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Submissions Close June 2!
Who says 13 has to be unlucky? Every year, The Masters Review has opened submissions to produce our anthology, a print collection of ten stories and essays by emerging writers around the world. For our thirteenth year, we’re taking our favorite project to new heights: The Best Emerging Writers Anthology will showcase a collection of ten writers who are bound for great things, as chosen from a shortlist of thirty writers by our guest judge, Gina Chung, author Sea Change and Green Frog, who will also write an introduction for the collection. Each of our ten winners will receive a $700 award and a print copy of the book.
And—for the first time ever, our anthology will be published both in print and online. Our anthology has been at the heart of our mission to provide a platform to emerging writers since day one, and we’re excited to bring this project to our revamped website. Think you’ve got what it takes to be named a Best Emerging Writer? Submissions will open April 1 and close June 2, 2024. As always, we don’t have any preferences topically or in terms of style. We’re simply looking for the Best.
For this year’s anthology, Gina Chung wants stories that leave room for wondering and wandering:
I’m looking for stories that surprise me and draw me in from their very first lines and leave me feeling moved or changed in some way by the end. I’m especially drawn to writing that feels embodied and to characters that feel real and flawed, who are simultaneously knowable and unknowable to themselves and one another, in ways that advance the central ideas of the story. When I’m reading, I’m looking for a level of authorial control and curiosity that tells me I’m in the hands of a writer who has something to say and knows just how to say it. At the same time, I don’t think fiction should necessarily pose answers to the many unanswerable questions we all face day-to-day—the most powerful stories are, in my opinion, the ones that provide moments of resolution but still leave room for questions, for daylight, for wondering and wandering.
Guidelines:
- Submissions of fiction or creative nonfiction must be under 7,000 words.
- Submitted work must be previously unpublished, which includes publication on personal blogs, social media accounts, and other websites. Previously published work will be automatically disqualified.
- The entry fee per submission is $20.
- Multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $20 fee.
- Simultaneous submissions are also allowed. However, if your submission is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the piece is no longer available.
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Writers from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups are invited to submit for free until we reach fifty submissions in this category.
- We do not require anonymous submissions for this contest, though the guest judge will review the shortlist anonymously.
- This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie or university presses and self-published authors are welcome to submit unpublished work.
- International submissions are allowed, provided the work is written primarily in English. Some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
- No translations, please.
- All submissions must be double-spaced with one-inch page margins and use Times New Roman or Garamond 12 (or larger, if needed for accessibility).
- The contest’s deadline is 11:59 p.m. PDT on June 2, 2024.
- All entries are considered for publication in New Voices.
- Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are ineligible for this award.
- Writers whose work appears in previous editions of our anthology are ineligible for this award.
- A significant portion of the editorial letter fee is paid directly to your feedback editor.
Ten winners will receive:
- a $700 award;
- publication in our internationally distributed anthology and on our website;
- a contributor’s copy;
- and exposure to over fifty literary agencies as part of our exclusive mailing. We send our anthology to editors, writers, and literary institutions across the country.
About the Judge
Gina Chung is a Korean American writer from New Jersey currently living in New York City. She is the author of the novel Sea Change, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a 2023 B&N Discover Pick, an APALA Adult Fiction Honor Book, and a New York Times Most Anticipated Book, and the short story collection Green Frog (out March 12, 2024, from Vintage in the US and June 6, 2024, from Picador in the UK). A recipient of the Pushcart Prize, she is a 2021-2022 Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from The New School. Her work appears or is forthcoming in One Story, BOMB, The Kenyon Review, Literary Hub, Catapult, Electric Literature, and Gulf Coast, among others.
Editorial Letter Option
If you’re interested in getting feedback on your writing, utilize our editorial letter add-on option. Our response to your submission will be accompanied by a one- to two-page letter from an experienced guest editor, who will offer observations on strengths as well as opportunities for revision, suggest journals where you might submit a revised version of your story, and include other comments on craft. Though there is a reading fee for this option, a significant portion of the fee goes to your feedback editor. See a sample editorial letter.
Registrations for the 2024 Novel Workshop are open through May 2!
Working on a novel? Perhaps you even have one stuck in a dark drawer that now needs to see the light of day? Maybe we can help! The Masters Review’s Novel Workshop is the perfect opportunity for any writer to get direct, actionable feedback on the opening of their novel in progress. Whether you’re working on your first draft or your fifteenth, let us get you on the path to fruitful revision, and potentially, publication.
