Welcome to American Writers Review; a multi-genre literary and art journal. Though we've been in print for a number of years, we are still searching for the best work to share with our readers.
Welcome to American Writers Review; a multi-genre literary and art journal. Though we've been in print for a number of years, we are still searching for the best work to share with our readers.
For this theme, we are looking for stories, poems, and images that reflect a moment of potential release from a dire moment. Maybe the release is successful.
And maybe not.
We aren’t looking for religious tracts, or even a literal adherence to the theme. As an example of something that might work, you might look at https://penmenreview.com/then-and-now
This is just an example, and not a template. Please read the submission guidelines carefully before submitting.
We welcome submissions of previously unpublished poems, short stories, creative non-fiction, art, short plays/monologues and photography, and seek contributions from anywhere in the world. Our recent issues have featured contributions from England, Scotland, Australia, China, Israel, the Philippines, as well as the United States. If your piece has appeared in an online or print journal, it is not "unpublished."
Submissions can be sent to us through our Online Submission Manager. We will not accept emailed or snail mailed submissions. For both contest and regular submissions, we are looking for previously unpublished work, well-written with a human sensibility. Excerpts are acceptable, but they must work as stand-alone pieces. We reserve the right to edit for punctuation, sense, and length.
Few things are complete turn-offs, but porn, excessive gore, and gratuitous violence are a few. Work aimed at a children's audience is likewise not a good fit for us.
We particularly welcome submissions that include both written pieces and images that spring from a shared experience or inspiration. We also welcome submissions that include both written work and images. If a written work cries out for an image, feel free to send one along. Needless to say (but we will say it), if you submit written pieces and images, you must be the owner of both. We reserve the right to accept/reject/separate both pieces.
Regular submissions will be accepted from February 2, 2026 to August 1, 2026. We charge a small reading fee of $5 to defray our costs. Payment is in contributors' copies. Entries must be in English, (prose must be double-spaced) in Word or RTF format. Art and photography must be in JPEG format, 200-300 dpi.
Contest submissions will be accepted from February 2, 2026 to July 1 2026 There is a single cash prize of $250, based on the judges' scores, plus publication of the winner and finalists. There is a $15 fee to defray our costs.
The contest is open to all writers, of any experience level. Written entries must be in English, another language with an English translation, in Word or RTF format, Art and photography must be in JPEG format, 200-300 dpi.
Please do not include identifying information on your submissions, except in the section of the submission manager marked “cover letter.” If we see identifying information anywhere else, we will disqualify your submission and not refund your fee.
All authors grant first rights only.
If you are submitting a written work with an image, please submit each piece in a separate file. The Form will accept one document and one image.
Simultaneous submissions: Of course, you do it. Everyone does it. Just let us know as soon as you can if you have been accepted elsewhere. If you want to enter a piece in the contest and as a regular submission, you are, of course, free to do so. Any questions, please email us at info@sanfedelepress.com.
FICTION GUIDELINES: Submit no more than one piece or one piece and an image at a time. American Writers Review seeks distinctive, character-driven stories. Aim for 2500 words or fewer, although we will not necessarily reject pieces that are slightly over that length.
If you are submitting a written work with an image, please submit each as a separate file..
While we are not dogmatic about genre, we do not want porn, children’s fiction, reviews, or things that will make us retch without a really good reason. Put “Fiction” and the title of your piece in the “Title” field of the entry form.
POETRY GUIDELINES: Submit no more than one poem, or one poem and an image at a time. We are seeking pieces that make their point in a tight, concise fashion. While we do not have a strict word limit for poetry, we do not encourage you to submit epics (think “The Illiad”) or multi part structures (“Spoon River Anthology” is many poems, not one).
Also, please note that we publish in 6"x9" format. If your poems do not fit that format, consider how they can be accommodated.
If you are submitting a written work with an image, please submit each piece in a separate file. Put “Poetry” and the title of your piece in the “Title” field of the entry form.
NONFICTION GUIDELINES: Submit no more than one piece or one piece with an image at a time. American Writers Review seeks distinctive, concise, tight pieces. Aim for 2500 words or fewer, although we will not necessarily reject pieces that are slightly over that length. If you are submitting a written work with an image, please submit each piece in a separate file. Put “NonFiction” and the title of your piece in the “Title” field of the entry form
DRAMA/MONOLOGUES: Please submit only one work, concise and short. Aim for 5 minutes for monologues, 7-9 minutes for dramatic works, although we will not necessarily reject pieces that are slightly over those lengths.
