WEST TRADE REVIEW
GENERAL SUBMISSIONS:
Are you a writer or artist that wants to be published and recognized? West Trade Review wants to hear from you! We are looking for original and unpublished works of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry by both new and established writers/artists. We also accept novel excerpt submissions.
A writer bio is required with each submission.
Please submit your work to the appropriate genre folder and follow all established guidelines found on our website:
https://www.westtradereview.com/submissionguidelines20.html
We look forward to reviewing your work.
Our reading period for general submissions is April 1 through August 1 & August 15 through December 15. Some genres, however, could close early if submission caps are reached prior to the end of a reading period.
Submit only once per reading period.
We offer free submissions during the first week of each month (April to December); otherwise, there is a $3 general submission fee.
You may also choose to receive a quick decision about your work for $10, and may also receive a quick decision about your work along with personalized feedback from the editors for $25. The response time for both fee related options is approximately 2 weeks.
Our contest period (fiction and poetry) is January 15th-March 15th.
Trill: Poems That Resonate (Weekly Poetry Publication):
"Poetry is above all a concentration of the power of language, which is the power of our ultimate relationship to everything in the universe." -Adrienne Rich
"Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." - Carl Sandburg
We are looking for poems that uniquely explore each month's theme and perform Olympic feats with language that leave a reader in wonder while still referring back to the basic things that make us human. We want powerful imagery and enjoy the juxtaposition of images in interesting and unexpected ways, like Sandburg's hyacinths and biscuits.
We want poems that make the reader think and feel, work that humbles us with its joy, humor, embarrassment, anger, hope, grief, or all of the above, and gravitate toward writing that has something important to teach us--something that readers really need to know, but might not have understood this was a need until the last word of the work.
One poem will be selected each week for publication on our website. See the guidelines below.
Upcoming Themes:
September 2025: Impermanence
October 2025: Space/Place
November 2025: Community
December 2025: Letting Go
January 2026: Sound
February 2026: Obsession
March 2026: Movement
April 2026: Blossoming
Guidelines:
- Work submitted to this project is only considered for online publication.
- Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
- Submit up to 3 poems as one submission in a single Microsoft Word file. List the title of each poem as the title of your Submittable upload).
-Include a clear title for each poem.
-Please single space all poems.
-Include a cover letter and a short 3rd person biography of no more than 150 words. In your cover letter, briefly explain how you think your poems resonate with the current theme.
-Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know immediately if the work is published elsewhere.
-Writers may not submit to the Trill project more than once in a three-month period.
Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter and Stay Connected to Our Literary Community
Our monthly newsletter highlights some of our recent fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction and also includes book reviews of upcoming and recently released titles. If you're looking for something new to read, you won't want to miss these carefully curated titles and recommendations.
Consider becoming a monthly or annual subscriber for exclusive poems, essays, community conversations, and much more.
https://rootsandwords.substack.com/
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You'll also find us on Bluesky and Threads.
Questions? Contact us at westtradereview@gmail.com
Special Promo: Be one of the first 25 writers to submit before 1/18, and we'll respond to your submission within 2 weeks.
We are looking for nonfiction essays that explore creative life expansively conceived (broader than only literary).
We are seeking personal essays that explore creative practice, reading practice, engagement with literature, support for the literary or creative life, hopes/desires/goals for the arts and creative life, experiences with authors or creative figures, arts community involvement, etc.
We hope these essays will inspire new writing, challenge conventional ideas of creative practices, and deepen our artistic community through the written word.
Manuscripts are read year-round.
NOTE: Submissions which do not meet the following guidelines will not be considered:
- All submissions must be previously unpublished and are limited to one entry per submission period.
- Submissions should be between approximately 1200 and 1500 words.
- Work must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file and include a clear title of the work
- Submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter and a third-person biography of no more than 150 words. Work submitted without a biography will not be considered.
- In your cover letter, please mention your social media handles (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). If you have a website dedicated to your writing, please include the link in your cover letter as well.
Submissions are open year round. Submit no more than once per 6-month period.
While we offer free submissions the first week of each month (April to December), general submissions are typically $3 (to cover administrative costs).
