The Florida Review welcomes submissions from both emerging and established writers and artists. Please submit no more than one piece of fiction, nonfiction, graphic narrative, review, or digital story at a time. Poets and visual artists may submit up to (but no more than) five poems or artworks as a single submission.
Please carefully review our submission categories, as they are numerous. Make sure to choose the one you intend: for one of our contests, for the print issue of The Florida Review, or for Aquifer: The Florida Review Online. Submit your manuscript and cover letter using the appropriate link. (You will also find genre-specific guidelines in each link. Please note that your work will only be considered in the genre to which it's been submitted. Submissions in our general categories will NOT be considered as contest submissions, even if the contest is referenced in your cover letter.)
We strive to respond in 6 months, though sometimes our review takes longer.
For more information about submissions, please see our website.
We no longer accept general submissions via USPS mail. (We do, however, continue to accept visual art, chapbook, and contest submissions via USPS mail, as well as from those without internet access, such as currently incarcerated people.)
We ask that contributors to The Florida Review wait to submit again for two years (or four issues), since the issue in which their work appeared. For Aquifer, we ask contributors wait two years from the date of online publication before submitting again.
You may add a subscription at the time of your submission at a special submitter discount price. If you wish to subscribe to The Florida Review without submitting, please visit us here.
All contributors to the print journal receive two copies of the issue in which their work appears.
Open through April 15, 2023. Please note that we receive numerous submissions and the contest may not be judged until spring or summer 2023. Submission fee includes a one-year subscription to The Florida Review valued at $20.
Winner receives publication and $1,000 prize. All entries considered for publication. Winners will be announced in early fall on The Florida Review Website and Social Media and will be published the following spring. Entry fee includes one-year subscription that begins with the issue in which the winning works will appear.
Please limit each submission to 6000 words. One story per entry, but multiple individual entries by a writer in any category or combination of categories are considered. Simultaneous submissions allowed if work is withdrawn immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. This is a blind read contest--please have title only on the manuscript (no author name or other identifying information).
Open through April 15, 2023. Please note that we receive numerous submissions and the contest may not be judged until spring or summer 2023. Submission fee includes a one-year subscription to The Florida Review valued at $20.
Winner receives publication and $1,000 prize. All entries considered for publication. Winners will be announced in early fall on The Florida Review Website and Social Media and will be published the following spring. Entry fee includes one-year subscription that begins with the issue in which the winning works will appear.
Please limit each submission to 6000 words. One essay per entry, but multiple individual entries by a writer in any category or combination of categories are considered. Simultaneous submissions allowed if work is withdrawn immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. This is a blind read contest--please have title only on the manuscript (no author name or other identifying information).
Open through April 15, 2023. Please note that we receive numerous submissions and the contest may not be judged until spring or summer 2023. Submission fee includes a one-year subscription to The Florida Review valued at $20.
Winner receives publication and $1,000 prize. All entries considered for publication. Winners will be announced in early fall on The Florida Review Website and Social Media and will be published the following spring. Entry fee includes one-year subscription that begins with the issue in which the winning works will appear.
Up to 5 poems per entry, and individual multiple entries in any category or combination of categories are OK. Simultaneous submissions allowed if work is withdrawn immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. This is a blind read contest--please have title only on the manuscript (no author name or other identifying information).
experimental to minimalist to psychologically-nuanced realism. We have
published flash fiction, short-shorts, and very long, sustained
narratives. There's no set page limit, but a novella or story over 21
pages would need to be exceptionally strong to merit so many pages in an
issue.
Novel excerpts will be considered only if they work as stand-alone pieces.
Please
note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription
to our print magazine with this submission. You will receive a discounted submitter rate of
$18.00 for a 1-year subscription (normally $20.00). You might want to consider this a
discount on your submission--as a subscriber, you will now be given one Aquifer submission for free. It's a damn good deal either way!
We consider literary fiction that takes many different approaches, from experimental to minimalist to psychologically-nuanced realism. We have published flash fiction, short-shorts, and very long, sustained narratives. There's no set page limit, but a novella or story over 21 pages would need to be exceptionally strong to merit so many pages in an issue.
Novel excerpts will be considered only if they work as stand-alone pieces.
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. You will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription). Or you might want to consider this a discount to our subscribers on submissions, meaning that our submission fee drops to $1.00 for subscribers. It's a damn good deal either way!
personal essay, to memoir, to literary journalism, to lyric essays. We
read short shorts as well as substantially longer work. There isn't a
page limit per se, but a manuscript over 21 pages would have to be
especially good to merit so much space in an issue. Please do not submit
book reviews or interviews in this category. We don't consider
scholarly articles, reportage, opinion pieces, or the like.
Please
note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription
to our print magazine with this submission. You will receive a
discounted submitter rate of
$18.00 for a 1-year subscription (normally $20.00). You might want to
consider this a
discount on your submission--as a subscriber, you will now be given one
Aquifer submission for free. It's a damn good deal either way!
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. You will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription). Or you might want to consider this a discount to our subscribers on submissions, meaning that our submission fee drops to $1.00 for subscribers. It's a damn good deal either way!
emotions, and insight. We'll consider formal verse and highly
experimental works, but prefer poetry in which form is secondary to
content. Poets may submit 1 to 5 poems per submission.
Please
note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription
to our print magazine with this submission. You will receive a
discounted submitter rate of
$18.00 for a 1-year subscription (normally $20.00). You might want to
consider this a
discount on your submission--as a subscriber, you will now be given one
Aquifer submission for free. It's a damn good deal either way!
