Please submit up to three prose pieces OR up to six poems in one document via our Submittable page (adroit.submittable.com). 

Prose submissions may be up to 9,000 words per entry of between 1-3 pieces. There is no length limit for poetry.

Your translation should be accompanied by a translator’s note explaining the significance of the work and providing a brief biography of the author, followed by a summary of your previous publications and a few words about how you came to learn about the work. You should include this information in your cover letter in Submittable and include it in the uploaded file. 

You must secure the right to publish your translation before submitting it to us. If your translation is accepted for publication by Adroit, you will be required to document that you have obtained the English-language rights to the work from the copyright holder (unless the work is in the public domain).

Please include a word count at the top of each submission.

You are welcome to submit no more than two (2) times per reading period. Additional submissions will be returned unread.

No AI-generated or AI-assisted work will be considered or tolerated. This means you can use AI to research or make notes on a poem or piece, but every sentence, line, word and punctuation mark must come from you. For anything that is inspired by another author or resource, you must provide attribution or sourcing. 

Happy submitting, and thanks in advance!

Prose Reader

Prose readers get the first crack at all submissions in their specified genre, and are expected to review fiction and nonfiction (and hybrid) submissions regularly and consistently. Reviewing submissions includes voting, providing comments, and participating in occasional discussions about pieces on the bubble. (Est. commitment: 3.5 hrs/week.)

Before applying please familiarize yourself with the journal by visiting our About page, and perhaps also an issue or two.

APPLICATION WALKTHROUGH:

1. Adroit Statement (Required)

The Adroit Statement should explain your interest in becoming a Prose Reader at The Adroit Journal and describe how your past experiences—whether in writing, editing, or related fields—have prepared you for the role. Upload as a document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.).

2. Writing Sample (Required)

Submit up to twenty pages of prose, double-spaced. If submitting multiple pieces, each should start on a new page. The sample should demonstrate your attention to craft, voice, character, and/or narrative structure. Upload as a document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.).

3. Appreciation of Craft Essay (Required)

In about 500 words, reflect on a novel, short story collection, essay collection, or memoir published within the last three years that left an impression on you. Focus on specific elements like narrative voice, dialogue, character development, plot, or approach, and explain why it impacted you. Upload as a document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.).

4. Resume/CV (Optional)

You may upload a resume or CV to provide additional context about your background, education, relevant experience, and skills. Upload as a document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.).

A BRIEF NOTE ON ELIGIBILITY:

We are fully open to all readers and writers. At this time, for editorial roles, we are not open to editorial staff on the masthead of other internationally-staffed unaffiliated literary journals. Publications that consider solely campus work, or work with specific geographic eligibility requirements, do not apply to this restriction. Non-editorial roles are exempt from this proviso.

As we seek to fill open positions sooner rather than later, we consider applications on a rolling basis.

***Unless otherwise specified, all positions are volunteer and remote in nature & have a start-date of ASAP.***

Poetry Reader

Poetry readers get the first crack at all poetry submissions and are expected to submissions regularly and consistently. Reviewing submissions includes voting, providing comments, and participating in occasional discussions about pieces on the bubble. (Est. commitment: 3.5 hrs/week.)
 

Before applying please familiarize yourself with the journal by visiting our About page, and perhaps also an issue or two.

APPLICATION WALKTHROUGH:

1. Adroit Statement (Required)

The Adroit Statement should explain your interest in becoming a Poetry Reader at The Adroit Journal and describe how your past experiences—whether in writing, editing, or related fields—have prepared you for the role. Upload as a document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.).

2. Writing Sample (Required)

Submit up to five poems, with a maximum of ten pages total. Each poem should start on a new page. The sample should showcase your attention to craft, language, and voice. Upload as a document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.).

3. Appreciation of Craft Essay (Required)

In about 500 words, reflect on a poetry collection published in the last three years that left an impression on you. Focus specifically on elements like voice, craft, and theme, and discuss its impact on you as a reader or writer. Upload as a document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.).

4. Resume/CV (Optional)

You may upload a resume or CV to provide additional context about your background, education, relevant experience, and skills. Upload as a document or image file (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .jpg, etc.).