You may also choose to receive a quick decision about your work for $10. The response time for both expedited response is approximately 2 weeks.
Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter, Roots and Words, and Stay Connected to Our Literary Community
As a free subscriber, get access to our free monthly newsletter and one free post each week. Annual subscribers receive exclusive original content like new weekly poems, new essays that explore creativity and the creative life, weekly generative creative writing prompts, and live conversations (craft talks, book club discussions, etc.).
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary copy of each year's spring print edition of West Trade Review.
Learn more and sign up here:
https://rootsandwords.substack.com/about
Please take a moment to follow us on social media.
You'll also find us on Threads and Bluesky.
Special Promo: Be one of the first 25 writers to submit before 1/18, and we'll respond to your submission within 2 weeks.
"Poetry is above all a concentration of the power of language, which is the power of our ultimate relationship to everything in the universe." -Adrienne Rich
"Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." - Carl Sandburg
We are looking for poems that uniquely explore each month's theme and perform Olympic feats with language that leave a reader in wonder while still referring back to the basic things that make us human. We want powerful imagery and enjoy the juxtaposition of images in interesting and unexpected ways, like Sandburg's hyacinths and biscuits.
We want poems that make the reader think and feel, work that humbles us with its joy, humor, embarrassment, anger, hope, grief, or all of the above, and gravitate toward writing that has something important to teach us--something that readers really need to know, but might not have understood this was a need until the last word of the work.
One poem will be selected each week for publication on our website. See the guidelines below.
Upcoming Themes:
March 2026: Movement (Submissions open 3/1-3/1)
April 2026: Blossoming (Submissions open 4/1-4/30)
May 2026: Permission (Submission open 5/1-5/31)
June 2026: Slowing Down (Submissions open 6/1-6/30)
July 2026: Unraveling (Submissions open 7/1-7/31)
August 2026: Turning Points (Submissions open 8/1-8/31)
September 2026: On Being Alone (Submissions open 9/1-9/30)
October 2026: Shapeshifting (Submissions open 10/1-10/31)
Guidelines:
- Work submitted to this project is only considered for online publication.
- Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
- Submit up to 3 poems as one submission in a single Microsoft Word file. List the title of each poem as the title of your Submittable upload.
-Include a clear title for each poem.
-Please single space all poems.
-Include a cover letter and a short 3rd person biography of no more than 150 words. In your cover letter, briefly explain how you think your poems resonate with the current theme.
-Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know immediately if the work is published elsewhere.
-Writers may not submit more than once in a three-month period.
Submissions that do no meet guidelines or eligibility requirements will not be considered.
While we offer free submissions the first week of each month (April to December), general submissions are typically $3 (to cover administrative costs).
You may also choose to receive a quick decision about your work for $10, and may also receive a quick decision about your work along with personalized feedback from the editors for $25 (1.5-2 pages). The response time for both expedited and personalized options is approximately 2 weeks.
Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter, Roots and Words, and Stay Connected to Our Literary Community
As a free subscriber, get access to our free monthly newsletter and one free post each week. Annual subscribers receive exclusive original content like new weekly poems, new essays that explore creativity and the creative life, weekly generative creative writing prompts, and live conversations (craft talks, book club discussions, etc.).
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary copy of each year's spring print edition of West Trade Review.
Learn more and sign up here:
https://rootsandwords.substack.com/about
Please take a moment to follow us on social media.
Special Promo: Be one of the first 25 writers to submit before 1/18, and we'll respond to your submission within 2 weeks.
We want poems that make the reader think and feel, work that humbles us with its joy, humor, embarrassment, anger, hope, grief, or all of the above, and gravitate toward writing that has something important to teach us--something that readers really need to know, but might not have understood this was a need until the last word of the work.
One poem will be selected each week for publication on our Substack. See the guidelines below.
