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L'Esprit Literary Review

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About

L’Esprit was founded in February 2022, the centenary month of the publication of Ulysses. The journal was thus born in celebration of the literary revolution of consciousness represented by High Modernism, and seeks to publish work in that spirit.

We have grown considerably over the past few years and are fortunate enough to have published work by several outstanding new and established writers and critics, including Lucy Ives, Michael Nath, Diane Josefowicz, Violeta Sotirova, Jaclyn Gilbert, Christopher Linforth, Ella Baxter, Rebecca Fishow, Kat Meads, and, in translation, Hormoz Shahdadi and Paul Verlaine. We always prioritize emergent work from talented authors, and source the vast majority of each issue from unsolicited material via the slush pile.

L’Esprit searches for fearless, audacious, innovative writing that takes risks at the sentence level and immerses itself in the slippery, wondrous underworld of the mind. Interior-focused, character-driven, language-first work is core to our aesthetic principles, writing that eschews convention and experiments at both the technical and formal levels.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for some submissions. Look for the fees icon.
The fee range is USD $3 to $35 (average to above average for magazines that charge).
Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 2022

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication
Published 2 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication
Published 2 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

Statistics Synopsis

Faster
L'Esprit Literary Review's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
More Challenging
L'Esprit Literary Review's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
More Responsive
L'Esprit Literary Review's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

We look for ambitious, voice-driven literary fiction that emphasizes consciousness and interiority in the Modernist tradition. Please no genre work. We seek writing that takes risks on the sentence level and is propelled by dynamic, poetic language.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words; Up to 2 pieces.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,000 words; Up to 2 pieces.
Novel Excerpt: No specific word count limits known; Up to 2 pieces.

Styles:

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: USD $10 per piece.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Temp Closed

We will consider personal essays and creative non-fiction that explore their subject matter with the fearless, unabashed honesty of Modernism’s revolutionary tradition. We also look for criticism that engages literary work on a critical, technical, mechanical, and/or theoretical level, including book reviews and essays.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Review: 800 - 1,200 words; Up to 2 pieces.
Article: Up to 7,000 words; Up to 2 pieces.
Essay: Up to 7,000 words; Up to 2 pieces.
Narrative Nonfiction: Up to 7,000 words; Up to 2 pieces.

Styles:

Critical, Literary, Personal, Technical.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Literature/Books: Theory/Analysis/Criticism.

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: USD $10 per piece.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Temp Closed

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:

Semi-pro payment (US$10-49 per piece) Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $10 per piece.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are 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.

L'Esprit Literary 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.

Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 29 reports from 26 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
3 min | 24.4 mean avg | 24.0 median | 139 max days (28.7 std dev)
Responses
100.00 %
Acceptances:
0.00 % No publication has a 0% acceptance rate. This data is based on submission reports sent to Duotrope, and we have not received reports of any acceptances yet.
Rejections:
100.00 % (24.4 avg. days per rejection) | 10.3 % personal, 75.9 % form, 13.8 % unspecified
Non-Responses
0.00 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
-
Withdrawals
-
Pending
5 responses are pending (12 min | 45.0 mean avg | 32.0 median | 95 max days waiting | 305.0 std dev) from 5 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 42 days. (24.1 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 42 days.)
The most common submission fee paid: USD $3.00. (74.2 % of reports specified whether they paid a fee; of those, 100.0 % paid fees.)
Most submissions are acknowledged within one day.
Most recent response reported was received on 27 Aug 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 21 Aug 2026.
Date compiled: 11 Sep 2026 21:08 UTC (2 hours, 51 minutes ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

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Your Submissions

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Clarissa Dalloway Prize for Short Prose  Charges fees for all submissions
Indirect Books  Charges fees for all submissions
Leopold Bloom Prize for Innovative Narration  Charges fees for all submissions
Virginia Woolf Anthology CLOSED  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: 03 Sep 2026

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

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