Oyster River Pages publishes fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and visual art. We search for and champion underrepresented voices. To find out more about ORP please go to: https://www.oysterriverpages.com/
Submissions for our annual issue will be accepted January 23 through May 31, 2024. See below for guidelines and deadlines for any active special issues.
*If you have not heard back from us regarding your submission, we may be considering your piece for publication. Please do not send duplicate submissions. If you receive a decline or are waiting to hear back, please wait until the next submission cycle before submitting again. Thank you!*
ORP’s Emerging Voices (EV) seeks to publish and support writers and poets who are beginning their creative journeys. To that end, each EV submission will receive at least one or two lines of constructive feedback.
Submissions must meet the following criteria:
- Emerging Voices have been published no more than two publications in any genre (poetry, drama, prose, nonfiction, and media). (Publications in the author’s college and/or university are exempt.)
- Emerging Voices have not published or self-published work in book-length form.
- Emerging Voices are not faculty at a university in a subject area related to creative writing.
- Content deemed overly explicit and/or violent will be declined without feedback.
Submissions that do not meet the above criteria will be declined.
Please indicate whether you are submitting work to Emerging Voices Fiction or Emerging Voices Poetry. Submissions must be for either Emerging Voices Fiction or Emerging Voices Poetry, not both. Submissions that combine Emerging Voices Fiction and Emerging Voices Poetry will be declined unread.
Emerging Voices Fiction: Please submit one short story up to 6,000 words in .docx format. Only one short story per submitter will be read and reviewed. All work should be double-spaced. Please include your full name, pseudonym or pen name, should you wish to use it for publication, and preferred email on the first page of the document. Please also include the title of your short story on the first page. Emerging Voices Fiction also accepts translated work. Please mention in your cover letter if you are submitting translated work and include the name of the translator.
Emerging Voices Poetry: Please submit up to 3 poems in one document of no longer than 10 pages total in .doc or .docx format. If your poem(s) require specific formatting, you may use .pdf to preserve the spacing. Each poem should start on its own page. Please note if a page break is also a stanza break. Please include your full name, pseudonym or pen name, should you wish to use it for publication, and preferred email on the first page of the document. Please also include the title(s) of your poem(s) with each poem. Emerging Voices Poetry does not accept translations at this time. Only one submission of poetry per submitter will be read and reviewed.
We do our best to respond to submissions in a timely manner. However, given the volume of submissions and the personalized feedback each submission receives through Emerging Voices, please wait at least 6 months before inquiring about a submission. Duplicate submissions within the same submission window will be automatically declined.
Please submit photography or other visual arts that are saved at 300 dpi or greater. We reserve the right to crop or edit submissions in order to fit in print or on our webpage. In your cover letter, please include a short bio (~60 words), and feel free to upload a photo with your submission.
ORP runs entirely on the love and support of its volunteers. Please consider supporting our mission to make the world more equitable by including a small donation with your submission. All donations go directly to ORP's essential operations. (Donating does not change the priority or care with which your submission will be read.)
Submissions are open through May 31, 2024.
ORP is accepting submissions for reviews, interviews, profiles, commentary, or other innovative forms (including multimedia) that seek to highlight or critically engage with issues or works of literary, artistic, or cultural significance. The most compelling Soundings submissions will align with ORP's mission to amplify stories that speak to what it means to be alive in this world, works that move of out of ourselves and into other spaces, and voices who bring balance and diversity to historical institutions of power. For these reasons, we prioritize works that are published or produced independently, without the clout of corporate promotion. We are especially eager to publish pieces that engage with the work of marginalized and decentered people—Black and Brown creators, LGBTQ+ creators, and creators of all levels of dis/ability.
Reviews need not be uncritically positive, but predominantly negative reviews will be evaluated for necessity and/or urgency. If you aim to eviscerate the subject of your review, please ask yourself whom your critique serves. ORP is not in the business of strafing the creative community.
There is no predetermined length requirement, but successful Soundings will exercise brevity and a sense of proportion to the content they engage with.
Please submit creative non-fiction pieces that are no longer than 5,000 words in .docx format. All work should be double-spaced. Your name should not appear anywhere in the document. In your cover letter, please include a short bio (~60 words), and feel free to upload a photo with your submission.
ORP runs entirely on the love and support of its volunteers. Please consider supporting our mission to make the world more equitable by including a small donation with your submission. All donations go directly to ORP's essential operations. (Donating does not change the priority or care with which your submission will be read.)
Submissions are open through May 31, 2024.
Please submit up to three poems in .docx format. Each poem should start on its own page. Please note if a page break is also a stanza break. Otherwise, the spacing of the submission will remain as is in publication to preserve the integrity of the poem. In your cover letter, please include a short bio (~60 words), and feel free to upload a photo with your submission. Due to the high volume of poetry we receive, duplicate poetry submissions within the same submission window will be automatically declined.
ORP runs entirely on the love and support of its volunteers. Please consider supporting our mission to make the world more equitable by including a small donation with your submission. All donations go directly to ORP's essential operations. (Donating does not change the priority or care with which your submission will be read.)
Submissions are open through May 31, 2024.
Please submit one (1) story of no more than 6,000 words in .docx format. Include word count in either your cover letter or on the first page of your submission. All work should be double-spaced. In your cover letter, please include a short bio (~60 words), and feel free to upload a photo with your submission.
We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please contact us immediately if your work is picked up elsewhere.
We are especially eager to publish pieces from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ creators, as well as creators of all levels of dis/ability. To that end, we invite creators to self-identify in their submissions.
ORP runs entirely on the love and support of its volunteers. Please consider supporting our mission to make the world more equitable by including a small donation with your submission. All donations go directly to ORP's essential operations. (Donating does not change the priority or care with which your submission will be read.)
Submissions are open through May 31, 2024.