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The Missouri Review

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About

The Missouri Review, founded in 1978, is one of the most highly regarded literary magazines in the United States. For the past four decades we’ve upheld a reputation for finding and publishing the very best writers first. We are based at the University of Missouri and publish four issues each year. Each issue contains approximately five new stories, three new poetry features, and two essays, all selected from unsolicited submissions sent by writers throughout the world.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for some submissions. They charge fees for online submissions and expedited responses. The fee range is USD $4 to $10.
Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 1978

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication
Published 4 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication
Published 4 x per year

Collapse section Fiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General Open to all/most Subgenres.

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: No specific word count limits known (our definition: up to 1000 words).
Short Story: No specific word count limits known (our definition: 1000 to 7500 words).
Novelette: No specific word count limits known (our definition: 7500 to 15000 words).

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $25 per page.

Submissions:

Methods: Submission manager. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: No specific word count limits known.
Book Excerpt: No specific word count limits known.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $25 per page.

Submissions:

Methods: Submission manager. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General Open to all/most Subgenres.

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Unknown number of pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Professional payment. Details: USD $25 per page.

Submissions:

Methods: Submission manager. Postal.
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.

The Missouri Review 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 Fiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the 25 Most Challenging Nonfiction Publishers in our database.
Accuracy:
We have received 887 reports from 651 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 | 52.3 mean avg | 51.0 median | 398 max days (172.9 std dev)
Responses
95.49 %
Acceptances:
0.79 % of submissions accepted (82.3 avg. days per acceptance) | 1.08 % 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:
94.70 % (51.4 avg. days per rejection) | 46.3 % personal, 38.5 % form, 15.2 % unspecified | 0.1 % rewrite requests | 1.0 % shortlisted
Non-Responses
4.51 %
Lost/Returned:
0.34 % (167.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as lost or returned)
Never Responded:
0.34 % (240.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals:
3.83 % (26.9 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending
123 responses are pending (1 min | 44.9 mean avg | 27.5 median | 271 max days waiting | 716.3 std dev) from 121 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 84 days. (19.4 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 84 days.)
Do not query on the status of your submission before 180 days have passed.
The most common submission fee paid: USD $4.00. (63.0 % of reports specified whether they paid a fee; of those, 99.1 % paid fees.)
Most submissions are acknowledged within one day.
Most recent response reported was received on 15 Jul 2025.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 12 Jul 2025.

Work submitted here was also submitted to...

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Members accepted here also had work accepted by...

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Your Submissions

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Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize  Charges fees for all submissions
The Missouri Review Miller Audio Prize DNQ  Charges fees for all submissions
The Perkoff Prize  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: 14 Jul 2025
Last Audited: 08 May 2025
Date Added: 02 Aug 2005

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