Since our summer launch, Broad Ripple Review has been shaped by the care of its contributors, readers, and editorial team. These early months have been focused on listening closely and establishing a shared sense of what the journal can be. As we close out the year, we want to share a brief update on how the journal is growing and to invite writers whose work aligns with this vision to submit.
Accessibility and sustainability
We believe that access and rigor can coexist. Broad Ripple Review charges no submission fees, and our reading periods are always open and in turn, predictable. Writers do not need insider knowledge, contest timing, or disposable income to submit work. We read submissions carefully, respond consistently, and treat submissions as the foundation of the journal.
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We also believe that writers deserve to be paid for their work. To support this, we use a community tip jar and optional paid editorial feedback categories to generate funds that go directly toward paying contributors an honorarium. These options are never required for submission and have no bearing on editorial decisions. They allow us to keep submissions free while compensating the writers whose work appears in our pages.
Editorial standards and selectivity
Since launch, Broad Ripple Review has grown steadily in both visibility and submissions. According to Duotrope statistics, we are currently ranked among the most selective nonfiction markets and are presently listed as the fourth most selective. We are also ranked among the most selective fiction markets. We share this context to be transparent about the standards that guide our editorial decisions.
Our selectivity is intentional. We care about the work, the reader, and the integrity of each issue as a whole. Each issue is deliberately small, which allows every piece to stand on its own while also contributing to a cohesive reading experience. We want our issues to be read in full rather than skimmed. Restraint is part of that care.
Editorial updates
As part of our continued growth, we are pleased to share several updates.
Maggie Russell is stepping into the role of Reviews and Interviews Editor. This role reflects our intention to expand into critical work, including book reviews and interviews, in upcoming issues. We look forward to building this section with the same care and editorial rigor that guides our prose.
We have also opened for poetry submissions, led by Poetry Editor Delanie Laws. This marks an important expansion of our mission, and we are excited to begin shaping a poetry section that reflects the same attention to craft and cohesion as our other genres.
With the expansion of genres and an increase in submissions, we have welcomed new readers to our editorial team. We will be introducing these readers on social media in the coming weeks and are grateful for the care and attention they bring to the work.
What we hope to read
As we move into the coming year, we are especially eager to read work that demonstrates precision at the line level, structural choices made with intention, trust in implication rather than explanation, and a willingness to complicate experience rather than flatten it.
We publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We also welcome submissions of reviews and interviews as we begin building our critical section.
A special December invitation to submit
To close out the year, we want to offer a small incentive to writers who are actively engaging with our work.
For prose submissions only, writers who submit during the month of December may request full editorial feedback at no cost. This feedback service is typically offered as a paid option. For December prose submissions, it will be provided free of charge. If you would like to receive this feedback, please note the request in your cover letter at the time of submission.
While we do not currently offer an editorial feedback category for poetry, we warmly encourage poets to submit their work. Poetry submissions are free, read with care, and accepted pieces are paid. We also welcome submissions of reviews and interviews. These submissions are also free and compensated upon acceptance.
This December incentive has no bearing on editorial decisions. It exists as a gesture of openness and engagement, and as a way to support writers who are in conversation with our work.
Submissions are open. We are reading closely.
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