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
Editor’s Prize in Nonfiction: $750.00
Judged by Maurice Chammah
The winner of the 2024-25 Porter House Review Editor's Prize in Nonfiction will receive $750 and publication in Porter House Review. All submitted works will be considered for publication. Porter House Review is dedicated to paying all of our featured writers a competitive rate for accepted works.
The submission fee for this contest will be $10.00. During the week of December 22nd through December 28th, this submission fee will be waived. While we rely in part upon submission fees to pay our contributors, we are also dedicated to offering free submission periods as we recognize these fees may present a hardship to submitters. Whether a submission was received during a paid period or a waiver period will have no bearing on its consideration by our editors and judges.
Our journal seeks nonfiction that involves discovery for the reader and the writer, work that creates a dynamic of mutual construction through literary dialogue. Personal essays, creative nonfiction flash, memoir, and literary reportage are all welcome.
To submit, please follow these guidelines:
- Limit your submissions to 6,000 words or less (per $10.00 reading fee).
- Submissions should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated.
- Before you submit, please remove your name and any other identifying information from your manuscript. (Texas State University students, alumni, and faculty members are not eligible.)
- All work must be submitted through our Submittable portal. We do not accept paper or emailed submissions.
- Please send work that is previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please immediately withdraw from our contest if you place your work elsewhere.
Editor’s Prize in Fiction: $750.00
Judged by Rebecca Makkai
The winner of the 2024-25 Porter House Review Editor's Prize in Fiction will receive $750.00 and publication in Porter House Review. All submitted works will be considered for publication. Porter House Review is dedicated to paying all of our featured writers a competitive rate for accepted works.
The submission fee for this contest will be $10.00. During the week of December 22nd through December 28th, this submission fee will be waived. While we rely in part upon submission fees to pay our contributors, we are also dedicated to offering free submission periods as we recognize these fees may present a hardship to submitters. Whether a submission was received during a paid period or a waiver period will have no bearing on its consideration by our editors and judges.
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, please follow these guidelines:
- Limit your submissions to 8,000 words or less (per $10.00 reading fee).
- Submissions should be typed, double-spaced, paginated.
- All entries will be read blind. Before you submit, please remove your name and any other identifying information from your manuscript. (Texas State University students, alumni, and faculty members are not eligible.)
- All work must be submitted through our Submittable portal. We do not accept paper or emailed submissions.
- Please send work that is previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please immediately withdraw from our contest if you place your work elsewhere.
Editor’s Prize in Poetry: $750
Judged by Romeo Oriogun
The winner of the 2024-25 Porter House Review Editor's Prize in Poetry will receive $750 and publication in Porter House Review. All submitted works will be considered for publication. Porter House Review is dedicated to paying all of our featured writers a competitive rate for accepted works.
The submission fee for this contest will be $10.00. During the week of December 22nd through December 28th, this submission fee will be waived. While we rely in part upon submission fees to pay our contributors, we are also dedicated to offering free submission periods as we recognize these fees may present a hardship to submitters. Whether a submission was received during a paid period or a waiver period will have no bearing on its consideration by our editors and judges.
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, please follow these guidelines:
- Submit a maximum of 5 poems or less (per reading fee; more poems may be sent with a different submission).
- Include the number of poems you are submitting in your submission title.
- All entries will be read blind. Before you submit, please remove your name and any other identifying information from your manuscript. (Texas State University students, alumni, and faculty members are not eligible.)
- All work must be submitted through our Submittable portal. We do not accept paper or emailed submissions.
- All submitted work must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please immediately withdraw from our contest if you place your work elsewhere.
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.