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We do not publish academic papers or news writing.
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 Submissions must be previously unpublished in print and online.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 If only part of a submission must be withdrawn, please notify us using Submittable's "message" function.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writers of all backgrounds, including but not limited to LGBTQIA+ writers, BIPOC writers, female-identifying writers, unpublished writers, writers with disabilities, and economically marginalized writers.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.
The Maine Review is pleased to announce our Environs Prize!
Environs celebrates contemporary environmental writing that highlights the vulnerabilities of our world and our identities as we relate to the places we inhabit and the earth itself.
The prize will alternate between prose and poetry. This year we are looking for poetry submissions.
Prize information:
First Place: $1000 and publication on website and interview in Issue 10.2 of The Maine Review
Second Place: $300 and publication on website
Third Place: $100 and publication on website
The winner and finalists will be announced in summer 2024, and each will have the opportunity to read at a hybrid event in Portland, Maine.
About the Judge:
This year, our Environs Judge is the amazing Craig Santos Perez. Dr. Craig Santos Perez, is a poet, scholar, editor, publisher, essayist, critic, book reviewer, artist, environmentalist, and political activist. He is the author of two spoken word poetry albums, Undercurrent (2011) and Crosscurrent (2017), and five books of poetry, including: from unincorporated territory [guma’] (2014), from unincorporated territory [lukao] (2017), and Habitat Threshold (2020). Criag's work has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish and his poetry has received multiple awards, including the 2023 National Book Award, a 2015 American Book Award, and the 2011 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Poetry. You can follow him on Twitter (X) @craigsperez
Friends, family members, and students of the judge should refrain from submitting.
About The Maine Review:
The Maine Review seeks outstanding poetry, including works in translation and hybrid forms, and is pleased to publish new, emerging, and established writers. We are also dedicated to making contemporary literature accessible and to supporting representation, innovation, and literary artistry. To that end, if the contest fee is a barrier for you, please email environs@mainereview.com.
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.
- You can submit to Environs even if you have another active submission with us. However, please do not submit more than one Environs submission. We cannot refund multiple Environs submissions.
- We will not publish work that normalizes hatred of any marginalized group or individual, though submitted work may thoughtfully consider subjects of discrimination.
Poetry Formatting Guidelines:
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Single-spaced (or as you would like your poem to appear online)
- Maximum 3 poems