A lit mag that gives readers a vital snapshot of the literary moment, four times a year, in its richness, complexity, and diversity.

New England Review gives readers a vital snapshot of the literary moment, four times a year, in its richness, complexity, and diversity.

We publish poetry and fiction in a variety of shapes and styles—some renovating old forms and others inventing new forms altogether—alongside a range of nonfiction, including personal and lyric essays, cultural revaluations, travelogues, and more. 

Translations are also a regular part of our mix, and once a year we highlight writing from another part of the world in a portfolio of international writing. 

While each piece in the magazine can be read and appreciated on its own, the issue as a whole is assembled with an eye to flow and thematic coherence or dissonance, creating a sum greater than its parts.

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New England Review

We are open for submissions in all genres from September 1 through  November 1 and March 1 through May 1. We may close before the end of the  period if we receive more than our allotted number of submissions, so it’s best to submit early. Please follow us on Bluesky, Instagram, or Facebook for updates on submissions periods. 
Fall 2025 update: We will close for fiction and poetry submissions at midnight ET on October 8, 2025.
***
Fiction: We are looking for short stories, short shorts, novellas, novel excerpts  (if they can stand alone), and translations. The word limit is 20,000, though most of what we publish is shorter than 10,000 words.  Please send only one piece at a time, unless the pieces are very short  (under 1,000 words), in which case send up to three. Reminder: do not  resubmit a story that you’ve sent in the past. 
Poetry: We are looking  for long and short poems, including translations. Please send no more  than six poems at once, and upload them as a single file. If you need to  withdraw part of your submission, please simply add a note to your submission in Submittable.
Nonfiction: We are looking for a broad range of nonfiction, including interpretive and personal essays, critical  reassessments, cultural criticism (art, film, etc.), travel writing, environmental writing, and works in translation. The word limit is 20,000, though most of what we publish is shorter than 10,000 words.
Dramatic Writing: We are looking for short plays, monologues, and screenplays, up to 5,000 words. Please consider that the work must read well on the page. Please  double-space and include word count on the front page or cover letter.
Staging Style: We are seeking brief essays, 900 to 2,000 words, that trouble the conventional prescriptiveness of “craft” and instead illuminate the infinite possibilities beneath questions of style, time, sound, form, voice, character, image, setting, risk, genre, etc.
See our website for details.
Thank you for submitting to New England Review!

Nonfiction

Marked by our dedication to inclusive excellence, this new craft series serves as a learning resource for all and another extension of our commitment to creating new literary legacies.

Staging Style presents innovative writers, translators, and critics articulating the influences and impulses that have sharpened their thinking and writing minds. We are seeking brief essays, 900 to 2,000 words, that trouble the conventional prescriptiveness of “craft” and instead illuminate the infinite possibilities beneath questions of style, time, sound, form, voice, character, image, setting, risk, genre, etc.

Please include a brief bio (no more than 150 words) in your cover letter. 

A Quarterly Online Craft Series

Fiction

Poetry

New England Review seeks creative or critical-creative writing, in any prose format or genre, with the text closely connected to an image or a scene from Agnès Varda’s 2000 film The Gleaners & I. (Original artwork will also be considered: Please limit artwork to black and white images for submission to the print journal.) The text should contain a description of the selected image or scene from the film, and can be any length from 30 to 3,000 words. Fitting responses might include, but are not limited to: meditations on memorable viewings where you watched or rewatched the film in a particular location or with a particular audience; a love letter (to the filmmaker, the subjects, or others) inspired by rewatching the movie; an imaginary deleted scene or alternate ending; an autobiographical sketch based on a memory that emerged during a screening; travel writing related to the film; an ekphrastic short story or prose poem that is clearly connected to the film; a personal essay that incorporates film criticism in the frame; comic book panels, imagined storyboards, or a graphic novel format that takes in cinematic images; a drawing that embellishes on an image from the film. Submissions open through June 15, 2026. This special feature will be edited by NER contributing editor J. M. Tyree.

 The Gleaners & I: Special Feature

New England Review is assembling a folio on new writing from Japan, in English translation, guest edited by Stephen Snyder and Allison Markin Powell.
We are looking for flash fiction, zuihitsu, short essays, and poetry (linked or otherwise), with a preference for authors whose work has not been widely published in translation.
Appropriate length is up to 1,500 words for prose, or up to three poems.
Works can be submitted by translators or writers. Before submitting, translators should first determine whether English-language rights are available for first serial U.S. and electronic publication.
Writers and translators must affirm that the work submitted is their own, and not the product of artificial intelligence tools, software, or generators.
Please include the following in a single file by the deadline of Monday, November 30, 2026.
Text in English translation. Prose should be double-spaced. While all formats are acceptable, if you are concerned about formatting, please submit as a PDF file.
Include the original text along with your translation.
Include short bios of both the original author and translator(s). We accept translations by one or more translators.
Previously published translations are not eligible.
New England Review’s standard honorarium rate for work published in the journal is $20/page ($50 minimum), plus two copies of the issue in which the work appears. The issue is scheduled for publication in Summer 2027.

New England Review

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