Old Dominion University

Barely South Review began as The Dominion Review, an annual student literary journal housed at Old Dominion University in 1983. In 2008, the journal relaunched under the name Barely South Review as an online biannual publication staffed by students of the MFA program.

Barely South Review is the literary journal of the Creative Writing program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. We are dedicated to publishing prose, poetry, and art from both emerging and established writers and artists. Our name refers to our home – the coastal Tidewater region of southeastern Virginia and its unique blend of diverse cultures and histories. We feel there is great complexity in any creative assertion of “here,” and it is in this spirit that Barely South Review features voices that defy easy regional, thematic, and stylistic categorizations. We seek great writing in its myriad forms.

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Barely South Review

Barely South Review accepts artwork submissions year round. Your original works of art including photography, painting, graphics, sculpture, video work, and multimedia could be featured in BSR. Works must not have appeared elsewhere (other than on the artist's personal website). 
We are not currently accepting AI generated work. 
You may submit up to 15 works. If your work has not been accepted, please wait one calendar year before resubmitting. 
Formats accepted include .jpg, .gif, .tiff, .png., .mov, .mp4.

Art, Open Call

One essay (<4000 words). Excerpts from longer works are acceptable as long as they adhere to our word maximum and can stand alone as essays independent of the larger work. 

Manuscripts must be 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around, and the word count must be included on the first page. Paragraphs must be indented. Please avoid any nonstandard formatting.

Nonfiction

By "lit comic" we mean a narratively driven work with literary elements. Although we are open to all forms, we are not likely to accept Sunday comics, political cartoons, or superhero comics.
To get an idea of our interests, I would suggest you look at the work we published recently by E.G. Shields, The Joy of Keeping Chickens.
Other exemplar literary comic artists (not published by us) include Alison Bechdel, Daniel Clowes, Joe Sacco, Dash Shaw, Teddy Goldenberg, and Jeffrey Brown.
We are not currently considering AI-generated work. 
You may submit up to 15 pages. If your work has not been accepted, please wait at least one calendar year before resubmitting.

Lit Comics, Open Call

Up to three flash pieces (<500 words each). 

Manuscripts must be 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around. The word count must be included on the first page. Paragraphs must be indented. Please avoid any nonstandard formatting.

Micro-Nonfiction

Up to Three poems. Please submit all poems in one document.

Poetry

One short story (<4000 words). Must be double-spaced, and the word count must be included on the first page.

Manuscripts must be 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around, and the word count must be included on the first page. Paragraphs must be indented. Please avoid any nonstandard formatting.

Fiction

Up to three flash pieces (<1000 words each).

 Manuscripts must be 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around, and the word count must be included on the first page. Paragraphs must be indented. Please avoid any nonstandard formatting.

Barely South Review

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