We welcome submissions of previously unpublished poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. By “unpublished,” we mean work that has not appeared in another journal or in any book, chapbook, anthology, or online.
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 slower in the summer and during the holidays. We suggest that writers familiarize themselves with recent issues and web publications of Chicago Review before submitting.
To submit poetry and fiction, please use Submittable. To submit nonfiction, please send us a pitch in the body of an email, according to our guidelines here and below. Please 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 reviews of new or recent books, especially works with an uncommon or experimental sensibility, writing from outside the Anglophone literary mainstream, noteworthy small press publications, and scholarly books about 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 essays on several books or on interesting topics in modern and contemporary literature;
- interviews with writers and publishers of avant-garde, experimental, and/or independent literature.
As of Autumn 2023, we no longer accept nonfiction via Submittable. All nonfiction should be submitted to the editors as emailed pitches; please see our guide to pitching before doing so. We look for pitches clearly defined, original arguments, especially arguments that pay close attention to literary form.
If you would like to submit a completed draft, you are welcome to do so via email, but please include a brief summary (200–300 words) in the body of the email outlining the topic, aims, and stakes of your piece and explaining why you think it could be a good fit for us.
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. Accordingly, all nonfiction published by 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.