Auburn University

Southern Humanities Review is the literary quarterly housed in the Department of English at Auburn University. Founded in 1967, SHR publishes fiction, poetry, and essays.

Southern Humanities Review is the literary quarterly housed in the Department of English at Auburn University. Founded in 1967, SHR publishes fiction, poetry, and essays.

Work published in SHR is considered for Best American Essays, Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Awards, and the Pushcart Prize. SHR is a member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).

Story-focused publications with works chosen for Pushcart Prize anthologies. Less than 5% of nominated fiction typically makes the anthology.

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Publications with nonfiction in BAE, the premier American essay anthology. These journals consistently publish thought-provoking, beautifully crafted nonfiction defining contemporary essay excellence.

Lit Mags Featured in Best American Essay Anthologies

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.

Lit Mags Featured in Best Small Fictions Anthologies

Publications with pieces chosen for Pushcart Prize anthologies. Recognition of exceptional quality across poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Lit Mags Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

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Essay-focused publications with works selected for Pushcart Prize anthologies. These journals have repeatedly identified nonfiction that resonates with Pushcart editors and readers.

Nonfiction Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

Verse-centered publications with poems chosen for Pushcart Prize anthologies. These journals have consistently identified poems that stand out in this intensely competitive field.

Poetry Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

Southern Humanities Review

General call

Southern Humanities Review awards an annual $1,000 prize and publication opportunity for a poem of witness in honor of the late poet Jake Adam York. Presented in October by the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize event features the recipient and judge in conversation at the museum and includes a workshop. The recipient also receives travel expenses to attend the event.

The 2026 judge is A. Van Jordan.

Auburn Witness Poetry Prize

Please submit up to three poems at a time. Wait until you have received a response regarding your submission before submitting more work to SHR. Translations are welcome, if they include PDF scans of the original as well as written permission from the copyright holder (if applicable).
No AI or LLM tools may be used in the creation of your work.
This project will end after we reach 250 submissions.

Poetry (Print)

We invite you to submit all forms of literary essays and sub-genres of creative nonfiction including memoirs, personal essays, lyric essays, flash, research-based essays, literary journalism, travelogues, and other literary nonfiction. Send only one essay per submission and wait until you have received a response regarding your submission before submitting more work to SHR. While we are open to submissions of any length, the essays that get published in our journal are generally no more than 12,000 words.
We honor SHR's legacy by also considering scholarly essays. We seek essays that are directed to a general humanities audience (and avoid specialized jargon). Translations are welcome, if they include PDF scans of the original and written permission from the copyright holder (if applicable).

Nonfiction (Print)

SHR features one short story each month in our online Features section. Please send only one story per submission. Manuscripts should be no longer than 2,000 words and no shorter than 500 words, double-spaced. Wait until you have received a response regarding your submission before submitting more work to SHR.
This project will end after we reach 250 submissions.

Online Fiction Feature

Please send only one story per submission. Manuscripts should be no longer than 8,000 words, double-spaced. Wait until you have received a response regarding your submission before submitting more work to SHR. Translations are welcome, if they include PDF scans of the original as well as written permission from the copyright holder (if applicable).

Fiction (Print)

We invite you to submit all forms of literary essays and sub-genres of creative nonfiction including memoirs, personal essays, lyric essays, flash, research-based essays, literary journalism, travelogues, and other literary nonfiction. Send only one essay per submission and wait until you have received a response regarding your submission before submitting more work to SHR. Manuscripts should be no longer than 12,000 words, doubled-spaced (including notes, if necessary).

We honor SHR's legacy by also considering scholarly essays. We seek essays that are directed to a general humanities audience (and avoid specialized jargon). Scholarly manuscripts should be prepared using the MLA Handbook. Translations are welcome, if they include PDF scans of the original and written permission from the copyright holder (if applicable). 

Southern Humanities Review

Highlights

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Featured Call

Nonfiction (Print)

Appears in collections