Inlandia Institute

An online journal of poetry, prose, and art for all, by all. Submissions are free. We publish two issues per year with occasional extra themed issues.

Inlandia Journal is an online literary & arts journal that publishes prose, poetry, and art for all, by all. 

Because we believe everyone is creative, we encourage first-time and emerging along with seasoned writers and artists to submit. Submissions are free. Every issue includes a cover artist feature. 

Produced by the Inlandia Institute, a nonprofit headquartered in Riverside, California, we support inland Southern California writers and artists by spotlighting a regional creative each issue.

We publish twice a year, Fall for all ages and Spring for teens 13–19 years old, with occasional extra issues.


short story, novel excerpt, flash fiction

essay, memoir, interview or book review

book review

Our spring issue is for teens by teens ages 13-19; our fall issue is open to all ages.

Online publications putting forward exceptional short stories for Best of the Net.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Specialized publications that recognize exceptional brief fiction through Pushcart nominations.

Digital publications advancing very short fiction for Best of the Net consideration.

Flash Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Best Microfiction, edited by Meg Pokrass and Gary Fincke, celebrates the art of the extremely brief narrative. These publications have editorial teams with particular sensitivity to the craft.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Microfiction

Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Publications that nominate work for this respected anthology series founded in 2015 by Tara Masih to celebrate fiction under 1,000 words.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Small Fictions

A comprehensive guide to journals that regularly nominate work for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Check out the all-time most popular speculative fiction literary magazines. These publications have a long-standing reputation for quality speculative fiction.

Most Popular Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

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

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

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

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Key publications submitting outstanding speculative fiction to this definitive annual anthology edited by respected genre authorities. Launched in 1982 as The Year's Best Fantasy.

Speculative Fiction Mags That Nominate for Best SF&F

Inlandia Journal

For poetry you may submit *each in its own submission* 1–5 poems. Each poem should not exceed 100 lines.

Submissions are free! Editors evaluate only anonymized submissions. Please remove your name from the submission, including the file name. We accept submissions only through the Inlandia Institute’s Submittable portal. We will not consider mailed or emailed submissions. As part of the Submittable form, we request a short biographical statement (up to 75 words) written in the third person (she/he/they), which is concealed from screeners.<br>

Call for Poetry!

For art you may submit *each in its own submission* 1–5 digital photographs and/or digital images of work including but not limited to drawings, paintings, collages, ceramics, fiber art, sculpture, murals, metalwork, jewelry, and comics. Each art submission must include the title, medium/media, and dimensions.<div><br></div><div>Each issue of Inlandia Journal features a Cover Artist interview.

Submissions are free! Editors evaluate only anonymized submissions. Please remove your name from the submission, including the file name. We accept submissions only through the Inlandia Institute’s Submittable portal. We will not consider mailed or emailed submissions. As part of the Submittable form, we request a short biographical statement (up to 75 words) written in the third person (she/he/they), which is concealed from screeners. </div>

Artists: Share your work!

For flash fiction you may submit *each in its own submission* 1–3 flashes. There is no minimum word count. Each flash should not exceed 750 words. Any topic is okay.

Submissions are free! Editors evaluate only anonymized submissions. Please remove your name from the submission, including the file name. We accept submissions only through the Inlandia Institute’s Submittable portal. We will not consider mailed or emailed submissions. As part of the Submittable form, we request a short biographical statement (up to 75 words) written in the third person (she/he/they), which is concealed from screeners. 

Call for Flash Fiction!

For creative nonfiction the essay, memoir, or narrative nonfiction should be 501–3,000 words. Any topic is okay. If you are submitting an excerpt from a larger work, it must be able to stand alone.

Submissions are free! Editors evaluate only anonymized submissions. Please remove your name from the submission, including the file name. We accept submissions only through the Inlandia Institute’s Submittable portal. We will not consider mailed or emailed submissions. As part of the Submittable form, we request a short biographical statement (up to 75 words) written in the third person (she/he/they), which is concealed from screeners. 

Call for Creative Nonfiction!

For fiction the story should be 751–5,000 words. Any topic is okay. If you are submitting an excerpt from a larger work, it must be self-contained with a beginning, middle, and end.

Submissions are free! Editors evaluate only anonymized submissions. Please remove your name from the submission, including the file name. We accept submissions only through the Inlandia Institute’s Submittable portal. We will not consider mailed or emailed submissions. As part of the Submittable form, we request a short biographical statement (up to 75 words) written in the third person (she/he/they), which is concealed from screeners. 

Call for Short Stories!

