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Working Titles Guidelines

The Massachusetts Review is currently not accepting Working Titles submissions.

The Massachusetts Review is pleased to announce our Working Titles, our new digital releases. Working Titles will showcase prose that is longer than we publish in the print edition (7,000 - 25,000 words), as well as work that integrates visual and interactive elements unique to digital platforms. Each stand-alone Working Title will be published as an e-book available for download, and they may in future be collected in a printed anthology. Please note that due to the length of Working Titles submissions, it can take us up to a year or longer to respond to submissions. We appreciate your patience.

If you have submitted to us online, please check that your spam filters do not block our email. You can add massrev@external.umass.edu to your "approved senders" list.

Working Titles

NEW ADDRESS:
Massachusetts Review
400 Venture Way
Hadley, MA 01035


What kinds of writing are you looking for?

Working Title submissions should be between 7,000-25,000 words and previously unpublished. They may be fiction or nonfiction. Novellas and translated works are welcome.

For Working Titles we seek prose written for the digital page, which may incorporate unique visual, aural, or interactive elements. Formally innovative pieces of this sort are highly desired, though we welcome more traditional long prose as well.

When is your reading period?

Electronic submissions are NOT accepted from May 1 to September 30. MR will accept mailed submissions for Working Titles ONLY between May 1 and September 30. Please be sure to mark your submission clearly. Because we are a very small office, it generally takes us 6 - 12 months to respond to submissions. We appreciate your patience!

Do you accept simultaneous submissions?

Reluctantly. It is the author's responsibility to notify editors immediately once a manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

Do you accept multiple submissions?

No. You are limited to one submission at a time. Authors must await decision notification before submitting again in the same reading period.

Do you pay for contributions?

At the time of publication, we pay a $250 honorarium for Working Titles.
 
I'm mailing my submission, how should I submit work?

All  manuscripts should be typed and double-spaced, and clearly marked as Working Title submissions.

Submissions should include name and address on the first page of the manuscript with page numbers. The Massachusetts Review is a non-profit journal, and it is impossible for us to acknowledge receipt of manuscripts unless a self-addressed stamped postcard is enclosed with your submission. The Massachusetts Review is not responsible for lost manuscripts.  No manuscript can be returned or query answered unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope.

I'm submitting electronically, how should I submit work?

Read this first! Make sure you are submitting on the Working Title page.

All submissions should include name and contact information on every page of the manuscript. A suggestion is to include this information in the header or footer. All manuscripts should be typed and double-spaced. We strongly encourage page numbers.

Multiple submissions will not be accepted. All submissions sent as attachments to any MR email address will be deleted.

Please note that there is a $3.00 fee to submit electronically per reading period. The process will require a one-time account set-up per reading period. We accept Visa, Master Card, or Discover; payment is made via Commerce Manager.

The electronic submission provides continuous access to check on the status of your submission. To withdraw a Working Titles submission from consideration, please email the managing editor at massrev@external.umass.edu. Should you choose to withdraw your submission for any reason, no refund will be provided.

You will receive a one time account set-up confirmation e-mail, a submission receipt confirmation e-mail every time you submit, and, once our editors read your submission, a notification of decision e-mail.

Click here to begin the electronic submission process.

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