Fiction works should be between 500 and 5,000 words. We only accept 1-3 pieces of short fiction (or one submission if it is longer than 1,500 words). Style: 12-point font, double-spaced, page numbers, and Times New Roman/Serif font. The Fishbowl Review is looking for innovative, creative, and expressive works from all genres and waters of life. These will be blind submissions; simultaneous submissions are welcome. We will not accept any fiction with hate speech including homophobia, transphobia, racism, and ableism. No AI is allowed; all work has to be original. Be sure to credit inspiration in the cover letter. If a content warning is needed, please add it. Please include an author/artist bio along with your short fiction. We encourage international students to submit stories in their native language (please also provide an English translation).
The Fishbowl Review is open to creative nonfiction, critiques, reviews, experimental work, opinion pieces, essays, and research & observations within the arts & humanities. We welcome submissions that challenge traditional creative nonfiction, including works that are more academic/research-based, journalistic, or cultural. Do not give us your oceanography research paper or your dissertation. In our submission pool, these types of things will have a shorter lifespan than a goldfish in a bowl. We will generally not accept submissions that exceed 2,500 words, but exceptions may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. We don't accept very long submissions and we have no minimum word count for nonfiction. Each person may submit twice in this section per cycle. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please notify us if your piece must be withdrawn due to its acceptance elsewhere. The author must do their own fact-checking. Use of AI is NOT permitted, but transparent AI usage is accepted in special circumstances (please reach out to us separately). The Fishbowl strives to uphold academic honesty. Submit your draft as an attachment to the Google form (documents should be double-spaced). We will start the feedback process once we receive the piece. Edits will be made on a Google doc for the author to review/accept.
Standard poetry is accepted and we are open to experimental/visual poetry. We accept up to three poems from one author at a time. We encourage one-pager or shorter poems, but longer works are welcome. Please title each poem and include your author/artist bio. All submissions should be in .doc or .docx format, unless the work includes art/photography or is dependent on formatting, then those should be submitted in .pdf format. All submissions should be in 12-point and Times New Roman font. AI is NOT permitted. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please let us know on your cover letter if you feel your work could be triggering.
Only one to five photos per submission are allowed. All art must be your own (no AI or plagiarism). The Fishbowl Review accepts digital art, hand-made art, drawings, and photography. It can be photos of your work (for example, sculptures). Please submit in PNG, JPG, or GIF format. The best dimensions for images are 2,048 pixels wide or high, if an image exceeds this size, then it will be sized down. Lastly, please include a short artist bio and title your work.