Water~Stone Review Submission Guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES _____________________________________________________________

Water~Stone Review reads submissions from October 1 - December 1.
Submissions received in the summer months will not be read. The following guidelines apply to general submissions only. Please visit our contest page for contest submission guidelines.

Note: Beginning with Volume #12, (2009 issue), students currently enrolled in Hamline’s MFA program cannot submit to Water~Stone Review.  Work from graduates of the program is welcome.

All submissions should be original, previously unpublished work. (This also excludes work published on any website, including author’s own site from being submitted for consideration.)

Currently, Water~Stone Review is not accepting submissions electronically. We will not consider any material submitted through e-mail or any other electronic form.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but the writer must withdraw the manuscript immediately if it has been accepted.

Fiction and Creative NonFiction work should be typed, printed on white paper, one side only, double-spaced, and paginated, with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on the first page, title on subsequent pages. We are unable to read submissions of more than 5,000 words.  Novels and memoir excerpts are acceptable as long as they stand on their own.

Poems (one to five poems per submission—please only submit once per reading period) should be typed with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on the first page of each.

Specify genre (fiction, creative nonfiction or poetry) on the outside of your envelope and send submissions addressed to Fiction Editor, Nonfiction Editor, or Poetry Editor.

Enclose a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope with your submission and with any subsequent inquiries. Also include with your submission a brief cover letter listing previous places of publication, if any and the title(s) of piece(s) submitted. Manuscripts will be recycled, not returned.

Response time is typically 4 to 6 months. Please do not send multiple submissions in a single genre. We will read only one submission per author at a given time.
           
Send Submissions to:

Water~Stone Review
Graduate School of Liberal Studies
Hamline University
St. Paul, MN 55104

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ________________________________________________________

Do I have to be a published writer to submit to Water~Stone Review?

No. Water~Stone Review publishes emerging as well as well-known writers.

What happens if I send my submission before or after the reading dates?

If you send your submission before October 1, Water~Stone Review will hold your submission
until that time. However, if you send your submission after December 1, we cannot accept it and will
have to recycle it.

If I submit to the Prose or Poetry Prize, does my work automatically get considered for
general Water~Stone Review submissions?

Yes. In making their final decisions on content, the editors and editorial board select from among the finalists
in both Prize and general submissions.

When will I be notified of a decision about my general submission to Water~Stone Review?
What about my entry to the Prose or Poetry Prize?

The editors begin their selection process in January. General submissions are notified from January through May,
when the last part of the process is completed. Prize submissions are notified in April or May, as soon as the final
judge has made his/her final decision.

What does my entry fee of $10 for the poetry or prose prize pay for?

The $10 entry fee pays for the prize money that is awarded to the contest winners, the judge's fee, and a copy of
the next Water~Stone Review issue. Any proceeds over that contribute to the cost of printing and distributing the review.

Who gets a complimentary copy of Water~Stone Review?

Everyone who enters the Prose or Poetry Prize contest receives a complimentary copy of Water~Stone Review.
All contributors receive two complimentary copies of that issue of Water~Stone Review.