Thank you for your interest in submitting to Bellevue Literary Review.
We reopen to submissions on September 1. We will be accepting both general submissions and submissions to a theme issue on "The Body Politic" through December 31, 2023. Please see below for more information.
The winners of the 2024 BLR Literary Prizes will be announced later this fall.
We hope you'll consider ordering a copy or a subscription (that's how literary journals stay alive and provide publishing opportunities for the writing community!)
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Guidelines
Fiction: We seek character-driven fiction with original voices and strong settings. We do not publish genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, horror). We have only occasionally published flash fiction. While we are always interested in creative explorations in style, we do lean toward classic short stories.
Nonfiction: We are looking for essays that reach beyond the standard ‘illness narrative’ to develop a topic in an engaging and original manner. Incorporate thoughtful and creative analysis that allows anecdotes to serve a larger purpose. (Please, no academic discourses or works with footnotes. )
Poetry: We encourage poems that are accessible to a wide audience. Characteristics we look for are vivid writing, strong narrative, and rendering the familiar new. We encourage you to peruse back issues in our archive to get a sense of our ethos.
- We happily consider simultaneous submissions, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- Manuscripts can only be accepted electronically via Submittable.
- Fiction/nonfiction word max is 5,000 words, (though most of our published prose is in the range of 2,000-4,000 words.) Please submit no more than three poems. Each poem should be on a separate page within a single document.
- There is a $5 fee per general submission but it’s waived for current subscribers. (If you are not a current subscriber, you can subscribe when you submit your work and take advantage of free submission.) These fees help BLR fund publication of the journal, but if it’s a hardship for you, please contact us.
- We strive to provide several reviewers for each manuscript and kindly ask your patience in this necessarily slow process. But if you have not heard from us within five months, feel free to inquire about your manuscript.
- BLR pays $75 for poetry and $150 for prose. Published authors will receive two copies of the issue in which their work appears, plus an additional 1-year subscription to BLR. There is an author discount for purchasing extra copies.
- All submissions must be of previously unpublished work.* BLR acquires First North American rights, and the right to reprint in anthologies and online. After publication, all other rights revert to the author and the work may be reprinted as long as appropriate acknowledgement to BLR is made.
(*For BLR, “published work” means published in print in North America, or published on the Internet in electronic journals, e-zines, academic websites, and other “public” or “official” websites. Works posted on personal blogs or websites will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We ask that authors be honest about web postings. If a work is discovered to have been posted or published elsewhere–and not openly acknowledged by the author in advance–we will remove it from consideration.)
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"The Body Politic" Theme Issue
From Sept 1 to Dec 31, we are accepting submissions for a special theme issue on "The Body Politic"
We humans inhabit singular bodies. Yet we are communal. It is no mistake that the phrase ‘body politic’ – designating the people of a nation, state, or society – incorporates the word ‘body,’ as if collectively we become one organism.
The personal is political, as Gloria Steinem famously said. Political systems and laws affect us as citizens of a particular nation and community, as well as in our living rooms and our very bodies. And we as individuals affect them.
Each nation has its own collective personality, as a result of its history, political structure, and the story it tells itself about its meaning and identity. So does each hospital, school, prison, summer camp, and house of worship. Each societal entity inhabits its own body politic, which exists in a constant state of flux.
For this special issue of BLR, we invite submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that address the interface of any given “body politic’ with the personal, and vice-versa.
Deadline: December 31, 2023
To submit: Please use the submission links below, and indicate in your cover letter whether you are submitting for the “The Body Politic” issue. All other submission guidelines are the same.
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Poetry Editor Position
We are currently accepting applications to join the BLR team as a Poetry Editor. More information and the link to apply is below.
If you have any questions, please email us at info@BLReview.org.
The BLR seeks high-caliber, unpublished* work, broadly and creatively related to our themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body.
Please indicate in your cover letter whether you are submitting for "The Body Politic" theme issue.
Fiction:
The Bellevue Literary Review seeks character-driven fiction with original voices and strong settings. We do not publish genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, horror). Our word max is 5,000, though most of our published stories tend to be in the range of 2,000-4,000 words. We have only occasionally published flash fiction. While we are always interested in creative explorations in style, we do lean toward classic short stories.
We encourage you to read BLR before you submit. Samples from each issue are available in our online archive.
We consider simultaneous submissions, but request that you inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
If you are a current subscriber, you may submit under the No-Fee Submissions for Current BLR Subscribers category. If you'd like to subscribe, please use the Subscribe + Submit category.
The BLR seeks high-caliber, unpublished* work, broadly and creatively related to our themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body.
Please indicate in your cover letter whether you are submitting for "The Body Politic" theme issue.
Creative Nonfiction:
We are looking for essays that reach beyond the standard ‘illness narrative’ to develop a topic in an engaging and original manner. Incorporate anecdotes that feel alive, and dazzle us with thoughtful and creative analysis that allows these anecdotes to serve a larger purpose. Please, no academic discourses or works with footnotes. Maximum 5,000 words.
