Kelsey Review

Submission Guidelines

Kelsey Review is a literary journal published by Mercer County Community College that publishes the poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art of writers and artists who live and/or work in the larger Mercer County/New Jersey area. Writers and artists who appear at Mercer County area events such as poetry readings are also eligible. You must state your connection to the county or state in your cover letter.

Our journal is published once a year.

Our reading period for the 2026 issue opens on January 31, 2026. All submissions submitted between January 31 and May 31 will be considered. The 2026 edition will be published in print and online in the fall.

Except for poetry and art, Kelsey Review generally accepts only one item per author. We only accept black and white art/photography.

Genre Guidelines:

Please note you may only submit to one genre category.

Poetry: Submit up to five poems in individual files, one poem per file. Single space. Keep line length to 65 or fewer characters, including spaces. Use Times New Roman, 12 point.

Prose: Submit only one piece of work, either fiction or nonfiction, up to 4,000 words. Please single space, indent the first line of every paragraph half an inch (except for the first paragraph, which should be flush left). Use Times New Roman, 12 point.

Art/Photography: Submit up to five pieces of art/photography in individual files. Please provide both color and black-and-white versions.

Cover Letters:

Please keep them simple. Tell us your connection to New Jersey and whether you're a previous Kelsey Review contributor. Include a 50-word, third-person biography.

Simultaneous Submissions:

We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know as soon as possible if a piece submitted to Kelsey was accepted for publication elsewhere.

All rights are retained by the author.

Each year we nominate up to six published items for the Pushcart Prize.

Send questions via email to kelsey.review@mccc.edu, and find us on Facebook!