American Literary Review
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I get my work to the correct editor?
List your genre in brackets in the second line of the
address, i.e.:
American Literary Review
[Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Book Review, Art,
Poetry Contest]
P. O. Box 311307
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas 76203-1307
- How do I find out if my manuscript made it to your office?
We receive thousands of manuscripts a year and do not
always have time to look
up individual submissions. The best way to know if your work arrived is to
include a self-addressed stamped postcard with your submission (in
addition to
the response SASE), and we will drop it in the mail after we have opened and
logged your manuscript.
- Does ALR accept simultaneous submissions?
Yes, but you must indicate that the submission is a simultaneous submission on
the cover letter. Do not send poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in the same envelope.
- Does ALR accept submissions in e-mail?
No. We do not make exceptions.
- How do I withdraw a submission?
Send an e-mail to americanliteraryreview@gmail.com with "Submission Withdrawal" in the subject heading. Give us your name, the name of the work, the genre of the work, and the approximate date you mailed your submission. If you mailed us a postcard and know the log number of your piece, include that information also.
If you are withdrawing one poem out of five, we will only remove the one poem
and still keep the others under consideration unless informed otherwise.
- How does ALR pay its contributors?
We pay 2 copies of the issue we publish the contributor in.
- What is the word limit for submissions?
We do not have a page or word limit for fiction or poetry; however, fiction with fewer than 8,000 words has the best chance of publication.
Creative nonfiction has a word limit of 6,500 words.
- When is your reading period?
October 1 to May 1. We return unread all submissions postmarked during our off period.
- Can my name appear on more than the cover sheet?
For regular submissions: yes.
For contest submissions: no.
- Does ALR accept novels?
No.
- Does ALR accept novel excerpts?
Only if the excerpt works as a stand-alone piece.
- Can I submit more than one entry for your contest?
You must pay the $15 reading fee for each submission, and you may include up to three poems per entry. This will not include extra subscriptions. We only include one subscription per writer, not per entry. Complete Contest Guidelines.
- Do you return manuscripts?
We recycle all manuscripts unless the writer requests that we return the manuscript and provides proper postage on a SASE.
- How do I contact you?
E-mail: americanliteraryreview@gmail.com
Phone: 940-565-2755
- I am a former/current student, staff, or faculty member at the
University of North Texas. May I submit?
No. If you have ever attended or worked at UNT, even if you were not connected with the English Department, you may not submit to the magazine.
- What kind of creative nonfiction do you accept?
Memoir, Personal Essay, Literary Journals, and Experimental Forms.
We do not accept biographies, recipes, news articles, etc.
- When can I expect a response concerning my manuscript?
We receive a large number of submissions, and we read through them as quickly as possible, but this takes time to give each submission full consideration. Response time can range from 3-5 months.
- Thanks for your interest in American Literary Review. We look forward to reading your work.