Submission Guidelines

Our 2008-2009 reading period starts September 15 and runs through January 15. All submissions received via our online submissions system during the reading period will be considered. The response time will vary according to the number of submissions received. Our goal is to respond to all submissions within four months, or sooner.

Please note: there is an important change for the 2008-2009 reading period. All submitted material will be considered for both the print edition of The Kenyon Review and Kenyon Review Online. We launched KRO in July of 2008 as a solution to the sometimes lengthy waiting period between acceptance and publication for the print journal. With KRO, we’ve essentially doubled our publishing space. We’re excited to make more excellent work available online, more quickly than we ever have, to an online readership that is potentially limitless.

Though we’ll be accepting work for publication in either the print or online version of KR (and in some instances, both), our reading process will remain the same. The distinctions guiding editorial decisions to accept work for either venue aren’t hierarchical distinctions, but rather aesthetic distinctions. KRO is a space for more timely work, and work that is perhaps more experimental in nature. Our basic editorial principle, however, is unwavering—we’re looking to publish the best work we can find.

We urge all submitters to be thoughtful of others and submit no more than two works in a given genre during the reading period.

After submitting, please feel free to log in and check on the status of your submission at any time. The KR editors and staff thank you in advance for sharing your work with us!

Nuts and Bolts:

We consider
* short fiction and essays (up to 7,500 words)
* poetry (up to 6 poems) Please group your poems in a single document. You will not be able to submit your poems individually.
* plays (up to 35 pages)
* excerpts (up to 35 pages) from larger works
* translations of poetry and short prose

We do not accept
* submissions sent by mail
* work that has been previously published
* unsolicited reviews
* unsolicited interviews
* simultaneous submissions
* email submissions (Please use the online submission page on this site.)

We accept the following file formats only:
.PDF (Adobe Acrobat)
.DOC (Microsoft Word)
.RTF (Rich Text Format)
.TXT (Microsoft Wordpad and Notepad, Apple TextEdit.)

* When using our online submissions page, please be sure to add The Kenyon Review's email address (kenyonreview@kenyon.edu) to your spam blocker software so that you can receive correspondence from us.

* Translations must be accompanied by the work in its original language and the translator is responsible for the author’s permission to use his or her material.

* We generally follow the Chicago Manual of Style (15th Edition) and Webster’s Eleventh New Collegiate Dictionary. Authors planning to use end notes and/or citations should download our guidelines (Acrobat Reader is required) or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope for our citation style guide before submitting manuscripts.

* Payment for accepted work is made upon publication. Authors retain their copyrights and will receive a contract upon acceptance.

* Still have questions? Please read our FAQ for answers.