The theme of our Winter 2026 edition is:

COLLABORATIONS

Submission period: February 1 - March 31, 2026 

February 1 - 14, 2026: Free submissions (may close early if Submittable's caps are reached)

February 15, 2026 - March 31, 2026: Paid submissions ($3)*

Translation submissions are free throughout the entire period

Guest Editors:

Poetry: Octavio Quintanilla & Todd Fredson

Fiction: Jeff Friedman

Creative Nonfiction: Sherre Vernon 

This reading period we are looking for collaborations, broadly interpreted. Send us your co-authored poems, stories, essays, or graphic texts. We consider a “collaboration” to be any way an individual poet,  writer, artist interacts with another’s work: translations, versions, trans-e-lations,  ekphrastic writing, erasure, centos, etc. We also want your work about collaborators of all kinds—informers, spies, business partners, community theater companies. We welcome a statement about your collaboration, along with your submission.

General guidelines:

We welcome your previously unpublished stories, essays, poetry, graphic art, and genres that have no name. (We consider self-published work and work posted on internet venues, personal websites and social media as previously published.)

  • Only one submission per reading period, please! Multiple submissions (including submissions to multiple genres) will be automatically disqualified.
  • We will consider simultaneous submissions but ask that you retract your work immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.
  • If your work appears in our current or previous issue, we kindly ask that you refrain from submitting to our upcoming issue.
  • Please include a short bio (50 -100 words) with your submission.
  • We welcome unpublished translations of original work, provided the translator has obtained permission from the author. Please include a copy of the original work.
  • We welcome work that challenges conventions of form, style, and content.
  • We retain first serial rights to work published in The Ilanot Review. At the time of publication, all rights revert back to the author. However, The Ilanot Review retains the right to publish the piece(s) in any subsequent issue or anthology, whether in print or online. Should you decide to republish the piece elsewhere, we kindly ask that you cite The Ilanot Review as a place of previous publication.
  • AI policy: Inefficiency is part of the artistic  process, and we have not seen any instance in which AI-produced or  assisted work is worth wasting our planet over. Therefore, we publish  human-generated work only (without the assistance of AI or LLM tools).
  • See individual submission categories for specific guidelines. 

* The Ilanot Review is a volunteer operation. Submission fees go towards our web hosting fees and Submittable service fees. 

Ends on $3.00
$3.00
Submit to Poetry: COLLABORATIONS (paid)

We are currently accepting submissions for our COLLABORATIONS issue.

Reading Poetry for this Issue: Guest Editors Octavio Quintanilla & Todd Fredson; Poetry Editor Marcela Sulak

  • Submit 3-5 poems, not to exceed 8 pages. Please submit all work + a brief bio (~75 words) in a single Word file, with each poem beginning on a separate page.  
  • We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  • We do NOT allow multiple submissions during the same reading period (including submissions to multiple genres). Multiple submissions will be automatically disqualified. We receive a high volume of work and try very hard to respond quickly.  If your work is declined, please wait for the next issue of The Ilanot Review to submit again.  
Ends on $3.00
$3.00
Submit to Fiction: COLLABORATIONS (paid)

We are currently accepting submissions for our COLLABORATIONS issue.

Reading Fiction for this Issue: Guest Editor Jeff Friedman; Staff Editors Taylor Johnston-Levy, Karen Marron, and Nadia Jacobson

Please submit one story up to 3,000 words long or 1-3 works of flash/microfiction, up to 500 words each. 

Please note that we do NOT allow multiple submissions during the same reading period (including submissions to multiple genres). Multiple submissions will be automatically disqualified. We receive a high volume of work and try very hard to respond quickly.  If your work is declined, please wait for the next issue of the Ilanot Review to submit again.  

Ends on $3.00
$3.00
Submit to Creative Nonfiction: COLLABORATIONS (paid)

We are currently accepting submissions for our COLLABORATIONS issue. 

Reading CNF for this Issue: Guest Editor Sherre Vernon; Staff Editor Jane Medved

Submit one essay up to 4,000 words long or 1-3 works of flash/micro-CNF, up to 500 words each

  • We welcome work that challenges conventions of form, style and content.
  • Please note that we do NOT allow multiple submissions during the same reading period (including submissions to multiple genres). Multiple submissions will be automatically disqualified. We receive a high volume of work and try very hard to respond quickly.  If your work is declined, please wait for the next issue of the Ilanot Review to submit again.  
Ends on $3.00
$3.00
Submit to Art, Comics & Photography: COLLABORATIONS (paid)

We are currently accepting submissions for our COLLABORATIONS issue.

Paintings, drawings, comics, photography and other forms of visual art are welcome. Artwork submitted to this category will be considered for inclusion within the journal’s pages and as cover art. Up to six images per submitter.

Please note that we do NOT allow multiple submissions during the same reading period (including submissions to multiple genres). Multiple submissions will be automatically disqualified. We receive a high volume of work and try very hard to respond quickly.  If your work is declined, please wait for the next issue of The Ilanot Review to submit again.    

Ends on
Submit to Translations: COLLABORATIONS (free)

**PLEASE NOTE** This category is for translations ONLY. Original work that is not in translation will be declined unread. 

We are currently accepting submissions for our COLLABORATIONS issue.  We welcome unpublished translations into English from any language, provided the translator has obtained permission from the author (or vice versa, if the author is submitting). Please include a copy of the original work. Word limits:

  • Poetry: Submit 3-5 poems, not to exceed 8 pages. Please submit all work + bio in a single Word file, with each poem beginning on a separate page.
  • Fiction: One story of up to 3000 words, or up to 3 flash pieces up to 500 words each. 
  • Creative Nonfiction: One essay of up to 4000 words, or up to 3 flash pieces, no longer than 500 words each.

The Ilanot Review