Manuscript Submissions Information

Manuscript Submissions Information

Thank you for your interest in our magazine. Prairie Schooner publishes short stories, poems, interviews, imaginative essays of general interest, and reviews of current books of poetry and fiction. Scholarly articles requiring footnote references should be submitted to journals of literary scholarship.

Prairie Schooner's intention is to publish the best writing available, both from beginning and established writers. In over eighty years of publication, we have printed the work of Eudora Welty, Octavio Paz, Tennessee Williams, Weldon Kees, Joyce Carol Oates, and Rita Dove, Richard Russo, Reynolds Price, Julia Alvarez, Sharon Olds, Cornelius Eady, plus scores of others.

All submissions to Prairie Schooner should be typed, double-spaced (except for poetry), and on one side of the paper only. Use margins of at least one inch, and be sure to put your name on each page of the manuscript. A self-addressed envelope, with adequate return postage on it, must accompany the submission. For poetry, we prefer a selection of 5-7 poems; for fiction, essays, and reviews, we prefer you send only one selection at at time. Send submissions to the attention of the editor at the address below:

Prairie Schooner
201 Andrews Hall
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68588-0334


Please allow 3-4 months for reply. Prairie Schooner does not read simultaneous submissions, and submissions must be received between September 1st and May 1st. All manuscripts published by Prairie Schooner will be automatically considered for our annual prizes.

We encourage you to read Prairie Schooner before submitting work. See our Subscription Information page to find out how to subscribe. Check here to order back issues and sample copies.

Check out the Prairie Schooner Book Prize Competition: Book Series guidelines.