The Shanghai Literary Review Submission Manager

The Shanghai Literary Review accepts submissions for TSLR Online on a rolling basis throughout the year. Twice each year, we open our submission period for our print magazine.

***The open submission period for the next print issue (TSLR 9 Spring/Summer 2025) will run between 1-31 January 2025. A dedicated Submittable page will be available then.

We are interested in art and writing about urbanism, globalism, identity, and transnationalism, though by no means should submissions be limited to those topics. We'll publish a good story about cats in Africa if it floors us. Selected works will be published online and/or in print.

Please note that we do not accept genre writing: romance, science fiction, crime, fantasy, etc. We do accept literary works that can bend genres to a degree. But TSLR is a home for literary writing.

Visual artists who want to submit more than one piece—please upload either a zip file of your pieces, or upload them into one submission. Please do not submit multiple times for different pieces.

Despite an overwhelming number of submissions, we aim to reply to all submitters.

TSLR Issue 9 (Spring/Summer 2025)

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Submit

We’re thrilled to announce that we’re now accepting submissions for our upcoming print issue of The Shanghai Literary Review. This is your chance to share your work with a vibrant literary community and have it featured in our next print publication.

Submission Period: 1 January 2025 – 31 January 2025

We welcome submissions of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, art, book reviews, interviews, and criticism. Whether your writing explores themes of identity, community, love, loss, or the world around us, we encourage you to submit pieces that are bold, inventive, and deeply resonant.

What We’re Looking For:

Fiction
Poetry
Creative Nonfiction
Art
Translation
Book Reviews
Interviews
Criticism

Submission Guidelines:

Fiction: Up to 5,000 words
Poetry: Up to 5 poems
Creative Nonfiction: Up to 5,000 words
Art: Photography, photo essay, collage, painting, sketch, etc.
Translation: Translation into English of any poetry, essay or short fiction from any language, along with the original text
Book Reviews: Approximately 1,000 words
Interviews: Long- and short-form interviews are considered.

How to Submit:

Submit your work via the Submittable portal below.
Include a short cover letter (optional), with a brief bio and any relevant publication history.
Please only submit once per category (i.e., one fiction, one poetry, or one nonfiction submission).
Formatting: Please submit all work in standard manuscript format (12-point font, double-spaced, .doc or .docx preferred).
Simultaneous Submissions: We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

What We Offer:

Contributors will receive one complimentary print copy and a special discounted rate for subsequent print copies.
Your work will be considered for publication in TSLR Issue 9.

We can’t wait to read your work!

Fiction