SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

  1. Bluestem produces two to three online editions per year. Please submit no more than 5 poems at one time, or one short story (or 1-3 flash pieces in the same file), or one creative nonfiction essay. Fiction / prose / essays should be no longer than 5,000 words.

  2. No previously published work is accepted. Simultaneous submissions are fine. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please immediately withdraw only the accepted piece via the submission manager. We do respond to all submissions we receive, but this sometimes takes a while; we’re a small staff. Our response times can be six months or more. If you have not yet heard back on a piece, you may assume that it’s still under consideration.

  3. Current faculty and students of Eastern Illinois University may not submit to Bluestem. Former students may submit after at least five years have elapsed post-matriculation.

  4. We try to have regular reading periods in the fall, summer, and spring, but please watch our social media for latest updates about whether we are currently reading. If our Submittable is closed, please do not submit via email. Incarcerated writers may send work via USPS to Bluestem, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Ave, Charleston, IL 61920.

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