Ninth Letter (Print) ★Work published here has won or been selected for: Best American Nonrequired Reading, Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize.

Open now for fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

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Ninth Letter is a semiannual University of Illinois literary magazine publishing experimental and traditional prose and poetry in print and online.

Response time info: within six months for print and within four months for web submissions

Read the full guidelines at ninthletter.com↗

Submission calls

fictionLiteraryEligibility requirementsCloses Feb 28, 2027$3 reading fee for print submissions; waived December 1-31 or until 300 submissions per genre are reached; web fee not statedPays: $100 per prose piece upon publication in print; $75 per prose piece for the web issue

Open to: Previously published work is not accepted; current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students may not submit, and alumni must wait three years after graduation. Work created, guided, or revised using generative AI is not accepted.

Print submissions are accepted September 1-February 28; submit one story up to 8,000 words. A $3 reading fee applies, waived December 1-31 or after the fee cap is reached. The magazine also accepts web submissions September 1-November 1 and February 1-April 1, or until its cap of 350 submissions per genre.

flashLiteraryEligibility requirementsCloses Feb 28, 2027$3 reading fee; waived December 1-31 or until 300 submissions per genre are reachedPays: $100 for prose upon publication

Open to: Previously published work is not accepted; current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students may not submit, and alumni must wait three years after graduation. Work created, guided, or revised using generative AI is not accepted.

Print flash submissions are accepted September 1-February 28; submit up to three pieces totaling no more than 4,000 words. A $3 reading fee applies, waived December 1-31 or after the fee cap is reached.

nonfictionLiteraryEligibility requirementsCloses Feb 28, 2027$3 reading fee for print submissions; waived December 1-31 or until 300 submissions per genre are reached; web fee not statedPays: $100 per prose piece upon publication in print; $75 per prose piece for the web issue

Open to: Previously published work is not accepted; current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students may not submit, and alumni must wait three years after graduation. Work created, guided, or revised using generative AI is not accepted.

Print creative nonfiction submissions are accepted September 1-February 28; submit one essay up to 8,000 words. A $3 reading fee applies, waived December 1-31 or after the fee cap is reached. Web submissions are accepted September 1-November 1 and February 1-April 1, or until the genre cap is reached.

poetryLiteraryEligibility requirementsCloses Feb 28, 2027$3 reading fee for print submissions; waived December 1-31 or until 300 submissions per genre are reached; web fee not statedPays: $25 per poem upon publication

Open to: Previously published work is not accepted; current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students may not submit, and alumni must wait three years after graduation. Work created, guided, or revised using generative AI is not accepted.

Print poetry submissions are accepted September 1-February 28; submit 3-5 poems, maximum 8 pages. A $3 reading fee applies, waived December 1-31 or after the fee cap is reached. Web submissions are accepted September 1-November 1 and February 1-April 1, or until the genre cap is reached.

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