Reading Periods:
- Jan 1-March 31: reading for Summer Issue (July 15th release)
- April 1-June 30: reading for Autumn Issue (October 15th release)
- July 1-Sept 30: reading for Winter Issue (January 15th release)
- Oct 1-Dec 31: reading for Spring Issue (April 15th release)
If you currently are or anticipate becoming a regular submitter, our Patreon offers perks that will benefit you.
If you are looking for chapbooks, staff applications, or another category you don't see below, it is likely on our Auxiliary Submittable.
General Information
- Unpublished work only. We only accept unpublished work that has not appeared in any publicly-accessible form previously, including online. NOTE: art and photography submissions may have previously been presented online, but are eligible for publication if they have not been featured in another magazine, website, or venue besides an artist's portfolio or webpage. Work that is contracted to be published is considered published. Do not submit work from a volume that has been contracted with a publisher.
- We do not accept submissions of AI-generated work. If a submission is sent to us claiming to be author work but then discovered or identified as AI-generated, it will be rejected and the author no longer welcome to submit in the future. We reserve the right to withdraw acceptances from any work found to be AI-generated, even if after publication. Such work will be removed from our online platform and all print editions.
- Language: English. We welcome written works that engage culture through languages other than English if the majority of the piece is in English. We do not publish translations in any form. Epigraphs in other languages are fine as long as the piece provides a translation or sufficient context to appreciate the text.
- Countries of origin. Any artist from anywhere in the world may submit.
- Simultaneous submissions are encouraged provided you message us on Submittable if you need to withdraw a piece.
- One active submission per category at a time. We’re excited to read your work, but please let us consider each piece in turn. As long as you have received a reply to your previous submission, you may submit again as often as you wish.
- No re-submissions. Writing is a process, but if we’ve already read and declined a piece as a regular submission OR contest entry, please don’t send us revisions for reconsideration or resubmit unless directly requested.
- Submitting after publication. We ask that artists wait two years from their appearance in the magazine to submit again. This only applies to the magazine; published artists may submit to any of our contests at any time.
- Genre. If you have work that doesn’t fit neatly into the below categories, that doesn’t mean we won’t want to see it. Choose the most appropriate and include a note—we’ll figure it out.
- Titles. Please note that we do not have a title field for submissions and that the system will auto-number your submission. This is no cause for concern.
Our Process
- 30-day turn-around. We notify all artists of their status within 30 days for magazine submissions. If it takes longer, we will refund your submission fee (but still consider your work). Feedback fees are not eligible for refund. We may very well get back to you *very* quickly, and we consider that a sign of respect for your time. Every submission is given a complete read by multiple individuals before we decide. Chapbooks have their own schedule which does not adhere to the 30-day policy.
- Shortlisting: we occasionally shortlist pieces while we make final decisions on an issue's composition. The following policies apply:
- We will respond with a shortlist request within 30 days.
- If the writer paid a submission fee and is shortlisted, we will refund the submission fee.
- If the writer paid for feedback, we will deliver that feedback within 30 days, regardless of shortlist status.
Legal Stuff
- Minimum Age. All those who submit work must be at least 18 years of age.
- Rights and Payment. We purchase First North American Serial, First Anthology rights (for the annual print anthology), and Audio rights (for non-art pieces). Payment is US $120 per piece, delivered on publication. We only issue payments via Paypal.
- We will not publish work that seems to us offensive or which exhibits hatred directed towards a particular gender, race, ethnicity, ability, sexual identity, socioeconomic class, or other status, regardless of whether it is protected by law. If we decline to consider a piece, we will refund in full any submission or feedback fees paid.
- We never solicit written submissions—all come through Submittable. Please do not email us submissions; they will go unread. We do occasionally solicit art submissions, primarily from DeviantArt.
- No staff submissions. No past or present staff member of CHESTNUT REVIEW may have their work appear in the magazine.
If you currently are or anticipate becoming a regular submitter, our Patreon offers perks that will benefit you.
Poetry: Length and format are open. Poems should be single-spaced and all in one document. Begin each poem on a new page, and clearly indicate when a poem extends beyond one page. There are no absolute length limits, but remember that the longer a poem, the better it has to be.
Formatting: our print/online page width is about 55 characters. Poem lines longer than this will need to be reformatted. You do not need to reformat until after acceptance.
Free Submissions: Submit 1-3 poems.
Paid Submissions: Submit up to 6 poems (see below for fee).
Feedback: We offer specific feedback on up to three poems for a small fee (see below). If you are submitting more than three poems but do not specify which ones you'd like feedback on, our staff will select three for which they will provide critique.
Editorial Feedback: We are also offering editorial feedback on your packet of poetry from a Chestnut Review Poetry Editor including a full document markup of three of your poems and a 1-2 paragraph overall response about your work.
Authors who have appeared in the magazine must wait two years before resubmitting in any genre category.
Flash: Submit one piece of up to 1000 words, single-spaced throughout. Include word count(s) in header. Writers may only have one active submission in this category at a time.
Feedback: We offer specific feedback on your work for a small fee.
Editorial Feedback: We are also offering editorial feedback on your work from a Chestnut Review Editor including line and developmental edits and a 1-2 paragraph overall response.
Authors who have appeared in the magazine must wait two years before resubmitting in any genre category.
If you currently are or anticipate becoming a regular submitter, our Patreon offers perks that will benefit you.
Submit one piece between 1000 and 5000 words, single-spaced throughout. Prose submissions can be works of fiction or nonfiction. We do not accept excerpts of longer works.
Feedback: We offer specific feedback on your work for a small fee.
Editorial Feedback: We are also offering editorial feedback on your work from a Chestnut Review Prose Editor including line and developmental edits and a 1-2 paragraph overall response.
Authors who have appeared in the magazine must wait two years before resubmitting in any genre category.
Submit one piece between 1000 and 5000 words, single-spaced throughout. Prose submissions can be works of fiction or nonfiction. We do not accept excerpts of longer works.
Feedback: We offer specific feedback on your work for a small fee.
Editorial Feedback: We are also offering editorial feedback on your work from a Chestnut Review Prose Editor including line and developmental edits and a 1-2 paragraph overall response.
Authors who have appeared in the magazine must wait two years before resubmitting in any genre category.
Visual Art/Photography: Submit up to twenty images, which must be of publishable quality. We encourage, but do not require, illustrative titles to contextualize submitted media. If you work in poetic hybrid forms of image + text, please use this category to submit.
We strongly encourage artists to submit work in groups consisting of a single medium: for example, if you work in photography and watercolor, send us separate submissions of each with a description of your technique/medium/style. (Please adhere to our overall guidelines of one submission at a time, but once you receive a response, feel free to submit more.)
Because we publish in 6x9" format, images in portrait orientation are more easily compatible with our layout as single pages; otherwise, a double page spread is preferred. This decision is solely an editorial one. We do print our yearly anthology in full color.
Art and photography submissions may have previously been presented online, but are eligible for publication if they have not been featured in another magazine, website, or venue besides an artist's portfolio or webpage.
Artists who have appeared in the magazine must wait two years before resubmitting in any genre category.