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We want to read you. That’s why we’re here. We want to support writers, engage readers, and create space for great art to be realized. We don’t charge submission fees. We know it’s hard out there and a lot of literary journals have turned to them as a result, but we’re trying other methods. Right now, we’re funded by contests, donations, and our own pockets. Unfortunately, we also can’t pay at the moment, but we’re hoping to change that one day soon. Because we believe in writers.
Again—we want to read you. We are open to submissions in all genres on a rolling basis. For all submissions, please ensure that you do not include your name or other identifying information on your submission attachment; our genre editors read your submissions blind. Our genre submission guidelines are as follows:
Fiction
5,000 words maximum, standard manuscript format. Please do engage critically with the art of fiction and the world around you. Don’t be afraid to tell a great story.
To submit fiction, send an email with your story attached as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf to submissions(at)theheadlightreview(dot)com. Be sure to write ‘FICTION’ anywhere in the subject line, or else your submission might disappear into the stygian abyss that lies beneath.
Poetry
Three poems maximum per submission, formatted however the poem needs to be formatted. We’ll do our best to reproduce it upon publication, or work something out with you if we have to.
To submit poetry, send an email with your poem(s) attached as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf to submissions(at)theheadlightreview(dot)com. Write ‘POETRY’ anywhere in the subject line, or the self-transforming cyber elves will steal it off to their mysterious home in the underweb.
Nonfiction
We accept literary essays of all kinds. 5,000 word maximum, standard manuscript format. We love essays that make the personal into the aesthetic into the political, which is shorthand for saying we love essays.
To submit essays, send an email with your essay attached as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf to nonfiction(at)theheadlightreview(dot)com. Write ‘NONFICTION’ into the subject line, or Dominic will whine. No one wants this.