Our workshop will pair you with an experienced small press editor who will offer detailed, personalized feedback on the first fifty pages of your novel. Along with your feedback, you’ll receive self-guided learning materials on fiction and novel writing curated by The Masters Review team, an opportunity to join a writing group with fellow participants, and a free entry to an upcoming TMR contest. This asynchronous, remote workshop is an excellent way for writers to reinvest in their novel writing. Enrollment is open until May 2, 2024.
Writers are invited to submit the first fifty pages of their novels. In their cover letters, writers should also plan to include a brief synopsis of the novel, any challenges they may be facing, and any specific feedback they are seeking.
After registration, writers will receive their assigned editor, along with instructional materials compiled by The Masters Review. Manuscripts will be processed in the order they are received. All participants will receive feedback no later than August 31, 2024.
Registration is $497.
Participants will receive:
- three to five pages of editorial feedback with specific suggestions and developmental analysis that will help elevate their novel to the next level;
- a PDF of a self-guided learning curriculum on fiction and novel writing, featuring workbooks uniquely built by our team around such foundational texts as Naming the World edited by Bret Anthony Johnston, The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass, Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway, and Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody;
- an opportunity to join a curated writing group with other participants;
- a free submission to one of our upcoming contests;
- and an archived copy of The Masters Review anthology.
Guidelines:
- For this workshop, we are accepting works of fiction only, the first fifty pages or fewer of your novel in progress.
- All submissions must be double-spaced with one-inch page margins and use Times New Roman or Garamond. Please do not include front matter (i.e., title page, table of contents, dedication, etc.).
- All genres and styles of fiction are welcome. Please do not submit poetry or memoir manuscripts.
- Please submit a single manuscript per submission.
- Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.
- If necessary, you can register before the deadline to hold a spot and submit a manuscript later. If you submit your manuscript after reserving your spot, you will need to request to open your submission by emailing us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com. We’ll grant you access, and then you can upload your piece. All manuscripts must be submitted by the deadline, May 2nd.
- All participants will receive feedback no later than August 31, 2024.
About the Guest Editors
Colleen Alles is an award-winning writer living in West Michigan. The author of two novels (Skinny Vanilla Crisis, Atmosphere Books, and Master of Arts, Scantic Press) and a full-length poetry collection (After the 8-Ball, Cornerstone Press), Colleen works as a developmental editor and a contributing editor (short fiction) at Barren Magazine. Colleen is a Michigan State University (BA) and Wayne State University (MLIS) graduate. When she isn’t reading or writing, Colleen enjoys distance running and spending time with her family, including a well-loved beagle, Charlie. You can find her online on Instagram @ColleenAlles_author, and on Twitter at @ColleenAlles.
Yvonne C. Garrett holds an MFA-Fiction (The New School), an MLIS (Palmer), two MAs (NYU), and a PhD with a dissertation focused on women in Punk. She’s been published in a wide array of journals and magazines. Senior fiction editor at Black Lawrence Press, she also edits the weekly publishing newsletter Sapling.
Laura Hart is an assistant editor for Bellevue Literary Press, a nonprofit publisher at the intersection of the arts and sciences. She earned a BA from Auburn University and an MFA from Columbia University. Her passion lies in cultivating and empowering diverse stories so that the publishing world better represents our modern society. She previously worked at Writers House and Columbia Journal.
Praise For Past TMR Workshops:
“I workshopped two stories with you/The Masters Review last year, and I wanted to let you know that revised versions of those stories helped me earn an acceptance to the University of Arizona, where I’ll be an MFA candidate in fiction this fall. Thank you so much for your feedback and for running such a wonderfully supportive publication and platform for emerging writers. ” –Josh, Summer Workshop
“I found the comments made by Adeena Reitberger regarding my story to be hugely helpful. Once again I am very pleased with your summer workshop.” –Abby, Summer Workshop
“Thank you so much for the feedback letter plus manuscript markups. I couldn’t be more thrilled. I can’t remember ever having an editor look at my work and so clearly understand what I’ve tried to convey on the page. I had the immediate sense that Nate had truly given my story a thorough read, making his compliments feel sincere and suggestions for improvement feel well worth considering from start to finish.” –Royce, Summer Workshop
“Adeena’s comments are both incisive and insightful. It is one of the best critiques I have ever received, and it will serve as my guide when I revise. I agree completely with what she said.” –John, Summer Workshop
“You’ve done it again, everyone! What a brilliant workshop! Thank you so much for the incredible opportunity to work with you and Adeena Reitberger. I can put each of her comments to work immediately (even the compliments I guess I fished for, ha-ha!, as mood boosters), read/re-read the stories/writers she’s recommended, and order samples of the journals she’s recommended as a fit for my story so I can sniff them out—the prospects of which has got me doing a jig in the living room (try not to picture someone more jiggle than jig), and excited about my next editing move with my story (dip or dive?—but not abandon, hallelujah!)… True brilliance!” –Meredith, Summer Workshop
“I wanted to thank you for passing along Lauren’s feedback on my story. I thought her comments were concise and specific, and I appreciated her efforts to excavate what’s at the core of the story I’m trying to tell. I have some work ahead of me, for sure, but that’s a good thing. I agree with Lauren’s assessment of where the piece is falling short, I have a clear path to revision, and I’m overall very grateful for her astute observations and careful attention. Many thanks again!” –Nicole, Summer Workshop
“I would like to thank Michelle Wildgen for her very helpful comments. She made the effort to understand what I was attempting to do with my short story, and pointed out quite clearly where it fell short and how it could be improved. Her feedback was professional, specific, and, to my great appreciation, positive. I am eager to get back to work.” –Gary, Summer Workshop
Our New Voices category is open year round to any new or emerging author who has not published a novel-length work of fiction or narrative nonfiction with a major press. Authors with published short story collections are free to submit. We accept simultaneous and multiple submissions but ask that you inform us immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.
