Long Story Submissions Open Now!

Submissions are open NOW for our 2027 Long Story Contest! Every fall for the last eleven years, Iron Horse Literary Review has accepted submissions for that marathon-length story or essay that's hard to place in other journals. You can submit your essay or story here from now until October 1.

Please submit any story or essay between 20 to 40 pages double-spaced using a 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Regardless of word count, manuscripts that fall outside of these formatting and length requirements cannot be considered. Please see the Long Story page on our website for more details and to read previous winning manuscripts.

Our reading fee is $15 and includes a one-year subscription to IHLR. We will also have a free submit day on September 15 intended to allow just 25 writers who could not otherwise afford to submit to share their work with us. We will select only ONE winner: story OR essay. The winner will receive electronic publication of their own issue and $1,000.

This is the only time of year when IHLR considers longer works. We also must close the submission gate after we receive 150 submissions in order to ensure every manuscript gets the attention it deserves. So, be sure to submit your work soon! We're looking forward to spending some time with your long stories and essays.