The Awakenings Review

About

The Awakenings Review is an award-winning literary magazine committed to publishing poetry, short stories, nonfiction, art, and photography by writers and poets who write from experience with mental illness in themselves, family members, or friends. Located in the Chicago area but international in scope, our print publication is one of the nation’s leading journals of this genre. We favor work demonstrating that the writer or poet has found direction in life despite mental illness or about the experience of mental illness without being demoralizing.

Limited Demographic: Submissions are restricted to people who have personal experience with mental illness.

Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2000

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication: Published 2 x per year

AI Policy

AI use may be permitted in some circumstances (see their site for details)

170 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Regular Speed: The Awakenings Review's overall average response time is within a normal range for magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: People living with mental health conditions.

Genres:

Open to all/most Genres, including:
General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 500 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 4,000 words.
Novel Excerpt: 500 - 4,000 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Health/Medicine: Mental health.

Payment:

No monetary payment Provides free copy/copies No monetary payment. Provides free copy/copies.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: People living with mental health conditions.

Lengths:

Essay: 500 - 4,000 words.

Styles:

Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Health/Medicine: Mental health.

Payment:

No monetary payment Provides free copy/copies No monetary payment. Provides free copy/copies.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: People living with mental health conditions.

Genres:

Open to all/most Genres, including:
General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; 3 - 5 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Health/Medicine: Mental health.

Payment:

No monetary payment Provides free copy/copies No monetary payment. Provides free copy/copies.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: People living with mental health conditions.

Lengths:

Artwork: Unknown number of pieces.

Art Media:

Graphic design.
Drawing.
Pen & ink drawing.
Painting.
Black & white photography.
Other medium.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Health/Medicine: Mental health.

Payment:

No monetary payment Provides free copy/copies No monetary payment. Provides free copy/copies.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Image.

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

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The Awakenings 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.

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Accuracy

We have received 9 reports from 9 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

9 min | 50.6 mean avg | 37.0 median | 121 max days (497.8 std dev)

Pending

2 responses are pending (51 min | 144.5 mean avg | 144.5 median | 238 max days waiting | 327.1 std dev) from 2 different members

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 27 Jun 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 18 Jun 2026.
Date compiled: 11 Sep 2026 22:34 UTC (14 minutes ago).

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Before Submitting

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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: 07 Jun 2026

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