Call for Submissions: Marathon Literary Journal

We have two reading periods: Sept. 30-Nov. 30 for our winter issue and Jan. 31-April 30 for our spring issue.

Guidelines: 

• All work must be previously unpublished.

• Simultaneous submissions are okay as long as you notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere.

• No multiple submissions in the same genre. If you submit more than once in the same genre during a reading period we will not read your work. Submitting to more than one genre during a reading period is okay as long as it’s only one submission per genre.

• Please include a short, third-person bio with your submission.

If your piece is accepted: If your work is accepted by Marathon Literary Review, you agree to grant us First North American Serial Rights, electronic promotional, nonexclusive anthology and all archival rights. Upon publication, all rights revert back to the author. If your piece is reprinted elsewhere (whether in print or online), please cite Marathon Literary Review as first publisher.

We reserve the right to make edits and formatting adjustments to pieces and author bios.

The Basics (again) Please read carefully. Submissions that have ignored the guidelines will automatically be rejected.

• Use our online submissions system to submit your work (in one attachment). The link is available at the end of this page.

• We do not accept snail mail or email submissions.

• Please only submit once per genre per reading period; multiple submissions in the same genre during the same reading period will not be read.

• Do not resubmit your piece after you have already submitted it. If you have made edits to your piece or need to change something, you will need to withdraw your submission and submit again during our next reading period.

• Please use standard fonts in size 12pt.

• Please include a brief bio with your submission written in third person along with your preferred pronouns.

• Follow the additional genre-specific guidelines below.

Fiction & Flash Fiction

Please send one piece of fiction no longer than 8,000 words or 3 pieces of flash fiction no longer than 5,000 words total. Please single space your document and use block-style (no indentations before paragraphs) formatting. This is the format we use on our site and it saves us a lot of time when you send your work in this format. See our latest fiction pieces if you’re not clear on what we mean.

Photos/Artwork/Multimedia

We are interested in video poetry and interactive, multimedia pieces as well as photography and art we can use throughout our issue. Send a link to your work or up to three files. Please include a Word document that contains:

1. A link to your work (if you have one).

2. A short paragraph about each piece, including the title, the inspiration behind it or anything else you think we should know.

Poetry

Please submit up to three poems (in one attachment) totaling no more than 8 pages. Please watch formatting. Because we are an online journal our content management system does not like fancy formatting. We will try our best to keep your piece as it is, but may have to make adjustments.

Nonfiction

Please send one piece, no longer than 8,000 words.

Creative Nonfiction

Submissions may take the form of memoir, lyric essay, personal reportage or similar pieces that combine the literary techniques of creative writing and the factual accuracy of nonfiction. Please send one piece, no longer than 8,000 words. Please single space your document and use block-style (no indentations before paragraphs) formatting. We may need to make adjustments in pieces that have more creative formatting.

Ready to Submit?

Submit using our online form