Willow Springs publishes each spring and fall. We accept fiction and poetry submissions between September 1 and May 31. Nonfiction is open year-round. Please submit one packet of work at a time and wait to receive a response before submitting again.

We are looking for writing that surprises and moves us, whether from up-and-coming writers or established greats. We seek work that takes hold from the first sentence and doesn’t let go, that commands our attention whether by its intellectual acumen, emotional integrity, or spiritual wholeness. We welcome and encourage work from writers of every nationality, race, religion, sexuality and gender, including writers with disabilities, writers who are not affiliated with an MFA program, and writers whose perspectives and experiences are often underrepresented in the literary world.

Translations are welcome and encouraged if you have acquired publication permission from the author of the original work. We don’t accept unsolicited interviews at this time. If you are a graduate of the MFA program at Eastern Washington University, please wait a minimum of four years from your graduation before submitting.

We pay contributors $100 per published long-form prose piece, $40 for short prose (up to three stories, each under 750 words, can be included per submission), and $20 per published poem (up to 5 can be included per submission). We offer two complimentary copies for work we publish.

We receive roughly 3,000 submissions a year. In most cases, we respond within six months. We ask that you do not follow up on a submission, however, unless you have not heard from us in twelve months. We accept and encourage simultaneous submissions.

Accepted works will appear in Willow Springs. They may also appear on the Willow Springs website or in promotional material, and, at a later date, in a Willow Springs anthology. Submitted work must be previously unpublished.

Willow Springs now accepts all genres online and only through our Submittable page.

There is a $3 reading fee for all submissions. Writers who cannot afford the reading fee, should contact us at willowspringsewu@gmail.com to have the fee waived.

We encourage you to consider buying a random back issue for an additional $5.00 (regular price is $10) or a discounted subscription when you submit. See details when you’re prompted to pay. 

Read previously published work and interviews on our website and find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!