If you are submitting a written work with an image, please submit each piece in a separate file. PHOTOGRAPHY AND OTHER ART GUIDELINES: You are welcome to submit color and black and white photographs and digital copies of drawings and paintings. Art and photography must be in JPEG format, 200-300 dpi, suitable for black and white reproduction, if choose that format.
We will consider photo essays, if they are consistent with our journal and our theme. Put “Photography” or “Art” and the title of your piece in the “Title” field of the entry form. You must be the creator/owner of any work submitted. By this, we mean, we are uninterested in AI created, plagiarized, or otherwise "not your work." If we discover that it is not your work, we will reject it. We are aiming for publication in winter 2026, so you will find out fairly quickly if your work has been accepted.
In the coming weeks, we will also share
a few highlights from the issue.
On the main road to a beautiful beach community stands a wreck. Intended to be a luxury hotel/condominium resort, it had been largely sold when its funding collapsed in 2009. Soon, there was no water, electricity, or maintenance, and buyers were left with debts and distress.
What seemed like a great idea, a sure thing, turned out to be a disaster.
As for the back cover: Founded in 1892, Sears, for decades, represented America’s marketplace. Its catalogue and store sales were a symbol of the robust middle- and working-class’s buying power. Many stores featured the prominent stone tower, a reflection of the store’s seeming modernity and stability. From 1973, the Sears Tower dominated the Chicago skyline.
Purchased by another large chain in 2005, its future seem bright…or at least viable.
Yet, the chain failed. By 2025, only five Sears stores remained. While a few of the Art Deco and Modernist stores have been awarded landmark status, others have been destroyed. The people who consulted the Sears catalogue almost religiously moved on to big box stores and the Internet. The Sears Tower was renamed.
In our 2025 issue, we invited comments on the many things that seemed like great ideas, but turned out not to be. We were overwhelmed by the many, excellent pieces and are forever grateful to everyone who submitted.
We hope you enjoy this issue and its many excellent contributions.
It’s been a difficult process, but we have chosen the winners of this year’s contest. Because of a tied score, the cash prize will be split between By Mary K. O’Melveny for In My Dream, The US Department of Fish & Wildlife Still Existed and I Could Read Its Biennial Butterfly Reports and Maryam Imogen Ghouth for The Clearing.
These poems, and the other finalists will be published in American Writers Review 2025.
Thanks to all who entered the contest, and to our judges, Barry Lee Thompson and Margaret McCaffrey.
Again, the finalists are:
The Clearing (Co-Winner)
By Maryam Imogen Ghouth
A Man Grieves for His Car
By Henry Hank Greenspan
In My Dream, The US Department of Fish & Wildlife
Still Existed and I Could Read Its Biennial Butterfly Reports (Co-Winner)
By Mary K. O’Melveny
Failure: Shipboard Meeting, Singapore Harbor 1994
By Joel Savishinsky
From The New World
By Michael Smith
Four Fables Warning How to Fail a Costume Sale
By Andre Wilson
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest.
D Ferrara, Editor
American Writers Review 2025
By
and
D Ferrara, Editor
Wayne Benson, Poetry Editor
Patricia A. Florio, Founder
American Writers Review 2022
www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/americanwritersreview.shtml
Paul Fericano, author “Things That Go Trump In the Night”, Little City Press
Andrew Grell, author “Scapegoats”, Golden Fleece Press
As we readied American Writers Review for press, we asked some of our contributors to tell us their thoughts. Give a look.
With each new issue of American Writers Review, the editors and writers tried to find the best writing to share with their readers.
Patricia Florio
After co-founding the Jersey Shore Writers and the original East Meets West American Writers Review, I found it only natural to save D Ferrara from herself when she blurted out a promise to publish the "jewels" of a writers' retreat in Chianti. We created a wonderful book. We didn't kill each other. We decided to be partners.
d ferrara
I used to think that writing kept me sane. Maybe it did. But with age, came a Vespa - evidence that writing may have other side effects. Then Pat Florio asked me to work with her on American Writers Review. It seemed an even better result.