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.
Book reviews should be 1,500–3,000 words and discuss one or more books that have been recently published (within the last two years). Our preference is to feature titles from indie, nonprofit, university, or small press publishers, although we will consider reviews of books from major publishing houses that provide new and substantial insight. Review and review-essay submissions should engage the book(s) considered beyond plot summary, like, or dislike, and provide critical, substantiated assessment, historical or cultural context, and interpretation when relevant. Please do not review books written by close friends, family, or with whom you have a significant professional relationship that the review would overtly benefit.
We pay $0.08 per word.
Please list the title(s) information at the top of your manuscript, following this format:
Author Name. Title of Book. Publisher’s City: Publisher Name, Year Published. [Total page count of book, ex. 120] pages. Price.
Interviews should be 1,500–3,000 words and feature persons of interest to readers and writers of contemporary literature. We ask that interviewers substantially read and research their subjects before the interview. Questions and answers should be an in-depth conversation about the intellectual life and activity of the subject, which might contain moments of consideration, surprise, synthesis, and attention, rather than a publicity-style chat that lends no new insight into the subject. We pay a flat rate of $300 per interview.
For both reviews and interviews, we can only consider complete submissions and cannot respond to queries and pitches.
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence, either for text-generation or for proofreading.
The page limit for fiction is 25 pages, double-spaced. A submission can be one or multiple stories. We pay $0.08 per word ($100 minimum).
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Please include a biographical note in the cover letter.
Visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
This category is reserved for subscribers; all submissions will be checked against our subscriber list. Subscribers are welcome to submit one fee-free manuscript during our submission period (August 1–October 1).
The page limit for fiction is 25 pages, double-spaced. A submission can be one or multiple stories. We pay $0.08 per word ($100 minimum).
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Please include a biographical note in the cover letter.
Visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
The page limit for poetry is 8 pages. A submission can be one or multiple poems. We pay $1.50 per line for poetry ($100 minimum).
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Please include a biographical note in the cover letter.
Visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
This category is reserved for subscribers; all submissions will be checked against our subscriber list. Subscribers are welcome to submit one fee-free manuscript during our submission period (August 1–October 1).
The page limit for poetry is 8 pages sent as one file. A submission can be one or multiple poems. We pay $1.50 per line for poetry ($100 minimum).
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Your bio can be included in the cover letter.
Please visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
The page limit for nonfiction is 25 pages, double-spaced. A submission can be one or multiple essays. We pay $0.08 per word ($100 minimum).
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Please include a biographical note in the cover letter.
Visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
This category is reserved for subscribers; all submissions will be checked against our subscriber list. Subscribers are welcome to submit one fee-free manuscript during our submission period (August 1–November 1).
The page limit for nonfiction is 25 pages, double-spaced. A submission can be one or multiple essays. We pay $0.08 per word ($100 minimum).
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Please include a biographical note in the cover letter.
Visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
If your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry has a visual component (graphic novel/memoir, drawings, collage, etc.), upload a PDF here. If selected, we will request a print-quality file. Maximum number of pages: 10. We pay $40/page for visual literature.
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Please include a biographical note in the cover letter.
Visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
This category is reserved for subscribers; all submissions will be checked against our subscriber list. Subscribers are welcome to submit one fee-free manuscript during our submission period (August 1–November 1).
If your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry has a visual component (graphic novel/memoir, drawings, collage, etc.), upload a PDF here. If selected, we will request a print-quality file. Maximum number of pages: 10. We pay $40/page for visual literature.
As submissions are read blind, please do not include your name or contact info on the submission document itself. Please include a biographical note in the cover letter.
Visit our website for full submission guidelines: iowareview.org
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.