We welcome unsolicited submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for publication in our journal. We publish both online and in print, according to our editorial needs. All submissions must be original work and must not have appeared previously in any other venue (online, in another journal, or in any book, chapbook, or anthology). Please note that we are a magazine and do not publish books.
We accept submissions of poetry and fiction from October 1 to June 15. Nonfiction submissions are accepted year-round, but our response times will be longer in the summer and during the holidays. We suggest that writers familiarize themselves with our recent issues and web publications before submitting.
To submit poetry and fiction, use Submittable. To submit nonfiction, send us a pitch in the body of an email, following our guidelines here and below. Do not send any materials by mail.
We charge a small fee for poetry and fiction submissions to help support our operations. Writers experiencing financial hardship may contact the editors (editors[at]chicagoreview[dot]org) to request a waiver of the fee. To do so, write “Fee waiver request” in the subject line, and in the body of the email specify which genre of writing you wish to submit (poetry/fiction) so we can forward your submission to the appropriate editor.
All contributors receive a one-volume print subscription. Print contributors also receive three copies of the issue in which their work appears. Unfortunately, we are not able to pay contributors.
Detailed Submission Guidelines
We’re happy to consider simultaneous submissions, but we ask that you let us know in your cover letter and notify us promptly if any part of your submission has been accepted somewhere else.
If you need to withdraw a submission or part of one, please add a note in Submittable indicating which sections are no longer available.
International submissions and works in translation are encouraged. Translators should secure permission to translate before submitting.
Please know that the process of reading and responding to submissions can be lengthy. We’re committed to getting back to you, but we ask for your patience and that you do not contact us regarding the status of a submission until at least six months have passed.
Poetry
While there are no strict length requirements, we prefer to read at least five pages of work. In most cases, more than fifteen or twenty pages will be too much.
Fiction
We will consider one short story or novel excerpt of up to 5,000 words, or up to five “short-shorts” submitted in one file. We will consider work in any literary style but are typically less interested in traditional narrative approaches.
Nonfiction + Reviews
We publish a variety of nonfiction both online and in print. We’re especially interested in:
- analytical, argument-driven reviews of new or recent books, especially works with an uncommon or experimental sensibility; noteworthy small press publications; scholarly books on modern and contemporary literature, poetry and poetics, cultural studies, critical theory, and method (including but not limited to the titles on our Books for Review list);
- longer commentary essays on several books or interesting topics in modern and contemporary literature;
- interviews with writers and publishers of experimental and/or independent literature;
- less conventional prose genres such as letters to the editor, satires, polemics, and pastiches.
Prospective writers should bear in mind that the main focus of our nonfiction section is literary criticism, although we do sometimes branch out into related fields. We are not looking for personal essays or memoir.
Nonfiction may vary in length from regular reviews (1,500–2,500 words) to more expansive pieces for our commentary section (2,500–5,000 words).
All nonfiction should be submitted to the editors as emailed pitches; see our page about pitching for instructions. We look for pitches with clearly defined, original arguments, especially arguments that are attentive to matters of literary form.
Our editorial process for nonfiction is thorough and tends to take at least a few months from acceptance to publication. We strive for timeliness, but our priority is producing rigorous criticism of lasting value. All nonfiction published in Chicago Review goes through two or more rounds of intensive editing. You may be asked to do a full or partial rewrite. For more information on our editorial process and preferences, see our Information for Reviewers document.