Call for Submissions: The Maine Review

*We're opening two weeks early for FREE submissions!*

Mainers help each other out during the harsh winters. In the spirit of our home state, we're offering no-fee submissions from December 15th-31st, 2019. We hope this helps encourage you to send your work our way. There are tip-jar options if you'd like to help out The Maine Review in return.

Regular submissions will open January 1, 2020.

What we’re looking for:
Send us writing that you’re most excited about. Send us work that took courage to begin and tenacity to complete. Send us your proudest personal essay, your classic short story, your reboot of the villanelle, or your weirdest experimental text. Send us your flash fiction or nonfiction. Send your epistle, erasure, hybrid, prose poem, or micro memoir. Send us the story of your life lived in your body. Whatever you send our way, be sure you’ve read your work and our guidelines with care.

What we’re NOT looking for:
We will not publish work that glorifies xenophobia, racism, homophobia, ageism, classism, sexism, religious prejudice, ableism, or that normalizes hatred of any marginalized group or individual, though submitted work may thoughtfully consider subjects of discrimination.

General Guidelines:
We accept submissions only through Submittable. Submissions must be previously unpublished in print and on the Internet. We encourage simultaneous submissions but ask that you withdraw your submission immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. If part of a submission must be withdrawn, please notify the genre editor by making a note on your submission in Submittable. We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, and other awards.

We encourage submissions from writers of all backgrounds, including but not limited to LGBTQIA+ writers, writers of color, women writers, previously unpublished writers, writers with disabilities, and international writers.

We read all submissions anonymously. No personal information (such as name, email, social media handles, etc.) should appear on your submission, in the title field, or file name. Submissions with identifying personal information will be returned unread. We understand that nonfiction submissions sometimes contain the writer’s name and ask that you use your best judgment in these circumstances. A placeholder, such as “[Writer’s Name]” is acceptable.

We enjoy cover letters and ask that you submit yours addressed to the appropriate genre editor/s and reader group. Please submit only once per submission period. If your work is accepted for publication, please wait until the following calendar year to submit again.

Writer Payment:
Fiction and Nonfiction writers will receive a $25 honorarium per published flash (1,000 words or fewer) and a $50 honorarium for work 1,001 words or more. 
Poets will receive a $25 honorarium per published poem.