The Iowa Review looks for the best poetry, fiction, and nonfiction being written today and is often pleased to introduce new writers.
Non-contest fiction and poetry manuscripts are welcome from August 1 to October 1 only. Non-contest nonfiction manuscripts are welcome from August 1 to November 1. Unsolicited work that arrives at any other time will not be read. (We also sponsor The Iowa Review Awards, an annual contest for which entries are accepted January 1 through 31.)
As submissions are read anonymously, please do not include your name on the submission document itself. Your name, email, address, and bio can be included in the cover letter.
During the open submission reading period, we accept online submissions via Submittable and paper submissions at the following address:
[Fiction, Poetry, or Nonfiction] Editor
The Iowa Review
308 EPB
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
There is a $4 fee to submit online.* We do not consider e-mail submissions.
Paper submissions without a self-addressed, stamped envelope will not be considered.
Work must be previously unpublished in print or online, and, if accepted, must not be published anywhere else before it is published in The Iowa Review (the lead time between acceptance and publication is about a year). Simultaneous submissions are accepted, provided you contact us immediately to withdraw your work if it is accepted for publication elsewhere. We typically respond in one to six months.
The page limit for prose is 25 pages and for poetry is 8 pages (query by e-mail if you have a longer poem). Prose submissions should be double-spaced.
We recommend reading an issue of The Iowa Review before submitting. Ask for us at your local bookstore or library, or purchase a copy here.
Current University of Iowa students are ineligible to submit.
We pay $1.50 per line for poetry ($100 minimum) and $0.08 per word for prose ($100 minimum).
Translations should be submitted according to the guidelines of the original work's genre and addressed to that genre's editor. Translators should have permission from the copyright holder and should include a copy of the original work with their submission.
*Subscribers can now submit online for free! Please use the "for subscribers only" category on Submittable. We check these submitters' names against our subscription list, so please use this category only if you're a current subscriber.
ADDRESS QUESTIONS TO:
iowa-review [AT] uiowa [DOT] edu
