All submissions should be sent in the body of your e-mail. Simply copy and paste your original work in plain text. Title your e-mail with the type of submission you are making and your full name. (Example: "Poetry Submission: John Q. Public") In order to avoid formatting issues and possible viruses, no attachments will be accepted or even opened.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome, so long as you let us know with your submission and if notification of acceptance elsewhere is given at the earliest possible opportunity. Publication rights automatically revert to the author upon publication. We ask, however, you cite Hobble Creek Review for having published your work when it appears in a book or anthology. We do not accept previously published material.
Please, send only one submission per submission period.
Cover letters are not necessary, but encouraged, as they provide a peek into a writer's personal outlook.
Because we have specific submission periods, all submissions received outside of submission windows will not be read. Submission dates can be found here.
Our response time will vary from one to four weeks. If you have submitted to us and have not heard back in 4 weeks, please contact us.
Poetry:
Submit up to 5 poems in the body of an e-mail. We prefer to see more poems rather than fewer, as it gives us the opportunity to get to know your work. No particular school of poetry is favored over another, and formal poetry is welcomed with open arms. Preference is given to those poems which demonstrate craft and express a sense of place.
Creative Non-Fiction:
Submit up to two pieces of creative non-fiction in the following areas: Memoir and Travel Journals. The maximum length for your submission should not exceed 5,000 words. We do not consider fiction. As with poetry, submissions expressing a sense of place will have preference. It is the goal of HCR to publish at least one selection of memoir or travelogue writing in each issue.
Essays:
Submit one essay dealing with either the writing process or some aspect of poetry. However, before you submit your essay, ask yourself if you have something worth saying. We already have enough people asking if poetry is still valid, or arguing for or against the MFA. We want essays which enliven the discussion of poetry, rather than beat an issue to death with partisan rhetoric.