Please read our complete submissions guidelines before submitting.
Categories are active (i.e, genre/section submission categories are visible) during the submission period.
Guest Editor: Dwight Tanner
DEADLINE AUGUST 31, 2024 for interviews and literary criticism
Fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction must be submitted through our competitions, NOT in this category (unless invited by the Guest Editor). Those submission categories will be available for submission when each reading period is open.
For more information, see NCLR's full submission guidelines.
Please consult the Author Style Sheet before submitting to this category.
Submissions on a neglected, forgotten, or overlooked writer will be considered for NCLR's John Ehle Prize, sponsored by Press 53. Submissions on a new writer will be considered for NCLR's new Randall Kenan Prize, sponsored by the Creative Writing program at UNC Chapel Hill. Recipients of these honors receive $250.
IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE SUBMITTING VIA SUBMITTABLE,
EMAIL YOUR POEMS TO NCLRSTAFF@ECU.EDU.
To read the full guidelines for the James Applewhite Poetry Prize Competition, including eligibility requirements, click here.
Please follow the instructions in this form carefully.
The final judge for the 2024 competition is Jessica Jacobs.
Deadline midnight EST April 30.
Winner receives $250 and publication in NCLR. Selected finalists will also be published and poets will receive honoraria of $25-$100/poem.
No submission fee, but you must be an NCLR subscriber OR a member of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association to have your poems included in the contest (you may subscribe after submitting).
With a one-year subscription, submit 1-3 poems. With a two-year subscription, submit 4-5 poems. Members of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association (who receive a subscription with their membership) may submit up to 6 poems.
There are no line restrictions; however, NCLR rarely publishes poetry longer than 2 of our designed pages (occasionally 3 pages).
NCLR AI Policy: As we continue to offer financial awards and publishing opportunities for writers and scholars, we’re introducing measures to protect and ensure the integrity of our creative writing contests and NCLR submissions in general from the influence of artificial intelligence. The following policy will apply to all submissions to NCLR. This and other policies may undergo revisions to adjust for ongoing developments in artificial intelligence:
Artificial intelligence (AI) approximates human-like language very well and can generate content in a literary style. Other kinds of AI can generate convincing images. NCLR has established contest opportunities to award human creativity. As such, the use of Generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, Bard, Watson, and similar tools is strictly prohibited.
Once you have submitted your poems on Submittable, you will receive an email with a link to subscription information.
Please direct questions about the competition to nclrstaff@ecu.edu.
To check on your subscription status, please email subscriptions@dukeupress.edu or call toll-free in the US and Canada 888.651.0122 or 919.688.5134.
Final Judge: Dasan Ahanu
Deadline April 30
PLEASE read the complete submission guidelines for this contest on our website.
IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE SUBMITTING VIA SUBMITTABLE, UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO TO A FOLDER LIKE DROPBOX OR GOOGLE DRIVE, AND EMAIL A LINK TO NCLRSTAFF@ECU.EDU.
Winner receives $250 and publication in NCLR. Selected finalists will also be published and poets will receive honoraria of $25-$100/poem.
No submission fee, but you must be an NCLR subscriber OR a member of the North Carolina Poetry Society to have your video included in the contest (you may subscribe/join after submitting). If you are both an NCLR subscriber and a NC Poetry Society member, you can submit two videos, but please do so separately.
NCLR AI Policy: As we continue to offer financial awards and publishing opportunities for writers and scholars, we’re introducing measures to protect and ensure the integrity of our creative writing contests and NCLR submissions in general from the influence of artificial intelligence. The following policy will apply to all submissions to NCLR. This and other policies may undergo revisions to adjust for ongoing developments in artificial intelligence:
Artificial intelligence (AI) approximates human-like language very well and can generate content in a literary style. Other kinds of AI can generate convincing images. NCLR has established contest opportunities to award human creativity. As such, the use of Generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, Bard, Watson, and similar tools is strictly prohibited.
Please direct questions about the competition to nclrstaff@ecu.edu.
To check on your subscription status, please email subscriptions@dukeupress.edu or call toll-free in the US and Canada 888.651.0122 or 919.688.5134.
You are welcome to submit on topics we have already covered in past issues. We consider interviews, literary criticism, and one-act plays for our Flashbacks section. (poetry, fiction, and any form of creative nonfiction must be submitted through our competitions. For more information, see NCLR's full submission guidelines.)
Please consult the author style sheet before submitting your manuscript.
Email queries regarding such submissions to the Editor at bauerm@ecu.edu.
We are always interested in interviews with North Carolina writers and literary criticism that introduces a new NC writer or that reintroduces a forgotten NC writer. One-act plays (by a NC playwright or set in NC) may also be submitted in this category. (Creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry must be submitted through our competitions. For more information, see NCLR's full submission guidelines.)
Before submitting, consult the Author Style Sheet.
Email queries to the Editor.
Submissions accepted for publication may be eligble for the John Ehle Prize or the Randall Kenan Prize. Find information about these honors in our submission guidelines.
The North Carolina Literary Review is seeking submissions on “Teaching North Carolina Literature.”
Submissions may be related to teaching in K-12 or post-secondary education and might take a variety of forms, including but not limited to a pedagogical essay, a unit or lesson plan, an assignment, or a digital repository of materials related to teaching the work of a (or works by) North Carolina creative writer(s). Find submission instructions on the NCLR website: https://nclr.ecu.edu/submissions/
Essay submissions accepted for publication will appear in NCLR’s open access online issues. Other content—lesson plans and digital projects—will be promoted via NCLR Online and archived in or linked through NCLR’s website, the goal being to make this material widely and easily accessible to teachers.
If the submission employs NCLR, we will provide enough copies of that issue for a class (if available).