The Maine Review seeks outstanding contemporary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including works in translation and hybrid forms. We are pleased to publish new, emerging, and established writers, and are committed to supporting representation, innovation, and literary artistry.
We encourage submitters to read what we’ve published, and whatever you send our way, please carefully read our guidelines. Submissions that do not adhere to them may be unread.
We will not publish work that normalizes hatred of any marginalized group or individual, though submitted work may thoughtfully consider subjects of discrimination.
We do not publish academic papers or news writing.
We do not publish AI-generated work. Such work will be automatically declined.
General Guidelines:
- We accept submissions only through Submittable. Submissions must be previously unpublished in print and online.
- We encourage simultaneous submissions, but please withdraw your submission immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. If only part of a submission must be withdrawn, please notify us using Submittable's "message" function.
- We encourage submissions from writers of all backgrounds, including but not limited to LGBTQIA+ writers, BIPOC writers, female-identifying writers, unpublished writers, writers with disabilities, and economically marginalized writers.
- Please address cover letters to the appropriate genre editor. In prose submissions, please include your word count in your cover letter.
- We ask that contributors whose work we've published wait at least one year before submitting again.
- Please send only one submission at a time. We do not accept and cannot refund multiple submissions.
- Please allow us six months before querying.
Fiction and Nonfiction Formatting:
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Double-spaced
- 1” margins
- Pages numbered
- Please include the word count in your cover letter
- One piece of 3,000 words or fewer (though we will consider longer works of exceptional merit) or three flash pieces no more than 1,000 words each
Poetry Formatting:
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Single-spaced (or as you would like the poem to appear online)
- Pages numbered
- Maximum three poems, no more than five pages total
Submission Schedule:
We are open for nonfiction, fiction, and poetry submissions from January 1–March 31, May 1–June 30, and September 1–November 30. We frequently open week-long free submission periods, during which general submission periods are paused.
We publish issues biannually in the spring and fall, and nominate for Best American Short Stories, the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and other awards.
Submission Fees:
We are a nonprofit organization and ask writers to pay a $3 fee per submission, of which we receive $1.86. This fee directly supports our authors, editors, and programs, and helps cover Submittable costs. If this submission fee is a barrier, please email info@mainereview.com for a link to a fee-waived submission. No explanation is needed. *Please do not email us your submission.*
All donations are tax-deductible and direct donations of any amount are also welcome at mainereview.com/donate. No matter what you give, we are grateful for your contribution and support of our publication!
Writer Payment:
Fiction and Nonfiction writers receive a $25 honorarium per published flash (1,000 words or fewer) and a $50 honorarium for work 1,001 words or more.
Poets receive a $25 honorarium per published poem.
In recognition of International Women's Day, The Maine Review is offering free submissions from March 3 to March 9, or until we reach our allowed free submission maximum.
"IWD is a specific day dedicated to the advancement of women worldwide. Marked by millions of people on March 8, IWD celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality." - internationalwomensday.com
Who We Are:
The Maine Review (MeR) is a biannual online literary journal that publishes culturally significant and innovative writing by writers living in Maine, across the country, and around the world. Maine Review Publications is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to making contemporary literature accessible to readers and writers of all incomes.
MeR is committed to fostering an inclusive, creative community, free of discrimination and harassment, for people of all colors, religions, sexes, sexual orientations, gender identities, national origins, ages, abilities, veteran statuses, and educational backgrounds. Our editors and staff readers are passionate about literature and are fervent advocates of excellent writing from unpublished, emerging, and established writers.
We are now accepting artwork to represent the cover, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction sections of our digital issues.
*Please send only one submission at a time. We do not accept and cannot refund multiple submissions. This includes multiple submissions across different genres.*
*We will not publish work that normalizes hatred of any marginalized group or individual, though submitted work may thoughtfully consider subjects of discrimination.*
General Guidelines: (Failure to meet these guidelines may result in work being automatically declined)
- We accept submissions only through Submittable. Artwork must be previously unpublished in print and online.
- We encourage simultaneous submissions, but please withdraw your submission immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
- We encourage submissions from artists of all backgrounds, including but not limited to LGBTQIA+ artists, BIPOC artists, female-identifying artists, unpublished artists, artists with disabilities, and economically marginalized artists.
- Please address cover letters to our Editor and Managing Editor.
- We ask that contributors whose work we've published wait at least one year before submitting again.
- Please allow us six months before querying.
Submission and Formatting Guidelines:
- Please send four original, landscape-orientation images for consideration. Accepted images will represent the cover, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction sections of our digital issues, so ideally they should have a more-or-less unified aesthetic.
- Submission must be in .jpg or .png format.
- Photography, illustration, and other art forms are welcome.
- If you have a website or online portfolio, we encourage you to include a link with your bio.
