Skip to Content

An Important Announcement
We are excited to announce the long-awaited Duotrope community! Create your profile, high five your fellow creators, and journey along Rejection Road.

Colorado Review

See other projects related to this listing.

About

Launched in 1956 (with the first issue featuring work by Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, E. E. Cummings, Henry Miller, Bertolt Brecht, and Mark van Doren), Colorado Review is a national literary journal featuring contemporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and book reviews. Each issue is approximately 200 pages. Published three times a year, CR has a circulation of approximately 1,100, is carried by university and public libraries across the country, and is also available via Project MUSE. The journal receives over 7,000 manuscript submissions each academic year. It lives on the campus at Colorado State University.

Colorado Review is committed to the publication of contemporary creative writing. We are equally interested in work by both new and established writers. While open to a variety of styles and concerns, CR welcomes work that centers story and voice and/or that plays with form in meaningful ways. We accept short fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, and book reviews (reviews are published online only).

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for some submissions. They charge fees for all categories, except for cover art and book reviews.
The fee is USD $3 (average for magazines that charge).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 1956

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication
Published 3 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Statistics Synopsis

Regular Speed
Colorado Review's overall average response time is within a normal range for magazines.
More Challenging
Colorado Review's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
More Responsive
Colorado Review's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Collapse section Fiction Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to fee-based fiction submissions through 31 March 2027* (approx. 210 days from now).

19

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Short Story: 3,750 - 6,250 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Pay ranges from Semi-pro payment to Professional payment. Details: USD $300.

Submissions:

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

Collapse section Nonfiction Open Fee-based

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Review: 750 - 1,000 words.
Essay: 3,750 - 6,250 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Pays occasionally, up to Professional payment. Details: USD $300.

Submissions:

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

Collapse section Poetry Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to fee-based poetry submissions through 31 March 2027* (approx. 210 days from now).

34

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Up to 7 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (US$5-49 per poem) to Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Pay ranges from Semi-pro payment to Professional payment. Details: USD $100.

Submissions:

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

Collapse section Visual Art Open

We welcome fine art photography, still life, architecture, abstractions--or surprise us! We want a photo that can tell a story, even in its simplicity.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Artwork: Unknown number of pieces.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media, including...
Photography.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per piece) Professional payment. Details: USD $100.

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.

Colorado 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 25 Most Challenging Fiction Publishers in our database.
Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 676 reports from 533 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
0 min | 55.1 mean avg | 60.0 median | 411 max days (206.9 std dev)
Responses
96.30 %
Acceptances:
1.33 % of submissions accepted (60.7 avg. days per acceptance) | 1.50 % 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:
94.97 % (55.2 avg. days per rejection) | 10.3 % personal, 69.9 % form, 19.8 % unspecified | 0.2 % rewrite requests | 0.2 % shortlisted
Non-Responses
0.59 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
0.59 % (337.7 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals
3.11 % (31.2 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending
112 responses are pending (1 min | 31.7 mean avg | 26.0 median | 256 max days waiting | 427.0 std dev) from 110 different members This only includes pending reports from people who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

The most common submission fee paid: USD $3.00. (59.9 % of reports specified whether they paid a fee; of those, 99.2 % paid fees.)
Most submissions are acknowledged within one day.
Most recent response reported was received on 02 Sep 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 06 Aug 2026.
Date compiled: 03 Sep 2026 04:18 UTC (1 hour, 6 minutes ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

Work submitted here was also submitted to...

This section is available to subscribers only. Sign up and start your free trial today!

Members accepted here also had work accepted by...

This section is available to subscribers only. Become a member and start your free trial today!

Your Submissions

This section is available to subscribers only. Join today!

The Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction ON HIATUS  Charges fees for all 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: 04 Aug 2026

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

Cookie Consent: This site uses secure first-party cookies for essential, preference-setting, and statistical purposes. We do not use any marketing, advertising, or third-party cookies. Read our full cookie policy.