Please visit our website for more detailed submission guidelines. Thanks!
General Submission Guidelines
At The Upper New Review, we are seeking out place-based creative works around the globe.
These are the general submission guidelines for the Upper New Review, both online and in print.
We need to know who is responsible for creating the work. Please provide your name and contact information with the submission. If the work is collaborative, information for all primary contributors involved with the completion of the work should be included. We want to give credit where credit is due.
Every submission is required to have a well-conceived cover letter. Please, no boilerplate forms. Please, do not copy and paste. Tell us what we need to know about the pieces or creative works you are submitting. Tell us “the why.” Take anywhere from one paragraph to two pages, whatever works for you.
If you're looking for inspiration to help you write your letter, please check out our Foundations and Prompts and our Creator Categories.
Send only complete works that are ready for publication.
Simultaneous submissions...
If you are resident of the Upper New River basin, or a neighbor, or a continental, or a global: we welcome simultaneous submissions, and we request that you notify us immediately (and withdraw your submission) if your work is accepted for publication elsewhere.
If you are a visitor to the Upper New River basin: please, no simultaneous submissions. We want work specific to the Upper New River Basin.
Anyone is welcome to make multiple submissions at once, so long as they are in different categories. For example, you could submit a short story, and one or more paintings of a hummingbird sipping from a native flower. (e.g., prose vs. visual art).
If you wish to make multiple submissions in the same category, please wait until you have a response from us before making an additional submission. For example, please don’t submit a short story and an essay at the same time.
Submissions must be previously unpublished, in print or online. This does not include personal blogs, social media posts, etc.
Currently, due to UNR staff limitations, submissions must be written in English.
We’re open to all subject matter, with the exception that we will not publish erotica or anything containing gratuitous sexual content. For example, we would happily read a personal reflection on the annual mating habits of river otters in the North Fork of the New River.
Response Times
Responses for any submission can take up to six months, with variations depending on the contents of the submission. Typically, we will strive to have a response for your submission within two months. If it has been six months since you submitted, and you have not heard from us, please do send us a follow-up inquiry!
Who should submit work to the Upper New Review?
We’re happy for anyone creating work that aligns with the Upper New River guidelines to submit their work. For the sake of clarity, we have four separate categories for people submitting work: residents, neighbors, continentals, and visitors.
Residents are people who live in the Upper New River basin.
Neighbors are people who live in one of the nine basins that border the Upper New River basin: Watauga (06010103), South Fork Holston (06010102), North Fork Holston (06010101), Middle New (05050002), Upper James (02080201), Upper Roanoke (03010101), Upper Dan (03010103), Upper Catawba (03050101), Upper Yadkin (03040101).
Continentals are people who live anywhere else in North America: Canada, The United States, and Mexico.
Globals are people who live in Central and South America (which we define as every nation and watershed south of the Mexico border), Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Antarctica.
Visitors are people who live anywhere in the world who have been physically present in the Upper New River Basin for any duration of time, even a short day trip.
For a more detailed overview, please visit the creator categories page on our website.
(We are working on our “Global” category. It’s taking us some time to map out the watersheds of the other continents. If you’re keen to help us with this task, please drop us a line!)
Our National Juried Show is open to artists 13 years of age or older living anywhere in the United States.
The theme for this competition is A Sense Of Place
We don’t want to provide too much structure to our theme. We hope juried show entrants will interpret this theme as they see fit, using whichever medium they select from our categories.
However, here is our really simplified definition of sense of place: “figuring out the reality of where you are, and how you perceive that reality, and what your perception of that reality means to you.”
There are four categories of visual arts in this juried competition.
Photography (Digital and Film)
Photography includes visual works created within a camera and processed using traditional darkroom or digital darkroom/lightroom software tools resulting in a printed work.
Painting, Drawing, Illustration
Painting, drawing, and illustration includes visual works created by hand using traditional analog techniques on a variety of surfaces that can be hung on a wall, with or without frames (such as stretched canvases).
Mixed Media
Mixed media are visual works created using a combination of materials and analog and digital processes, such as collage and assemblage. As long as the piece can hang on a wall and meets our physical specifications, we’ll consider it. Surprise us!
Graphic and Digital Art
Graphic and digital art are visual works originating inside a computer, regardless of form factor (desktop, laptop, smartphone). These works are printed, framed and ready to hang.
For example, an illustration created in a software program (even by hand using a stylus and tablet) is considered digital art.
The Basic Rules
The entry fee for anyone to submit work to the Juried Show is $30.
One work of art per entry, with the option to upload three total images for a single work of art. For example, the second and third images could be details of a painting.
Uploaded images should be high enough resolution to appropriately display submitted work. Several standard image file formats are accepted. Please check the submission page for specifics.
Additional works of art can be submitted in a single category, subject to a $5 media fee.
Artists may enter multiple categories for the competition as long as they pay a separate entry fee in each category. For example, an individual artist could enter work into the photography and mixed media categories, each requiring a $30 entry fee.
All artworks entered into competition will also be considered for publication in The Upper New Review, regardless of contest outcome.
Artworks must not exceed 36 inches in width or length, including framing.
Accepted works must be properly framed or mounted and ready to hang using gallery standard wire hanging systems. No sawtooth hangers allowed.
If glazing is used in the framing of the artwork, plexiglass is preferred for safe shipping.
