Publication Schedule

River Heron Review is published biannually in February and August.
Our first issue debuted on August 1, 2018.

Next general submission period opens September 1, 2024

Poems, for Now is published annually in the fall.
The River Heron Editors’ Prize is published annually in February.
The River Heron Poetry Prize issue is published annually in August.

General submission Guidelines

General submissions open on September 1, 2024.
Our general submission periods are March 1 through May 31 and September 1 through November 30. 

River Heron Review seeks clear, concise, and crafted work from a variety of diverse voices and perspectives. We love poems that use language imaginatively without sacrificing meaning and movement and are receptive to all styles of poetry. We want to be awed, surprised, or moved by the poems you submit.

Submissions from new, emerging, and established poets are welcomed. We especially encourage submissions from historically underrepresented voices in poetry communities -- BIPOC, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, persons of any ability. We celebrate the full expression of all identities in our journal.

• Submit up to three poems in one document. Submit only once per submission period.

• All submissions are read by the editors.

• It is our practice to read all submissions without seeing the name of the contributor. We ask that your poetry remain anonymous so that we may make our selections based on the quality of your writing, not on your background or previous publications. Your name or initials are not to appear on any part of your poetry submission. Your submission will be assigned an auto-generated number by Submittable.

• Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere by sending us a note through the “Messages” section of Submittable.

• We do not solicit submissions. One hundred percent of published work has been curated through our anonymous Submittable process. You can read more about this important policy along with how the policy is handled by other literary journals at Raleigh Review’s page “A Call for Transparency: Regarding Solicitation.”

• Previously published work is not accepted. Unpublished work means work that has not appeared in any form of print or digital media, including personal and public blogs.

• If your work has been accepted to River Heron Review, please skip one general issue (does not include contest issues or Poems, for Now) before submitting again.

• RHR assumes First Electronic/Online Rights including the right to archive.

• Please credit River Heron Review should your poem be published again elsewhere.

• Submissions not adhering to our guidelines will not be considered for publication.

A $3.00 submission fee helps defray the costs of managing submissions and publishing the magazine.
River Heron Review is not funded by any university, college, or organization. We do not receive any grants.

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