The Florida Review publishes exciting new work from around the world from writers both emerging and well known.

We are not Florida-exclusive, though we acknowledge having a jungle mentality and a preference for grit, and we have provided and continue to offer a home for many Florida writers. We have been in more or less continuous semi-annual print publication since 1972, and in 2017 added a new literary supplement in Aquifer: The Florida Review Online, which features new literary works on a biweekly basis, as well as author interviews, book reviews, digital storytelling, visual arts, and short film.

Please see our Submissions page for more information about what we are interested in publishing.

Beginning with TFR 46.2, copies of our print issues are sent to agents who represent literary fiction and nonfiction at the following agencies: William Morris Endeavor, The Frances Goldin Literary Agency, Creative Artists Agency, The Friedrich Agency, Trellis Literary Management, & The Book Group.

Top-tier magazines that specifically welcome first-time writers. No fancy bio required—these editors focus on the quality of your work, not your credentials.

Classy AF Lit Mags That Love & Support Emerging Writers

The mags in this list are competitive and publish physical print editions, so you get the satisfaction of seeing your work in print: pocket-sized, book-like, tangible. Way cooler than you'd expect.

Reputable Lit Mags with Print Issues

The top nonfiction lit mags in our database, ranked by how many users have bookmarked them.

The Ultimate List of Places to Submit Your Nonfiction

They told us personally or put it in their guidelines. These magazines actively want to be the first to publish you.

These Lit Mags Want to Be Your First Publication

These mags specifically note in their guidelines that they publish established and emerging writers alike. Landing a piece in one of these would be a real nice bolster to the ol' (new) literary bio.

Top-Tier Lit Mags That Publish New Writers

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

Fiction Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

Online publications putting forward exceptional short stories for Best of the Net.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Specialized publications that recognize exceptional brief fiction through Pushcart nominations.

Digital publications advancing very short fiction for Best of the Net consideration.

Flash Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Journals that forward outstanding nonfiction to this respected anthology series founded in 1986. These publications identify exceptional essays that might reach the broader readership BAE provides.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best American Essays

Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

BASS represents the most mainstream recognition for short fiction in America. These journals serve as the initial screening layer for potential inclusion in this widely-read collection.

Literary Mags That Nominate for Best American Short Stories

All-time most competitive literary magazines. Getting published in these is a significant achievement for any writer.

Most Competitive Literary Magazines of All Time

Explore the all-time most competitive speculative fiction literary magazines. These magazines are revered in the fiction world for their editorial rigor.

Most Competitive Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

Explore the most popular literary magazines of all time. These long-established publications are a staple in the literary world for writers of all genres.

Most Popular Literary Magazines of All Time

Check out the all-time most popular speculative fiction literary magazines. These publications have a long-standing reputation for quality speculative fiction.

Most Popular Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

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

Digital publications nominating outstanding essays and creative nonfiction for Best of the Net.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

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

Online journals that specifically champion poetry for Best of the Net consideration.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

The Florida Review & Aquifer: The Florida Review Online

Aquifer is the online literary supplement to The Florida Review print edition. As with the print magazine, we love literary fiction that takes risks!

Our magazine is a home for the real and the weird alike. We love realism. We love fabulism. We love when the ordinary proves extraordinary. We love when the wild is tamed. You can’t freak us out. Or, we dare you to try. Bring us your minimalist work, your maximalist prose, your most psychologically grounded or searingly meta. Anything with sentences that sing. We love voice-driven pieces. We love narrative play. We love momentum and noise, as well as quiet and calm. We revere subtlety.

We publish everything from flash fiction to long stories up to 9,000 words. Please submit only one story at a time. However, we will read up to three short-shorts in one submission if the total page count remains under 15 pages. 

Novel excerpts will be considered only if they stand alone as stories.

Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. If you select this option, you will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription.

Fiction (The Florida Review Online)

Our magazine is a home for the real and the weird alike. We love realism. We love fabulism. We love when the ordinary proves extraordinary. We love when the wild is tamed. You can’t freak us out. Or, we dare you to try. Bring us your minimalist work, your maximalist prose, your most psychologically grounded or searingly meta. Anything with sentences that sing. We love voice-driven pieces. We love narrative play. We love risk. We love momentum and noise, as well as quiet and calm. We revere subtlety.
We publish everything from flash fiction to long stories up to 9,000 words. Please submit only one story at a time. However, we will read up to three short-shorts in one submission if the total page count remains under 15 pages. 
Novel excerpts will be considered only if they stand alone as stories.
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. If you select this option, you will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription.

