Michigan Quarterly Review
Open now for fiction, poetry, and other work.
Last checkedMichigan Quarterly Review is a paying literary journal publishing print fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, and online essays, reviews, features, and interviews, with several annual contests.
Response time info: Average turnaround time is six months; do not query until a year has passed.
Read the full guidelines at mqr.submittable.com↗Submission calls
Open to: Current faculty and students and recent graduates within the past 3 years of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program, close friends, relatives, and current or former students within the past 3 years of the judge, and MQR staff, editorial board members, and their immediate family members may not submit.
The 2027 Jesmyn Ward Fiction Prize accepts one unpublished short story of up to 7,000 words. The prize is $2,000 and publication; submissions include a one-year digital subscription. The contest closes November 30, 2026.
Open to: Close friends, relatives, students, and former students of the judge; current MQR editorial board and staff and their immediate family members; and current faculty and staff or graduates within the last 3 years of the Helen Zell Writers Program may not submit.
The 2027 Laurence Goldstein Poetry Prize accepts up to five previously unpublished poems totaling no more than 10 pages. The prize is $1,000 and publication; submissions include a one-year digital subscription. The contest closes November 30, 2026.
MQR Online accepts year-round pitches and submissions for book reviews, essays, arts and culture features, and author interviews; selected pitches may be invited to submit a full piece of up to 3,000 words. MQR pays $50 for all online contributions.
General print-journal submissions are accepted January 1-April 1 and August 1-November 1. Prose manuscripts have a maximum of 7,000 words; accepted stories are considered for the $2,000 Lawrence Prize. MQR is a paying market.
General print-journal submissions are accepted January 1-April 1 and August 1-November 1. Prose manuscripts have a maximum of 7,000 words, and all nonfiction submissions are automatically considered for publication in MQR Online. MQR is a paying market.
General print-journal submissions are accepted January 1-April 1 and August 1-November 1. Submit up to six poems in one document, not exceeding 12 pages. Early-career writers published in MQR are considered for the Page Davidson Clayton Prize. MQR is a paying market.
The James A. Winn Prize is open April 1-May 31 annually for one nonfiction piece. The prize is $1,500 and publication; all submissions are considered for publication in MQR.
The Jesmyn Ward Prize is open September 1-November 30 annually for one short story of up to 7,000 words. The prize is $2,000 and publication.
The Goldstein Prize is open September 1-November 30 annually for a poem of exemplary quality. The prize is $1,000 and publication.
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