Upcoming Themes:
February 2026: Obsession (Submissions open 2/1-2/28)
March 2026: Movement (Submissions open 3/1-3/1)
April 2026: Blossoming (Submissions open 4/1-4/30)
May 2026: Permission (Submission open 5/1-5/31)
June 2026: Slowing Down (Submissions open 6/1-6/30)
July 2026: Unraveling (Submissions open 7/1-7/31)
August 2026: Turning Points (Submissions open 8/1-8/31)
September 2026: On Being Alone (Submissions open 9/1-9/30)
October 2026: Shapeshifting (Submissions open 10/1-10/31)
Guidelines:
- Work submitted to this project is only considered for online publication.
- Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
- Submit up to 3 poems as one submission in a single Microsoft Word file. List the title of each poem as the title of your Submittable upload).
-Include a clear title for each poem.
-Please single space all poems.
-Include a cover letter and a short 3rd person biography of no more than 150 words. In your cover letter, briefly explain how you think your poems resonate with the current theme.
-Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know immediately if the work is published elsewhere.
-Writers may not submit more than once in a three-month period.
Submissions that do no meet guidelines or eligibility requirements will not be considered.
While we offer free submissions the first week of each month (April to December), general submissions are typically $3 (to cover administrative costs).
You may also choose to receive a quick decision about your work for $10, and may also receive a quick decision about your work along with personalized feedback from the editors for $25 (1.5-2 pages). The response time for both expedited and personalized options is approximately 2 weeks.
Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter, Roots and Words, and Stay Connected to Our Literary Community
As a free subscriber, get access to our free monthly newsletter and one free post each week. Annual subscribers receive exclusive original content like new weekly poems, new essays that explore creativity and the creative life, weekly generative creative writing prompts, and live conversations (craft talks, book club discussions, etc.).
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary copy of each year's spring print edition of West Trade Review.
Learn more and sign up here:
https://rootsandwords.substack.com/about
Please take a moment to follow us on social media:
You'll also find us on Threads and Bluesky.
The West Trade Review Prize for Poetry
The contest is open from January 15, 2026 - March 15, 2026. Entry fee is $15 for each entry (three poems per entry), with no entry limit per writer, and includes a copy of our spring 2025 print edition.
Special Promo: Be one of the first 25 writers to submit before 1/18, and we'll respond to your submission within 2 weeks.
Eligibility
- This contest is open only to emerging writers only who have not yet published a book with a print run over 1,500.
- Only previously unpublished poems will be accepted.
- Poems that have won and/or placed in any other writing contest are ineligible.
- Unlimited entries allowed. Three poems per submission.
- Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but work previously accepted or published in West Trade Review is ineligible.
- Please withdraw your submission and notify West Trade Review if it is accepted elsewhere.
- No one editorially or financially affiliated with West Trade Review can enter the contest.
Guidelines
- All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm EST on March 15, 2026.
- One submission per entry fee of $15 (up to three poems per submission). Entry fee includes a copy of our Spring 2025 print edition.
- Poet may submit up to three poems. Author is allowed multiple entries.
- The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript or in the file name.
- Please submit up to three poems per entry in a single Microsoft Word file and list the title of each poem as the submission title in Submittable.
- Please use a standard font, either Times New Roman or Arial in 12-point font size.
- Must include a title for each poem.
- Please do not include professional resumes or biographies with your entry. Entries are judged anonymously; the judge will only consider poem quality.
- Please take the judge of the contest into consideration. If you know him personally, or have ever attended classes or workshops he has instructed, please use manuscripts that he would not have seen before.
- Revisions or edits will not be accepted once submitted for judging.
- Entries that do no meet guidelines or eligibility requirements will not be considered.
Entries that do no meet guidelines or eligibility requirements will not be considered.
$1000 and publication in West Trade Review will be awarded to the winning poem. Other entries of merit may be considered for publication. The winning poem will be announced on our website and social media platforms mid-April 2026 and then published in the 2027 spring print issue of West Trade Review.
Contest Judge:
This year's contest judge is Jason Schneiderman.
Jason Schneiderman is the author of five poetry collections, most recently Self Portrait of Icarus as a Country on Fire (Red Hen, 2024). Other titles include Hold Me Tight (Red Hen, 2020); Primary Source (Red Hen Press, 2016), winner of the Benjamin Saltman Prize; Striking Surface (Ashland Poetry Press, 2010), winner of the Richard Snyder Prize, and Sublimation Point (Four Way Books, 2004), a Stahlecker Selection.
