submissions

⭐ The Basics:

Work must be original and previously uncurated. We gladly accept pieces that have previously only appeared on personal blogs and/or social media. Please reference this thoughtful article by Tim Green on the term curation.  

We pay $60 per piece for writing published in seasonal issues and $25 for pieces appearing in our “Micro Monday” segment. We also pay $25 for artwork that is used on the cover of a seasonal issue. For international submissions, we are only able to send money via PayPal.

There is a $4 fee for submissions for our short prose and $2.50 for flash prose (both one piece per submission). The fee for our annual HoneyBee Poetry Prize is $18, which is used to support payment to contributors. Details about the contest can be found here. Info and results from the latest contest are here.

There is currently no fee for submitting artwork.

We will respond to all submitted work. It may take from one to three months, depending on when in the reading period the work is submitted. Artwork may remain open for the duration of a calendar year. Thank you in advance for your patience.

We accept submissions via Submittable. Any received via email or post will not make it into the queue of our editorial teams.

If you have an issue with the fee because of financial hardship or difficulties with the submission platform, please send a message to: editors@thegoodlifereview.com.

Note: Current UNO MFA students and recent (within the last 3 years) UNO MFA graduates/affiliates are not eligible.

⭐ General Guidelines:

Simultaneous submissions are cool, cool. If accepted elsewhere, please withdraw in Submittable.

The Good Life Review acquires First North American Serial Rights and the right to maintain an archive copy of the work online. All other rights revert to the author upon publication, with a request that if the work is reprinted, appropriate acknowledgment to The Good Life Review is made.

We do not publish offensive work or pieces that exhibit hatred directed toward a particular gender, race, ethnicity, ability, sexual identity, socioeconomic class, or disability. In other words, if you are an asshole, we don’t want your writing or your money.

If there are content warnings, please include those in the submitted document(s) preceding the piece(s).

Except for poetry and art, each submission should contain only one story or essay. If you want to send more than one piece, multiple submissions are acceptable.

We prefer to read blind, so please remove your name from the submitted document.

Your submission will not be disqualified if it was submitted incorrectly. If we have a question or concern about your submission, we will contact you. Please know that we are on your side. Thank you for trusting us with your work.

Again, work must be original and absolutely fabulous! We want your very best!!

Genre-specific goodies are below.

⭐ Reading Periods:

The Good Life Review is always open. Reading and selection for our seasonal issues is based on the following schedule:

January 21 – April 20 (Summer Issue). Final decisions in May.
April 21 – July 20 (Autumn Issue). Final decisions in August.
July 21 – October 20 (Winter Issue). Final decisions in November.
October 21 – January 20 (Spring Issue). Final decisions in February.

October 21 – April 20 (Summer Honeybee Poetry Prize Issue). Final Decisions in June.

We also accept brief poems and micro prose for our Micro Monday feature on “The Buzz.” Pieces submitted to any open call that meet the micro requirement (page/word count) will also be under consideration for this segment.

We are open for artwork year-round, which is free to submit. Artists whose work is used for the cover of our seasonal issues will receive a $25 honorarium.

⭐ Poetry:

We are interested in work that pushes boundaries, both in content and form. Poems should emanate from textured, evocative images, use language with an awareness of how words sound and mean, and have a definite sense of voice. Each line should help carry the poem from the first line to the last. We are open to experimentation, traditional form, and free verse.

Whatever shape it takes, we want exciting work that thinks through or challenges poetic traditions.

• There is no length limit on individual poems, but please send no more than 5 poems per submission and no more than 10 pages in total in a single text file.
• Poems should be typed with at least one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.
• Longer lines and unique formatting are fine; the presentation of these may be altered as text could wrap to a newline based on the display media/window size being used. We do our best to maintain the poet’s vision.
• Begin each new poem on a new page.
• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

⭐ Flash and Micro:

Flash should yield quick transformations and revelations, have compelling characters, and a narrative that provokes thought in a voice that urges us forward and carries us past the last line.

• Flash is 400 to 1,000 words. Micro is max 400 words.
  • For pieces over 1,000 words, we encourage you to submit via our fiction or creative nonfiction categories.
• Pieces should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated with one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.
• One flash or micro per submission.
• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

⭐ Nonfiction:

We want essays that get our minds working and hearts thumping and prose that is artful with voices that are clear and cadent. Whether traditional or experimental, structure and form should enhance the content of a story that is both universal and painfully specific.

• Essays should not exceed 5,000 words. Include word count at the top of the first page.
  • For pieces under 1,000 words, we encourage you to submit via our flash cnf category.
• Essays should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated with one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.
• One essay per submission.
• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

⭐ Fiction:

We want polished, confident, well-developed stories that are engaging from the first word to the last. Experimental fiction is welcome.

• We consider original, previously unpublished stories up to 5,000 words. Include word count at the top of the first page.
  • For pieces under 1,000 words, we encourage you to submit via our flash category.
• Stories should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated with one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.
• One story per submission.
• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

⭐ Spoken-Word:

We are seeking poems, brief prose pieces, and mini monologues rendered with passion and flair. 

• We consider original, previously uncurated audio and video files. Live performances and audio/video shared on social media platforms are welcome. 
• One piece per submission, max of 3 minutes. If selected, our AV Editor will work with you to produce a file suitable for presentation on the website. 
• If accepted, we will request a text document with the typed piece.
• Please do not include your name as a part of the filename

⭐ Art:

Does your original photography or artwork tell a story? We are currently looking for vibrant pieces to feature in our next issue. There are no specific guidelines, and the only requirement is that the artwork must be original. We would encourage you to check out our archive of issues here to see if we would be a good home for your work.

At this time, we are paying an honorarium of $25 for artwork used on the cover of our seasonal issues. We appreciate the love that goes into every piece and hope that we can pay all artists for their efforts in the future.

* Also of note * We currently don’t require first rights or formal contracts for images and therefore, by submitting, you acknowledge and authorize publication if accepted. The only exception to this is if you explicitly withdraw the entire submission or send a note/email letting us know the piece or pieces that are no longer available.

We will respond to all submitted artwork; however, pieces we have a particular interest in may remain “in process” for the duration of a calendar year. Our aim is to select pieces that visually complement the writing accepted for our seasonal issues, and therefore, we don’t know what might make a good match until the writing is selected. Thank you in advance for your patience.