Columbia Journal is an annual literary magazine founded in 1977. We're based at Columbia University's MFA Writing Program in New York City.

Columbia Journal was founded in 1977 by students in the Columbia University School of the Arts Graduate Writing program. Since then, we’ve featured work from Nobel laureates and unknowns, National Book Award winners and newcomers. Our past issues have included everyone from Raymond Carver to Lorrie Moore, Kara Walker, Sharon Olds, Mary Karr, and Joyce Carol Oates. 

Today, Columbia Journal publishes in print and online, seeking to showcase the best poetry, nonfiction, fiction, translation and visual art on both platforms. The print edition, published each spring, is a combination of solicited work and the best of the submissions we’ve received—including the winners of our annual winter contest. Online, you’ll find reviews and interviews with writers and artists, as well as the same caliber of original, vibrantly creative work that the print edition is known for. 

A targeted resource for short story placements with potential for Pushcart recognition.

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Columbia Journal

General call

We accept all forms of poetry (prose poetry, lyric, formal, etc). Please send up to three poems in one document (maximum word count is 5,000 words), with each poem on a separate page. Your submission should be in a DOC, DOCX, or PDF file format. Your name and a short biographical statement (300 words or less) should be included in the cover letter. Please also include your preferred social media handles (i.e., Twitter, Instagram, etc.) if you would like to be tagged on our profiles should we publish your work. Biographical statements over 300 words will be truncated at the reviewing editor's discretion.
We will not consider works written in whole or in part by AI technologies. Doing so will result in a ban from future submissions to Columbia Journal. 
We do our best to be timely in response to submissions.  However, due to the high volume of submissions we receive on an ongoing basis, we cannot guarantee a specific time period in which a decision will be made. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible, and we will withdraw it from our consideration.  If you do not hear back from us within six months, your submission has been rejected. We invite you to submit again the next time our submissions open.

Poetry Submissions – Online, Issue 64

We accept art criticism, interviews (with artists, art laborers, etc.), essays, features, as well as submissions of original artwork (sculpture, painting, mixed-media, photography, etc.) in digital form. 
For written work, please submit completed drafts of essays and pitches for features. Both drafts and pitches are welcome for criticism and interviews. If accepted, our editors will work with you to secure access to relevant images of artwork.
For visual art, submissions should be limited to no more than 10 images of your work and a written description of your work/artistic objective of less than 500 words. Your submission should be in either JPG, TIFF, PNG, or PDF file format. Your name, a short (300 words or less) biographical statement, preferred social media handles (i.e., Twitter or Instagram), and your work/artistic objective (500 words or less) should be included in the cover letter. Biographical statements over 300 words / artist statements over 500 words will be truncated at the reviewing editor's discretion. Exceptions may be made for photo essays that incorporate a written narrative. 
We do our best to be timely in response to submissions.  However, due to the high volume of submissions we receive on an ongoing basis, we cannot guarantee a specific time period in which a decision will be made. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible, and we will withdraw it from our consideration.  If you do not hear back from us within six months, your submission has been rejected. We invite you to submit again the next time our submissions open.

Art Submissions – Online, Issue 64

Art Submissions – Print, Issue 64

Poetry Submissions – Print, Issue 64

The Columbia Journal is delighted to announce that the 2026 Winter Print Contest is now officially open for submissions in art, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translation. Our fiction judge this year is Xuan Juliana Wang.
The first-place winners of the Winter Contest will be published in print in Columbia Journal  Issue 64 in Spring 2026 and will receive a $500 cash prize. 
We will consider works of up to 5,000 words in length of original, previously unpublished fiction. 
﻿﻿We will not accept mailed submissions.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
﻿Submissions may not be modified after entry. The Columbia Journal, however, reserves the right to suggest edits to the winning story as well as finalists and semi-finalists they are interested in publishing.
﻿﻿Contest entrants cannot have studied or taught at the Columbia University Writing Program at any time in the past three years.
We will not consider works created with or by AI technologies, and will ban such submitters from future submissions to the Columbia Journal.
If you have questions, please email us at publisher.columbia@gmail.com
We look forward to reading your work!

2026 Winter Print Contest, Fiction

The Columbia Journal is delighted to announce that the 2026 Winter Contest is now officially open for submissions in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Our poetry judge this year is Victoria Chang.
The first-place winners of the Winter Contest will be published in print in Columbia Journal  Issue 64 in Spring 2026 and will receive a $500 cash prize. At least two additional finalists will be selected and announced for each genre; each will win $100 in cash.
We will consider works of up to one page in length of original, previously unpublished poetry.
﻿﻿We will not accept mailed submissions.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
﻿Submissions may not be modified after entry. The Columbia Journal, however, reserves the right to suggest edits to the winning story as well as finalists and semi-finalists they are interested in publishing.
﻿﻿Contest entrants cannot have studied or taught at the Columbia University Writing Program at any time in the past three years.
We will not consider works created with or by AI technologies, and will ban such submitters from future submissions to the Columbia Journal.
If you have questions, please email us at publisher.columbia@gmail.com
We look forward to reading your work!

2026 Winter Print Contest Poetry

The Columbia Journal is delighted to announce that the 2026 Winter Contest is now officially open for submissions in art, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translation. Our nonfiction judge this year is Jamie Hood.
The first-place winners of the Winter Contest will be published in print in Columbia Journal  Issue 64 in Spring 2026 and will receive a $500 cash prize. At least two additional finalists will be selected and announced for each genre.
We will consider works in translation of up to 5,000 words in length.
﻿﻿We will not accept mailed submissions.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
﻿Submissions may not be modified after entry. The Columbia Journal, however, reserves the right to suggest edits to the winning story as well as finalists they are interested in publishing.
﻿﻿Contest entrants cannot have studied or taught at the Columbia University Writing Program at any time in the past three years.
We will not consider works created with or by AI technologies, and will ban such submitters from future submissions to the Columbia Journal.
If you have questions, please email us at publisher.columbia@gmail.com
We look forward to reading your work!

Columbia Journal

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