Guidelines for Iris Literary Journal
Iris Literary Journal is published quarterly in print and ebook.
Each journal includes poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, drama, and visual art, including photography. Some of the work may not be entirely in English.
Issue themes:
Spring is yellow: For this issue, we seek work that creatively addresses passion: appetite, fancy, favor, like, liking, partiality, preference, relish, taste. craving, crush, desire, infatuation, longing, lust, yearning. ardor, eagerness, enthusiasm, fervor, zeal. (Nov 10 - Feb 8)
The Poetry Issue! For national poetry month, we encourage poets to write and send us work that moves, enlightens, or inspires us--in both free verse and traditional forms. (Open Feb 9 - March 10.)
Summer is White: For this issue, we seek work that creatively addresses purity: innocence, idealism, fidelity, goodness, honesty, incorruptibility, integrity, virtuousness. morality, virtue. (Open March 11 - May 10)
Fall is Blue: For this issue, we seek work that creatively addresses hope: faith, confidence, trust, credence, belief, credit, assurance, acceptance, expectation, hope, dependence, conviction, sureness, fidelity, loyalty, troth, certainty, surety, allegiance, assent, credulity, certitude, reliance. (Open May 12 - Aug 10)
Winter is purple: For this issue, we seek work that creatively addresses wisdom: wit, prudence, astuteness, sense, reason, clear thinking, brains, good judgment, sagacity, understanding, sanity, shrewdness, experience, practical knowledge, carefulness, vigilance, tact, balance, poise, stability, caution, solidity, hardheadedness, savoir-faire. (Open Aug 11 - Nov 9)
Note: Submission windows are subject to early closure: this happens if submissions exceed the maximum number that we can consider per issue.
Accepted and Published Contributors to Iris Literary Journal
Contributors receive one print and one electronic copy of the journal in which their work appears and an author discount on the purchase of extra copies.
Iris acquires first-time North American rights and the right to reprint in anthologies. After publication, all other rights revert to the author, and the work may be reprinted as long as an appropriate acknowledgment to Iris Literary Journal is made.
We do charge a $3 reading fee per general submission. Please know that the submission fee helps us produce the journal.
