Thank you for your interest in The Iowa Review.
We accept fiction and poetry submissions August 1–October 1 and nonfiction and visual literature submissions August 1–November 1.
The deadline for our annual contest in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction is January 31. The submission window for the contest will open on January 1.
This creative writing contest is hosted by The Iowa Review and was founded with a gift from the family of Jeff Sharlet (1942–69), a Vietnam veteran and antiwar writer and activist. It has been continued to be supported thanks to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Amy B. Kretkowski Veterans Law Office, and donors to One Day for Iowa 2024. The contest is open to U.S. veterans and active duty personnel writing in any genre and about any subject matter.
2026 judge: Khadijah Queen
Prize: First place: $1,000 plus publication in an issue of The Iowa Review. Second place: $750. Three runners-up: $500 each.
Submission window: May 1–31, 2026
Full guidelines here.