General Submissions Guidelines:
Literary Matters accepts submissions from both members and non-members of the ALSCW. Current ALSCW members in good standing may submit for free. Non-members pay a $3 fee when submitting work. If you are not a current member of the ALSCW but would like to become one, you may apply by following the instructions here.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know if a piece has been accepted elsewhere and should no longer be considered for publication. Literary Matters does not publish reprints.
Literary Matters does not publish work that has been generated or assisted by AI (artificial intelligence) or LLMs (large language models). We are interested in the creative and inventive potential of the human mind, not what an algorithm generates.
For writers based in the United States, we are able to pay a small honorarium for each piece we publish. Contributors receive $50 per poem/translation/essay/story and $30 per review/review essay.
Submissions to Literary Matters are accepted between September 1st and December 1st and between February 1st and May 1st. Please submit via our Submittable page: https://literarymatters.submittable.com/submit
All submissions should include a title and a brief cover letter (approximately 150 words).
Submissions Guidelines for Non-Fiction (Book Reviews / Critical Essays / Memoir):
We are interested in critical essays on literature and/or literary culture of no more than 6000 words. Subjects can be wide-ranging, from well-written close readings of classic texts or writers to explorations of more experimental literary trends, forms, or writers. The tone and style of critical essays should be suited toward literature readers and enthusiasts, not necessarily period or discipline experts. LM has a diverse readership, and so essays that are generally more public-facing and avoid discipline-specific jargon are preferred. This preference is also practical; since LM is entirely an online publication, avoiding excessive footnote usage makes for a smoother reading experience.
Book reviews should range in length from 1,500-3,500 words and discuss either critical or creative texts published within the last year.
If you are submitting a review, below the title please include the book’s title, the author’s name, and the press, year of publication, page count, and price, as below:
Book
by X. Y. Z
(ABC Press, 2021, 100 pp. $25)
Submissions Guidelines for Poetry:
We are interested in poems that are justified by the beauty or argument of their expression. Poems that recognize form not only as a scaffold for content, but rather as a kind of content in itself. Poems that respond to the strangeness of experience with their own, interior strangeness.
We are neither interested in chopped-up prose, nor prosaic verse. We believe that every good poem is as radical an act as it can be: Poetry, by its definition, is already experimental.
Submissions Guidelines for Fiction:
Fiction submissions should total no more than 25 pages with 1.15 spacing
We are fairly picky about short fiction; while we aim to include poetry, translations, and reviews in each issue, it has been some time since LM has published a fiction piece. That said, we are very much open to doing so, and are interested in fiction that engages a lyric or experimental voice, and surprises without relying solely on shock value to do so.
Submissions Guidelines for Translations:
We are interested in poetic translations which strive to bring not only the meanings but approximations of the original forms of poems into English. Metrical poetry and translations are strongly preferred, and translations of poetry from underrepresented languages and time periods are encouraged. We love poetic originals which are serious, bold, and intellectually rigorous, which strive for existential and spiritual profundity. Light verse, romantic love poetry, confessional poetry, or any poetry which could be characterized as sentimental, self-obsessed, histrionic, obscure, quotidian, or unambitious is discouraged.
Submit 2-5 translated poems in one file. Submissions of translated poems should not exceed 15 pages total. If you are submitting a translation of a work not in the public domain, please include with your submission verification that you have the right to publish a translation of the work. Translators should also include the text of the original poem in the file with each translation.