General
Great Lakes Review is returning after a one-year hiatus. Has anything changed?
For now, Great Lakes Review will publish fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and photography, but we’re hoping to include multi-genre and multi-modal work in the future. We also plan to have a much more robust online presence, including the website and social media.
Is Great Lakes Review affiliated with a university or press?
Currently, Great Lakes Review is not affiliated with a college or university. However, some past issues were printed by Red Giant Books.
How do you define the Great Lakes region?
In the U.S., the Great Lakes region consists of those states contiguous to lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. In Canada, the Great Lakes region generally refers to the province of Ontario.
What is the Narrative Map?
Between 2013-2017, Great Lakes Review collected more than 70 literary sketches of places throughout the Great Lakes region. We are currently accepting Narrative Map submissions on a rolling basis. Check out our Submit page for updates.
Submissions
What are your submission windows?
We are currently closed for submissions. You can always check our Submit page for updates.
To submit to Great Lakes Review, how connected do I have to be to the region?
We want people of the Great Lakes region to feel represented in their own communities and to the public. Please do not submit work if neither you nor the work are connected to this region.
Two things could connect you: the content of your work, or your personal background. We’re fine with either (or both).
In terms of content, we want to publish work that celebrates the diversity of experiences within the region and showcases every nuance, nook and cranny of the region. While there are no hard and fast rules here, it should be apparent how the region impacts the work. One casual mention of Lake Michigan probably isn’t enough.
In terms of your personal background, we want to publish authors with a strong personal connection to the Great lakes. If you weren’t born here or you don’t currently live here, you should have spent enough time in the region to be impacted by it.
Why are you asking for a Submission Statement?
We judge all submissions on the quality of writing only—that’s why we ask you to submit manuscripts with no identifying information. But we do want to verify that you and/or your work have a connection to the Great Lakes region; it may not be obvious in every case. That’s where your Submission Statement comes in.
Ideally, you’ll write no more than five sentences explaining your connection or your work’s connection to the region. The statement is your opportunity to highlight anything we should know about your relationship to the Great Lakes. You may want to explain your personal history, or draw attention to aspects of your work that are specific to the region.
Please don’t include in your statement any personally identifying information, a third-person bio, or a list of your previous publications. We’ll get this information from you after acceptance.
Can I submit poetry and fiction in the same reading period?
No. Please submit in only one genre at a time.
Can I submit my work for only the print journal or only the website?
No. The editors will consider all submissions for either print or online publication.
When should I query about my work?
We want to give every piece the time and attention it deserves. You’re welcome to follow up in Submittable if it’s been more than three months since you’ve heard from us.
Will you ever accept more than fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and photography?
Yes! We’re hoping to accept multimodal work in the future. Save your Great Lakes-area interviews, paintings, and illustrations for future publications.
Is Great Lakes Review a paying market?
No, we are not a paying market at this time.
How do you promote contributors and their work?
Writers whose work is published in the print journal will be listed as a contributor on the Past Issues page.
Writers published on the website will have a standalone page featuring their work. This page can be shared with friends, family, and colleagues via email or on social media. There are buttons at the bottom of each page to help you share it.
We will also feature all web-published pieces on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. If you don’t want us to use your full name or Twitter handle when we publish and publicize your work, please let us know in advance—no questions asked.