Fiction Writers Review welcomes previously unpublished reviews, essays, literary interviews, and Shop Talk pieces. You don’t have to be a published author to contribute, just an excellent literary citizen.
Note: Submissions are currently closed (as of December 3, 2021). Please check back in the future. Guidelines during open submissions are below.
We’re looking for craft-centered reviews, not plot summaries or “thumbs-up, thumbs-down” assessments. We believe that a good review leaves a reader thinking about writing in a new way, regardless of whether they decide to purchase the book or not. Please read Jeremiah Chamberlin’s “The Good Review” and Charles Baxter’s “Owl Criticism” for a bit more on what we’re looking for. Average range: 800 – 1,500 words.
We consider reviews of literary novels, story collections, and graphic novels. We have a particular interest in debut authors, international literature, and books published by independent presses. We also consider reviews of non-fiction titles about fiction or the writing life, or memoirs and biographies about writers.
We do not review the following: (1) self-published books, (2) strictly genre work, (3) fan fiction, (4) general non-fiction, or (5) titles that only appear in e-book or digital format.
We try to review titles within a month of publication, and we typically schedule content several months in advance. As such, queries for review should ideally be received 3 – 4 months prior to publication.
Reviews must be original, unpublished content. Work cannot have appeared anywhere in print or online, including on personal blogs or book sites. However, writers retain their rights to publish the work elsewhere after it appears on Fiction Writers Review, so long as a line of attribution appears such as: “This [essay/review/interview] was originally published on Fiction Writers Review.”
We are interested in interviews with both emerging and established writers, ideally timed to the release of a new book by the subject. We are looking for conversations, not Q & As. Average range: 2,500 – 3,000 words.
We also seek essays on craft, voice, reading, the writing life, the book industry, and related topics. Again, please familiarize yourself with the style and format of this feature. Average range: 2,000 – 3,000 words.
Finally, we welcome submissions for Shop Talk:
Please send all queries for possible work with a brief (1 – 2 paragraph) pitch, a bio, and either one writing clip of a previously published review or an example of your work. If you would like us to consider an unpublished review, essay, interview, Shop Talk post that is already written, please send the finished feature along with a brief overview and your bio.
Email all inquiries to: editors@fictionwritersreview.com.
Compensation (lack thereof):
Sadly, at this point we can’t offer more than a heap of gratitude for work published on FWR, which is a labor of love. Even our editorial staff works on a volunteer basis. That said, we have a diverse and growing audience, one that averages 10,000 unique visitors a month. So your work will be noticed and read by a literary readership.
FWR does receive free review copies (solicited and unsolicited) from publishers and authors. Some of these books are reviewed or discussed on our site, and a few are even chosen as our Book of the Week–-but most unsolicited titles are not. You can read more about the FTC’s updated guidelines for endorsements here.
Further, we feel it’s important in light of new FCC regulations to stress that we are not performing some kind of advertising service for publishers with the work that we do on this site. Fiction Writers Review is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, whose literary purpose as a charitable organization is to provide a public forum for conversations about the craft of fiction, literature, and the writing life. We are under no obligation to review a books simply because we receive a review copy. We only consider a small percentage of the books submitted to us, and of these, we only publish reviews of the select ones our reviewers have individually chosen.
Also, we have a policy that contributors do not publish reviews of books written by friends or colleagues; however, contributors may certainly interview an author that he or she has a personal or professional relationship with.
