SUBMIT
Submissions are open November 1st – December 15.
Our submissions are now closed, but here are our 2023 submission guidelines for future reference:
Willamette Writers invites you to submit to our two programs, the Timberline Review and Kay Snow Awards. There is NO THEME for 2023. As always, Willamette Writers members may submit to the Timberline Review free of charge. Members of the BIPOC, LQBTQIA+ and disabilities communities are also encouraged to submit free of charge.
We are seeking work in the following categories:
- Poetry
- Fiction (flash, short story, novella, and novel excerpt)
- Creative nonfiction (including essay and memoir) and Critical commentary (Writing about writing including literary analysis, and craft instruction)
- Drama and screenplay
This year, the Kay Snow Award will be chosen by our editorial staff and given to (1) the top piece and (2) the runner-up in each of the above categories. We are seeking submissions from writers 18 and up.
We are also seeking Visual Art submissions in black and white for inside the journal and color illustrations for cover art.
As always, Willamette Writers members may submit to the Timberline Review free of charge. Members of the BIPOC, LQBTQIA+ and disabilities communities are also encouraged to submit free of charge. The submission fee is not a reading fee – it helps cover the cost of the Timberline Review educational programming.
If you are not a member of Willamette Writers, please use the guest submission form. Even better, sign up as a member today!
Diversity
We want to encourage submissions from our diverse community. We encourage all submissions, but please consider submitting to the Timberline Review and Kay Snow Awards if you identify with a group which is not well-represented by traditional publishing. These groups include, but are not limited to, the following:
- BIPOC and other people of color
- members of the LGBTQIA+ community
- people with disabilities
- members of religious minorities
- and members of different nationalities, cultures, and age groups.
We have waived the submission fees for those who identify as LGBTQ+, BIPOC and other people of color, or those living with disabilities. Please use the waived-fee submission form if you are a member of these groups.
Please consider this door open to you. Please don’t self-reject; we want to consider your work.
Accessibility
We use a simple form to gather submissions, but we understand that this is not universally accessible to people with disabilities. If you have questions related to accessibility, please email us at wilwrite [at] willamettewriters [dot] org with the subject line “Accessibility Query.” Accessibility Queries should only contain a request to submit by alternate means, and not be a submission.
Guidelines
All submissions are considered anonymously. (So be sure your name IS NOT on the submission (including headers and footers, please).
Submissions Period for the Timberline Review and Kay Snow Awards:
Submission Period November 1, 2023, to December 15, 2023, at 11:59PM Pacific Time.
The Timberline Review Theme
The Timberline Review is an all-volunteer literary journal operated by Willamette Writers. We want to read your clear writing, your well-crafted words, your original voice, whether you’ve been previously published or not. There is NO THEME for 2023, so send us your best work for consideration this year!
Kay Snow Award Winners
The Kay Snow Awards, named in honor of Willamette Writers founder, is to help writers reach professional goals in writing through a broad array of categories, and also to encourage student writers. In addition to prizes, winners are listed on the Willamette Writers website and honored at our Willamette Writers Conference held annually in August.
Winning entries in our Kay Snow categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplay are awarded:
- First prize: $100 cash prize and one-day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference.
- Runner-up: $50 cash prize and one-day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference.
General Submission Guidelines for the Timberline Review and Kay Snow Contest
Submissions failing to meet all guidelines below will be disqualified.
Text Formatting:
- Submissions are anonymous: Do not include name or contact information on your attachment (including headers and footers). Any identifying information in a submission results in immediate disqualification.
- Font: Times New Roman.
- Size: 12 pt.
- Spacing: 1.5 line spacing for prose; single space for poetry.
- Margins: 1 inch left/right and top/bottom.
- Headers/Footers: Not necessary. Please check that your name is not in the header or footer.
- Title of Work: Only at the top of the first page.
File Formatting:
- Documents must be in .doc, or .docx.
- Digital images must be Black and White for inside the journal and color illustrations for cover art, in .tif or .jpeg, with a resolution of 300+ dpi.
- File name: Only the title of the piece. (NOT your name and title) for example: GreatPoem.docx
Word and Page Limits:
- Critical Commentary, Fiction, Hybrid, Non-fiction: 3,500 words.
- Drama and screenplay: Up to 10 pages.
- Poetry: Up to 3 poems; maximum of 10 pages total.
- Visual Art: Up to 3 pieces.
Genre-Specific Guidelines:
Follow genre-specific formatting anywhere the genre-specific formatting conflicts with the general text formatting.
- POETRY: All poems must be single spaced. If you have specific spacing within the poem, please explain in a note at the end of the poem.
- DRAMA: Screenplays or dramatic writing must follow standard text formats (though, please, no page numbers): Modern Play Format, or the screenwriting programs “Final Draft” or “Movie Magic Screenwriter.” Please save as a .doc or docx file.
- VISUAL ART: we accept up to (3) photos or graphics in b/w. All images selected for the interior will be produced in b/w. We can only accept digital images submitted as .tif or .jpeg files with a resolution of 300+ dpi.
Reprints & Simultaneous Submissions:
The Timberline Review does not accept reprints. Previously produced or performed drama and performance poetry is welcome as long as it has not appeared in print elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions are always welcome, but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please make sure to inform us right away by emailing wilwrite [at] willamettewriters [dot] org.
The Timberline Review Payment and Rights Acquired:
Authors receive $25 + one print contributor copy. First North American Serial Rights.
Contact Us
Email wilwrite [at] willamettewriters [dot] org. Normal response time is one week.