An online literary journal run and staffed by PhD creative writing students at the University of Utah. QW was founded by James Thomas in 1976.

Quarterly West is the online literary journal run and staffed by PhD creative writing students at the University of Utah. QW was founded by James Thomas in 1976.

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Fiction Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

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Lit Mags Featured in Best of the Net Anthologies

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Lit Mags Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

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Nonfiction Magazines Featured in Best of the Net Anthologies

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Poetry Magazines Featured in Best of the Net Anthologies

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Poetry Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

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Quarterly West

General call

Quarterly West accepts unsolicited reviews of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. We're looking for reviews that engage with recently published books (generally, work published in the last year), and which run no longer than 1200 words. We especially encourage submissions from BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, immigrant, disabled, and underrepresented writers. To submit, please enclose a brief cover-letter about you, the reviewer, along with your review.

Book Reviews

Submission Guidelines
 

  More recently, Quarterly West has shifted away from the traditional bifurcation of fiction and nonfiction. For this contest, we're interested in fiction, nonfiction, experimentation, hybridity, and texts that somehow defy categorization. That being said, we do ask that you identify your text's genre--or lack thereof-- in your cover letter.
  We welcome all prose: fiction, nonfiction, hybrid work, and texts that defy categorization. We're looking for prose that is innovative, surprising, strange, unsettling, weird. We love experimentation, but are dubious about writing that imposes a quirky form artificially, without following through to where that experiment leads. We want sentences that blow our minds, unforgettable images, twisty syntax, and irresistible sonics. We'd love to see more innovative nonfiction, which we don't get much of (though we're unlikely to publish traditional memoirs/personal essays).
  We are unlikely to publish anything that exceeds 6,000 words. If you are submitting flash prose of under 1000 words, you may include up to 3 pieces in your submission. Send one longer piece of prose or up to three pieces of flash prose.
  Please submit no more than one entry per genre. Additional entries will go unread.
  We welcome simultaneous submissions, but ask that you notify us immediately through Submittable Messages if a piece is accepted elsewhere.
  Include name and address on cover letter only. 
  The winner will receive $500 and publication, and the runner-up will receive $200. All entries will be considered for publication in a forthcoming issue of Quarterly West. 
  The 2025 prose judge is Morgan Thomas. The winner will be announced in February


The first full week of the contest (October 15th-22nd), there will be no fee to submit. After that point, submissions for BIPOC writers will remain free, and there will be a $5 submission fee for all other writers.

Prose Contest submissions will remain open until we reach our cap of 500.

2025 Prose Contest - Fiction

Submission Guidelines
 
 

  Submit up to three poems as one file (.doc, .docx, or .pdf), no more than eight pages total. Please begin each poem on a new page and make sure your name does not appear anywhere in the file.
  Please submit no more than one entry per genre. Additional entries will go unread.
  We're happy to accept simultaneous submissions. If you need to withdraw individual pieces from your submission, please add a note under the “Messages” tab in Submittable. Previously published poems are not eligible. 
  Include name and address on cover letter only. 
  The winner will receive $500 and publication, and the runner-up will receive $200. All entries will be considered for publication in a forthcoming issue of Quarterly West. 
  The 2025 poetry judge is Steven Espada Dawson . The winner will be announced in February.


 
   The first full week of the contest (10/15-10/22), there will be no fee to submit. After that point, submissions for BIPOC writers will remain free, and there will be a $5 submission fee for all other writers.
 Poetry Contest submissions will remain open October 15th - November 15. We will accept submissions until we hit our cap of 500.

2025 Poetry Contest

Quarterly West Contests

Quarterly West is now accepting submissions that fall within or near to the un-pin-downable category of New Media, including but not limited to video, audio, visual/collage, and interactive multimedia pieces. Excite us. Enthrall us. Make us swoon. For an idea of what we like to publish, please visit our archives at https://www.quarterlywest.com/issues. No previously published work will be considered.
We especially encourage submissions from BIPOC, LGBTQ, women, immigrant, disabled, and underrepresented artists.

If you are submitting new media that cannot be sent through the submissions manager (for example, a link to another platform) please include a file with the link as an attachment in Submittable. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at quarterlywest@gmail.com.

Quarterly West acquires First North American Serial Rights for the work we publish. All rights revert back to the author upon publication. If your work is later republished, we request you note its initial publication in Quarterly West.

We ask that former contributors wait at least one year after publication before submitting new work to Quarterly West.

New Media

Join the Quarterly West team! Quarterly West seeks applications for the position of Prose Reader.
Who We Are:
Quarterly West is a volunteer-run online publication that has been around since 1976. We are staffed by University of Utah PhD Creative Writing students as well as readers from around the country. We publish 3-4 issues every year and also hold an annual chapbook competition.

What We Offer:
· The chance to participate in the behind-the-scenes, hands-on editorial process of a longstanding literary journal.
· The opportunity to be part of a supportive community of readers and writers who are working to promote innovative and diverse voices.
·  The valuable experience and insight that comes from reading through a range of contemporary prose submissions.
· A chapbook of your choosing from our catalog after each annual reading period.

What We’re Looking For:
· Readers who are excited about innovative prose and invested in the contemporary literary landscape.
· Readers who are committed to inclusive literary spaces, which includes providing a platform to writers of all backgrounds, in particular, writers of color, women, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized and emerging voices.
· Readers who are willing to work together with other readers to open conversations that approach submissions critically and thoroughly.
· Readers who can commit to reading 15-20 submissions per week.

To apply, please attach a CV and cover letter with a short biography. Also include a published piece of fiction or nonfiction (by someone other than you, with acknowledgement) that you believe would have been a good fit for Quarterly West. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR OWN WORK. In your cover letter, include one brief paragraph explaining why you think the story or essay would be a good fit for Quarterly West.

Prose Reader Application 2025

Quarterly West is looking for new poetry readers to join our team. 
Poetry Readers will be expected to read and vote on about ten submissions a week and to comment briefly on any piece they see as a good candidate for publication. Your contributions help our editors move through a vast amount of submissions in a considerate and timely manner and help Quarterly West to publish the best work possible.
Quarterly West is a graduate, volunteer-run publication, but we are able to offer our staff readers a chapbook of their choosing from our catalog after each annual reading period. 
To apply, please send us the following:
1. A CV
2. a short bio and
3.  a published poem (by any poet, with acknowledgement) that you believe would be a good fit for Quarterly West and why (about 150 words)
We look forward to learning about you!

Quarterly West

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