Our reading periods are May 1 to August 1 for Fall and October 1 to January 1 for Spring. To submit, please use our online submission form.

Fiction

We are looking for thoughtful, earnest fiction. We like stories that make the ordinary unfamiliar, that introduce us to new ways of seeing and being in the world, stories that move us without aiming for stock reactions. We’re interested in the inner lives of characters: their intimate challenges and relationships, and whatever these struggles might say about larger issues or ideas.

• Submissions should be short fiction or novel excerpts between 2,000 to 9,000 words.
• We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• Submissions should be in .RTF format.
• Please be sure to provide your name and email address on the first page.

Because we’re confident that more good fiction is being written today than is being published, we especially encourage submissions from emerging and previously unpublished writers.

Sorry, but we’re not interested in erotica, horror, romance, inspirational, or other genre fiction. That said, literary fiction that plays with generic conventions is welcome.

Sometimes, people ask us for the names of writers we like. Here are some (in no particular order): Maile Meloy, Miranda July, George Saunders, Mary Gaitskill, Wells Tower, Joshua Ferris, ZZ Packer, Gary Shteyngart, Jim Shepard, Margaret Atwood, Tom Perrotta, Alice Munro, Gish Jen, William Trevor, Anton Chekhov.

Visual Art

We typically publish work by two artists per issue.

• Photography submissions should be taken within the past 12 months and entries can be a single image or a series.
• Photo series submissions are limited to 5 photos. Art and photos must include a title and be saved in JPG format at 300dpi or greater. Large images work best (ideally, at least 800px on the shortest side); making images larger can pixelate them, but we can always make them smaller.
• File names must include the artist’s name and title of the work – for example, JohnSmith_Apples.jpg.

Please no fantasy art.

Poetry

What is the purpose of Poetry? For us, the purpose is to create an experience that changes the state of the reader whether through thoughtful analysis or down and dirty provocation. We prefer poetry that is written in common language but that elevates the language used.

• Please submit at most 4 poems, with a maximum length of 4 pages. If you send in a 4 page poem, please understand that we can only accept one poem of that length per poet.
• We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• Submissions should be in .RTF format.
• Please be sure to provide your name and email address on the first page.

Sometimes, people ask us for the names of poets we like. Here are some (in no particular order): John Ashbery, Ted Berrigan, John Berryman, Anne Carson, William Carlos Williams, T.S. Elliot, Naomi Shihab Nye, Louise Glück, Matthea Harvey, Larry Levis, Bernadette Mayer, Jack Spicer, James Tate, C.D. Wright, Dean Young, Rainer Maria Rilke, Franz Wright, Mark Strand, Wallace Stevens, Elizabeth Bishop, Charles Simic.

Nonfiction

We are looking for creative nonfiction pieces that introduce readers to new perspectives and ideas, works that challenge the reader’s assumptions about the world, either through unique ways of looking at the ordinary, or through introductions to the unfamiliar and extraordinary.

We like prose that communicates complex ideas in nuanced and accessible ways, but discourage the submission of formal, academic pieces; think The Believer or N+1 rather than PMLA or Critical Inquiry. Memoir, essay, profile, book excerpts and creative journalism are all of interest.

• Submissions should generally be between 2,000 to 9,000 words.
• We do not accept simultaneous submissions of nonfiction.
• Submissions should be in .RTF format; please be sure to provide your name and email address on the first page

You may wish to contact us (nonfiction@pdrjournal.org) with a query before beginning work on a nonfiction piece intended for the magazine.