SUBMITTING TO CHICAGO REVIEW

The editors welcome submissions of unpublished poetry, fiction, and book reviews. (Please query before sending longer nonfiction.) We strongly recommend that authors familiarize themselves with recent issues of Chicago Review before submitting. Submissions that demonstrate familiarity with the journal tend to receive more attention than those that appear to be part of a carpet-bombing campaign.

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Guidelines for submission:

* All submissions must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage or International Reply Coupons for notification (or return of manuscript if desired).

* Address submissions to the appropriate genre editor: Poetry, Fiction, or Book Review.

* Simultaneous submissions are strongly discouraged.

* Due to the increasing volume of unsolicited submissions, the average response time is three to six months; it is especially slow during the summer.

* Contributors receive three copies of the issue in which their work appears, plus a one-year subscription.

* We do not accept submissions by e-mail or fax. Unsolicited electronic submissions are deleted unread.

* Please e-mail the editors with any questions.

POETRY

* While there are no strict length requirements, the poetry editors prefer to read at least three pages of poetry.  Please remember to include a cover letter.

FICTION

* Chicago Review does not generally publish pieces over 5000 words; please query before sending longer pieces.

* Please do not submit more than two stories per year for consideration.

NONFICTION

* Chicago Review accepts reviews of varying lengths: from notes (150 – 500 words) to regular book reviews (500 – 1200 words) to review essays (1200 – 6000 words). Reviewers should consult back issues of Chicago Review for examples. Please query before submitting review essays.

* Reviewers should consider CR’s audience: what contextual information will they need and/or expect? It is often helpful, for example, to discuss where the author or book fits in the contemporary scene and/or in literary history. Helpful, too, are considerations of how the author’s book relates to her other books.

* CR occasionally publishes reviews as a form of advocacy—especially for small presses and underappreciated writers—but we don’t publish extended blurbs. We expect that reviewers will evaluate, quote, and contextualize the material under review. Reviewers should be critical—and justify their criticism.

* Please include citations—including page numbers. We will format your review if accepted.


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