Submission Guidelines
Volume 3, Release Date March 11, 2022
The Northern Appalachia Review welcomes submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction written about, representing, or engaging with the experience of living in or being from what we define in our mission statement as northern Appalachia. We at the Review believe that this region, while part of greater Appalachia, is also distinct in its culture, its cultural landscape, and, as a result, its literature. As such, we seek to publish writers whose work contributes to establishing a voice and literary identity for northern Appalachia, exemplifies the region and its nuanced culture, and/or furthers the ever-evolving definition of Appalachia as a whole.
Volume 3 of the Northern Appalachia Review will have a special focus on Northern Appalachia--Contrast:
Northern Appalachia is rife with contrast. We speak of our wilderness and industries, villages and cities, expanses of dark sky broken by urban light. Stunning landscapes are scarred by extraction while rogue species invade. We write about naivety and growing up too fast, or our desire for independence and the need to belong. Generations are tied to their piece of land while many of their youth flee for something more, some returning to what is solid and sure. Writers try to chip away to find a truth we sense beneath the seeming contradictions, the essence that makes this place conflicted.
We welcome submissions that explore the idea of life in northern Appalachia as an experience of contrasts. General submissions are also welcome.
We encourage submissions from established and emerging writers in the following genres:
●Fiction: One piece up to 7500 words or up to three pieces under 1000 words each
●Nonfiction: One piece up to 7500 words
●Poetry: Up to five (5) poems in a single document. (The editors reserve the right to edit the layout of text to conform to the format of the current issue of the Review.)
●Book reviews: Up to 500 words on book-length works of poetry, fiction or nonfiction by authors from the region or authors whose writing is about, represents or engages with the experience of living in northern Appalachia
●Interviews: Interviews with or feature articles on authors from the region, 1000 words
The focus of the Northern Appalachia Review is original regional literature. At this time, we do not accept academic submissions in fields such as anthropology, art, cultural studies, environmental studies, geology and so forth, and we do not accept photographs or illustrations. We do not accept unsolicited artwork.
A Special Note on Literature of the Outdoors and Environment:
The Northern Appalachia Review recognizes our region’s proud reputation as a leader in literature about nature, the outdoors, hunting, fishing, gathering, conservation, recreation, and the environment. Many of America’s finest editors and authors in these areas hail from northern Appalachia: Rachel Carson, Edward Abbey, Jim and Silvia Bashline, Charles Fergus, Nessmuk, Jim Kjelgaard, Ned Smith, James Wright, and so many more. The Northern Appalachia Review will examine and feature works in these areas in keeping with our mission of publishing literature that best represents the region’s identity as both distinct from and part of greater Appalachia.
All submissions should be in 12 pt. Garamond typeface. Prose must be double spaced; spacing for poetry is at the discretion of the author. For submissions with citations, manuscripts must follow the Chicago Manual of Style or MLA guidelines. In the case of the Chicago Manual of Style, the writer must use endnotes instead of footnotes.
Simultaneous submissions: We accept simultaneous submissions. Please notify us if your work has been accepted elsewhere.
We will only consider work that has not been previously published either in print or online. This includes work published on your personal website. Submissions in up to two genres, once per reading period, are allowed. Follow the guidelines above for each separate genre submission.
If your work is accepted, it will be subject to an agreement granting the Northern Appalachia Review first publication rights. You retain the rights to the work after first publication.
Upon publication, the Northern Appalachia Review offers each contributor one free e-version and a 50% discount on one print version of the Review.