- High-res versions will be requested if accepted for publication.
Payment:
Contributors are paid $50 upon publication.
In recognition of International Women's Day, The Maine Review is offering free submissions from March 3 to March 9, or until we reach our allowed free submission maximum.
"IWD is a specific day dedicated to the advancement of women worldwide. Marked by millions of people on March 8, IWD celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality." - internationalwomensday.com
All writers are invited to make use of this free submission window. The Maine Review is dedicated to making contemporary literature accessible to readers and writers of all incomes. If you're able to donate, we also offer $3 or $5 Tip Jar Submissions, of which we receive $1.86 or $3.76 respectively. All donations are tax-deductible and are used to pay writers and support our programs.
A Note from Poetry Editor Rebecca Irene:
The Maine Review’s poetry team seeks work with musicality & fierceness, craft & cunning. We want lines that gut-punch, or caress, but always return to haunt. Authenticity & urgency are valued here. Hateful, phobic language is not. Some of the poets that quicken our blood—Lynda Hull, Claudia Rankine, Robert Lowell, Sharon Olds, Joshua Jennifer Espinoza, Franny Choi, Jericho Brown, Joseph O. Legaspi, Kaveh Akbar, Danez Smith, Anne Sexton, Ilya Kaminsky, Heather McHugh, Joy Harjo, & Valzhyna Mort. We look forward to reading your poems.
*Please read our General Guidelines before submitting.*
*We do not accept multiple submissions.*
Poetry Formatting Guidelines:
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Single-spaced (or as you would like your poem to appear online)
- Pages numbered
- Maximum 3 poems, no more than 5 pages in total
Payment:
Poets receive a $25 honorarium per published poem.
In recognition of International Women's Day, The Maine Review is offering free submissions from March 3 to March 9, or until we reach our allowed free submission maximum.
"IWD is a specific day dedicated to the advancement of women worldwide. Marked by millions of people on March 8, IWD celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality." - internationalwomensday.com
All writers are invited to make use of this free submission window. The Maine Review is dedicated to making contemporary literature accessible to readers and writers of all incomes. If you're able to donate, we also offer $3 or $5 Tip Jar Submissions, of which we receive $1.86 or $3.76 respectively. All donations are tax-deductible and are used to pay writers and support our programs.
A Note from Fiction Editor Brett Willis:
For tone, we’re looking for work that reflects your unique perspective. Show us what you see. We like our truth with a dash of humor. Empathy is essential. We prefer stories that come in under 3,000 words but will occasionally publish longer works—though as its length increases, so too must the story’s quality. Thank you for trusting us with your work. We look forward to reading it.
*Please read our General Guidelines before submitting.*
*We do not accept multiple submissions.*
Fiction Formatting Guidelines:
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Double-spaced
- 1” margins
- Pages numbered
- Maximum 3,000 words, or 3 flash pieces of 1,000 or fewer words each in one document. (Occasionally we will accept work up to 5,000 words).
Payment:
Upon publication, fiction writers will receive a $25 honorarium per flash (1,000 words or fewer) and a $50 honorarium for work 1,001 words or more.
In recognition of International Women's Day, The Maine Review is offering free submissions from March 3 to March 9, or until we reach our allowed free submission maximum.
"IWD is a specific day dedicated to the advancement of women worldwide. Marked by millions of people on March 8, IWD celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality." - internationalwomensday.com
All writers are invited to make use of this free submission window. The Maine Review is dedicated to making contemporary literature accessible to readers and writers of all incomes. If you're able to donate, we also offer $3 or $5 Tip Jar Submissions, of which we receive $1.86 or $3.76 respectively. All donations are tax-deductible and are used to pay writers and support our programs.
A Note from Nonfiction Editor, Emily W. Blacker:
Send us your essays, stand-alone memoir excerpts, and works that defy categorization. We’re looking for art that surprises the heart, stimulates the mind and delights the senses. What does that mean? It means that language and form are primary and that the piece transcends reportage and pursues insight. Some examples of pieces we love? “A Thousand Drops” by Bernard Cooper, “The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, “Just One Last Swirl Around the Bowl” by Dan Barry, “Leap” by Brian Doyle, “A Chapter on Red” by Jericho Parms. We seek various approaches and perspectives that make us see the world anew while connecting us to the common human core. We look forward to reading your writing.
*Please read our General Guidelines before submitting.*
*We do not accept multiple submissions.*
Fiction and Nonfiction Formatting Guidelines:
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Double-spaced
- 1” margins
- Pages numbered
- Maximum 3,000 words, or 3 flash pieces of maximum 1,000 words each. (Occasionally we will accept work up to 5,000 words).
Payment:
Upon publication, nonfiction writers will receive a $25 honorarium per flash (1,000 words or fewer) and a $50 honorarium for work 1,001 words or more.