Founded in 1973, The Journal is a longstanding print and online publication produced by Ohio State University. Debuting emerging writers alongside established authors like Mary Jo Bang, Brenda Hillman, and Linda Bierds, The Journal contributes substantially to the literary culture in its home state and beyond.
Recently, poems appearing in The Journal were reprinted the Best American Poetry anthology. They publish all styles of writing, from literary to experimental, and don’t shy from unusual forms or difficult-to-classify genres. They simply seek to publish the best work. To get a sense of what they like, you can read past issues online.
The Journal is published four times a year, twice in print—winter and summer—and twice online—spring and autumn. The accept submissions on a rolling basis, and are currently seeking fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, interviews, and photo essays. They’re also seeking manuscripts for the Wheeler Poetry Prize and the Non/Fiction Collection Prize. You can find contest guidelines online. Submitting writers can expect a response within about four to six months and should wait for a response before submitting again. Multiple submissions are not read.
Poets may submit three to five poems. Fiction writers may submit one short story, 10,000 words or fewer, or one piece of flash fiction, 1,000 words or fewer. Nonfiction writers may submit one essay, 6,000 words or fewer. The Journal will also consider longer stories and essays, self-contained novel excerpts, and novelettes, though it’s unusual for a published piece to exceed their standard word count. They’re also interested in book reviews, 1,200 words or fewer, especially of new books published within the past two years. Writers may also submit interviews of six to twelve pages. For their online issues, The Journal seeks photo essays—collections of photos accompanied by short introductory writing. Photographers and authors may submit one such piece, with writing up to 250 words.
The Journal accepts submissions online, but not via post or email. They accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work. Contributors receive a one-year subscription to The Journal.
If you’d like to learn more or submit to The Journal, please visit their website at http://thejournalmag.org/submit
