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Black Warrior Review

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About

Established in 1974 by graduate students in the MFA Program in Creative Writing, Black Warrior Review is named for the river that borders the campus of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The city, the river, and the magazine all derive their names from the 16th-century Indigenous leader Tuskaloosa (also spelled “Tushkalusa”), whose name comes from two words of Creek or Choctaw origin—tasca, meaning “warriors,” and lusa, meaning “black.” In 1540, Tuskaloosa battled the Spanish colonizer Hernando de Soto at Mabila, a fortified settlement perhaps in the vicinity of present-day Selma. Tuskaloosa was likely among the thousands who perished in the resistance effort, which is thought to have stopped the advance of de Soto’s campaign. BWR publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, and art twice a year. Contributors include Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners alongside emerging writers.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions, except for writers for whom the fee presents a financial hardship, who can request fee waivers. (Note: About 8% of magazines always charge fees.)
The fee is USD $5 (above average for magazines that charge).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 1974

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication
Published 2 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

Statistics Synopsis

Slower
Black Warrior Review's overall average response time is slower than most magazines.
More Challenging
Black Warrior Review's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
More Responsive
Black Warrior Review's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 December 2026* (approx. 74 days from now) through 01 March 2027.

2

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 6,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Pay ranges from Token payment to Professional payment. Details: Pay varies.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 December 2026* (approx. 74 days from now) through 01 March 2027.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: 1,000 - 4,000 words.
Narrative Nonfiction: 1,000 - 4,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Pay ranges from Token payment to Professional payment. Details: Pay varies.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 December 2026* (approx. 74 days from now) through 01 March 2027.

4

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Up to 3 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Token payment (under US$5 per poem) to Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Pay ranges from Token payment to Professional payment. Details: Pay varies.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Temp Closed

We seek art, comics, and visual narratives of all forms that are as engaged as they are engaging. We want your work that refuses to look away from the moment we are publishing into right now, work that witnesses, that reconfigures, that radically reimagines what is and what might be.

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 December 2026* (approx. 74 days from now) through 01 March 2027.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Artwork:
Graphic Narrative: No page limits known.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media, including...
Cartoon/Comic strip.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Token payment (under US$10 per piece) to Professional payment (US$50 or more per piece) Pay ranges from Token payment to Professional payment. Details: Pay varies.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Image.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

Black Warrior Review Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

This project ranks among the Extremely Challenging Poetry Publishers in our database.
Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 328 reports from 271 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
1 min | 101.7 mean avg | 94.0 median | 282 max days (294.5 std dev)
Responses
93.60 %
Acceptances:
0.61 % of submissions accepted (76.5 avg. days per acceptance) | 0.74 % of submitters accepted Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most publishers have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here.
Rejections:
92.99 % (100.6 avg. days per rejection) | 29.5 % personal, 55.4 % form, 15.1 % unspecified | 0.3 % shortlisted
Non-Responses
0.00 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
-
Withdrawals
6.40 % (78.2 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending
133 responses are pending (4 min | 66.1 mean avg | 65.0 median | 254 max days waiting | 922.7 std dev) from 130 different members This only includes pending reports from people who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 180 days. (14.3 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 180 days.)
Do not query on the status of your submission before 180 days have passed.
The most common submission fee paid: USD $5.00.
Submissions are acknowledged within 2 days on average.
Most recent response reported was received on 14 Sep 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 25 Jul 2026.
Date compiled: 18 Sep 2026 02:19 UTC (less than a minute ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

Work submitted here was also submitted to...

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Your Submissions

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Black Warrior Review Contest  Charges fees for all submissions
Black Warrior Review Creature(s) Contest CLOSED  Charges fees for all submissions
BWR Online  Charges fees for some submissions

Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
  • Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
  • Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 14 Sep 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.

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