West Texas Literary Review seeks poems, essays, flash fiction, and photographs that bring value to the page. We want work that is thoughtful, deliberate, and authentic. We want work that is concrete and direct, and can justify its own existence. Think of poets like William Carlos Williams, Anne Sexton, and Nikki Giovanni. Think of essayists like George Orwell. Think of short story writers like Donald Barthelme, Octavio Paz, and Jorge Luis Borges. We want your best work and, if you send us your best work, we will treat it with respect and care.
- Accepted works will appear in a perfect-bound print issue published semi-annually (Fall and Spring). All works accepted for publication will be considered for a Pushcart Prize nomination. When inquiring about the status of your submission, please understand that we make final decisions for the Spring issue by February 1st and final decisions for the Fall issue by August 1st.
- We read submissions year round. Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but please withdraw submissions that are accepted elsewhere.
- We accept submissions throughSubmittableonly.
- If your work is selected, it will be appear in a professionally bound print issue. Starting in 2019, contributing writers and photographers will receive a free contributor copy. Additional copies, as well as back issues, are available at our online store.
- If West Texas Literary Review decides to publish your work, we ask only for first-time publishing rights. After publication, the rights revert back to you. If your work is printed elsewhere, we ask that you please reference West Texas Literary Review as the original publisher.
- We charge a nominal fee of $3 for submissions, which covers the cost of the website and contributor copies.
- Please wait twelve weeks before emailing us regarding the status of a submission.
Poetry
Send up to five poems in a single document, in .rtf, .doc, .docx, or .txt format. Your poetry must be unpublished in any form.
Essays
Send one essay at a time, up to 2,000 words. We prefer shorter works with a tight focus. We are especially interested in essays that are personal but that touch on critical, historical, and political themes.
Flash Fiction
Send one story at a time, up to 1,000 words. If you have two stories that are less than 500 words each, you can send both in a single document.
Photographs (black-and-white only)
Send one high-resolution, black-and-white photograph, in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format. Or, if you wish, send up to five photographs in a single .pdf document. We will select one photograph for the cover of each edition, as well as four photographs for the internal pages. Please submit photographs that are in profile (rather than landscape) orientation. As to scale, keep in mind that the print issues are 5.5 x 8.5 inches (width x height).