Moon City Review is housed in the English Department of Missouri State University and publishes fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and graphic narrative.

Where does the name “Moon City” come from? The history of Springfield, Missouri is a tale of two cities, at least for a very brief time. A dispute over where the old Atlantic and Pacific Railroad would place the depot and some spirited wrangling by local entrepreneurs led to “Old Town” Springfield gaining a new neighbor to the immediate north.  The newcomer got the depot, and a bitter rivalry was born. Derisively called “Moon City,” what is now called North Springfield thrived despite the comical predictions tied to the new city’s can-do attitude.

Moon City Review is now open for submissions of fiction, flash fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, graphic narrative, and translations. Please select the Submit tab to read more about how to submit.

Prose poetry! Everyone loves it except those who hate it, and if that sounds like you then, hey—hey, what are you doing here? Go iambic pentameter yourself.

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Magazines That Publish Comics, Art, or Other Visual Works

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

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Publications with ultra-short stories under 400 words selected for this anthology series. The definitive collection for the microfiction form.

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Publications with narratives under 1,000 words selected for this anthology series. These journals consistently identify short-short fiction, exemplifying the artistry possible in compact narratives.

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Looking for balance between prestige and accessibility? These magazines are competitive but attainable for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writers.

Literary Magazines in the Sweet Spot

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

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

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

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

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

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

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Moon City Review

This category is for Moon City Review. Authors are limited to six poems total per submission period. Please submit all pieces in a single document. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Poetry Editor Sara Burge, saraburge@missouristate.edu.

Moon City Review Poetry

This category is for Moon City Review. Authors are limited to one story of 1,001-8,000 words (shorter fiction should be submitted as Flash Fiction, its own category). Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Fiction Editor Joel Coltharp, JoelColtharp@MissouriState.edu.

Moon City Review Fiction

This category is for Moon City Review. Authors may submit up to three pieces of flash fiction at a time, and each piece should be no more than 1,000 words long—longer fiction should be submitted to the general Fiction category. Please submit all pieces in a single document. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Editor Michael Czyzniejewski at MCzyzniejewski@MissouriState.edu.

Moon City Review Flash Fiction

This category is for Moon City Review. Authors are limited to one essay (1,001-8,000 words) or three flash creative nonfiction per submission—please submit all in one document. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.

Moon City Review Creative Nonfiction

Moon City Review welcomes submissions of short-form, literary graphic narrative (fiction, nonfiction, poetry). Please keep submissions to eight pages maximum.
 
Black-and-white submissions only. 

Submit in .jpg, .tiff, or .pdf format.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Graphic Narrative Editor Jennifer Murvin, jmurvin@missouristate.edu.

Moon City Review Graphic Narrative

• The Moon City Poetry Award is for an original collection of poems written in English by a single or collaborative author.
• Individual poems in the collection may be published in periodicals or may have appeared in a chapbook, but poems should not be previously published in full-length manuscript form.
• Open to all writers not associated with Moon City Press, its editors, or its judges, past or present. Students, faculty, alumni, and staff of Missouri State University, past or present, are ineligible.
• No AI-generated material will be considered.
• Manuscripts should be at least 48 pages long.
• Manuscripts should be submitted via Submittable, https://mooncitypress.submittable.com/submit
• A $27 entry fee is due via Submittable at the time of submission; entry fees are nonrefundable.
• Simultaneous submissions are permitted, though manuscripts should be withdrawn immediately if accepted elsewhere.
• Deadline: June 1, 2026.
• First prize: $1000, publication by Moon City Press (including international distribution through the University of Arkansas Press and the Chicago Distribution Center), and a standard royalty contract. Ten additional finalists will be named and considered for publication.
• For questions, please contact Series Editor Karen Craigo at karen.craigo@gmail.com.

The 2026 Moon City Poetry Award

• The Moon City Short Fiction Award is for an original collection of short fiction, written originally in English by a single or collaborative author.
• Individual pieces in the collection may be published in periodicals but not yet collected and published in full-length manuscript form.
• Entries may include flash fiction, short fiction, and up to one novella. Please include a table of contents and acknowledgements page (of previous publications).
• No AI-generated material will be considered.
• Open to all writers not closely associated with Moon City Press or its judges, past or present. Students, employees, and alumni of Missouri State University are ineligible.
• Manuscripts should fall between 30,000 and 65,000 words.
• Manuscripts should be submitted via Submittable, https://mooncitypress.submittable.com.
• A $27 entry fee is due via Submittable at the time of submission; entry fees are nonrefundable.
• Simultaneous submissions are permitted, though manuscripts should be withdrawn immediately if accepted elsewhere.
• Deadline: June 1, 2026.
• First prize: $1000, publication by Moon City Press (including international distribution through the University of Arkansas Press), and a standard royalty contract. Ten additional finalists will be named and considered for publication.
• For questions, please visit moon-city-press.com or contact Series Editor Michael Czyzniejewski at mczyzniejewski@missouristate.

Moon City Review

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Moon City Review Poetry

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