Since 1990, the American Literary Review has been published through the Department of English at the University of North Texas. From the journal’s inception, we have made a point of publishing poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by writers at all stages of their careers.

We look for writing that reveals the nuances and complexities of human experience, that surprises and moves us.

 Some contributors whose work we feel embodies these ideals include: sam sax, Laura Kasischke, Marcia Aldrich, Bethany Ball, Rebecca Faust, Wayne Miller, Michael Nye, Jericho Parms, Roger Reeves, Ira Sukrungruang, and Pimone Triplett. 

In 2013 we moved online. While our format has changed, our mission to publish high quality writing and visual art remains the same. In the Spring of 2022, ALR became fully student-run for the first time.

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American Literary Review

American Literary Review Fiction Award

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Spring online issue of the American Literary Review will be given for a poem, a short story, and an essay.

American Literary Review Awards

American Literary Review Poetry Award

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FICTION GUIDELINES
Submit only one story at a time. American Literary Review seeks distinctive, character-driven stories.
We have no set maximum for length, but stories under 8,000 words have the best chance of publication. We generally avoid novel excerpts unless they can stand alone as stories.
Short fiction submitted for publication in the American Literary Review must be double-spaced and accompanied by a cover letter with the author's name, address, phone number, email, and the story's word count.
Please note: the fiction submission portal will close if we receive 300 submissions before the reading period ends.

Fiction

POETRY GUIDELINES:
Submit no more than five poems at a time. Poetry should be single-spaced. There is no maximum word or page count for poems. Selections are made by a widely-read group with eclectic tastes who look for the best poems, regardless of form or subject matter. 

Poetry submitted for publication in the American Literary Review must be accompanied by a cover letter with the author's name, address, phone number, email and poem titles.

  Please note: the poetry submission portal will close if we receive 300 submissions before the reading period ends.

Poetry

ESSAYS GUIDELINES:
Submit only one work at a time. We welcome essays in all forms, including flash, and we are interested in both traditional essays and ones that push the boundaries of the genre. We have no set maximum word count, but most essays we publish are shorter than 8,000 words.  
Essays submitted for publication in the American Literary Review must be double-spaced and accompanied with a brief cover letter including the author's name, address, phone number, email, and the essay’s word count.
 
Please note: the essays submission portal will close if we receive 300 submissions before the reading period ends.

Essays

We are looking for art to feature on the title page of our online literary journal. Please send 5-10 original images in a standard web-readable format (we prefer JPEG) and an artist statement. Each piece should have a title. 
We prefer cohesive sets of art: 5-10 pieces with shared themes and/or in shared mediums. We are more likely to publish work accompanied by an artist statement that discusses the relationship between the work's subjects, themes, and craft. We are much less likely to publish submissions of less than 5 pieces. We do not typically publish cartoons or comics. 
We recommend viewing artwork from previous issues to get an idea of what we publish. Recent featured artists include Kathleen Frank, Jean Wolff, Benjamin Statser, Chris Lael Larson, and Oscar J. Gillespie.

American Literary Review

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Appears in collections