Fiction (print Florida Review)

We’re interested in poems with emotional and intellectual depth, poems that have texture and verve. Whether experimental or traditional, we want poems that move and surprise us in their use of imagery, voice, music, wordplay, and formal invention. We welcome all styles, including prose poetry and hybrids. Please submit no more than five poems at a time.
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. If you select this option, you will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription.

Poetry (print Florida Review)

Aquifer is the online literary supplement to The Florida Review print edition. As with the print magazine, we’re interested in poems with emotional and intellectual depth, poems that have texture and verve. Whether experimental or traditional, we want poems that move and surprise us in their use of imagery, voice, music, wordplay, and formal invention. We welcome all styles, including prose poetry and hybrids. Please submit no more than five poems at a time.

Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. If you select this option, you will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription.

Poetry (The Florida Review Online)

Send us your best CNF! We welcome memoir, braided essays, lyric essays, hermit crab essays, fragmented essays, flash nonfiction, and hybrid work. We welcome submissions of literary journalism or reportage, so long as the essay maintains a personal element. We do not publish scholarly essays at this time.
We accept prose pieces up to 30 manuscript pages (9,000 words). Please submit only one essay at a time. However, we will read up to three flash pieces in one submission if the total page count remains under 15 pages. We consider memoir excerpts if they stand alone.
Please do not submit book reviews or interviews here. Those items have their own submission categories.
Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. If you select this option, you will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription.

Nonfiction (print Florida Review)

Aquifer is the online literary supplement to The Florida Review print edition. As with the print magazine, we invite you to send us your best CNF! We welcome memoir, braided essays, lyric essays, hermit crab essays, fragmented essays, flash nonfiction, and hybrid work. We welcome submissions of literary journalism or reportage, so long as the essay maintains a personal element. We do not publish scholarly essays at this time.

We accept prose pieces up to 30 manuscript pages (9,000 words). Please submit only one essay at a time. However, we will read up to three flash pieces in one submission if the total page count remains under 15 pages. We consider memoir excerpts if they stand alone.

Please do not submit book reviews or interviews here. Those items have their own submission categories.

Please note that you will be given the opportunity to "add on" a subscription to this submission. If you select this option, you will receive a discounted submitter rate of $18.00 for a 1-year subscription.

Nonfiction (The Florida Review Online)

Flash Fiction (print Florida Review)

Flash Fiction (The Florida Review Online)

We consider black and white art for interior pages and color art for covers. Artists may submit up to four works for consideration.
We ask your understanding that we often hold onto visual art submissions for some time. Because we only print two issues and one chapbook a year--and because the moods and themes of these are often determined by the content--we sometimes keep older submissions on hand in case there's a match. We don't mean to keep anyone hanging, and we understand that you will be simultaneously submitting your work elsewhere as well. If we hold onto your submission for too long, please don't hesitate to withdraw it. Thank you for your patience and for considering The Florida Review as a home for your work.

Visual Art/Cover Art (print Florida Review)

This award is given in honor of writer, teacher, and editor Jeanne M. Leiby, former editor of The Florida Review and The Southern Review. The award is for a single-author standalone chapbook of Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Graphic Narrative, or a hybrid work. We do not consider poetry for the chapbook contest at this time.
You may submit a long story or essay, several short stories or essays, a flash prose collection, or a graphic narrative (black & white only). Please identify the genre(s) in your cover letter, and please include a Table of Contents with your submission.
Length limit: up to 45 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt. font. For graphic narrative, please submit a jpeg or PDF.
DEADLINE: January 7, 2027
PRIZE: Chapbook publication, 50 copies of the winning chapbook, and $1,000.
All entrants receive a free one-year subscription to The Florida Review.
Contest manuscripts should not have your name or other identifying information on any page. Please note that if your name is drawn into a panel of a graphic narrative, it should be blacked out (temporarily, for contest submission purposes only).
Pieces may be previously published in journals or anthologies but must not have appeared in a published story collection or essay collection, chapbook, or single-author volume of any kind. Finalists with previously unpublished selections may receive offers of journal publication by The Florida Review or Aquifer: The Florida Review Online.
Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as they are withdrawn immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.
You also have the option to add on a copy of the winning chapbook to your submission at a discounted rate.

The Florida Review & Aquifer: The Florida Review Online

Highlights

About

Featured Call

Jeanne Leiby Memorial Chapbook Award — Fiction

Appears in collections