Porter House Review is an online literary journal produced in conjunction with Texas State University’s MFA program in Creative Writing.
Inspired by the legacy of Katherine Anne Porter, the journal seeks to publish bold and incisive writing that interrogates not only the complexities of the human experience, but also the prevailing social challenges of our time. In support of this mission, we seek unique perspectives from both established, award-winning authors, as well as emerging and underrepresented voices from around the world. We celebrate a wide range of literary forms and styles. We are committed to paying a competitive rate for all published work.
Note: We do not accept unsolicited submissions from current Texas State University students, faculty, or staff. Alumni are welcome to submit if and only if three or more years have passed since their graduation.
Our Advisory Board includes: Jamel Brinkley, Charles D'Ambrosio, Erica Dawson, Ben Fountain, Cristina García, Carmen Maria Machado, Tomás Q. Morín, Naomi Shihab Nye, Tim O'Brien, Luis Javier Rodriguez, Karen Russell, and Evie Shockley
Our review seeks to publish fiction that is emotionally affecting, haunting, bizarre, and in firm control of the machinations of storytelling (e.g. character, scene, plot, and momentum). We welcome both traditional short stories, flash fiction, and other hybrid forms.
To submit to our fiction category, please follow these guidelines:
- Limit your submissions to 5,000 words or less (per $3.00 reading fee).
- Send only one submission per reading period.
- Submissions should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated.
- Include your name, mailing address, and email address on the first page of your manuscript.
- Please do not submit work that has been previously published.
- All work must be submitted through our Submittable portal. We cannot accept paper or emailed submissions.
All submitted works will be considered for publication. Porter House Review is dedicated to paying all of our featured writers for accepted works.
We seek poetic works that capture experience by reinvigorating the language of the everyday, or surprising readers with novel, rarefied text. We are particularly interested in poetry that champions inventive forms and content.
To submit to our poetry category, please follow these guidelines:
- Limit your submissions to 5 poems or less (per $3.00 reading fee).
- Include the number of poems you are submitting in your submission title.
- Send only one submission per reading period.
- Submissions should be typed and paginated.
- Include your name, mailing address, and email address on the first page of your manuscript.
- Please do not submit work that has been previously published.
- All work must be submitted through our Submittable portal. We cannot accept paper or emailed submissions.
All submitted works will be considered for publication. Porter House Review is dedicated to paying all of our featured writers for accepted works.
We publish nonfiction that involves discovery for the reader and the writer, creating a dynamic of mutual construction through literary dialogue. We want your braided, hybrid, lyrical, narrative, and personal essays. Creative nonfiction, flash, and literary reportage are all welcome.
To submit to our nonfiction category, please follow these guidelines:
- Limit your submissions to 4,000 words or less (per $3.00 reading fee).
- Send only one submission per reading period.
- Submissions should be typed, double-spaced, paginated.
- Include your name, mailing address, and email address on the first page of your manuscript.
- Please do not submit work that has been previously published.
- All work must be submitted through our Submittable portal. We cannot accept paper or emailed submissions.
All submitted works will be considered for publication. Porter House Review is dedicated to paying all of our featured writers for accepted works.
Please upload 72dpi JPEGs, sized at a maximum of 1200 pixels on the longest side. Label the images: 01_LastNameFirstName.jpg. (number dependent on number of images submitted). Landscape format works best. If you’re submitting a painted/mixed media piece, please crop the image to the canvas as best as possible with indirect or natural lighting to avoid glare.
Please do not submit more than 5 works per submission fee.
The work will be published in the journal as either a standalone exhibit or paired with written publications. We pay for all accepted pieces.
Please only submit one time per submission period. Multiple submissions will not be considered.
Field Notes is Porter House Review’s craft blog. We are interested in pieces that use the intimacy of a personal essay to explore the ins and outs of the literary world: craft, publishing, conferences, writing programs, and so on. We are looking for work that illuminates the writing life and demystifies the mechanics of writing and publishing. We especially aim to help break down barriers that exist for writers from marginalized backgrounds.
While we don’t have a strict word limit, we are most interested in pieces that run somewhere around 2500 words.
We also accept pitches: In the submission page, include a brief (no more than 300 words) pitch of your piece, as well as a brief bio.
- All submissions should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated.
- Include your name, mailing address, and email address on the first page of your manuscript.
- Please do not submit work that has been previously published.
- All work must be submitted through our Submittable portal. We cannot accept paper or emailed submissions.