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.

Last checked

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 submissions; within four months for web submissions

Read the full guidelines at ninthletter.com↗

Submission calls

fictionLiteraryEligibility requirementsCloses Feb 28, 2027$3 reading fee for electronic print submissions; waived December 1-31 or until the cap of 300 submissions per genre; fee waivers available for financial hardship. Mailed print submissions are free.Pays: $100 per prose piece in print; $75 per prose piece for the web issue.

Open to: Anyone may submit, except current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students and UIUC alumni within three years of graduation; generative-AI-created, guided, or revised work 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. Web submissions are accepted September 1-November 1 and February 1-April 1, or until the cap of 350 submissions per genre; the Winter 2027 Manifest theme requires a cover-letter explanation and prose up to 3,500 words.

flashLiteraryEligibility requirementsCloses Feb 28, 2027$3 reading fee for electronic submissions; waived December 1-31 or until the cap of 300 submissions per genre; fee waivers available for financial hardship. Mailed print submissions are free.Pays: $100 for prose upon publication.

Open to: Anyone may submit, except current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students and UIUC alumni within three years of graduation; generative-AI-created, guided, or revised work 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 electronic print submissions; waived December 1-31 or until the cap of 300 submissions per genre; fee waivers available for financial hardship. Mailed print submissions are free.Pays: $100 per prose piece in print; $75 per prose piece for the web issue.

Open to: Anyone may submit, except current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students and UIUC alumni within three years of graduation; generative-AI-created, guided, or revised work is not accepted.

Print submissions are accepted September 1-February 28; submit one creative nonfiction 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 cap of 350 submissions per genre; the Winter 2027 Manifest theme requires a cover-letter explanation and prose up to 3,500 words.

poetryLiteraryEligibility requirementsCloses Feb 28, 2027$3 reading fee for electronic print submissions; waived December 1-31 or until the cap of 300 submissions per genre; fee waivers available for financial hardship. Mailed print submissions are free.Pays: $25 per poem in print and for the web issue.

Open to: Anyone may submit, except current University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign students and UIUC alumni within three years of graduation; generative-AI-created, guided, or revised work 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 cap of 350 submissions per genre; the Winter 2027 Manifest theme requires a cover-letter explanation.

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