Submissions are open for fiction, nonfiction, art & photography, translation and graphic narratives!
Poetry submissions are closed until Jan 15 while we catch up on reading.
Deadline for all other submissions: May 15, 2023
We are especially interested in writers and artists working near the artistic frontier of American literature; writers who have previously been rejected by mainstream for-profit publications such as The New Yorker, Harper’s, or The Atlantic are especially encouraged to submit their work.
If you want a bit more guidance on what we’re looking to publish, follow us on Instagram.
What will Northwest Review look to publish?
We want to expand the frontier of American literature. What does that mean, exactly? Insofar that literary boundaries exist, we want you to break them. If, in your mind as a writer, you hear a voice saying, don’t break that rule, that is the rule you should break. We are eager to read works that are formally inventive, experimental in voice or form; we want to read work from writers of marginalized communities and voices. We want to read work from writers who have never been published; we want to read work from Nobel Prize winners still trying to reach that literary nightcap of a decades-long career.
Translation
The art of translation provides a critical avenue into new literary forms and psychological landscapes: if you are a translator working on an original work in a non-English language, we want to see it. If you would like to study the art of translation, consider our publisher’s interview with the legendary translator Gregory Rabassa, who translated One Hundred Years of Solitude and Hopscotch into English, to get a clear idea on how to pursue life as a translator. Once you’re ready, submit your translation here.
Poetry
We reject the notion that any guidance can be given about poetry. However, if you desire specifics:
We seek poetry that is singular in both its vision and voice, regardless of form, style, or content. You are invited to submit between 3 to 5 unpublished poems. If you are working on longer or book-length projects, feel free to submit an excerpt up to 5 pages. Before sharing your work with us, please familiarize yourself with recent issues of NWR.
Poetry submissions are closed until Jan 15 while we catch up on reading.
Fiction
We would encourage writers of fiction to read The Art of Fiction with Ralph Ellison. Ellison provides invaluable guidance on life as a writer. For submissions, there are no restrictions on content or style or word-count, but we will read more favorably stories that are submitted in a clean, publishable format. Editors are most familiar reading work in Times, Georgia, Calibri, Arial, or other readable fonts, double-spaced. Please be sure to include page numbers. Submit your fiction here.
Nonfiction
We welcome submissions of literary criticism, book reviews of current or forthcoming titles, personal essays, and creative non-fiction. For essays and criticism, try to stay within 5,000 words if possible. Book reviews can usually succeed within 1,000 words or less. And for creative non-fiction, allow your story to dictate the length, while keeping in mind that the shorter the work the more space we’ll have for it. Submit your nonfiction here.
Interviews
If you want to interview an artist, writer, musician, sculptor, you-name-it whose work you admire, let us know! If, for instance, you had the good fortune to study with a creative writing professor whose work you admire, consider asking that professor 10 or more questions, transcribing them, and submitting the exchange as an interview. Follow the format of this interview with New York Times best-seller Lauren Groff. Send us an email at editor@nwreview.org if you’d like to pitch an interview.
Art and Photography
We are looking for formally inventive black-and-white illustrative portraits. Think of this as a hand-drawn, or hand-painted sketch of someone in black and white; label it if you feel like a word or two adds to the beauty of your drawing; we’d like to include as many instances of visual self-expression along with written forms of literature as well. This is not a photographic selfie; think Morisot, Manet, Picasso, Krasner, DeKooning; draw someone who inspires you. Additionally we’d love to see your black and white photography that is: experimental in technique, environmental in spirit, but also anything that raises a gigantic middle finger to the global capitalist industrial military complex and says ENOUGH. Submit your artwork and photography here.
Graphic Narrative
We are open to graphic narratives, comics, or other works that blur the line between illustration and narrative. Think Persepolis, Habibi, Maus. Send it over by submitting here.