We encourage you to read BLR before you submit. Samples from each issue are available in our online archive.
We consider simultaneous submissions, but request that you inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
If you are a current subscriber, you may submit under the No-Fee Submissions for Current BLR Subscribers category. If you'd like to subscribe, please use the Subscribe + Submit category.
The BLR seeks high-caliber, unpublished work, broadly and creatively related to our themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body.
Please indicate in your cover letter whether you are submitting for "The Body Politic" theme issue.
We encourage poems that are accessible to a wide audience. Characteristics we look for are vivid writing, strong narrative, and rendering the familiar new. We encourage you to peruse back issues in our archive to get a sense of our ethos.
Please submit no more than three poems. Each poem should be on a separate page within a single document.
We consider simultaneous submissions, but request that you inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
If you are a current subscriber, you may submit under the No-Fee Submissions for Current BLR Subscribers category. If you'd like to subscribe, please use the Subscribe + Submit category.
Subscribing to the journal is a tangible—and very much appreciated—way of supporting the BLR. The $25 fee is our regular one-year subscription price, so the submission is free with your subscription order.
Please also feel free to use this category if you are a subscriber who would like to renew your subscription while making a submission.
Please note that only general or theme issue submissions can be made through this category. Contest entries must be submitted under the appropriate contest category.
Fiction:
The Bellevue Literary Review seeks character-driven fiction with original voices and strong settings. We do not publish genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, horror). Our word max is 5,000, though most of our published stories tend to be in the range of 2,000-4,000 words. We have only occasionally published flash fiction. While we are always interested in creative explorations in style, we do lean toward classic short stories.
Creative Nonfiction:
We are looking for essays that reach beyond the standard ‘illness narrative’ to develop a topic in an engaging and original manner. Incorporate anecdotes that feel alive, and dazzle us with thoughtful and creative analysis that allows these anecdotes to serve a larger purpose. Please, no academic discourses or works with footnotes. Maximum 5,000 words.
Poetry:
We encourage poems that are accessible to a wide audience. Characteristics we look for are vivid writing, strong narrative, and rendering the familiar new. We encourage you to peruse back issues in our archive to get a sense of our ethos.
Please submit no more than three poems. Each poem should be on a separate page within a single document.
We encourage you to read BLR before you submit. Please check out our online archive.
We consider simultaneous submissions, but request that you inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
(If you live outside the United States, you must select the option that includes international shipping. Otherwise we can't mail it to you. Thank you for understanding.)
Give yourself the gift of literature ~ subscribe to the BLR today!
The Bellevue Literary Review is a special community of readers and writers, and we value each person who joins us.
As you think about meaningful gifts for friends and family, consider a unique and remarkably affordable gift for the thoughtful and curious person in your life: a subscription to the Bellevue Literary Review.
NOTE: New subscriptions will begin with Issue 42, out this Spring!
(If you live outside the United States, you must select the option that includes international shipping. Otherwise we can't mail it to you. Thank you for understanding.)
We recognize that subscribing to the journal is a tangible—and very much appreciated—way of supporting the BLR, thus the submission fee is waived for current subscribers.
Please, no more than 2 active submissions at a time. Please note that only general or theme issue submissions can be made through this category. Contest entries must be submitted under the appropriate contest category.
This portal is for BLR subscribers only.
- If you are unsure of your subscription status, or if you subscribe under a different name, please send us an email at info@blreview.org and we'll get back to you ASAP.
- If you are not a BLR subscriber, please submit under the General Submissions category, or use the Subscribe + Submit category. Manuscripts accidentally uploaded here by non-subscribers will not be reviewed.
Fiction:
The Bellevue Literary Review seeks character-driven fiction with original voices and strong settings. We do not publish genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, horror). Our word max is 5,000, though most of our published stories tend to be in the range of 2,000-4,000 words. We have only occasionally published flash fiction. While we are always interested in creative explorations in style, we do lean toward classic short stories.
Creative Nonfiction:
We are looking for essays that reach beyond the standard ‘illness narrative’ to develop a topic in an engaging and original manner. Incorporate anecdotes that feel alive, and dazzle us with thoughtful and creative analysis that allows these anecdotes to serve a larger purpose. Please, no academic discourses or works with footnotes. Maximum 5,000 words.
Poetry:
We encourage poems that are accessible to a wide audience. Characteristics we look for are vivid writing, strong narrative, and rendering the familiar new. We encourage you to peruse back issues in our archive to get a sense of our ethos.
Please submit no more than three poems. Each poem should be on a separate page within a single document.
We consider simultaneous submissions, but request that you inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Pick up an issue of BLR, including theme issues on reading the body, a good life, memory, family, war, multiculturalism, aging, and the environment. Your can also get a copy of our annual contest issues.
Please specify which issue you want.
To explore our full collection of BLR issues, please visit our website. (You can also purchase digital issues there (for Kindle and others), as well as subscriptions, and discount cases of issues for your class or reading group.
(If you live outside the United States, you must select the option that includes international shipping. Otherwise we can't mail it to you. Thank you for understanding.)