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We are currently closed for submissions.

The Columbia Review only accepts electronic submissions sent to [email protected]. In the subject line, please write “[Poetry / Prose / Essay / Translation] Submission [Fall / Spring] [Year].” Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please submit writing in a Microsoft Word document. We have no preferred file type for art submissions, but at this time, we can only print art in black and white (unless submitting for cover art).

Please submit 3-5 poems (no fewer than 3, please), up to three pieces of flash fiction (each fewer than 1,000 words), one piece of short fiction (fewer than 4,000 words), or up to 5 images. We read essays (<4,000 words) and reviews (<1,500 words), too. Please submit in only one genre at a time. Prose submissions may include several works, so long as the submission does not exceed the 4,000-word maximum. Please wait to hear back from us about your submission status before submitting again. Submissions that do not cohere with our guidelines will be deleted unread.

We accept translations so long as the translator has obtained permissions from the author. Our guidelines for translations are the same as those for other genres. We especially encourage translations of poetry to include the departing language in their submission. We have native speakers of and artists who work with the following languages on our editorial board: Spanish, Italian, French, Hindi, Amharic, Mandarin, and Arabic. We are, thus, especially well-suited to evaluate translations from these languages, though we accept translations from any language.

If you would like to send a review for The Columbia Review, please send an outline (no more than 600 words) or a complete review (no more than 1500 words) to t[email protected] and [email protected] with “Review Submission” in the subject line. All reviews are subject to editing by the Web Editor and Editorial Board, and the Web Editor is happy to work with reviewers throughout the process.

If you would like The Columbia Review to review your book or slate a catalog of your books (if a publisher) for review, send a query to [email protected] with “Review Query” in the subject line. The Columbia Review will typically only slate books that have been published within the last year for a review, unless there is a new urgency for reviewing an old title. If you believe this is the case, please explain further in your query.

Unfortunately, due to the volume of materials we receive, we may not be able to respond to every submission or query. We accept or reject almost all pieces within 5 months of receiving them. If you have not heard back from us within three months, we encourage you to explore other publication options for your piece, but also feel free to query us about your status. If we do not have a record of your submission, it is likely that your submission did not cohere with our guidelines and was deleted before evaluation. Please check to be sure that your submission follows our guidelines before querying.

Although we would love to compensate contributors for their work, we are not a paying market, and our staff is made entirely of volunteers. We do, however, value the relationships we create with our past contributors and are happy to publicize or review forthcoming books and projects.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please email us at the address above. We look forward to reading your work.