The Tusculum Review Submission Guidelines
Four Genres | We seek well-crafted writing that takes risks. We publish work in and between all genres: poetry, fiction, essays, and plays. We appreciate work in experimental and traditional modes. We accept prose submissions under 7,000 words (24 double-spaced pages) and poetry submissions of five pages or less. We publish one-act plays with running times of 10 to 30 minutes (up to 30 pages) and comics and graphic novel sequences of 1-8 pages. We consider original writing by humans—we do not publish AI-generated or AI-assisted pieces. Our issues feature the work of 20-35 writers chosen from our general submissions.
Poetry Editor Joshua L. Martin is most intrigued by poems that harness rhythm and imagery to carry compelling narratives. He admires poets Phillip Levine, Ross Gay, Kim Addonizio, and others working in the post-Confessional narrative tradition. He also values surreal/experimental poetry and is open to poems of all schools/traditions that work toward a sense of structural unification and demonstrate an awareness of form’s collusion with function.
Nonfiction Editor Abby Seethoff is looking for both essays and straight memoir and welcomes work that falls somewhere in between. If you’ve got a story to tell, say how you really felt. And if you’ve got an idea to unfurl, Abby is open to formal variety and intertextual gestures so long as you can answer this question: to what end?
Drama Editor Chris Allen is most interested in plays that are fundamentally theatre—distinct from fiction, film, or other art rendered in play format. He looks for comedies or dramas centered on character and insight, rather than technical elements: plays that can be produced with small casts and low budgets in black box theatres. He appreciates pieces that urge audiences to see the unseen, inspect the ignored, and debate the assumed.
Fiction Editor Kelsey Trom seeks stories that are lush, immersive, and urgent. She admires tales led by characters in immediate danger who have something essential at stake. She enjoys all styles and genres. The Tusculum Review loves fiction situated in rich cultural milieus with palpable environs, dialogue, and people. The Tusculum Review also seeks comics and graphic novel sequences (1-8 pages) of fiction, autofiction, and nonfiction.
Book Reviews, Translations, Illustrations | We publish book reviews of under two pages. We go to press in September, so books reviewed should be published between June and December. Submit reviews to Essay and signal as a review in your cover letter. We publish original translations into English. We only accept work that has not been previously published elsewhere, electronically or in print. We showcase illustrators in every issue: send your portfolio to review@tusculum.edu to be considered for a commission.
Reading Period | We read year round. We go to print annually in September, so work received after September 1 will be considered for the following year’s volume. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please alert us via Submittable in the event of acceptance elsewhere. We would love to pay you with money, but our current budget only allows for payment in copies (2).
Cover Letter | Please include your name, address, phone number, email address, and title(s) of your submissions in your cover letter. A short bio is optional.
Award Nominations | We nominate for the Pushcart Prize, O. Henry Awards, Best New Poets, and The Best American Series. Irene O’Garden’s “Glad to be Human: A Joie de Coeur,” published in Volume 6 of The Tusculum Review, won a 2012 Pushcart Prize. Robin Storey Dunn’s “Gimme Shelter” and Jamie L. Smith’s “Mythology Lessons,” published in Volume 16, were recognized as Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2020 in The Best American Essays 2021. In The Best American Essays 2022, Priscilla Long’s “After Long Silence” and Suphil Lee Park’s “An Escape Clause” (Volume 17), were recognized as Notables of 2021. Katrin Arefy’s “Blowing Dandelions” (Volume 18) was honored by Series Editor Robert Atwan as a Notable Essay of 2022 in The Best American Essays 2023.
Chapbook Contest | Chapbooks are short books of literature, appealingly packaged: an art and literary form. Although literary presses most often publish chapbooks of poetry, The Tusculum Review publishes single works of prose as chapbooks as well: one short story or one essay. Our annual chapbook contest rotates through the genres on a three-year cycle. Our 2026 contest is a poetry prize and Nate Marshall will judge. We will be publishing the prizewinning poem cycle in chapbook form as well as in the journal issue. We commission a well-matched artist to illustrate the winning work. Past chapbooks can be viewed on our website. The contest closes June 15, 2026.
Publication Rights | Except for second printings of the journal due to demand, all rights to material in the Tusculum Review and chapbooks revert to the individual authors and artists after publication (first serial rights). We request that you acknowledge us if you reprint work we published first. The ideas and opinions expressed in the Tusculum Review are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideas of Tusculum University, its administration, faculty, or staff. Tusculum University does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, identity, religion, veteran or military status, citizenship status, ethnic origin, or disability.
Online Submission Manager | We do not generally accept mailed or e-mailed submissions, but if you are incarcerated email your manuscript to review@tusculum.edu. If Submittable is a hardship for any other reason, query us at review@tusculum.edu. If you do not have internet access, please mail your manuscript to The Tusculum Review, P.O. Box 5113, 60 Shiloh Rd., Greeneville, TN 37745-0595 and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for our reply.
2026 Issue – Volume 22 | Our 22nd volume will go to press in the fall of 2026. It will feature the winning chapbook of the 2026 Poetry Chapbook Prize selected by contest judge Nate Marshall, original illustrations of the written work, and texts in all four genres chosen from our general submissions. The issue launches live in Greeneville, Tennessee at Tusculum University in November 2026.
Questions? | review@tusculum.edu | (423) 636-7300 ext. 5420