Launched in 2016, The Arkansas International has published fiction, poetry, nonfiction, comics, and works in translation from over 60 countries. 

Founded in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2016, the Arkansas International publishes transnational literature, bringing writers from around the world into conversation with each other. We value work that challenges limiting ideas of what defines “world” vs “regional” literature, and we support marginalized writers whose work complicates assumptions. We support fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translation, and graphic storytelling, as well as featuring visual art. 

In addition to the magazine, we regularly review new books online that speak to this concern, as well as feature literary interviews with writers who explore it in their work. 
We also offer two annual awards: The Henry Dumas Prize for Fiction and The C.D. Wright Prize for Poetry, both named for innovative Arkansan writers who wrote about place in transformational ways. The awards—for a short story or a group of poems— are granted to English language writers from any nation who have not yet published a full-length book and include a $1,000 prize and publication  


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The Arkansas International

General call

Graphic Literature

ISSUE 20: LABOR • FALL 2026
The Arkansas International is now open for submissions for themed issue #20, due out in the fall of 2026. This issue will be both online and in print. 
Send us your stories, poems, comics, and non-fiction about all the ways we labor, whether emotional, physical, or mental. How does labor form and inform our lives? What does our work say about what we love, or about what or whom we care for? What does it reveal about what we hate or fear? Hired labor, hard labor, labors of love, or laborious revenge, all of it creative fodder. Send us your best work by December 1st, 2025! 

  Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words, poem packets no more than five poems, and we ask that excerpts from longer works be self-contained. Please submit all work in one document.
  Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere. Please do not submit more than a single story, essay, or poem packet until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. 
  Submissions of translated works must include a copy of the original text. Before submitting translations of works that are not in the public domain, translators should identify the rights holder and obtain a statement that the rights to publish an English translation are available.
  We do not accept work produced by artificial intelligence (AI) generators or similar. 
  For all submissions, include a brief cover letter and bio.
  In the event that you need to withdraw any or all parts of your submission, withdraw via Submittable, or for partial withdrawals of poetry submissions, add a message to your submission.

Response time: On average, we respond within three to six to months, although sometimes longer due to the volume of submissions received. We continue to review submissions and will be in touch as soon as we can. We are unable to respond to general status queries. Should you need to be in touch with the editorial team, Submittable message is the best way to do so.
While we are no longer open to free submissions, we are happy to offer waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. 
Prose contributors will be paid $25 per 500-word page (capped at $200) and poets will be paid $25 per page. All contributors will receive a complementary one year subscription and two copies of the journal. We accept electronic submissions only, via Submittable.

Themed: Fiction

Judge: John Keene
In honor of Henry Dumas’ legacy, we seek to award an emerging writer for innovative fiction that “inhabits the geography” of its place in rare ways. Entries for The Henry Dumas Fiction Prize should be a single prose work of fiction not exceeding 7,500 words. Entrants may submit more than once, but each new entry must be accompanied by a separate $20 entry fee. The winner receives $1000 and publication in the Arkansas International.
Contest Guidelines:
Open to English-language writers of any nation who haven’t published a full-length book and who have no book forthcoming before December 1, 2026. Writers who have self-published books are ineligible. Writers who have published chapbooks qualify.
All submissions will be considered for inclusion in the Arkansas International.
Only work previously unpublished in any venue will be considered.
The contest will be judged blindly. Remove any identifying information from your submission. Submissions with identifying information will be disqualified.
Submit your double-spaced work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
Close friends and previous students of the judge, as well as anyone recently affiliated with the Arkansas International, which includes those who have been on staff within the past 4 years, are ineligible.

The Henry Dumas Fiction Prize for Emerging Writers

We welcome previously unpublished, unsolicited general submissions of comics between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. Please do not submit more than a single piece until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.
Cover Letter Formatting
Include a brief cover letter with your submission:
The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
Your contact information
A brief bio
Notice if applicable of simultaneous submission
Notice if you're a past contributor
Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online.  Contributors will be paid $25 per page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.

General Submissions - Graphic Literature

We welcome previously unpublished general submissions of poetry between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website.
Poetry Formatting
Include all poems in a single document.
Cover Letter Formatting
Include a brief cover letter with your submission:
The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
Your contact information
A brief bio
Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
Notice if you're a past contributor
Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Poets will be paid $25 per page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.

