General guidelines (see open calls for specific guidelines)

When: We generally accept submissions for the print journal during three time periods: September, December, and May. Those reading periods will open on the first day of the month and close once we hit the submissions cap for that period—which could take as little as a few days. Depending on our editorial needs, we may open pop-up reading periods as well. Visit this site and follow our social media platforms (Facebook, X, and Instagram) to stay informed. 

miCRo submissions are open year-round, except during our summer contest (June 1st to July 15th) or if we have a backlog.

Please send only one submission per calendar year for each print-magazine genre unless we’ve encouraged your previous submission.

Who: The Cincinnati Review welcomes submissions from writers at any point in their careers. Current and former students, faculty, and staff of the University of Cincinnati or their families are ineligible to submit unless they are more than two years removed from their affiliation with the university. We also ask contributors to wait a year after their appearance in any particular medium (print magazine or miCRo series) before submitting again.

What: We don't consider previously published material, including work posted online, but we do accept simultaneous submissions (please withdraw any pieces taken by another journal).

Our typical response time is six months, Please don’t query until after that point.

Please note: Revisions to the original submitted file (uploaded through Messages) will not be considered. And once we accept a piece, we prefer to work with it as submitted, without further revision from the writer, though we may suggest changes during the copyediting process.

Before you submit, we recommend you take a look at work from our miCRo series and/or our print journal (see pieces available to non-subscribers). And don't skip these statements from our genre editors on what they're looking for.

How: The Cincinnati Review acquires first North American serial rights, including electronic rights; all rights revert to author upon publication. We pay $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry in the print journal and $25 for miCRo posts or special features.