Update: The C.D. Wright Poetry Prize is now open! Scroll down for link to the submission page for the prize.
The Arkansas International invites the world’s best writers and artists into conversation with each other and with readers who yearn for depth, complexity, and delight. We are eager to read your work!
We welcome previously unpublished general submissions of fiction, poetry, essays, comics, and works in translation. To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website.
General Guidelines
- For all submissions, include a brief cover letter and bio.
- Prose submissions should be no more than 8,000 words, poem packets no more than five poems, and we ask that excerpts from longer works be self-contained. Please submit all work in one document.
- Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided we are notified in the event that a piece is accepted elsewhere. Please do not submit more than a single story, essay, or poem packet until you have heard back from us about your previous submission.
- 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.
- We assume you are human and do not accept work produced by artificial intelligence (AI) generators or similar.
- If you need to withdraw any or all parts of your submission, please withdraw via Submittable For partial withdrawals of poetry submissions, add a message to your submission.
- 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.
Response time: On average, we respond within three to six to months, although sometimes longer due to the volume of submissions received. We continue to review submissions and will be in touch as soon as we can. We are unable to respond to general status queries. Should you need to be in touch with the editorial team, Submittable message is the best way to do so.
Beginning with issue #19 in spring 2026, the unthemed spring issue will be online only, while the themed fall issue will be both in print and online. Fiction contributors will be paid $25 per 500-word page and 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.
Thank you for trusting us with your work. We look forward to reading it!
CLOSES: October 31, 2025
Judges: Forrest Gander and Brecht Wright Gander
In honor of C.D. Wright’s legacy, we seek to award innovative poetry that “lives freely and variously and fully engaged with others and the world.” Any poet writing in English is eligible to submit, so long as they have not yet published a first book. U.S. citizenship is not a restriction of eligibility. The winner receives $1000 and publication in the Arkansas International. This year we are delighted and honored to have Forrest Gander and Brecht Wright Gander as our prize judges.
Contest Guidelines:
- Entries for the C.D. Wright Prize for Poetry should be 3-5 previously unpublished poems, with a total of no more than 6 pages. Entrants may submit more than once, but each new entry must be accompanied by a separate entry fee. The entry fee is $20.
- Open to writers who haven’t yet published a full-length poetry book, and who have no book forthcoming before May 1, 2026. Writers with chapbooks are allowed. Writers with a self-published book with a print run under 300 copies are allowed.
- All work will be considered for inclusion in the magazine. We are excited to read your poetry! To get a sense of what we publish, read previous issues on our website.
- Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
- The contest will be judged blindly, so please DO NOT include your cover letter, your name, or any contact information in your uploaded document.
- Submit your work as a single .doc, or .docx file.
- Work created by artificial intelligence (AI) generators or similar is ineligible.
- Any Arkansas International staff, family members of staff, or close friends of the judges are ineligible.