General Submissions
Accepted January 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025
Contest Submissions
Accepted May 1 – September 1, 2025 (Labor Day)
Sowell Emerging Writers Prize Submissions
Accepted September 15 – November 15, 2024
Letter to America Submissions
Accepted Year-Round
ARTerrain Submissions
Accepted Year-Round
Reviews Submissions
Currently not open for submissions.
Terrain.org welcomes submissions from new and experienced authors and artists alike. Our online journal accepts only the finest poetry, essays, fiction, articles, artwork, videos, and other contributions—material that reaches deep into the earth’s fiery core, or humanity’s incalculable core, and brings forth new insights and wisdom. We are seeking work in English (or translation) from around the world, and particularly Indigenous, Native, Black, Brown, and other historically marginalized and underrepresented voices. Please expect a response time of at least 16 weeks on general submissions, and please submit no more than once every six months. We pay $50 for all contributions.
We do not accept previously published submissions except as excerpts of published books. In that case, please query us at info@terrain.org.
We are currently not accepting submissions for Reviews.
The Terrain.org submission period is open from:
- January 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025 for poetry, nonfiction, and fiction general submissions (no fee; $50 payment per accepted submission)
- May 1 – September 1, 2025 (Labor Day) for poetry, nonfiction, and fiction contest submissions ($20 fee for $1,000 prize in each genre, $200 to finalists)
- September 15 – November 15, 2024 for the Sowell Emerging Writers Prize for a book of fiction (short stories, novel, or similar; $25 fee for $1,000 prize plus publication by Texas Tech University Press and a residency of up to two weeks at the Lopez Cottage on the Mackenzie plus $1,000 in travel assistance for the residency)
- Year-round for Letter to America submissions + ARTerrain submissions (no fee, 12-week review period)
- Please query info@terrain.org for interviews, non-literary videos, and Unsprawl case studies.
If you need to withdraw all or part of your submission, please do so directly in Submittable.
Terrain.org Editor’s Prize
All contributions by writers of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, and/or other marginalized communities whose contributions explore place particularly in the context of social, environmental, or climate justice are considered for our annual Editor’s Prize of $500 in Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction. Announcements are made in summer.