Sponsored by Inlandia Institute and published by Inlandia Books
One National and one Regional Winner will each be awarded $1000 and book publication.
The Hillary Gravendyk Prize is an open poetry book competition for all writers regardless of the number of previously published poetry collections. The manuscript page limit is 48 - 100 pages, and the press invites all styles and forms of poetry. Only electronic submissions accepted via Inlandia’s Submittable portal. Entries must be received online by April 30, 2026 at midnight Pacific Standard Time. Reading fee is $20. The winners will be announced late Summer/Fall 2026, for publication in 2027.
The competition was created in memory of the late Inland Empire poet, Hillary Gravendyk, who passed away in 2014.
HILLARY GRAVENDYK (1979-2014) was a beloved poet living and teaching in Southern California’s “Inland Empire” region. She wrote the acclaimed poetry book, HARM from Omnidawn Publishing (2012) and the poetry collection The Naturalist (Anchiote Press, 2008). A native of Washington State, she was an admired Assistant Professor of English at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. Her poetry has appeared widely in journals such as American Letters & Commentary, The Bellingham Review, The Colorado Review, The Eleventh Muse, Fourteen Hills, MARY, 1913: A Journal of Forms, Octopus Magazine, Tarpaulin Sky and Sugar House Review. She was awarded a 2015 Pushcart Prize for her poem "Your Ghost," which appeared in the Pushcart Prize Anthology. She leaves behind many devoted colleagues, friends, family and beautiful poems. Hillary Gravendyk passed away on May 10, 2014 after a long illness. This contest has been established in her memory.
The details: One contest, two prizes, each award is granted publication and $1000: All entrants will be considered for the National Prize, and entrants who currently reside or work in Inland Southern California, the “Inland Empire,” will also be considered for the Regional Prize (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, and any non-coastal Southern California area, from Death Valley in the northernmost region to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the southernmost). If you believe you reside or work in an area that falls within the I.E., please select the “Yes, I reside in the I.E.” checkbox on the Submittable form, or if you’re not sure, please contact the Inlandia Institute at Inlandia@InlandiaInstitute.org.) In addition, the editors may select one or more additional books for publication.
Eligibility: Any American writer may enter the contest, with the exception of current colleagues and/or students, close friends, or family of the judge. Additionally, anyone currently serving in the Inlandia Institute in the last two years, either as an employee or on the Inlandia Institute Board of Directors, or is a close family member of the above, is not eligible.
Manuscript Requirements: Please submit 48-100 pages of poetry through our Submittable portal as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf.
***Submissions are read without identifying information.***Do not include your name or any identifiable information on the manuscript itself.*** Do not include a cover page.***Do not attach an acknowledgements page.***
No revisions to the manuscript are allowed while the contest is running; however, if your manuscript is selected for publication, revisions may be submitted at that time. Please use a standard 11 or 12 point font. If there is a significant amount of non-standard formatting, please submit as a PDF to ensure formatting remains intact. Individual poems may have been published in journals, anthologies, chapbooks, etc., but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
Submission fee: $20 per manuscript. Multiple submissions accepted but a separate entry fee is required for each manuscript submitted. Simultaneous submissions also accepted. If accepted elsewhere, please formally withdraw your manuscript from consideration via the Submittable portal.
Prize: Each winner will receive $1000, 20 copies of their book, and a standard book contract.
The manuscripts will be screened by MFA students from local colleges and universities.
Inlandia Institute is a literary nonprofit and publishing house based in Inland Southern California dedicated to celebrating the region in word, image, and sound. Hillary Gravendyk Prize winners have gone on to win other post-publication prizes, including Rachelle Cruz's 2016 God's Will for Monsters, which received an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation.
Hillary Gravendyk Prize winners to date include Meg Reynolds, Anna Zumbahlen, Jennifer MacKenzie, Elizabeth Galoozis, Will Barnes, Tiffany Elliott, Angelica Maria Barraza, Alexandra Martinez, Michael Samra, Jonathan Maule, Bronwen Tate, Adam Martinez, Michelle Peñaloza, Elizabeth Cantwell, Malcolm Friend, Rachelle Cruz, Marco Maisto, Kenji C. Liu, and Angela Peñaredondo.

Hillary Gravendyk Poetry Book Prize

​​The Eliud Martínez Prize was established to honor the memory of Eliud Martínez (1935–2020), artist, novelist, and professor emeritus of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. One prize of $1,000 and book publication through Inlandia Books will be awarded for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by a writer who identifies as Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Chicana/o/x.
Our literary expression occupies a place within our American national literature, and among the literatures of the world.
—Eliud Martinez
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submissions accepted only from writers who identify as Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x, or Chicana/o/x.
Manuscripts can be fiction or creative nonfiction, including memoir, essays, stories, and multi-genre or hybrid works.
At this time, only submissions written primarily in English will be considered.
Manuscripts must be submitted anonymously. Do not include any identifying information on the manuscript itself, in the file name, or headers/footers.
Manuscripts can be under consideration by other publishers, but the winning writer must agree to withdraw their entry from consideration by other publishers. There will be no refunds of entry fees.
MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING
150 to 300 typed pages in 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, double-spaced, page numbering in upper-right corner.
Submit as a PDF but have the full manuscript available as a Word document on request.
Longer works of up to 500 pages may only be submitted in proposal form: excerpt, table of contents, and synopsis.
All manuscripts must be complete to be considered. Do not submit works-in-progress.
ELIGIBILITY
Any writer residing in the U.S. or its territories of Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x, or Chicana/o/x descent may enter the contest, with the exception of current colleagues and/or students, close friends, or family of the judge. Additionally, anyone currently serving in the Inlandia Institute in the last two years, either as an employee or on the Inlandia Institute Board of Directors, or is a close family member, is not eligible.

Any writer residing in the U.S. or its territories of Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x, or Chicana/o/x descent may enter the contest, with the exception of current colleagues and/or students, close friends, or family of the judge. Additionally, anyone currently serving in the Inlandia Institute in the last two years, either as an employee or on the Inlandia Institute Board of Directors, or is a close family member, is not eligible.

Inlandia Journal

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