Submitting Manuscripts

The South Dakota Review publishes only previously unpublished poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and scholarly essays on American or western American literature. We accept submissions year round and publish four times a year. 

Guidelines: Prose manuscripts should be double-spaced and between 1,000 and 6,000 words; scholarly essays should follow MLA guidelines. Poetry submissions should include no more than 5 poems. All submissions should be neat typescripts (copies also acceptable) or computer printouts, with the author's contact information, including an email address, in the upper right hand corner of the first page.  

Submitting: SDR now accepts both paper and online submissions. Paper submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter and a SASE. The cover letter should provide a brief publications history. Please indicate if the manuscript is a simultaneous submission.

Most submissions are returned within eight to ten weeks, and manuscripts are published one to six months after acceptance. Payment for accepted manuscripts are two copies of the issue in which the manuscript appears followed by a one year subscription to the South Dakota Review. SDR acquires first North American serial rights and reprint rights. Sample copies ($8 per back issue) may be obtained from the Circulation Manager upon request. South Dakota Review strongly recommends that, before submitting, potential contributors first read the journal or at least browse samples from past issues by following the links on the menu.

Advice from the Editor: "We like very well written, thematically ambitious, character-centered short fiction.  Contemporary western American setting appeals, but is not necessary.  No formula stories, horror, science fiction, or adolescent 'I' narrators."  SDR rejects manuscripts because of "careless writing, often careless typing, stories too personal ('I' confessional), aimlessness, unclear or unresolved conflicts, or subject matter that the editor finds clichéd, sensationalized, pretentious, or trivial."

South Dakota Review reserves the right to reprint; other than that, copyright privileges revert to the contributing writers. The South Dakota Review is published quarterly at the University of South Dakota through the Department of English and under the sponsorship of the College of Arts and Sciences. Manuscripts, communications, and subscriptions should be sent to South Dakota Review / The Department of English / The University of South Dakota / 414 East Clark Street / Vermillion, SD 57069. You may contact SDR by phone at (605) 677-5184.