Four Genres | We seek well-crafted writing that takes risks. We publish work in and between all genres: poetry, fiction, essays, and plays. We appreciate work in experimental and traditional modes. We accept prose submissions of less than 7,000 words (24 double-spaced pages) and poetry submissions under five pages. We publish scripts in the 10-minute format (10 pages). Our issues feature the work of 20-35 writers chosen from our general submissions (Only one or two pieces may be by a contributing editor or author we've queried.).
Poetry Editor Joshua L. Martin is most intrigued by poems that harness rhythm and imagery to carry compelling narratives. Nonfiction Editor Desirae Matherly is partial to nonfiction that tips toward essay rather than straightforward memoir. Drama Editor Matt Shvyrkov is drawn to plays that speak to our current moment in both form and content. Fiction Editor Kelsey Trom seeks stories that are lush, immersive, and urgent.
Book Reviews, Translations, Illustrations | We publish book reviews of under two pages. We go to press in September, so books reviewed should be published between June and December. Submit reviews to Essay and signal as a review in your cover letter. We publish original translations into English. We only accept work that has not been previously published elsewhere, electronically or in print. We showcase illustrators in every issue: send your portfolio to review@tusculum.edu to be considered for a commission.
Reading Period | We read year round. We go to print annually in September, so work received after September 1 will be considered for the following year's volume. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please alert us via Submittable in the event of acceptance elsewhere. We would love to pay you with money, but our current budget only allows for payment in copies (2).
Cover Letter | Please include your name, address, phone number, email address, and title(s) of your submissions in your cover letter. A short bio is optional.
Award Nominations | We nominate for the Pushcart Prize, O. Henry Awards, Best New Poets, and The Best American Series. Irene O'Garden's "Glad to be Human: A Joie de Coeur," published in Volume 6 of the Tusculum Review, won a 2012 Pushcart Prize. Robin Storey Dunn's "Gimme Shelter" and Jamie L. Smith's "Mythology Lessons," published in Volume 16, were recognized as Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2020 in The Best American Essays 2021. In The Best American Essays 2022, Priscilla Long's "After Long Silence" and Suphil Lee Park's "An Escape Clause" (Volume 17), were recognized as Notables of 2021. Katrin Arefy's "Blowing Dandelions" (Volume 18) was honored by Series Editor Robert Atwan as a Notable Essay of 2022 in The Best American Essays 2023.
Chapbook Contest | Chapbooks are short books of literature, appealingly packaged: an art and literary form. Although literary presses most often publish chapbooks of poetry, the Tusculum Review publishes essay and short story chapbooks as well. Our annual chapbook contest rotates through the genres on a three-year cycle. This year, 2025, we are publishing the prizewinning short story in chapbook form as well as in the journal issue. We commission a well-matched artist to illustrate the winning work and design a chapbook whose aesthetics augment the writing's impact. Past chapbooks can be viewed on our website. Our 2025 contest is a fiction prize and Jaime Cortez will judge.
Publication Rights | Except for second printings of the journal due to demand, all rights to material in theTusculum Review revert to the individual authors and artists after publication (first serial rights). We request that you acknowledge us if you reprint work we published first. The ideas and opinions expressed in theTusculum Review are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideas of Tusculum University, its administration, faculty, or staff. Tusculum University does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, identity, religion, ethnic origin, or disability.
Online Submission Manager | We do not generally accept mailed or e-mailed submissions, but if you are incarcerated or Submittable is a hardship, email your manuscript to review@tusculum.edu. If you do not have internet access, please mail your manuscript to the Tusculum Review, P.O. Box 5113, 60 Shiloh Rd., Greeneville, TN 37745-0595 and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for our reply.
2025 - Volume 21 | This issue will feature the winner of the 2025 Fiction Chapbook Prize selected by guest judge Jaime Cortez, original illustrations of the written work, and texts in all four genres chosen from our general submissions.
Questions? | review@tusculum.edu | (423) 636-7300 ext. 5420
The Tusculum Review 2025 Fiction Chapbook Prize
- A prize of $1,500
- Publication of the story in the Tusculum Review’s 21st volume (2025)
- Creation of a limited edition stand-alone chapbook with original art
The entry fee is $20 per manuscript. Entry fees include a one-year subscription to the Tusculum Review (an annual publication) and consideration for publication in our 21st volume (2025). We encourage international submissions but must charge an additional $15 fee to mail the journal to locations outside the U.S.
The deadline for submitting is June 15, 2025. All entries should be sent through Submittable: tusculumreview.submittable.com. We do not accept mailed or emailed submissions, but if Submittable is a hardship, let us know at review@tusculum.edu.