Metal or glass prints of photography or graphic/digital artworks are also acceptable, so long as the included mounting system is compatible with gallery standard hanging systems.
The artist is responsible for shipping accepted artwork to and from the gallery space.
Any artist wishing to make their artwork available for sale may include a list price, and The Upper New staff will facilitate direct sales communication between the artist and interested parties as relevant.
Should any artwork sell during the show, The Upper New will not keep any percentage of sales as commission. 100% of sales revenue will be retained by the artist.
All cash prizes may be awarded contingent upon the volume of submissions. Awards are subject to change based on these submission volumes.
Our Global Essay Contest is open to writers 13 years of age or older living anywhere on planet Earth.
This submission window is for the YOUTH DIVISION of the Essay Contest (Ages 13-17). For the Adult Division, please click here.
The theme for this contest is A Sense Of Place
We don’t want to provide too much structure to our theme. We hope essay contest entrants will interpret this theme as they see fit within the 2000 or 6000 word limit.
However, here is our really simplified definition of sense of place: “figuring out the reality of where you are, and how you perceive that reality, and what your perception of that reality means to you.”
There are two categories of the Essay Contest, based on length: 2000 words and 6000 words.
The Basic Rules
The entry fee for youth to submit work to the Essay Contest is $10.
There is a total prize purse of $1500 for the Global Essay Contest. See our website for details.
Uploaded essay manuscripts should be properly formatted. At a minimum, manuscripts should be double-spaced, using at least a 12-point serif font. Please also include page numbers.
Several standard file formats are acceptable for uploaded manuscripts. PDF is preferred, but not required.
Manuscripts do not need to be blinded for this competition.
Writers may enter both length categories for the competition as long as they pay a separate entry fee in each category
Please limit two entries per length category per person, for a total of four entries for a single person.
All essays entered into competition will also be considered for publication in The Upper New Review, regardless of contest outcome.
All cash prizes may be awarded contingent upon the volume of submissions to the essay contest. Awards are subject to change based on these submission volumes.
Our Global Essay Contest is open to writers 13 years of age or older living anywhere on planet Earth.
This submission window is for the ADULT DIVISION of the Essay Contest (Ages 18 and older). For the Youth Division, please click here.
The theme for this contest is A Sense Of Place
We don’t want to provide too much structure to our theme. We hope essay contest entrants will interpret this theme as they see fit within the 2000 or 6000 word limit.
However, here is our really simplified definition of sense of place: “figuring out the reality of where you are, and how you perceive that reality, and what your perception of that reality means to you.”
There are two categories of the Essay Contest, based on length: 2000 words and 6000 words.
The Basic Rules
The entry fee for youth to submit work to the Essay Contest is $10.
There is a total prize purse of $1500 for the Global Essay Contest. See our website for details.
Uploaded essay manuscripts should be properly formatted. At a minimum, manuscripts should be double-spaced, using at least a 12-point serif font. Please also include page numbers.
Several standard file formats are acceptable for uploaded manuscripts. PDF is preferred, but not required.
Manuscripts do not need to be blinded for this competition.
Writers may enter both length categories for the competition as long as they pay a separate entry fee in each category
Please limit two entries per length category per person, for a total of four entries for a single person.
All essays entered into competition will also be considered for publication in The Upper New Review, regardless of contest outcome.
All cash prizes may be awarded contingent upon the volume of submissions to the essay contest. Awards are subject to change based on these submission volumes.
We're seeking out research narratives from people pursuing knowledge in any field, all over Earth.
Who is writing research narratives? Researchers. You.
You’re conducting research. That means you’re a researcher.
You might be focused in the sciences, the social sciences, or the humanities.
Maybe it’s just you. Maybe it’s a collaborative team.
Maybe you’re in the lab. Maybe you’re in the field.
Maybe you’re doing interdisciplinary work. Maybe you’re doing transdisciplinary work.
Maybe, just maybe, you’re defying the disciplines.
Maybe you’re completely undisciplined, in a good way.
Regardless: you’ve got questions, you’ve got methods, and you’ve got findings. Maybe they’re just preliminary. You’re still looking. How’d you get here, and what are you going to do about it?
What are the logistical parameters we are looking for in a research narrative?
We're looking for jargon-free, approachable stories about your research process and findings, and the relevance of how your research fits into the grander scheme of things. In other words, why are you doing what you're doing, and what's next?
We don't have a maximum word count, but we hope you can be concise and engaging. We'd rather you worry about crafting a good story that is easy to absorb for someone with a high school education. Pretend you're teaching people how to understand your work. We think it's a good idea to have a minimum word count, though: please make sure your narrative is at least 3000 words. Likely it will be nearer to 5000 words. But, as long as it is at least 3000 words, concise, and engaging, you should be off to a good start achieving what we're looking for.
This hybrid publication process will be, essentially, a combination of writing, images, and multimedia content. You may or may not be able to share the data sets associated with your research, but if you can (even if it’s anonymized, etc.), that would be great.
We also like the idea of sharing analysis syntax or protocols, which would make it much easier for other folks to replicate and verify your work, should that be relevant to the way you’re doing research.
Don't forget:
You will need the following things to complete your submission.
- Cover letter
- Appropriate files representing your work
We're looking forward to seeing your work!