A NOTE ON ELIGIBILITY:

We are fully open to all readers and writers. At this time, for editorial roles, we are not open to editorial staff on the masthead of other internationally-staffed unaffiliated literary journals. Publications that consider solely campus work, or work with specific geographic eligibility requirements, do not apply to this restriction. Non-editorial roles are exempt from this proviso.

As we seek to fill open positions sooner rather than later, we consider applications on a rolling basis.

***Unless otherwise specified, all positions are volunteer and remote in nature & have a start-date of ASAP.***

Associate Web Editor

The Adroit Journal is expanding our Web Editing team. The Associate Web Editor will be responsible for keeping The Adroit Journal’s website up-to-date at all times. 

• Add/delete website pages
• Keep Issue, Masthead, Submissions and other pages current
• Edit and update website as required in a timely fashion

Make requested updates from contributors following issue release. 

Most relevant experience: 

• Navigating Wordpress               
  • Creating and formatting content (especially because poetry’s structure and spacing can require extra work in Text Mode to get correct)
  • Adding, updating, and scheduling new Pages, Posts, Users

    
  
   

• Basic Photo-Editing with Gimp, Canva, or Seashore (or any other editing software)               
  • Crop and scale images
  • Combine and edit pictures to be featured images on the blog

    
  
   

• Communicating through Slack and email               
  • With issue contributors, blog content contributors, and teammates

    
  
   

Specs: 

• Start-date: immediate
• Volunteer role
• 3-4 hours/week

Reporting to the Web Editor and Managing Editor

Before applying please familiarize yourself with the journal by visiting our About page, and perhaps also an issue or two.
 

APPLICATION DETAILS:

I. STATEMENT

Please briefly (no more than a page double-spaced) explain what qualifies you for this position, and what you would add to the journal’s literary and/or artistic community. You are encouraged to include things such as experience in the specific field(s), writing publication, and other commendations and accolades, but this Adroit Statement should NOT read like a résumé.

At the end of the day, the statement should highlight your history, passion, and experience with the areas of the position and creative writing. Feel free to discuss other topics you feel are appropriate, as well as any specific connections, measures, or initiatives you might have (or aspire to have) with The Adroit Journal’s staff community.

2. PLEASE UPLOAD A RESUME.

As we seek to fill open positions sooner rather than later, we consider applications on a rolling basis.

***Unless otherwise specified, all positions are volunteer and remote in nature & have a start-date of ASAP.***

Click here to view our Call for Interviews & Reviews, full of titles we'd especially love to see covered.
Thank you for your interest in interviewing or reviewing for us.
Interviews & Reviews -- we are currently accepting completed reviews and interviews for consideration on our blog.
At this time, we have a preference for reviews.
IMPORTANT: Please consult our style guide for reviews and/or our style guide for interviews prior to submission. Thank you!
Click here to view our most recent interviews and reviews.

Thank you for your interest in the Adroit Prize for Poetry.

The Adroit Prizes are awarded annually to two students of secondary or undergraduate status. We're fortunate to receive exceptional work from emerging writers in high school and college, and the best of the best will be recognized by the Adroit Prizes.

You may use this form to submit Poetry. Click here to submit to the Adroit Prize for Prose.

The 2025 Adroit Prize for Poetry will be selected by Danez Smith. The 2025 Adroit Prize for Prose will be selected by Aria Aber. Please scroll down to learn more about our judges! 

Submission Guidelines

All secondary and undergraduate students are eligible, including international students and students who have graduated a semester early (in this case, in December 2024). Each poetry submission may include up to five poems (maximum of ten pages single-spaced). Each prose submission may include up to three works of fiction or creative nonfiction (combined word limit of 3,500 words; excerpts are acceptable). 

Each student may send up to five separate submissions for the Adroit Prize for Poetry (each with up to five poems) and up to five separate submissions for the Adroit Prize for Prose (each with up to three works of prose), totaling ten separate submissions. 

Poems and prose pieces included in submissions may be sent to other contests and publications as well (but please disclose simultaneously submitted work in your cover letter), and may have been previously recognized by other organizations and/or featured in campus-wide publications. If work under consideration is accepted elsewhere, submitters should reach out promptly by adding a note to the corresponding submission on Submittable.

All submitted poems and prose pieces will be considered for publication in the Adroit Journal.

