Black Warrior Review

Open now for fiction, nonfiction, other work, and poetry.

Last updated

Black Warrior Review is a graduate-student-run literary magazine at the University of Alabama publishing fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and hybrid work, with a focus on bold, experimental, and boundary-pushing writing.

Response time info: 3-6 months

Read the full guidelines at bwr.ua.edu↗

Submission calls

fictionFantasyHorrorCloses Sep 30Fee: $3 (waivers available; free for incarcerated writers)Pays: Payment varies by issue and contributor count; all contributors are paid

Seeking fiction that is unreal, surreal, mystical, mythical, magical, and embraces alternate realities; up to 6,000 words; 'We want stories that reject reality in favor of the surreal...'.

nonfictionCloses Sep 30Fee: $3 (waivers available; free for incarcerated writers)Pays: Payment varies by issue and contributor count; all contributors are paid

Seeking nonfiction that questions truth, explores alternate versions of stories, memory, and marginalized histories; up to 4,000 words.

otherCloses Sep 30Fee: $3 (waivers available; free for incarcerated writers)Pays: Payment varies by issue and contributor count; all contributors are paid

Hybrid: Work that explodes, refuses, and deconstructs genre boundaries; genre-interdisciplinary, multimodal, or genre-denying; up to 10 pages; black and white only.

poetryCloses Sep 30Fee: $3 (waivers available; free for incarcerated writers)Pays: Payment varies by issue and contributor count; all contributors are paid

Interested in poems exploring history, place, personal and collective histories, BIPOC spaces, dysfunction, illness, memory, and experimental forms; no stated line or poem limit.

otherFee: $3 (waivers available; free for incarcerated writers)Pays: Payment varies by issue and contributor count; all contributors are paid

Boyfriend Village (2026): Special online section 'Playground Boyfriend' open May 15, 2026 through June 15, 2026; see separate call for details.

Wondering if your story fits?

Leafmines can check your piece against any market's word limits and genres.

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