The Broad River Review publishes high-quality literary works.
Writers have two avenues for submission.
We invite general submissions of original poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, and we also encourage visual artists to submit samples for possible cover art. General submissions are open each year from February 1–April 1.
We also invite entries to our contests, the Rash Awards, which offer $500 first prizes in both Fiction and Poetry. Entries for the Rash Awards are accepted each year from February 1–April 15. For complete details about the contest, please see our contest rules on our website at http://broadriverreview.org/official-contest-rules/.
All poetry submissions are restricted to five poems, with no more ten pages total per submission. Fiction and creative nonfiction submissions must be no more than 5,000 words. Previously published work will not be considered. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, although works accepted elsewhere must be withdrawn immediately.
All general submissions and contest submissions received during the reading period will be considered for publication. However, only official entries for the Rash Awards and the $20 entry fee will be eligible for the prize awards.
Our monthly submissions are capped at 300 for general submissions. If you see that the general submission links are not active or showing, wait until the first day of the next month to submit (this includes April 1 as the start of a new month).
Rash Award entries are never capped.
We look forward to reading your submissions!
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Contest Rules
1. All manuscripts meeting the requirements listed below and submitted between February 1, 2025 and April 15, 2025, will be considered for the cash awards as well as for publication in the Broad River Review.
2. All Rash Award contest entries must be submitted through Submittable (see the link at the bottom of the page). A contest entry fee of $20 (U.S.) will be collected. Writers may submit multiple times in one or both genres, but the $20 fee will be collected for each entry.
3. No previously published works or works accepted for publication are eligible, including previous online publication. Simultaneous submissions are eligible, although any manuscript accepted elsewhere must be withdrawn immediately.
4. Poetry entries are restricted to five poems, with no more ten pages total per submission. Fiction entries must be double spaced and no longer than 5,000 words.
5. Winning manuscripts will appear in the Volume 57 of the Broad River Review, which will be published in late fall of 2025. All entrants will be receive one copy of Volume 57 of the Broad River Review.
6. Manuscripts will be judged blindly. In the Submittable submission form, enter contact information (including name, address, phone, and email), a short biographical entry, and the names of all titles submitted for the contest. Writers must NOT include their names anywhere in the file name or inside the attached manuscript file. For those who enter more than one submission to the Rash Awards, please include a name and address for a gift copy of the Broad River Review 2025 in the Submittable form of any subsequent entry, if you desire to do so.
7. Winners will be notified by telephone. Finalists may also be offered publication, and will be notified through Submittable. All entrants will receive notification with a full list of winners and finalists by June 1, 2025.
8. In the event that judges do not deem any submissions worthy of the prize, we reserve the right to extend the call for manuscripts or to cancel the award. If an award is canceled, entry fees will be refunded.
9. Anyone with a previous reciprocal professional relationship with the judges will be disqualified from the contest. Submissions will be screened by the staff of the Broad River Review, and finalists will be forwarded for final judging.
Contest Rules
1. All manuscripts meeting the requirements listed below and submitted between February 1, 2025 and April 15, 2025, will be considered for the cash awards as well as for publication in the Broad River Review.
2. All Rash Award contest entries must be submitted through Submittable (see the link at the bottom of the page). A contest entry fee of $20 (U.S.) will be collected. Writers may submit multiple times in one or both genres, but the $20 fee will be collected for each entry.
3. No previously published works or works accepted for publication are eligible, including previous online publication. Simultaneous submissions are eligible, although any manuscript accepted elsewhere must be withdrawn immediately.
4. Poetry entries are restricted to five poems, with no more ten pages total per submission. Fiction entries must be double spaced and no longer than 5,000 words.
5. Winning manuscripts will appear in the Volume 57 of the Broad River Review, which will be published in late fall of 2025. All entrants will be receive one copy of Volume 57 of the Broad River Review.
6. Manuscripts will be judged blindly. In the Submittable submission form, enter contact information (including name, address, phone, and email), a short biographical entry, and the names of all titles submitted for the contest. Writers must NOT include their names anywhere in the file name or inside the attached manuscript file. For those who enter more than one submission to the Rash Awards, please include a name and address for a gift copy of the Broad River Review 2025 in the Submittable form of any subsequent entry, if you desire to do so.
7. Winners will be notified by telephone. Finalists may also be offered publication, and will be notified through Submittable. All entrants will receive notification with a full list of winners and finalists by June 1, 2025.
8. In the event that judges do not deem any submissions worthy of the prize, we reserve the right to extend the call for manuscripts or to cancel the award. If an award is canceled, entry fees will be refunded.
9. Anyone with a previous reciprocal professional relationship with the judges will be disqualified from the contest. Submissions will be screened by the staff of the Broad River Review, and finalists will be forwarded for final judging.
The Foothills Writing Contest is sponsored by Gardner-Webb University's Department of English and its literary magazine, Broad River Review. The contest is for current high school students (9-12 grade) in the Foothills region surrounding Gardner-Webb University.
Entrants must be enrolled at a high school in the North Carolina counties of Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Polk, or Rutherford, or be a certified home school student residing in one of these counties.
A First Prize of a $100 gift card will be awarded, along with two Honorable Mention prizes of $50 each.
To enter, submit a poem (up to 40 lines), short story (up to 2,000 words), or creative nonfiction essay (up to 2,000) no later than Thursday, April 3, 2025. You may enter once, regardless of genre. Winning entry may be considered for publication in Broad River Review.
The is no theme for this year's Foothills Literary Contest, so student writers are encouraged to offer their works on any theme.
Our online submission system caps at 300 entries a month. We also use this system for submitting to our university's literary magazine. So, if you submit near the end of March and the link doesn't work, then just wait until April 1 when the system resets. There will be no issue between April 1 and April 3.
Members of the Gardner-Webb University Department of English will review all entries and select the winner and finalists. Students do not have to be present at the Foothills Writers Day on April 10 to win. Students who do not enter the contest are also welcome to attend the Foothills Writers Day.
All entrants are invited to campus on April 10, 2025, for the Foothills Writers Day, which will include time with our student writers, an open mic session, award announcements, and a short campus tour.
Foothills Writing Contest inquiries should be directed to Dr. Chris Davis, Chair, Department of English at Gardner-Webb University, at (704) 406-3224 or cdavis@gardner-webb.edu.
Short Fiction submissions are limited to 5,000 words. However, shorter works often stand a better chance of acceptance due to space in the publication. Previously published work will not be considered. Simultaneous submissions are eligible, although any manuscript accepted elsewhere must be withdrawn immediately.
Poetry submissions are restricted to five poems, with no more ten pages total per submission. Previously published work will not be considered. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if our editors are notified immediately that the work has been accepted elsewhere.
Creative Nonfiction submissions are limited to 5,000 words. However, shorter works often stand a better chance of acceptance due to space in the publication. Previously published work will not be considered. Simultaneous submissions are eligible, although any manuscript accepted elsewhere must be withdrawn immediately. We do not currently publish general nonfiction, such as book reviews.
We accept submissions for cover art. While we will consider just about anything, please take a a look at our recent covers. We do not typically use covers with real people featured in the artwork. Please submit up to five digital images for consideration.
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