Winners will be awarded $200, and their work—along with the work of runners-up—will be featured in the Adroit Journal. Runners-up and finalists will receive a copy of the judges' latest book.

To accommodate this while offering free online issues, we have set a non-refundable submission fee of $15. If you require financial assistance, please download this form and follow the instructions.

Please direct any questions to editors@theadroitjournal.org. 

2025 Judges

Aria Aber (Prose) was born and raised in Germany and now lives in the United States. Her first novel GOOD GIRL is was published from Hogarth (US) in 2024 and Bloomsbury (UK) in 2025, and will be translated into German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, and Japanese. Her debut poetry collection, Hard Damage, won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize and the Whiting Award. She is a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford and graduate student at USC, and her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, New Republic, The Yale Review, Granta, and elsewhere. Raised speaking Farsi and German, she writes in her third language, English. She serves as the poetry editor of Amulet, as a contributing editor at The Yale Review, and works as an assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of Vermont. Aber divides her time between Vermont and Brooklyn.

Danez Smith (Poetry) is the author of four poetry collections: [insert] boy, Don’t Call Us Dead, Homie, and, most recently, Bluff.  They are also the curator of Blues In Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes. For their work, Danez was won the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and have been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the National Book Award, as well as an array of grants, fellowships, and residencies including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the Princeton Arts Fellowship. Danez lives in the Twin Cities with their people and teaches at the Randolph College MFA program and the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul, MN. 

Thank you for your interest in the Adroit Prize for Prose.

The Adroit Prizes are awarded annually to two students of secondary or undergraduate status. We're fortunate to receive exceptional work from emerging writers in high school and college, and the best of the best will be recognized by the Adroit Prizes.

You may use this form to submit Prose. Click here to submit to the Adroit Prize for Poetry.

The 2025 Adroit Prize for Poetry will be selected by Danez Smith. The 2025 Adroit Prize for Prose will be selected by Aria Aber. Please scroll down to learn more about our judges! 

Submission Guidelines

All secondary and undergraduate students are eligible, including international students and students who have graduated a semester early (in this case, in December 2024). Each poetry submission may include up to five poems (maximum of ten pages single-spaced). Each prose submission may include up to three works of fiction or creative nonfiction (combined word limit of 3,500 words; excerpts are acceptable). 

Each student may send up to five separate submissions for the Adroit Prize for Poetry (each with up to five poems) and up to five separate submissions for the Adroit Prize for Prose (each with up to three works of prose), totaling ten separate submissions. 

Poems and prose pieces included in submissions may be sent to other contests and publications as well (but please disclose simultaneously submitted work in your cover letter), and may have been previously recognized by other organizations and/or featured in campus-wide publications. If work under consideration is accepted elsewhere, submitters should reach out promptly by adding a note to the corresponding submission on Submittable.

All submitted poems and prose pieces will be considered for publication in the Adroit Journal.

Winners will be awarded $200, and their work—along with the work of runners-up—will be featured in the Adroit Journal. Runners-up and finalists will receive a copy of the judges' latest book.

To accommodate this while offering free online issues, we have set a non-refundable submission fee of $15. If you require financial assistance, please download this form and follow the instructions.

Please direct any questions to editors@theadroitjournal.org. 

2025 Judges

Aria Aber (Prose) was born and raised in Germany and now lives in the United States. Her first novel GOOD GIRL is was published from Hogarth (US) in 2024 and Bloomsbury (UK) in 2025, and will be translated into German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, and Japanese. Her debut poetry collection, Hard Damage, won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize and the Whiting Award. She is a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford and graduate student at USC, and her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, New Republic, The Yale Review, Granta, and elsewhere. Raised speaking Farsi and German, she writes in her third language, English. She serves as the poetry editor of Amulet, as a contributing editor at The Yale Review, and works as an assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of Vermont. Aber divides her time between Vermont and Brooklyn.

Danez Smith (Poetry) is the author of four poetry collections: [insert] boy, Don’t Call Us Dead, Homie, and, most recently, Bluff.  They are also the curator of Blues In Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes. For their work, Danez was won the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and have been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the National Book Award, as well as an array of grants, fellowships, and residencies including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the Princeton Arts Fellowship. Danez lives in the Twin Cities with their people and teaches at the Randolph College MFA program and the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul, MN.