Peauxdunque Review Submission Guidelines

General Submissions

Peauxdunque Review welcomes unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, flash fiction, and literary non-fiction. Send us your best work. Dazzle us. Tear our hearts out. The best way to learn about what we are looking for is to order sample copies of the magazine through our website.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:  Please include a cover letter that includes your name, address, phone number, and email with your submission. Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Prose pieces should be double-spaced and no more than 7500 words total. Submit one prose work per submission. Submit up to three poems per poetry submission (for the Patty Friedmann Writing Competition, this limit is five poems). Except for competition entries, please make sure your name appears on the first page of your manuscript and the title on all subsequent pages. See specific genre and competition guidelines for further guidelines.

DEADLINES: Our reading period for general submissions is currently closed while we focus on competition submissions. The submission period for the 2023 Patty Friedmann Writing Competition (formerly the Words and Music Writing Competition) has been extended and is now open through August 18, 2023.

NOTIFICATIONS AND QUERIES: Our response time varies and may range from one to six months. We receive a high volume of submissions and appreciate your patience. Please do not query us until at least six months have passed. We appreciate your patience.

Our submission process is handled online via Submittable. We are unable to consider manuscripts sent through any other medium. 

Patty Friedmann Writing Competition Eligibility and Conflicts of Interest

The high school short story category is open only to students in public schools.

The Beyond the Bars category is open to juveniles throughout the United States who are incarcerated (whether in juvenile detention facilities, jails, prisons, or any other carceral facilities); who were 18 years old or younger as of January 1, 2023; and who can provide the name and email address of a teacher, counselor, or other educator who sponsors the entry. Beyond the Bars is open to writing in any genre, and is free to enter, but is limited to one entry per person. Any additional entries beyond the first entry per person will be disregarded.

Previous Patty Friedmann or Words and Music Writing Competition winners are not eligible to enter the competition in the same genre in which they have won. 

2023 final-round judges are Sahar Mustafah (short story), Ariel Francisco (poetry), and Hannah Pittard (CNF). The Peauxdunque Review editorial board will be the final-round judge for the public high school short story and Beyond the Bars categories.

Current Words and Music Conference administrators, Peauxdunque Writers Alliance members, and Peauxdunque Review staff are ineligible to enter the contest. Current or former students of the category judge are ineligible to enter the contest. Judges are instructed not to award the prize to entrants with whom they have had a personal or professional relationship. Even if they can't tell during the judging process, they have the right to change their decision if it turns out that the entrant is someone with whom there is any appearance of conflict of interest.

Work is ineligible to win or be considered a runner-up for our contest if it has been accepted for publication elsewhere. No exceptions. Please withdraw work from our contest immediately if these conditions apply.