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New Letters

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About

The mission of New Letters magazine is to discover, publish and promote the best and most exciting literary writing, wherever it might be found. We publish and serve readers and writers worldwide. In recent years, New Letters has won a National Magazine Award, the industry’s highest honor, plus multiple Pushcart Prizes, and is reprinted often in the Best American anthology series.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions, except for subscribers. The fee range is USD $4.95 to $5.95.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 1934

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication
Published 4 x per year

Collapse section Fiction Open Fee-based

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General.

Lengths:

Short Story: 1,000 - 5,000 words.
Novella: 15,000 - 30,000 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Unknown payment Provides free copy/copies Unknown payment. Provides free copy/copies.

Submissions:

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

Collapse section Nonfiction Open Fee-based

We publish personal essays and are open, as well, to critical discourses about writing, art, or culture, as long as that writing is, in itself, lively, fresh, and vivid. We are not interested in footnoted, “scholarly” articles, or anything that uses the word “privilege” as a verb.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Review: 300 - 800 words.
Essay: Up to 5,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Critical, Literary, Personal. Excluding: Academic.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Unknown payment Provides free copy/copies Unknown payment. Provides free copy/copies.

Submissions:

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

Collapse section Poetry Open Fee-based

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General.

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Up to 6 pieces.
Poetry Chapbook: Up to 30 pages.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Unknown payment Provides free copy/copies Unknown payment. Provides free copy/copies.

Submissions:

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

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

New Letters Submission Statistics Free Preview!

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 Nonfiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the 25 Most Challenging Poetry Publishers in our database.
Accuracy:
We have received 283 reports from 229 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 | 111.2 mean avg | 136.0 median | 399 max days (119.2 std dev)
Responses
90.10 %
Acceptances:
1.41 % of submissions accepted (80.5 avg. days per acceptance) | 1.75 % 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:
88.69 % (113.0 avg. days per rejection) | 7.2 % personal, 70.1 % form, 22.7 % unspecified
Non-Responses
9.89 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
1.06 % (279.7 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals:
8.83 % (71.0 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending
106 responses are pending (0 min | 87.7 mean avg | 80.0 median | 327 max days waiting | 295.5 std dev) from 104 different members This only includes pending reports from users who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 180 days. (33.9 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 180 days.)
The most common submission fee paid: USD $4.95.
Most submissions are acknowledged within one day.
Most recent response reported was received on 30 Jun 2025.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 27 Jun 2025.

Work submitted here was also submitted to...

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Your Submissions

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The Conger Beasley Jr. Award for Nonfiction  Charges fees for all submissions
New Letters Editor's Choice Award  Charges fees for all submissions
The Patricia Cleary Miller Award for Poetry  Charges fees for all submissions
The Robert Day Award for Fiction  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: 29 Apr 2025
Last Audited: 29 Apr 2025
Date Added: 03 Aug 2005

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