Submissions

Boston Review accepts submissions through our Submittable portal.

We primarily publish long-form essays on politics and ideas, ambitious book review essays, interviews, in-depth analysis of current affairs, and occasional reporting. We take a special interest in democracy, inequality, and matters of injustice—including war, poverty, and violations of human rights—but we welcome submissions on any subject of broad public concern. We do not publish op-eds and do not consider unsolicited personal essays.

No matter the form, we prize careful argumentation, deep engagement, and an engaging, accessible style—work consistent with our egalitarian convictions and democratic outlook. We seek writing grounded in respect for shared human reason, a distaste for glibness, an eagerness to reach a broad public rather than a narrow clique of fellow travelers, and an openness to dialogue, scrutiny, and critical exchange.

Our review essays mostly cover nonfiction, though we also consider writing on works and tendencies in literature, art, and culture. Criticism should go beyond simple summary or flat evaluation to make a compelling and original argument. We do not consider narrowly conceived reviews of a single novel or poetry collection, but the publication of such works can serve as a good occasion for an ambitious feature essay, an assessment of a cultural trend, or a wide-ranging profile of a writer’s life and work.

Most essays we publish are between 2,500 and 5,000 words, and all go through intensive rounds of editing. For web pieces, we typically pay between $300 and $500, depending on length, for writers whose main source of income derives from their writing. For all other writers, we can offer a modest honorarium. We take pride in introducing new voices to the public sphere and welcome submissions from writers of all backgrounds.

Please note that we are not open for submissions of poetry or fiction.