What The Worcester Review Publishes
We publish literary fiction and poetry by new and established writers, as well as critical commentary on aspects of Central Massachusetts literary culture and history.
For Volume 44 (expected publication fall 2023), The Worcester Review is pleased to announce its first call for flash fiction.
We welcome and encourage contributions from under-represented writers.
Submissions Periods:
Please note the change to our submissions period for Volume 44.
POETRY:
August 1, 2022 - November 30, 2022
FICTION:
August 2022 (Flash only!) and October 2022 (Flash welcome; longer fiction TBD)
Submission Guidelines for Volume 44:
POETRY: 3 to 5 poems in one document, 7 pages maximum. Please begin each poem on a new page.
FLASH FICTION: 1200 words total per submission; any number of pieces accepted, so long as the total word count does not exceed 1200. Please begin each piece on a new page, and include word count and title for each piece.
CRITICAL WORK: By solicitation only.
Accepted work, rights and payment: The Worcester Review reserves First Publication Rights for all submissions chosen for publication. Accepted work will appear in the print journal and may appear on The Worcester Review's website and in the online archives. Payment will be two copies upon publication (or one copy, if shipping internationally) and a small honorarium. In recent years, the honorarium was $20 for each writer.
Please include a three-sentence, third-person biography with your cover letter.
Please submit only once per issue reading period. Additional submissions will be declined unread. We accept submissions via Submittable. We do not read mailed submissions, except from incarcerated persons.
Past contributors: Please wait one year after the publication of the issue that includes your work before submitting again. For example, if your work appears in the 2022 issue of TWR, please do not submit until 2023.
Fees: $3 per submission in Submittable.
- TWR offers a waived-fee option for BIPOC writers.
- TWR does not want to miss out on submissions from any writer; if our submission fee is a barrier for you, please email the editor.
Simultaneous submissions: Encouraged! Our response time ranges from one to six months. Please promptly withdraw any submissions that find homes elsewhere. If you have a partial withdrawal (one poem or flash piece out of a batch, for example) please leave us a note in Submittable's "Messages" tab.
Accepted work, rights and payment: The Worcester Review reserves First Publication Rights for all submissions chosen for publication. Accepted work will appear in the print journal and may appear on The Worcester Review's website and in the online archives. Payment will be two copies upon publication (or one copy, if shipping internationally) and a small honorarium. In recent years, the honorarium was $20 for each writer.
Accepted work, formatting: For our in-house style guidelines, please read this page. This formatting is *not* required for submitters.
Accessibility: If any of Submittable's features are not accessible to you, please email the editor.
To support The Worcester Review, you can become a member of The Worcester County Poetry association or make a donation directly to our endowment. Donations can be made through the WCPA office (PO Box 804, Worcester, MA 01613) or with the Greater Worcester Community Foundation (370 Main Street, Suite 650, Worcester, MA 01608-1738).