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a
subscription to this submission. You will receive a discounted submitter
rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription). Or you might want to
consider this a discount to our subscribers on submissions, meaning that
our submission fee drops to $1.00 for subscribers. It's a damn good deal either way!
The Florida Review has a tradition of recognizing new art forms--we were one of the first literary magazines to publish graphic narrative, and, before that, to open our pages to creative nonfiction. Now we would like to recognize that digital stories are an art form as well and publish some of the best in our new web magazine, Aquifer: The Florida Review Online.
Submit digital stories, both interactive and non-interactive, for consideration. For digital stories in a linear format, we are looking for 3-5 minute digital stories that combine images, voiceover narration, and, as appropriate, music, sound effects, and/or video. Compelling personal narratives concerning a variety of topics will be considered for online publication. While it is fine if these digital stories come out particular coursework or projects, please make sure they are revised for a general audience. We seek work that speaks beyond a particular course context and resonate with wider audiences. Digital stories should be submitted in .MP4 or .MOV format, and authors should include a title screen that lists story title and full author name, as well as a credits screen at the end that lists all image and other content sources unless they are the property of the storyteller (for example, personal photographs). In addition, here you should list any course or project for which the story was originally created.
For interactive digital stories, we can publish interactive narratives that publish to the Web, such as those written using Inklewriter, Twine, etc. These stories can be fictional or non-fictional. Please submit the Web link for the story if submitting an interactive narrative for consideration (either within Submittable or within the body of an email sent to Natalie.Underberg-Goode@ucf.edu). Re-publishing is possible with permission of the original publisher (if applicable).
Please ensure that you have the right to use and share online all digital story content before submitting. Please note that before publishing any work, we will ask for a signed publication agreement that confirms you have acquired permission for use of any visual, auditory, or other work not your own included in your digital story, and that you accept full responsibility for doing so.
We charge a minimal submission fee in order to support the technical aspects of our online publication and to help us maintain a high level of quality submissions. We know that in an ideal world artists and writers would be the only ones getting paid, but we can't operate without our submitters' and suscribers' support. We hope that, in return, we will give our artists and writers much-deserved recognition, excellent artistic company, and a gateway to further opportunities.
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to our print magazine to this submission. You will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription). Or you might want to consider this a discount to our subscribers on submissions, meaning that our submission fee drops to zero for print subscribers. It's a damn good deal either way!
Submissions should be experimental works of film or video that are 10
minutes or less and utilize moving images as a means to poetic
expression, formal exploration, or abstract and open-ended narratives.
Compelling, personal works that push the boundaries of cinematic
convention will also be considered for publication.
Submit film or video works as Vimeo or YouTube links and include
any passwords required for viewing. Works accepted for publication will
require an .MP4 or .MOV file that will be uploaded and hosted on Aquifer’s YouTube channel long term.
There are no requirements for year of completion or premiere status, but please note these videos will be available to the public online for an extended period of time. We
recommend entries be works that have completed any intended festival
screenings and do not have plans for future distribution.
Please ensure that you have the right to use and share all film and
video content before submitting. Please note that before publishing any
work, we will ask for a signed publication agreement that confirms you
have acquired permission for use of any visual, auditory, or other work
not your own included in your film or video, and that you accept full
responsibility for doing so.
Aquifer: The Florida Review Online is now accepting submissions of author interviews. Guidelines:
* The author should have at least one full-length book published by a reputable publisher.
* The interview should follow the format on our website. Please note that we can't reformat your interview for you. Please do look at examples on our website.
* We generally publish interviews that run 3,000 to 5,000 words. It's not that we automatically reject anything longer, but please make sure that your interview is shaped and edited, not just a transcription of a long and lovely chat that you had. Interviews should have focus, purpose, and concision.
* You will need to attest to the fact that you have permission from the interviewee to publish the interview and that the author approves the written content. Sometimes we say things in a conversation that we don't want to see online in print. Make sure that your author is happy with the interview in writing. Please provide us with contact information for the author so that we will be able to send the link to the interview once it is published.
* We often like to run a photo of the author along with the interview, so it would be beneficial to indicate in your cover letter whether you could acquire one from the author (and/or provide us with that contact information).
The Florida Review seeks reviews of recent full-length books, especially those published by small literary and university presses. Length: 500-1000 words. Books should have been published in the past two years, and we greatly prefer reviews of full-length books rather than chapbooks.
We also are looking for essay-like reviews in which the reviewer contemplates 2 to 5 books, providing readers with a sense of the merits and focus of each of the books as well as putting those books in conversation with each other, their subject, and/or some aspect of contemporary writing or culture. Length: Up to 4,500 words.
Please note that we do not review books that are self-published. We also seldom publish reviews of books of biography, history, natural sciences, or other reference topics. We are looking for reviews of books with literary merit that might otherwise not receive the attention they deserve.
As of 2017, we will be publishing all our book reviews in Aquifer: The Florida Review Online, where they will be accessible to a widespread audience. Longer review essays will be considered for publication in either print or online.
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. You will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription). Or you might want to consider this a discount to our subscribers on submissions, meaning that our submission fee in this category drops to zero for subscribers. It's a damn good deal either way!
We consider graphic narrative submissions for publication both in The Florida Review print magazine and Aquifer: The Florida Review Online. We like to consider them all together so that we can think about which medium would work best for the art and text in each individual comic. If we contact you with an acceptance, we will discuss your preference, and/or you may indicate that in your cover letter.
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. You will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription). Or you might want to consider this a discount to our subscribers on submissions, meaning that our submission fee drops to $1.00 for subscribers. It's a damn good deal either way!