General Submissions - Poetry

We welcome previously unpublished general submissions of fiction between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website.
Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words, and we ask that excerpts from longer works be self-contained. Please do not submit more than a single story until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.
Cover Letter Formatting
Include a brief cover letter with your submission:
The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
Your contact information
A brief bio
Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
Notice if you're a past contributor
Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Fiction contributors will be paid $25 per 500-word page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.

General Submissions - Fiction

We welcome previously unpublished, unsolicited general submissions of nonfiction between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words. Please do not submit more than a single piece until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.
Cover Letter Formatting
Include a brief cover letter with your submission:
The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
Your contact information
A brief bio
Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
Notice if you're a past contributor
Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Prose contributors will be paid $25 per 500-word page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.

General Submissions - Nonfiction

Judge: Shane McCrae<div>In honor of C.D. Wright’s legacy, we seek to award innovative poetry that “lives freely and variously and fully engaged with others and the world.” Any poet writing in English is eligible to submit, so long as they have not yet published a first book. U.S. citizenship is not a restriction of eligibility. The winner receives $1000 and publication in the Arkansas International. </div><div><br></div><div>Entries for the C.D. Wright Prize for Poetry should be 3-5 previously unpublished poems, with a total of no more than 6 pages. Only previously unpublished work will be considered. Entrants may submit more than once, but each new entry must be accompanied by a separate entry fee. The entry fee is $20.<br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Open to writers who haven’t yet published a full-length poetry book, and who have no book forthcoming before December 30, 2026. Writers with chapbooks are allowed. Writers with a self-published book with a print run under 300 copies are allowed.</div><div><br></div><div>All work will be considered for inclusion in the magazine. We are excited to read your poetry! To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website. </div><div>  </div><div> The contest will be judged blindly, so please DO NOT include your cover letter, your name, or any contact information in your uploaded document. Submit your work as a single .doc, or .docx file. Work created by artificial intelligence (AI) generators or similar is ineligible.</div><div><br></div><div>Close friends of the judge, as well as anyone recently affiliated with the University of Arkansas, which includes those who have studied or worked there within the past 4 years, are ineligible.</div>

C.D. Wright Emerging Poet's Prize

This fall the <i>Arkansas International </i>will collaborate with the University of Arkansas Museum to publish a special online feature highlighting writing inspired by any of the of artifacts in the museum’s archives.  <div><br></div><div>Writers are invited to access the museum’s collections via an online portal (see submittable page below) featuring over 150 highlights selected by museum staff, and to browse the museum’s broader database for additional inspiration. Submissions may be poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or comics. Translated work also welcome. Selected pieces will be published by the <i>Arkansas International</i> in a special online feature in the spring of 2027. </div>

Submissions: Museum as Muse

This fall the Arkansas International will collaborate with the University of Arkansas Museum to publish a special online feature highlighting writing inspired by any of the of artifacts in the museum’s archives.  <div><br></div><div>Writers are invited to access the museum’s collections via an online portal (via submittable link below) featuring over 150 highlights selected by museum staff, and to browse the museum’s broader database for additional inspiration. Submissions may be poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or comics. Translated work, flash fiction, and shorter fiction also welcome. Selected pieces will be published by the Arkansas International in a special online feature in the spring of 2027. </div>

This fall the Arkansas International will collaborate with the University of Arkansas Museum to publish a special online feature highlighting writing inspired by any of the millions of artifacts in the museum’s archives. We are delighted for writers to have this opportunity to explore and find inspiration from items in the collection to create new work.<div><br></div><div>Writers are invited to access the museum’s collections via this online portal featuring over 150 highlights selected by museum staff, and to browse the museum’s broader database for additional inspiration. Submissions may be poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or comics. Translated work and flash nonfiction also welcome. Selected pieces will be published by the Arkansas International in a special online feature in the spring of 2027. </div>

Submissions - Museum as Muse

This fall the Arkansas International will collaborate with the University of Arkansas Museum to publish a special online feature highlighting writing inspired by any of the of artifacts in the museum’s archives.  <div><br></div><div>Writers are invited to access the museum’s collections via an online portal (via submittable link below) featuring over 150 highlights selected by museum staff, and to browse the museum’s broader database for additional inspiration. Submissions may be poetry, fiction, non-fiction, <b>graphic literature</b> or <b>comics</b>. Translated work also welcome. Selected pieces will be published by the Arkansas International in a special online feature in the spring of 2027. </div>

The Arkansas International

Highlights

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Featured Call

C.D. Wright Emerging Poet's Prize

Appears in collections