NO FEE Submission call + editor interview — The Maine Review, DEADLINE: Mar. 31, 2017

The Maine Review is published twice a year and features fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by both established and emerging writers.  They “look for work that cuts across artificial boundaries, that challenges expectations and demands thoughtful attention,” and “are committed to including work by Maine writers in each issue, alongside great writing from across the country and around the world.”

I wondered how and why this lit mag came to be, so I asked editor Margot Anne Kelley a few questions to find out. See my interview with Kelley and a link to their submission guidelines below.

HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about The Maine Review.

KELLEY: In its current incarnation, THE MAINE REVIEW is a biannual lit mag that runs about 150-180 pages per issue.  We publish fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry.  We also feature a portfolio of visual art by a single artist in each issue. To us, what makes THE MAINE REVIEW special is that we are committed to having 20% of the content of each issue by Mainers. That way, we are bringing work from here into the broader conversation of contemporary lit from across the English-speaking world.

HOPKINSON: How/why was The Maine Review originally started?

KELLEY: My understanding is that THE MAINE REVIEW was initially an undergraduate journal for the University of Maine. It disappeared, and then about three years ago, Katherine Mayfield re-animated it. She worked on it as a labor of love--but found it was too much.  So in May 2016, she passed the mantle to me.

HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for?

KELLEY: Although we didn't define a specific aesthetic at the outset, what we are gravitating toward is realist fiction, lyric poetry, and innovative nonfiction. We don't expect work to have a "Maine theme."

HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?

KELLEY: I just got back from AWP, so my head is full of great titles. I thought I knew pretty much what was out there, but there were dozens of unfamiliar titles, many of which weighted down my suitcase on the trip home. Some of the journals I read regularly are Seneca Review, Tin House, The White Review, Poetry, Fourth Genre, Agni.

HOPKINSON: Where can folks send submissions?

KELLEY: We have a submittable account. So the best way to submit is to go to our website to the submissions page:  https://mainereview.submittable.com/submit. And now's the perfect time to do it:  we're in open submissions until the end of March, and are taking submissions for the annual poetry prize, which we've increased to $1,000.

HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?

KELLEY: I have email at mkelley@mainereview.com, and I check it regularly.

DEADLINE: March 18, 2017 

SUBMISSION FEE: None

PAYMENT: None

FORMS: fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, visual art

DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/16434

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