We welcome previously unpublished, unsolicited general submissions of nonfiction between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words. Please do not submit more than a single piece until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.

Cover Letter Formatting

Include a brief cover letter with your submission: 

• The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
• Your contact information
• A brief bio
• Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
• Notice if you're a past contributor

Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Prose contributors will be paid $25 per 500-word page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.  

We welcome previously unpublished general submissions of fiction between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website.

Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words, and we ask that excerpts from longer works be self-contained. Please do not submit more than a single story until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.

Cover Letter Formatting

Include a brief cover letter with your submission: 

• The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
• Your contact information
• A brief bio
• Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
• Notice if you're a past contributor

Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Fiction contributors will be paid $25 per 500-word page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.  

We welcome previously unpublished general submissions of poetry between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website.

Poetry Formatting

• Include all poems in a single document.  

Cover Letter Formatting

Include a brief cover letter with your submission: 

• The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
• Your contact information
• A brief bio
• Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
• Notice if you're a past contributor

Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Poets will be paid $25 per page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.  

Museum as Muse

An Arkansas International Special Feature with the University of Arkansas Museum 

Have you ever looked at an artifact in a museum and wondered about its story? Maybe you even began inventing the story yourself? Who used that 1930s embalming kit containing artery-hardening liquid and a shaving kit? What happened to the girl who wove the grass bag excavated from Eden’s Bluff near the White River, and filled it with goosefoot seeds 2000 years ago? 

What about the smooth black meteorite that rattled windows as local residents watched it fall to Earth, or Mrs. Moore’s clay-colored suit made from hand-woven cloth that she hoped would help restart the loom industry? Which would you choose to ignite your imagination?

This fall the Arkansas International will collaborate with the University of Arkansas Museum to publish a special online feature highlighting writing inspired by any of the millions of artifacts in the museum’s archives. We are delighted for writers to have this opportunity to explore and find inspiration from items in the collection to create new work.

Writers are invited to access the museum’s collections via this online portal featuring over 150 highlights selected by museum staff, and to browse the museum’s broader database for additional inspiration. Submissions may be poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or comics. Translated work, flash fiction, and shorter fiction also welcome. Selected pieces will be published by the Arkansas International in a special online feature in the spring of 2027. 

What to Submit

• Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words. Flash fiction and shorter fiction are also welcome.
• Poetry submissions should include all poems in a single document. 
• Please do not submit more than a single submission until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. 
• Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.
• We only accept previously unpublished work and will not publish any work that utilizes AI in any stage of creation.

Cover Letter Formatting

Include a brief cover letter with your submission that includes the following information:

• The title(s) and genre of the piece(s) you are sending
• The title and identifier number of the University of Arkansas Museum artifact which inspired the piece(s)
• Your contact information
• A brief bio (<100 words)
• Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
• Notice if you're a past contributor

When to Submit and Fee Info

Submissions  are open October 1st through November 30th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide fee waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For information on how to apply for a fee waiver, please email editor@arkint.org. To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website.

Payment

All contributors will be paid a flat fee of $50 per accepted piece, and will also receive a one-year digital subscription. 

We welcome previously unpublished, unsolicited general submissions of fiction works in translation between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. Translated prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words. Please do not submit more than a single piece until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.

Submissions of translated works must include a copy of the original text. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from including a copy of the original text at the time of your submission, please note that in the cover letter.  Before submitting translations of works that are not in the public domain, translators should identify the rights holder and obtain a statement that the rights to publish an English translation are available.

Cover Letter Formatting

Include a brief cover letter with your submission: 

• The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
• Your contact information
• Brief bios (of both translator and source author)
• Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
• Notice if you're a past contributor

Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Fiction contributors will be paid $25 per 500-word page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.  

We welcome previously unpublished, unsolicited general submissions of poetry works in translation between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. Translated poetry submissions should include no more than five poems in a single packet. Please do not submit more than one packet until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.

Submissions of translated works must include a copy of the original text. Before submitting translations of works that are not in the public domain, translators should identify the rights holder and obtain a statement that the rights to publish an English translation are available.

 Cover Letter Formatting

Include a brief cover letter with your submission: 

• The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
• Your contact information
• Brief bios (of both translator and source author)
• Notice if applicable, of simultaneous submission
• Notice if you're a past contributor

Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online. Poets will be paid $25 per page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas. 

We welcome previously unpublished, unsolicited general submissions of comics between July 31st and October 15th. While we no longer offer free submissions, we are happy to provide waivers to those identifying as BIPOC or in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to apply, please email editor@arkint.org. Please do not submit more than a single piece until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere.

Cover Letter Formatting

Include a brief cover letter with your submission: 

• The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending
• Your contact information
• A brief bio
• Notice if applicable of simultaneous submission
• Notice if you're a past contributor

Beginning with issue #19 in fall 2026, the unthemed fall issue will be online only, while the themed spring issue will be both in print and online.  Contributors will be paid $25 per page, with payments capped at $200. All contributors will receive a one-year digital subscription. In addition, contributors to a print issue will receive two complimentary copies of the issue sent to a US address. We regret that prohibitively high postal rates do not allow us to mail print copies overseas.