Launched by the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing & Translation in 2016, The Arkansas International has published fiction, poetry, essays, comics, and works in translation from over 60 countries. 

Launched in 2016, the ARKINT has published fiction, poetry, essays, comics, and works in translation from over 70 countries, including Egypt, Brazil, Venezuela, South Korea, Iran, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Russia, Italy, and Hungary. 

The Arkansas International also awards the annual Henry Dumas Fiction Prize and C.D. Wright Poetry Prize, both given to emerging authors who have not yet published full-length works. Additionally, the magazine is home to the Arkansas International Writers at Risk Residency Program.

Not just words. These magazines publish paintings, comics, illustrations, and other visual art alongside or instead of traditional text-based work.

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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.

The Arkansas International

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Featured Call

General Submissions - Graphic Literature

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