The Masters Review pays a flat rate of $100 for flash-length stories (1,000 words or fewer) and $200 for longer stories (up to 7,000 words).
Guidelines:
- This category is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses and self-published authors are welcome to submit unpublished work.
- We accept fiction and narrative non-fiction. We do accept a variety of genres and styles; our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and write your heart out. But please, send us polished work. Our aim is to showcase writers who we believe will continue to produce great work. Send us only your best.
- We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us if your work is picked up elsewhere.
- All submissions must be under 7,000 words.
- If you’re submitting flash, feel free to include up to three stories in a single document.
- We do accept multiple submissions.
- We cannot consider work that has been previously published in any form. This includes personal blogs.
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history and a short bio.
- We aim to respond to all submissions within twelve weeks. Please do not e-mail before twelve weeks have passed.
- For submissions that request an editorial letter, a significant portion of the editorial letter fees go to our feedback editor.
We don’t have any preferences topically or in terms of style. We’re simply looking for the best. We don’t define, nor are we interested in, stories identified by their genre. We do, however, consider ourselves a publication that focuses on literary fiction. Dazzle us, take chances, and be bold. Thanks for supporting our publication, and thank you for your work.
New Voices submissions can be uploaded to Submittable by clicking the button below:
For questions about submissions or to query an existing submission please use the following email: contact (at) mastersreview (dot) com.
Book Reviews, Interviews & Craft Essays
The Masters Review is now accepting submissions of completed book reviews, interviews and craft essays for publication on our blog. Please do not send pitches or queries to this category. Submissions must be previously unpublished. We do not consider reprints. At the moment, we are unable to pay for book reviews or interviews, but we can pay $50 for craft essays. If you have a pitch or query, please contact us at contact [at] mastersreview2.wpengine.com.
Genre Guidelines
Book Reviews
- Book Reviews must be of books scheduled for a 2023 release. We recommend submitting your review at least one month before the scheduled publication date. Earlier is better.
- Book Reviews should be between 700-1200 words.
- Include in your review at least one sentence that conveys your overall stance on the book and embolden it. (e.g., The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley ruthlessly interrogates what it means to be successful as a Black woman, a Millennial, and a liberal living in an urban center.)
- Our primary interest are debut authors and indie presses. Occasionally, we will consider and publish reviews from major presses or of notable authors.
- Rarely, we will consider a review for a book with a past release date, but it must have been published within four months. If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at contact [at] mastersreview2.wpengine.com.
Interviews
- We are interested in interviews with authors, editors, agents or other industry professionals, with a particular focus on recent publications or activity. Our mission is to bridge the gap between new and established writers, so any insight into the profession of writing is valuable (e.g., this interview with agent Miriam Atlshuler).
- Interviews should be between 1,200-2,500 words.
- Please include a bio of both the interviewee and the interviewer with your submission, as well as an introduction to the interview.
Craft Essays
- Craft Essays should focus on a particular aspect of the craft of writing fiction or nonfiction.
- Please do not send craft essays about poetry.
- We are especially interested in craft essays which examine the craft of a particular story. Please see our Stories That Teach and From the Archive series on the blog for examples.
- Craft Essays should be between 1,200-2,500 words.
Submission questions, concerns, and inquiries can be sent to a staff member at: contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com
Author’s Rights
The Masters Review holds first publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following The Masters Review’s first publication. For reprints we ask for acknowledgement of its publication in The Masters Review first.
