Split Rock Review is an independent, online publication run by volunteers who love literature, art, and the wilderness.
We publish poetry, short creative nonfiction and fiction, comics, hybrids, visual poetry, interviews, book reviews, photography, and art that explore place, environment, and the relationship between humans and the natural world. We encourage you to read our back issues and books to see if we’re a good home for your work.
Currently, we are taking a break from accepting submissions and publishing journal issues.
GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We only accept submissions via Submittable. Any submissions sent via email will be unread.
We offer 200 free submissions during the reading period as well as a TIP JAR and EXPEDITED submission option for a nominal fee.
We are particularly interested in work by people historically underrepresented in literary publishing: artists and writers who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, people with disabilities, gender-nonconforming, LGBTQIA+, women, and other marginalized communities.
We accept simultaneous submissions. However, please withdraw your work immediately should a piece you’ve submitted be accepted elsewhere. If you are withdrawing your entire submission, please log in to your Submittable account and click “Withdraw.” If you need to withdraw part of your submission, open it within Submittable and "Add" a comment indicating the poem or poems you'd like to withdraw. We will see your note and gladly consider the available poems.
No manuscript edits or revisions will be considered during the reading period.
We do not accept works of translation or previously published work for our journal issues (this includes personal blogs, social media posts, and personal websites).
We accept collaborative works, but please provide the names of all the collaborators in your submission.
For previous SRR contributors, please wait at least twelve months from the publication date of your work before submitting to us again. You know we love your work, but we want to give other writers and artists an opportunity to be published and showcased in SRR.
If your work is accepted, you agree to give Split Rock Review First Electronic Rights and Archival Rights. You may republish your work without fee, but we ask that Split Rock Review is acknowledged as its place of initial publication.
Unfortunately, we cannot pay our contributors; however, we do our best to promote our writers/artists and their work. Check out our Contributor Spotlight Series and Photic Zone Interview Series.
POETRY
Submit 2-4 poems in a single document file.
Poetry should explore place, environment, and the relationship between humans and the natural world.
We prefer Word doc, docx, PDF file types.
Please include your name and email address on the first page of your submission.
Begin each poem on a new page.
Poems should be single-spaced, or how they should appear on the page.
SHORT CREATIVE NONFICTION <2,000 words
Submit 1-2 pieces of short creative nonfiction in a single document file.
Creative nonfiction should explore place, environment, and the relationship between humans and the natural world.
We prefer Word doc, docx, PDF file types.
Please include your name and email address on the first page of your submission.
Begin each piece on a new page.
Double-space your manuscript, or how it should appear on the page.
Each piece should not exceed 2,000 words in length.
SHORT FICTION <2,000 words
Submit 1-2 short stories in a single document file.
Fiction should be environmentally, ecologically, or place-based, which may address topics such as the relationship between natural settings and human communities that dwell within them, human impacts on the environment, cultural diaspora, climate change, reverence of and protection of nature, and more. Examples of short stories we enjoy: “The End of Old Horse” by Simon J. Ortiz; “The Siskiyou, July 1989” by T.C. Boyle; “The Wave” by Liam O’Flaherty; “A Mild Attack of Locusts” by Doris Lessing; “He-y, Come On Ou-t!” by Shinichi Hoshi; “And of Clay Are We Created” by Isabel Allende.
We prefer Word doc, docx, PDF file types.
Please include your name and email address on the first page of your submission.
Begin each story on a new page.
Double-space your manuscript, or how it should appear on the page.
Each story should not exceed 2,000 words in length.
COMICS, GRAPHIC STORIES, HYBRIDS, & VISUAL POETRY
Submit up to 10 pages of comics, graphic stories, hybrids, visual poetry (whatever you want to call them).
We prefer JPG and PNG file types.
Please send the highest resolution possible for your work.
If your work is accepted, we may ask you to send us a higher resolution file for publication.
PHOTOGRAPHY & ART
Submit up to 10 images of photography or artwork (painting, drawing, letterpress or relief printing).
We prefer JPG and PNG file types.
Please send the highest resolution possible for your work.
If your work is accepted, we may ask you to send us a higher resolution image for publication.
WHY A PROCESSING FEE?
We are an independent, not-for-profit publication and press run by volunteers. Sometimes we charge a nominal fee to help defray (but it does not entirely cover) our submission processing fees, hosting fees, and ongoing operational costs. Please know that as writers and artists ourselves we do not like charging a fee, but we can't operate without your support. In return, we hope to give our writers and artists the recognition they deserve and a pathway to further opportunities.
*Submittable charges us to use their online submission system. Submittable also retains $0.99 + 5% of the processing fee.
RESPONSE TIME
We try to make decisions for submissions within three months. However, response times may take a little bit longer. If you haven't heard from us after four months, please first check the status of your submission via your Submittable account and your spam folder. If you still have questions regarding your submission status, please contact us.
