Submission Guidelines

 GENERAL SUBMISSIONS
General submissions are open January-March for the Fall issue (closed April-May-June) 
and July-October for the Spring issue (closed November-December).

January 1 - March 31 general submissions are open to Poetry, Flash Fiction, Short Fiction.
July 1 - October 31 general submissions are open to Poetry.
October 1 - October 31 general submissions are open to Short Fiction.

FEE FREE WINDOW
Dec 10 - Dec 25 submissions are open to poets who are experiencing a financial hardship.
This submission option is limited to the first 100 submissions so please just submit once during this holiday submission period. 

FEE FREE SUBMISSION WAIVER 

We are open to any and all fee free queries from any writer who truly cannot swing the small convenience fee to submit. You may keep your specific demographic information to yourself.
We just want to see quality work, your reasons, etc. Since these waivers are need based, send along your street address and your reason for the waiver within your query. These should be sent to to the attention of our publisher at info@raleighreview.org

​Also note that we offer a fee free window that opens in December. You may also try the magazine Raleigh Review helped to launch and continues to sponsor, 
Saint Augustine's Magazine, when they are open to submissions.​

CONTEST SUBMISSIONS
Submissions for our Laux/Millar RR Poetry Prize open January 1 - June 1, Even Years.
Submissions for our Flash Fiction Prize will be open July 1 - October 31, Every Year.
Submissions for our Multi-Genre Geri Digiorno Prize open January 1 - June 1, Odd Years.

Raleigh Review is a nonprofit magazine of poetry, fiction, and art. We believe that great literature inspires empathy by allowing us to see the world through the eyes of our neighbors, whether across the street or across the globe. Our mission is to foster the creation and availability of accessible yet provocative contemporary literature.

We are looking for poetry, flash fiction, and short fiction that is emotionally and intellectually complex. We read every piece for its intrinsic value, so new/emerging voices are often published along nationally recognized, award-winning authors.

General Guidelines

Submissions are welcomed via Submittable. There is a small fee for submitting online. Including a brief cover letter and/or bio is fine, but not required. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged. For fiction especially, if your work is accepted elsewhere (congratulations!), please withdraw it from Submittable.

For poetry, there is no need to withdraw your submission unless multiple poems have been placed elsewhere. You always have the option to decline a contract. If you feel you must notify us, please send us a note via Submittable.

Further Clarification Regarding Reprints on Poems

We want to be the first magazine to publish your work, and we want all new work. That said, if a poem has only appeared in your book or chapbook or is set to appear in your book, those works may still be submitted to us just so long as you have the rights to your own work. Please note, we only allow reprint rights for poetry not found in other magazines. We aim for First North American Rights on everything we publish. While fiction and poetry as well as our contests are all First North American Rights opportunities, all rights revert back to the author on publication.

We publish the hard copy magazine twice a year, with the Spring issue available in March and the Fall issue available in September.

Contest Submissions

All submissions to our contests should not have been previously published elsewhere, period.

Submissions for our Laux/Millar RR Poetry Prize open January 1 - June 1, Even Years.
Submissions for our Flash Fiction Prize will be open July 1 - October 31, Every Year.
Submissions for our Multi-Genre Geri Digiorno Prize open January 1 - June 1, Odd Years.

General Submissions

Open January-March for the Fall issue (closed April-May-June). 

Open July-October for the Spring issue (closed November-December).

Response Time
Response time is typically 1-3 months, but occasionally may be as long as 3-6 months. Fiction currently has a longer turnaround time than poetry. Please feel free to query after 6 months by logging into your Submittable account and sending us a note from the system.

If your work is accepted for publication by us, please refrain from submitting again for a year.

For Poetry

Send up to five poems in ONE file (.doc, .docx, .pdf only). We latch onto novel language and images, skilled awareness of sound, visceral reactions. We love a lyric poem and are equally impressed by strong narratives. We want to remember your lines, days later. We want to be surprised and envious.

For Flash Fiction

•      Works of fiction up to 1,000 words (.doc, .docx, .pdf only).
•      We prefer flash fiction with narrative elements (i.e., not only images).
•      While we are not looking specifically for speculative and genre fiction, we are open to                 literary stories with genre elements.

For Short Fiction

Works of fiction 1,001 to 7,500 words (.doc, .docx, .pdf only). Note: While we accept up to 7,500 words, stories at the 4,000-5,000 word mark are more likely to be accepted than those that are longer, simply due to space constraints. Please do not combine multiple submissions in one file. While we are not looking specifically for speculative and genre fiction, we are open to literary stories with genre elements. We delight in stories from unique voices and perspectives. Any fiction that is born from a relatively unknown place grabs our attention. 

For Visual Art

We are currently not accepting submissions for visual art.

​

Book Review Consideration

We occasionally review collections of poetry or short stories (usually no more than 1-2 per issue), which have been recently published or are forthcoming. To request consideration of your book for review, send one copy to Raleigh Review, Box 6725, Raleigh NC 27628. We will notify you if we do choose to review your book.  Review copies will not be returned.

Rights and Payment

Optional payment is currently $15 per work used and one copy of the magazine. Due to the recent changes in the banking industry of validating and over-verifying each payee electronically, as of March 2023 for Raleigh Review, all payments to our poets and writers are now being paid via Paypal on publication. For those without a Paypal account, payment is two copies of the issue. If you ever have questions about this policy, you can reach us at info@raleighreview.org

Except in the cases where a poem has appeared in your book or chapbook (and no other magazine), we request First North American Rights on works we publish, and all published content will be included in one or more EBSCO databases and will be available in mobile apps that feature literary works. All rights revert back to the author on publication.

Please note, from Raleigh Review 13.1 (2023) onward, payment will only be made if the contributor has a Paypal account. These are optional tokens in appreciation of the work we accept and publish. These optional token payments will come directly via Paypal for as long as we are able to provide those to our talented contributors. That said, due to the times, while these payments are no longer guaranteed, we have every intention to continue these payments to our writers and poets.

If your writing conveys an emotional and intellectual complexity, submit to Raleigh Review, a mighty fine accessible magazine with an edge at the radical dark of duende!

Thanks for your interest in RR. We look forward to reading your work.