- Fiction & poetry manuscripts are read from August 1 to April 30
- Nonfiction manuscripts are read year-round.
While it is difficult to define the sort of story we’re looking for, some of the questions we ask ourselves while reading manuscripts are: Is there an engaging opening? Has the author created original, idiosyncratic characters, people you’re interested in following through the story? Is the language crisp and sharp? Is there a provocative central problem or issue in the story? Is the story about something, and is whatever it is about important or troubling? Is the pace suitable? Is the story tightly constructed from start to finish? Most of the stories we accept—though not all—are twenty to twenty-five manuscript pages.
For nonfiction, we are interested in memoir, personal essay, and creative nonfiction. Generally, scholarly essays are not appropriate.
We are now accepting photography submissions to be considered as potential cover art. Full guidelines and details are linked here.
About the Journal
Launched in 1956 (with the first issue featuring work by Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, E. E. Cummings, Henry Miller, Bertolt Brecht, and Mark van Doren), Colorado Review is a national literary journal featuring contemporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and book reviews. Each issue is approximately 200 pages. Published three times a year, CR has a circulation of approximately 1,100, is carried by university and public libraries across the country, and is distributed by Kent News to independent bookstores. The journal receives over 9,000 manuscript submissions each academic year.