Please review the editors’ preferences and tips to writers. We may not be able to completely pin down what we want—and we do want to be taken pleasantly by surprise—but you may find the quotes helpful. And please take a little time to read some of the work in our current and past issues.
When you submit your work, please include a brief bio to introduce yourself.
If your work is accepted for publication, we ask only for the right to publish it for the first time, online and in print. Please do not submit work that has been published elsewhere. All rights revert to the author after publication by The Baltimore Review. All accepted work will be archived on the website.
We accept submissions only through the link at the bottom of this page.
Submissions in more than one category are permitted, but please do not submit work more than once per reading period in any category.
Among other resources for writers, NewPages.com has a Publications for Young Writers page. We encourage teen (and younger) writers to review this list before submitting work to literary journals.
About the Journal
The mission of The Baltimore Review is to showcase Baltimore as a literary hub of diverse writing and promote the work of emerging and established writers.
The Baltimore Review was founded by Barbara Westwood Diehl in 1996 as a literary journal publishing short stories and poems, with a mission to showcase the best writing from the Baltimore area, from across the U.S., and beyond. Our mission remains just that. However, in our online format, we can now bring that fine writing to the world’s attention, more frequently, and at less cost. We can also explore new ways to bring the world of writers and writing to the reader’s attention.
The journal grew to become a nationally distributed journal, and later became an independent nonprofit organization in 2004. Susan Muaddi Darraj led the journal from 2003 to 2010, expanding contributions to include creative nonfiction and interviews. In 2011, Barbara Westwood Diehl resumed leadership of the journal.
In 2012, The Baltimore Review began its new life as a quarterly, online literary journal. This doesn’t mean that we’ve fallen out of love with the printed book. Work accepted for online publication will also be collected for annual print issues.
To our contributors, our editors, the Baltimore literary community, and the network of writers throughout the world—thank you for your vision.