We're working a bit more slowly than usual. To those of you with outstanding submissions, we appreciate your patience!
The Schooner’s intention is to publish the best and most interesting writing available, both from beginning and established writers. We publish short stories, poems, imaginative essays of general interest, and reviews of current books of poetry and fiction. Scholarly articles requiring footnote references should be submitted to journals of literary scholarship. We particularly welcome work by writers of color and writers who come from disenfranchised or previously disenfranchised backgrounds.
We do not prefer to read simultaneous submissions, except in the case of contest submissions, and submissions must be received between September 1 and May 1. We do not consider work that has been previously published anywhere, including online publications. We read as quickly as we can, but please allow 4 -5 months for a reply. (We know, we're a little behind, and we appreciate your patience!)
In principle, the Schooner has no objections to the use of pseudonyms, but we require disclosure of their use to the editor before publication.
We encourage you to read the Schooner before you submit. Sample copies are available below for just $9.00. There's never a fee to submit to our general reading period, and we're grateful for the support we receive through donations and orders.
Looking for the Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize contest? For the sake of confidentiality, it's totally separate from normal submissions. Open annually from January 15 to March 15, for collections of short fiction and poetry, the fee to submit is $25, and the prize is $3,000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press. Read more: https://prairieschoonerbookprizeseries.submittable.com/submit
Looking for the African Poetry Book Fund's Sillerman First Book Prize? It's also entirely separate, and it opens September 15 to submissions of book-length manuscripts by African poets who have not yet published a full-length collection. Read more: https://africanpoetrybookfund.submittable.com/submit
Now in our 95th year of continuous publication, the Schooner seeks to publish the most interesting work in contemporary poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and reviews.
A one-year subscription includes 4 issues of the journal and will begin with the next issue. Select a two- or three-year subscription for an even better rate!
Featuring a "Journeys" themed portfolio edited by Ama Codjoe, Summer 2023 includes work by Allen Stein, Arunie Kashyap, Sarah Jordan, Felicity Sheehy, Yvanna Lien Tica, Heather Tillery, Nancy Miller Gomez, Anika Gupta, Rachel Tandoc Donalson, Rachel Lipscomb, Makayla Gay, Afton Montgomery, Kurt Caswell, Jo-Anne Wallace, Victoria Chang, Brittany Rogers, Jake Skeets, David Naimon, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Yalie Saweda Kamara, Leslie Sainz, Donika Kelly, Emily Lee Luan, Tianna Clark, Sahar Romani, francine j. harris, Charleen McClure, Maya Marshall, Simon Shieh, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, N'ou Revilla, Wendy S. Walters, Jeff Janssens, Marissa Davis, Haesong Kwon, Ajanae Dawkins, Mohammad Hakima, Xiao Yue Shan, Jos Charles, Traci Brimhall, Anni Liu, and Tariq Luthun.
Now in our 95th year of continuous publication, Prairie Schooner seeks to publish the best in contemporary poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and reviews.
We've got years of great issues full of excellent writing, and buying a sample copy is a great way to grab a taste of what we're all about.
If you're looking to buy a specific back issue, please indicate which one you want in the form. Otherwise, we'll just pick out one of our favorite recent issues and send it your way.
Our readers' loyal support and enthusiasm for what we do is why we're able to keep producing one of the oldest literary magazines in the country.
Consider making a donation to support our ongoing mission to bring great work from around the world out into the world.