Genres & Theme
Literary Mainstream Open to All / Most Genres Open to all / most themes VQR strives to publish the freshest, most accomplished writers of our time. We are partial to work that is conscious of language without being self-conscious, that pulls readers in with drama and emotional risk, rather than holding them at arm's length with gimmickry and tricks. In short, we seek writing that uses intensely focused language to affect the way that readers see the world. A well-crafted poem, story, or essay is, at its heart, a statement of refusal to accept conventional wisdom and instead study the world for oneself. We seek that writing which illuminates what we, as a culture, may learn from such close inspection. IMPORTANT: Wait at least six months between submissions. Submissions Periods Open to submissions from Saturday, September 01, 2007 to Saturday, May 31, 2008	Go To: Website Support this Publisher: Subscribe Report: Submission/Response Correction/Update New Cover
Lengths
Poetry (varies, read guidelines) Short Story (2,000 - 7,500 words) Novelette (7,500 - 8,000 words)
Media
Print Publication
Payscale
Professional Rates for Short Fiction Payment ranges from semi-pro to professional rates for Poetry
Other Info
Accepts electronic submissions only
No simultaneous submissions allowed
No reprints accepted
No multiple submissions allowed
Published 4 x per year
USA
Response Times
Show Overall Short Fiction Poetry   Note: These statistics are compiled from response reports sent to us anonymously and through our submissions tracker for registered users. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's staff. Accuracy We have received 273 reports within the past 12 months, not including 36 pending responses (with an avg. wait of 53 days) and not including 4 ignored reports (reports are ignored when the submitter has an unrealistic overall acceptance/rejection ratio). The more responses reported, the more accurate the info. Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most markets have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here. Days Reported 0 | 31.1 | 452 (min | avg | max) Responses (98.2%) Acceptances: 0% (No publication has a 0% acceptance rate. This data is based on response reports sent to Duotrope's Digest, and we have not received reports of any acceptances yet. If one acceptance were reported, the acceptance rate would be 0.4%.) Rejections: 97.8% (30.7 days avg. per rejection) | 7.5% personal, 76% form, 16.5% unspecified Rewrite Requests: 0.4% (123 days avg. per rewrite request) Non-Responses (1.8%) Assumed Rejections: 0.4% (161 days avg. per assumed rejection without response) Author Withdrawals: 1.5% (7 days avg. per withdrawal by author) Other Information Submissions are acknowledged within 3 days on average. Most recent response reported was received on: 13 May 2008 Responses have been received for submissions sent as late as: 09 May 2008 Do not query before 90 days have passed. (6.6% of the responses reported to us for this market have taken longer than 90 days.)
Awards, "Best of" Annuals, etc.
Work published has been awarded, nominated for, or received honorable mention in the following: Best American Poetry Best American Short Stories O. Henry Prize
Market Added: 02 Aug 2005 Last Updated: 17 Sep 2007 Last Checked: 12 May 2008

Before Submitting
We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close overnight. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Just remember ...

• Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
• Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
• Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
• For novel/collection publishers, it is standard to submit a cover letter, synopsis, and sample instead of the full manuscript.  Do this unless otherwise instructed.
• Include a SASE with all mailed submissions, queries, and requests for guidelines.
• Be professional, patient and persistent.