Superstition Review Seeks Nonfiction

A look inside the submission and acceptance process, from Patricia Murphy, Founding Editor of Superstition Review:

We are currently reading submissions for our Tenth Anniversary issue, which will launch December 1. In each issue we feature 10 essays. Our reading period ends October 31.

Editorial Process:

We have three nonfiction readers: a rotating contributing editor, the founding editor, and our faculty advisor. Using tools in Submittable, each reader adds a “Vote and Note” to each submission. Essays with mostly yes and maybe votes bubble up to what we call “Greens and Grays,” which refers to the color of the submission once it has been given an up-vote. Our team meets each Friday for an hour to discuss the essays in the Green and Gray.

We very often ask for revisions to a piece that has great potential but needs some polish. In fact for Issue 20 already we have accepted two personal essays that took a few rounds of revision between our editors and authors. We find that the authors kindly welcome our feedback and that their work is much improved by the process.

Editorial Preferences:

We publish all types of essays but we are particularly interested in stories that are rich in sensory detail. In recent years we might have a bit of an added interest in lyric essays and pieces that show an innovative approach to form.

A fun way to quickly view a catalog of the 175 essays we have published is to visit our Nonfiction Pinterest Board. You can also link to all of the essays from our Archives page.

Some of my favorite pieces from the past ten years include:

Dear Baby,” by Kelle Groom

The Sparkling Future,” by Randon Billings Noble

The Things I Don’t Tell My Mother,” by Allegra Hyde

Rikers Island Workshop ,” by Kamilah Aisha Moon

Contradictions ,” by Patrick Madden

The Wide Open Mouth ,” by Ira Sukrungruang

We hope you will take some time to read the essays we have published over the years, and to submit your work to https://superstitionreview.submittable.com/submit