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submission guidelines and information

The Barcelona Review is presently accepting submissions for previously unpublished short fiction, articles and essays. We do not accept poetry submissions. If you have any further questions after reading the following, please let us know.

Short Fiction: Submit one story at a time for consideration to the editor. Do not send a second piece until you have received a response to the first. Word length: 4,500 words max. Work previously published in any form - online or print - or submitted simultaneously to other reviews will not be considered. If the piece has been accepted by a publisher, but is not yet in print, please notify us of the anticipated date of book publication. No more than a total of two submissions a year.

To submit by e-mail: To retain punctuation and layout (including italics or any changes in font) send as a word processing document (Office [.doc], Apple Works converted to .doc, etc.) as an attached file. Use New Times Roman font, if available. Single space. Do not send a ‘reader’ document, i.e .pdf or HTML. Do not send the story in the body of the e-mail.

Please write "Submission" in the Subject Box and your name - or the name the story will be published under. For example: "Submission / Jane Doe." Do not put the title in the subject box as a word may unwittingly be a keyword that triggers the spam filter to automatically discard the file.

To submit by post: Hard copies are accepted but cannot be returned (see address below). For those living outside Spain, include an international stamp coupon with a self-addressed envelope or an e-mail address to which we can respond. Double space ms.

TBR is open to all genres and to a variety of styles and techniques. We’re after original, potent and powerful writing with a contemporary feel that is literarily sound; writing marked by a strong sense of imaginative distinction. (We do not publish tales, fables or re-worked fairy tales; nor are we after vignettes.) A familiarity with some of the review's fiction (see TBR archives) should provide a good indication of the type of literature we are looking for. We expect writers to have read a minimum of 2-3 stories before submitting work (see TBR Archives).  Novel extracts will not be considered unless they are entirely self-contained pieces.

All submissions are read by the editor or a staff reader. Reply time takes four to five months.

Material should be related in some way to the world of books and writing; creative non-fiction (e.g., personal essays) that fits with the review is welcome. Literary criticism and academic pieces are not what we're after. Word length: preferably under 3,000 words. Submit following the ‘short fiction’ criteria above.

Please Note: We cannot offer money to contributors, but in lieu of pay we can sometimes offer an excellent Spanish translation (worth quite a bit of money in itself). Work is showcased along with two or more known authors in a high quality literary review with an international readership. Author retains all rights although for the Internet only we ask for exclusive rights for the time period agreed upon.

Send submissions and queries to: