Moon City Press is an independent press, housed within Missouri State University's Department of English, that sponsors the Moon City Poetry Award and the Moon City Short Fiction Award, annual competitions for poetry and short-story collections. In addition, our annual literary anthology, Moon City Review, accepts submissions of fiction, flash fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, graphic narrative, translations, and book reviews.
Authors may use this submission system to enter one of the competitions or submit to Moon City Review. Feel free to examine our current booklist on our site at http://moon-city-press.com and investigate Moon City Review at http://www.mooncityreview.com/.
• The Moon City Poetry Award is for an original collection of poems written in English by a single or collaborative author.
• Individual poems in the collection may be published in periodicals or may have appeared in a chapbook, but poems should not be previously published in full-length manuscript form.
• Open to all writers not associated with Moon City Press, its editors, or its judges, past or present. Students, faculty, alumni, and staff of Missouri State University, past or present, are ineligible.
• No AI-generated material will be considered.
• Manuscripts should be at least 48 pages long.
• Manuscripts should be submitted via Submittable, https://mooncitypress.submittable.com/submit
• A $27 entry fee is due via Submittable at the time of submission; entry fees are nonrefundable.
• Simultaneous submissions are permitted, though manuscripts should be withdrawn immediately if accepted elsewhere.
• Extended Deadline: June 15, 2026.
• First prize: $1000, publication by Moon City Press (including international distribution through the University of Arkansas Press and the Chicago Distribution Center), and a standard royalty contract. Ten additional finalists will be named and considered for publication.
• For questions, please contact Series Editor Karen Craigo at karen.craigo@gmail.com.
This category is for Moon City Review. Authors are limited to one story of 1,001-8,000 words (shorter fiction should be submitted as Flash Fiction, its own category). Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Fiction Editor Joel Coltharp, JoelColtharp@MissouriState.edu.
This category is for Moon City Review. Authors may submit up to three pieces of flash fiction at a time, and each piece should be no more than 1,000 words long—longer fiction should be submitted to the general Fiction category. Please submit all pieces in a single document. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Editor Michael Czyzniejewski at MCzyzniejewski@MissouriState.edu.
This category is for Moon City Review. Authors are limited to six poems total per submission period. Please submit all pieces in a single document. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Poetry Editor Sara Burge, saraburge@missouristate.edu.
This category is for Moon City Review. Authors are limited to one essay (1,001-8,000 words) or three flash creative nonfiction per submission—please submit all in one document. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Creative Nonfiction Editor Joel Coltharp, JoelColtharp@MissouriState.edu.
Moon City Review welcomes submissions of short-form, literary graphic narrative (fiction, nonfiction, poetry). Please keep submissions to eight pages maximum.
Black-and-white submissions only.
Submit in .jpg, .tiff, or .pdf format.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.
Please address any correspondence to Graphic Narrative Editor Jennifer Murvin, jmurvin@missouristate.edu.
This category is for Moon City Review. Translators should submit works from contemporary authors and should be ready to submit both the translation and the original piece, as well as proof of permission to translate. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if prompt notification is given through Submittable of its acceptance elsewhere. Moon City Review does not consider, accept, or contract AI-generated work.