What do you publish?
Blue Earth Review accepts submissions of poetry, prose, and artwork.

How do I know if my work is right for Blue Earth Review?
Some of our content from past issues is available online here; however, the best way to know if your work is a good fit for Blue Earth Review is to read our magazine. Back issues are available here for $5 each.

How do I send you my work?
First of all, make sure to read all of our submission guidelines and instructions. Literary magazines like BER receive large amounts of submissions from around the world every month. Our staff is composed entirely of volunteers, all of whom are also writers and students, many of whom are teachers, meaning we are also pretty busy outside the office, as well. Since so many submissions to lit mags are of such outstanding quality, editors often have a tough time deciding between pieces. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by making the mistake of not following the submission guidelines. This is a good rule of thumb for all lit mags, not just BER.

All submissions must be made via our Submission Manager. Beginning this year, we will not be taking mail submissions. Submission instructions are available on the Submission Manager page. All submissions received via postal mail will be recycled unread. We don't make exceptions to this rule unless you have a really good reason for not using the Submission Manager, in which case, you should e-mail us to ask first.

Submit one work of prose (8,000 words or less) or up to five poems (not exceeding 10 pages in total length). We do not accept multiple submissions, so please wait until you hear from us before sending again. If submitting multiple poems, include all pieces in the same document—either a Microsoft Word document (.doc) or Rich Text (.rtf) file. With all submissions, please include a brief bio in the comments field of the Submission Manager.

We accept simultaneous submissions—all we ask is that you let us know should your work be accepted elsewhere. We try to be expedient in our reading process and generally give responses within the 1–3 month range. Due to the high number of submissions we receive, we are not able to comment on every manuscript. If you haven’t heard from us after four months, e-mail the correct genre editors at blueearthprose at gmail dot com or blueearthpoetry at gmail dot com. Ask nicely—we really are trying.

Our reading period runs from September 1 to February 1. Any submissions made outside that deadline will not be read. No, we will not hold onto your submissions until the reading period opens again—it isn’t fair to you to have to wait seven months for a reply from us.

Payment for publication is two copies of the magazine in which the work was published. We wish we had the money to pay our contributors, we really do, but as Vonnegut once wrote, "so it goes." We’re all in this for the love of writing anyway, right?

Guidelines for submitting prose

We read both fiction and nonfiction submissions under 8,000 words long. Most of what we publish is under 5,000 words. Additional opportunities are available for work under 600 words—see our annual Flash Fiction Contest for details.

We like work with guts and work with heart, often in the same piece, but avoid both sentimentality and a complete lack of emotion. We tend not to publish things that venture too far into the experimental, but that doesn’t mean we won’t take a chance on something we think works. Be brave. Please don’t send any genre work (fantasy, mystery, horror, sci–fi, romance, etc.), or biography or literary journalism—we don’t have anything against it, this just isn’t the venue for it.

Guidelines for submitting poetry

Submit up to five poems for our consideration, not exceeding ten total pages.

We like images—a lot—and we like work that shows the poet has an ear for language. We tend to like poetry that’s ambiguous but not vague, poignant but not didactic, visual but not seizure–inducing. We don’t want poetry that is too wordy or in love with its own voice—we like our poetry to cut straight to the bone. We don’t necessarily lean one way or the other toward forms or experimentation. We like to see everything cross our desk. Our only requirement is that you wow us.

Guidelines for submitting artwork

See our cover photo contest guidelines for details.