artist statement.
•  Each piece should have a title. 
• There is no submission fee for art.

Reviews and Interviews:

We do not publish unsolicited book reviews or interviews. 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 use the mailing address below or contact us at americanliteraryreview@gmail.com:

American Literary Review

University of North Texas- English

1155 Union Circle #311307

Denton, Texas 76203