His poetry and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including American Poetry Review, The Best American Poetry, Poetry London, Grand Street, The Penguin Book of the Sonnet, Story Quarterly, and Tin House.
He edited the anthology Queer: A Reader for Writers (Oxford University Press 2015).
He is also the author of Nothingism: Poetry at the End of Print Culture (University of Michigan Press, 2025) and Teaching Writing Through Poetry: Understanding Poetric Form and Its Power to Unleash Creative Expression (Bloomsbury, 2025).
Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter, Roots and Words, and Stay Connected to Our Literary Community
As a free subscriber, get access to our free monthly newsletter and one free post each week. Annual subscribers receive exclusive original content like new weekly poems, new essays that explore creativity and the creative life, weekly generative creative writing prompts, and live conversations (craft talks, book club discussions, etc.).
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary copy of each year's spring print edition of West Trade Review.
Learn more and sign up here:
https://rootsandwords.substack.com/about
Please take a moment to follow us on social media:
You'll also find us on Threads and Bluesky.
The Phyllis Grant Zellmer Prize for Fiction
Special Promo: Be one of the first 25 writers to submit before 1/18, and we'll respond to your submission within 2 weeks.
The contest is open from January 15, 2026 - March 15, 2025. Entry fee is $15 for each individual story (one story per entry), with no limit per writer, and includes a copy of our spring 2025 print edition.
Eligibility
- This contest is open only to emerging writers only who have not yet published a book with a print run over 1,500.
- Only previously unpublished stories will be accepted.
- Stories that have won and/or placed in any other writing contest are ineligible.
- Unlimited entries allowed. One story per submission.
- Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but previously accepted or work published in West Trade Review is ineligible.
- Please withdraw your submission and notify West Trade Review if it is accepted elsewhere.
- No one editorially or financially affiliated with West Trade Review can enter the contest.
Guidelines
- All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm EST on March 15, 2026.
- Entry fee is $15 for each individual story (one story per entry), with no limit per author, and includes a copy of our spring 2025 print edition.
- Submission is one original story up to 5,000 words.
- The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript or in the file name.
- Please submit one story per entry in a single Microsoft Word file and list the title of your story as the submission title.
- Please use a standard font, either Times New Roman or Arial in 12 point font size.
- Do not include a cover page. Include your title with your story.
- Please do not include professional resumes or biographies with your entry. Entries are judged anonymously; the judge will only consider story quality.
- Please take the judge of the contest into consideration. If you know her personally, or have ever attended classes or workshops she has instructed, please use manuscripts that she would not have seen before.
- Revisions or edits will not be accepted once submitted for judging.
- Entries that do no meet guidelines or eligibility requirements will not be considered.
$1000 and publication in West Trade Review will be awarded to the winning story. Other entries of merit may be considered for publication. The winning story will be announced on our website and social media platforms mid-April 2026 and then published in the 2027 spring print issue of West Trade Review.
Contest Judge: Margaret Malone
Margaret Malone is the author of the story collection PEOPLE LIKE YOU (Atelier26 Books), Finalist for the 2016 PEN Hemingway Award and Winner of the Balcones Fiction Prize. She is a graduate of Randolph’s M.F.A. program and Humboldt State University where she received a B.A. in Philosophy.
Her writing can be found or is forthcoming in BOMB, The Rumpus, The Missouri Review, Paper Darts, and elsewhere.
She lives in Portland, Oregon where she hosts the interview series and radio show Bust the Canon. Margaret teaches creative writing through Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute and at Literary Arts and mentors both established and emerging writers in person and online.
Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter, Roots and Words, and Stay Connected to Our Literary Community
As a free subscriber, get access to our free monthly newsletter and one free post each week. Annual subscribers receive exclusive original content like new weekly poems, new essays that explore creativity and the creative life, weekly generative creative writing prompts, and live conversations (craft talks, book club discussions, etc.).
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary copy of each year's spring print edition of West Trade Review.
Learn more and sign up here:
https://rootsandwords.substack.com/about
Please take a moment to follow us on social media:
You'll also find us on Threads and Bluesky.