Bicoastal Review (bicoastalreview.com) publishes poetry, nonfiction, interviews, photography, and art that fosters cross-genre conversations.

Bicoastal Review is a quarterly, free, digital (and occasionally print) journal of poetry (with audio), nonfiction, interviews, reviews, art, and photography often related to, but not limited to, the cultures of the U.S. East and West Coasts. We welcome submissions from around the world, particularly by emerging poets and writers from historically underrepresented backgrounds. We have a special interest in literature, art, politics, ecology, love, the body, feminism, and queer identity. The writing we publish often addresses social issues like environmental destruction, the impact of digital media, the nuances of immigrant histories, the traumas of modern life, and the politicization of gender and sexuality. We have published sonnets, haikus, triolets, sestinas, prose poems, and much more. Submit to our ekphrastic poetry contest, single-poem contest, or nonfiction contest (cash prizes + publication) at bicoastalreview.submittable.com/submit. No AI. 

A curated selection of publications that regularly submit work to this prestigious annual anthology showcasing 50 poems from emerging writers.

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Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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Digital publications nominating outstanding essays and creative nonfiction for Best of the Net.

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Highlights publications that regularly put forward essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction for Pushcart consideration.

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Online journals that specifically champion poetry for Best of the Net consideration.

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Focuses specifically on poetry journals with established histories of Pushcart nominations.

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Bicoastal Review

General call

Bicoastal Review is a journal of poetry, nonfiction, photography, and art. We aim to foster cross-genre conversations between readers and contributors, often on (but not limited to) topics related to the East Coast and West Coast. We publish writing that offers a lens into varied schools of thought and showcases epiphany and mastery of language. Our collective of voices circumscribes a study of American writing, highlighting the movements, ruptures, and allegiances happening simultaneously on opposite ends of the nation. Writers and artists from anywhere in the world are welcome to submit, though we prefer the American English spelling of words. If there is a fee posted that presents an economic burden to you, email your submission to us at theeditors@bicoastalreview.com. 

 
We offer a Fast Response option if you would like to hear back from us as quickly as 2 to 14 days. There is also an option to receive in-depth edits, feedback, and suggestions on your submission from our readers and editor-in-chief. 
Thank you for your support!
 
 
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
POETRY
5 poems max, preferably in .doc or .docx (PDFs make it harder to copy formatting). Please separate poems by page. Titles are preferred. No need to put your contact info in the document. If your poems are haikus or otherwise very short, feel free to submit more than 5. 
Please read our past issues (free online) to get a sense of our vibe. We particularly like political poetry, ecopoetry and nature poems, love poems, poems about the body, feminist poetry, queer poetry, and poems that engage with history, literature, art, and modern culture. Hybrid, experimental, and cross-genre work is welcome. No covid/quarantine poems, please. We don't usually accept light verse. 
We accept translations (into English) with the permission of both author and translator. 
NONFICTION
We accept creative nonfiction, critical essays, reviews, interviews, think pieces, and similar work. 
1,000-3,000 words preferred, though this is not a hard rule. 
FICTION
Occasional short fiction (or hybrid works) may be considered if you think it matches the tone and themes of our journal.
PHOTOGRAPHY & ART
Submit up to 10 photos or works of art using the highest image quality possible. Include a "museum label" style paragraph explaining materials, process, theory, and/or anything else you would like to share about the art. Please don't select Fast Response if you're submitting photography or art. 

 
*** We do not accept anything created with AI tools, prompts, or edits. We do not accept writing that espouses bigotry, hate speech, discrimination, or harmful stereotypes targeting any group or individual based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. We value accessibility and social progress, and seek to represent a diversity of voices across the American literary landscape.

 
​Bios should be 100 words or less, beginning with "YOUR NAME is...."
Simultaneous submissions are fine. Notify us and/or withdraw your submission if your work is accepted elsewhere. We generally do not publish reprints, but we may consider it with permission from the prior publication. Upon acceptance with us, please withdraw your work from consideration elsewhere. Writers/artists featured in Bicoastal Review should wait six months to submit again to General Submissions (feel free to submit to contests).

General Submissions 🌊

Submit a poem inspired by, in conversation with, critiquing, or responding to any poem or work of art we have published in any past issue. You might provide a new perspective, interpretation, or continuation of the other writer's themes, imagery, or language. One winner receives $200, a featured publication in a print issue, a uniquely designed physical and digital broadside of their poem, publicity on our social media channels, free contributor copies, and an optional interview. See full guidelines on Submittable.

🎨Ekphrastic Poetry Contest🖌️

Submit nonfiction – critical, creative, experimental, or cross-genre – that fits our journal (we often favor writing about literature, art, culture, politics, ecology, love, the body, feminism, and/or queer identity). We welcome braided essays, reviews, art writing, cultural critique, lyric essays, and more. We are NOT looking for short stories, overly academic writing, rants, comedy, purely family-oriented memoirs, anything using AI, or anything too self-absorbed. Your work should be around 1,000 to 3,000 words and can include any art, visuals, and audio (as long as we can publish it). See full guidelines on Submittable.

📖Nonfiction Contest🪶

Submit one unpublished poem (up to 10) of any length, style, or form! One winner receives $250, a featured publication in a print issue, a uniquely designed physical and digital broadside of their poem, publicity on our social media channels, and an optional interview. Finalists receive publication and publicity on our social media channels and are considered for interviews and reviews. See full guidelines on Submittable.

Bicoastal Review

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Featured Call

General Submissions 🌊

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