Submission Guidelines (Print Edition)

Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting.

General submissions for our print edition can be made via our online submissions manager.
To submit to our special Immigrant Writers feature, visit ninthletteronline.submittable.com.

Ninth Letter is accepting submissions of fiction from September 1 to November 30 and from January 1 to February 28 (postmark dates) We are accepting submissions of poetry and essays from September 1 to February 28 (postmark dates). Ninth Letter is a published semi-annually at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. We are interested in prose and poetry that experiment with form, narrative, and nontraditional subject matter, as well as more traditional literary work. To make life easier for everyone, including yourself, please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting your work to Ninth Letter:

For poetry, submit 3-6 poems (max. 10 pages) at a time. For fiction and nonfiction, please send only one story or one essay at a time, up to 8,000 words.

Single- or double-sided copies are okay. Do not send a second submission until you have received a response to the first. We do not accept previously published work. Simultaneous submissions are okay as long as they are identified as such in a cover letter. Please withdraw your submission immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.

To submit electronically, visit our online submissions manager, and carefully read the instructions there prior to submitting

We do not accept submissions by email attachment--email submissions will not be read.

Submissions via USPS should be addressed to Fiction Editor, Poetry Editor, or Nonfiction Editor:

NINTH LETTER
University of Illinois
Department of English
608 South Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801

Please include your name and contact information on the first page of your manuscript; cover letters are optional. All mailed submissions must include an SASE for reply; we recommend a stamped business-sized envelope. If you wish to have your manuscript returned, you must include adequate postage and a properly sized envelope, and indicate such in your cover letter. We will recycle all unreturned manuscripts.

You should hear from us regarding your submission within 12 weeks; if you haven't heard from us in that time you are welcome to query about the status of your manuscript via mail or e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We can only review two submissions per author per reading period; if you have submitted twice before the end of the reading period, please do not submit again unless solicited to do so by an editor.

Ninth Letter pays $25 per printed page, upon publication, for accepted material, as well as two complimentary copies of the issue in which the work appears. Writers will be sent contracts upon acceptance of their work, and will receive page proofs prior to publication. Ninth Letter publishes one issue in the spring and one in the fall.

Contact

Editor - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Fiction Editor - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Poetry Editor - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nonfiction Editor - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To submit to our online edition featuring student writing, visit ninthletteronline.submittable.com.