Welcome to the York Literary Review for 2025!
** SUBMISSIONS NOW CLOSED **
York Literary Review is an annual creative writing journal designed to showcase diverse work from talented writers from all walks of life. We accept international submissions of short stories, scripts, flash fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry.
York Literary Review started in 2016 with the intent to champion the creative work of Northern writers, and within this edition, we will continue to promote these voices alongside international authors. Our mission is to collate and publish an inclusive anthology filled with diverse voices and stories.
The 2025 York Literary Review will be published by MA Publishing students at York St John University who will be working in association with the York Centre for Writing to edit, design and curate an anthology of engaging creative work. You do not need to be a student to submit to the York Literary Review, although student submissions are welcomed. Valley Press, one of Yorkshire’s leading independent publishers, will print and distribute the journal.
THEME: ROOTS
We are calling for submissions inspired by the theme of Roots. This could include, but is not limited to:
- Northern Roots
- Identity and Culture – heritage, foundations and origins
- Laying roots and new beginnings
- Trees, plants and fungi
- Roots within fantasy, witchcraft and folklore
- Connections and networks
What keeps you rooted?
We welcome you to think widely and creatively about the theme. We are open to submissions from all genres.
Submissions guidelines
All submissions must be entirely your own work, previously unpublished. If we believe your work to be AI generated or plagiarised, it will not be considered. We do not accept work that is currently under consideration elsewhere. Please only submit to one category. We will only choose one submission per author to publish, if successful. All rights will be retained by the creator.
Submissions will be published in British English, but may include other languages within the writing (with provided translations for footnotes).
Please include disclaimers or trigger warnings for your writing if appropriate. This is purely for the benefit of the editorial team.
For individual category guidelines, see below.
Short Stories and scripts
Short stories and scripts should not exceed 2,000 words and must be complete pieces. Please only submit one piece for this category.
Flash Fiction
Flash fiction should not exceed 500 words per piece. We will consider up to four pieces of flash fiction.
Creative Non-Fiction
Creative non-fiction pieces, including memoirs and essays, should not exceed 2,000 words and must be complete pieces. We will consider one piece of non-fiction only.
Poetry
Poetry submissions in any form can be up to 60 lines. Authors can submit up to three poems per submission provided they do not exceed 60 lines in total.
For all categories, only one piece will be accepted from each author, if successful. Please only submit to one category.
Submissions window
Submissions for the 2025 edition of the York Literary Review will be open from 31st January 2025 (12:00 midday GMT) until the end of 23rd February 2025 (23:59 GMT).
Submissions sent outside of this window will not be read.
How to submit
Please send your submissions to yorkliteraryreview25@gmail.com with the subject line ‘YLR 2025 Submission – [category, e.g., poetry]’.
Please attach your work as a Word document and entitle it with the category of your work plus your name. We also require an author biography between 40-50 words in third person, included at the bottom of your submission document. We welcome you to include your pronouns. Furthermore, if you are submitting multiple pieces of work please include them in one document.
Submissions that fail to follow the criteria will not be read.
We do not accept any work that condones or glamourises problematic behaviours. We will not publish anything containing hate speech.
Feedback
You will receive an acknowledgement that your work has been submitted; however, we will only contact you directly if your work is shortlisted, given the size of our editorial team. We will notify applicants of their success prior to publication via email – if your work is accepted, you will receive a response by 23rd March 2025.
Fees
There are no entry fees to submit to York Literary Review.
Although we cannot pay contributors, successful applicants will be featured in the printed anthology and receive a pre-release copy.
We look forward to reading your work!
