Submit

Submissions should be uploaded to Submittable as a Word doc (or other, if applicable). UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, SUBMIT ALL PIECES OF A SPECIFIC GENRE AS A SINGLE SUBMISSION (for example, don’t send in three fiction pieces as three different submissions). The title of the submission and file should be:

[Name] – [Category]

If there are any questions or comments, feel free to email us at info@thebookendsreview.com. Also, note that every piece published here, including our own, goes through a voting process and may be accepted or rejected. We published based on quality, not favoritism or ego. If you agree to acceptance, you are granting us permission to post your work on this website, as well as include it in potential print editions (such as yearly anthologies). Feel free to submit previously published work, too, but please let us know ahead of time where and when the piece(s) was/were featured. Finally, if your submission is accepted, we will contact you for a bio. Please report your submission experience at Duotrope, too.

Finally, we offer two open reading periods:

May 1st – August 31st
December 1st – January 31st

Submissions sent outside of those time frames will not be considered. Also, please be aware that once we reach our allotted amount of submissions for a given month (200), you will be unable to submit until the start of the following month (which is why you may see a notification about us not being open to submissions at the top of this page). We apologize for this inconvenience and hope that you will consider submitting your work when the subsequent month starts.

Basically, we’re looking for good creative and/or intellectual work. Sounds simple enough, right? We’re very open about the kinds of work we’re looking for; really, the only broad requirement is that we feel something from your submission(s). If it makes us cry, wonderful! If it makes us laugh or think, also wonderful! If it makes us scratch our heads and wonder why you submitted it, well, we have a problem. In terms of objectionable material (to use a euphemism), all we ask is that your content is justified. Artistic merit means open interpretation and free expression, so if you feel that the language/situations/imagery/etc is warranted and essential, go for it! Just don’t put anything in there for shock value. Finally, we will do our best to get back to you regarding your submissions ASAP (after all, we’re artists too, and we hate playing the waiting game with our work).

Features – (Up to 3,000 words each) Basically, this is any written piece that doesn’t classify under another section. For instance:

– Did you interview an established writer/musician/visual artist?
– Did you write an expository piece related to these fields (such as a book recommendation)?
– Do you have a personal opinion/story to share?
– How about a ranked list of something creative that’s close to your heart (such as this)?
– Outside of creative fields, is there a piece you wrote relating to the world around us (political, sexual, racial, religious, etc)?

If so, send it in! Submit up to 3 in any combination.

Creative Nonfiction – (up to 3,000 words each) If you add a bit of falsehood to a true story, it goes here. Submit up to 3 pieces.

Fiction – Self-explanatory, right? Just specify what classification and genres/emotions fit it best. Submit up to 3 pieces.

  • Flash Fiction: 0 – 1,000 words
  • Short Story: 1,001 – 3,000 words

Poetry – Self-explanatory, right? Sometimes there is a fine line between fiction and prose poetry, though, so if you think it fits the latter category, specify it; otherwise, we may file it incorrectly. Submit up to 5 pieces (across two submissions, if needed)!

  • Prose Poetry: 0 – 2,000 words
  • Standard Poetry: No Line Limits

Multimedia – Are you creative outside of writing? Show us what you’ve got! Just remember that all pieces must be original (why would you want to take credit for someone else’s work?). Music and Video are obvious; as for Art, if you took a picture (even if it’s altered), it’s photography. If you created something, it’s digital/traditional (drawn). In the case that there is a fine line between categories, we’ll make a final decision. Note: You can split your pieces across two submissions if needed!

  • Art – 5 pieces
  • Music – 5 pieces at 10 minutes or less.
  • Video – 5 pieces at 10 minutes or less.

Of course, we encourage you to check out our 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 print anthologies; after all, they’re a great way to help support us, get a sense of what we like, and receive a stellar collection of poetry and fiction at a very low price! Also, please like/follow us on Facebook and Twitter 🙂