Each manuscript should consist of a single story in a standard 12-point font. Stories may be between 2,000 words (about 7 manuscript pages) and 7,000 words (22 pages).
Stories may not have been previously published nor be forthcoming. You are welcome to submit your story to other publications or contests while we consider it for the prize, but please alert us if your story is going to be published or honored elsewhere, so we can take it out of the running. If you have more than one story to submit, create a new entry for each.
Please do NOT include your name or any other identifying information on any page of the story manuscript.
Contest judge Jaime Cortez and editors of the Tusculum Review will determine the winner of the 2025 prize. Family, friends, and previous students of the contest judge and the Tusculum Review editors are disqualified from the competition, as are those with reciprocal professional relationships. Previous winners of Tusculum Review contests are also disqualified. Previous finalists and honorable mentions may enter.
Names and identifying information will not be visible to the judges. The Tusculum Review reserves the right to extend the call for manuscripts or cancel the award. We have only canceled one of the 30+ contests we’ve hosted, due to single-digit entries. We look forward to reading your work.
Chapbooks are short books of literature, appealingly packaged: an art and literary form. Although literary presses most often publish chapbooks of poetry, theTusculum Review publishes essay, short story, and play chapbooks as well. Our annual chapbook contest rotates through the genres on a four-year cycle. This year, 2025, we are selecting a story to publish in chapbook form. We commission a well-matched artist to illustrate the winning story and design a chapbook whose aesthetics augment the story's impact. Past chapbooks can be viewed on our website.
Contest judge Jaime Cortez is a California writer and artist based in Watsonville and the SF Bay Area. His writing and drawings have appeared in Kindergarten: Experimental Writing For Children (Black Radish Press), No Straight Lines (Fantagraphics), Street Art San Francisco (Abrams Press), and Infinite Cities (UC Berkeley Press). He wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Sexile for AIDS Project Los Angeles. His debut short story collection, Gordo, was published in 2021 by Black Cat, an imprint of Grove Atlantic. Gordo received national acclaim from the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It was nominated for the Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Fiction and the Lambda Literary Award for fiction, and was named a best book of the year by National Public Radio and Bookpage. Cortez received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MFA from UC Berkeley. Jaime’s website is www.jaimecortez.org.
Fiction Editor Kelsey Trom seeks stories that are lush, immersive, and urgent. She admires tales led by characters in immediate danger who have something essential at stake. She enjoys all styles and genres but always prefers humor to cleverness; well-paced prose to expository stretches; and a distinct narrative voice to a detached or disaffected one. The Tusculum Review loves fiction situated in rich cultural milieus with palpable environs, dialogue, and people.
Please attach your story of less than 7,000 words (24 double-spaced pages) as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Include your name, address, phone number, email address, and the title of the submission in your cover letter. A short bio is optional.
Poetry Editor Joshua L. Martin is most intrigued by poems that harness rhythm and imagery to carry compelling narratives. He admires poets Phillip Levine, Ross Gay, Kim Addonizio, and others working in the post-Confessional narrative tradition. He also values surreal and experimental poetry and is open to poems of all schools/traditions that work toward a sense of structural unification and demonstrate an awareness of form's collusion with function.
Please attach your poetry submission of less of less than five pages as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Include your name, address, phone number, email address, and the title(s) of the submission(s) in your cover letter. A short bio is optional.
Nonfiction Editor Desirae Matherly is partial to nonfiction that tips toward essay rather than straightforward memoir. She is most interested in work that grapples with the emotional facts of being human and admires a writer who is vulnerable and capable of creating intimacy between reader and writer. She looks for formal experimentation and speculative content. She prefers the Montaignean essay to the Baconian, literary over journalistic prose.
Please attach your essay of less than 7,000 words (24 double-spaced pages) as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Include your name, address, phone number, email address, and the title of the submission in your cover letter. A short bio is optional.
We publish book reviews of under two pages. We go to press in September, so books reviewed should be published between June and December. Submit reviews to Essay and signal as a review in your cover letter.
Drama Editor Matt Shvyrkov is drawn to plays that speak to our current moment in both form and content. His tastes skew comedic, though drama that simmers on low with an innovative structure captures his attention, too. He prefers plays with motion to kitchen sink dramas. He loves discovering a new, energetic voice. He prefers plays that prompt fresh thoughts rather than reminding audiences of what they've already seen/read.
Please attach your play of 10 pages as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Include your name, address, phone number, email address, and the title of the submission in your cover letter. A short bio is optional.