The Threepenny Review

About

The Threepenny Review is a highly respected quarterly review of the arts and society, featuring poems, stories, memoirs, critical essays, and other nonfiction articles. Its discoveries over the years have included Lars Eighner, Ge Gao, Imbolo Mbue, Luisa Muradyan, Sigrid Nunez, Elizabeth Tallent, and Clifford Thompson. Recent issues have included writing by David Bezmozgis, Vivian Gornick, Paul Krugman, Toni Martin, Sharon Olds, Robert Pinsky, and other new and established authors.

The editors may not respond to all submissions. After waiting 14 days, assume your submission will not be accepted.

Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 1980

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Published 4 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication: Published 4 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

3,105 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: The Threepenny Review's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
More Challenging: The Threepenny Review's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
Less Responsive: The Threepenny Review's overall rate of non-response is higher than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 January 2027* (approx. 110 days from now) through 14 April 2027.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Short Story: 1,000 - 4,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $400 per story.

Submissions:

Methods: Online form. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 January 2027* (approx. 110 days from now) through 14 April 2027.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Article: Up to 1,000 words.
Article: 1,200 - 2,500 words.
Essay: Up to 4,000 words.
Narrative Nonfiction: Up to 4,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Critical, Literary, Personal.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Film/Television: Theory/Analysis/Criticism.
Literature/Books: Theory/Analysis/Criticism.
Memoir.
Performing Arts: Theory/Analysis/Criticism.
Visual Arts: Theory/Analysis/Criticism.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $400 per article; $200 per Table Talk piece.

Submissions:

Methods: Online form. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 January 2027* (approx. 110 days from now) through 14 April 2027.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: Up to 100 lines; Up to 5 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Professional payment. Details: USD $200 per poem.

Submissions:

Methods: Online form. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

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The Threepenny Review Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

This project ranks among the Most Unresponsive Fiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the Most Unresponsive Nonfiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the 25 Most Challenging Poetry Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the Most Unresponsive Poetry Publishers in our database.

Filter:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 275 reports from 229 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

1 min | 24.1 mean avg | 25.5 median | 307 max days (86.1 std dev)

Responses

52.73 %

Acceptances:

0.73 % of submissions accepted (1.5 avg. days per acceptance) | 0.87 % of submitters accepted

Rejections:

52.00 % (7.0 avg. days per rejection) | 3.5 % personal, 65.7 % form, 30.8 % unspecified

Non-Responses

45.09 %

Lost/Returned:

1.09 % (25.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as lost or returned)

Never Responded:

44.00 % (48.9 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)

Withdrawals

2.18 % (19.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

18 responses are pending (155 min | 188.3 mean avg | 178.0 median | 251 max days waiting | 896.7 std dev) from 16 different members

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 14 days. (58.6 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 14 days.)
The editors may not respond to all submissions. After waiting the time indicated above, assume your submission will not be accepted.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 23 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 14 Apr 2026.
Date compiled: 11 Sep 2026 23:37 UTC (7 hours, 28 minutes ago).

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

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.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 02 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.