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Looking to submit? We accept the following items. We read during the University of Northern Iowa's academic year, and we close during most university breaks.

Fiction

• Submit one short story up to 10,000 words or two short-short stories (flash), up to 1,500 words each
• Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize is open August 1-November 1
• General Fiction open: November 2-May 1
• General Fiction closed: May 2-November 1

Nonfiction

• Submit one essay, up to 10,000 words or two flash essays, up to 1,500 words each
• Terry Tempest Williams Creative Nonfiction Prize is open January 1-April 1
• General Nonfiction open: April 2-November 30
• General Nonfiction closed: December 1-April 1

Poetry

• Submit up to five poems per submission
• James Hearst Poetry Prize is open August 1-November 1
• General Poetry open: November 2-May 1
• General Poetry closed: May 2-November 1

Visual Art

• We accept visual art submissions year-round
• Please do not submit more than once, and wait to resubmit until your first submission has been responded to
• We reserve the right to automatically decline multiple submissions
• We allow only one attachment, so submit several pieces for review in one submission
• Place all images into a single PDF file

Book Reviews

• We accept book reviews year-round
• Submit one review per entry, up to 1,200 words
• We will prioritize material from NAR contributors and marginalized voices
• Please include link to press for item reviewed.

About Submitting

The North American Review is the oldest literary magazine in America (founded in 1815) and one of the most respected. We are interested in high-quality poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on any subject; however, we are especially interested in work that addresses contemporary North American concerns and issues, particularly with the environment, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and class. 

We like stories that start quickly and have a strong narrative arc. Poems that are passionate about subject, language, and image are welcome, whether they are traditional or experimental, whether in formal or free verse (closed or open form). We publish all forms of creative nonfiction, from personal narrative to lyric essay to immersive journalism; we appreciate when an essay moves beyond the personal to tell us something new about the world.

Please submit no more than five poems, one short story (up to 10,000 words), two short-short stories (up to 1,500 words each), one essay (up to 10,000 words), or two flash essays, (up to 1,500 words each). We do allow simultaneous submissions, but please access your submission and withdraw it if it is accepted elsewhere. We do not consider previously published material or work currently in press elsewhere. Please do not submit entire novels, collections of poems or stories, or nonfiction books. Current University of Northern Iowa students are not eligible to submit. We do not accept submissions via email. Please contact us first if you need to submit a hard copy by mail. Submission fees still apply. Any manuscripts received in the mail without a submission fee will be discarded. The NAR does not accept submissions of Artificial Intelligence-generated  writing or visual art. We affirm the principles articulated by the Human Artistry Campaign.  Currently, the NAR offers to our contributing writers a copy of the  print issue their work appears in, along with a contributor's discount  for additional copies.

The status of your submission can be checked by logging back into the submission system. We try to report on submissions within five months, but we have a very small staff to read more than ten thousand pieces each year. We do not allow for edits after submitting, instead, please withdraw and resubmit the piece. If your piece is accepted, you will have the opportunity to submit a revised final version at that time. Multiple submissions for contests are allowed, but please wait for a response on general genre submissions before submitting additional work. All submissions are considered for publication for the print magazine or for our online venue Open Space. Should your piece be accepted, the acceptance message will have a link to the appropriate publication contract. 

We ask for first North American serial rights only. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication. Acceptance may be for our print issues or online. Contact us at nar@uni.edu with questions.