Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the Black Warrior Review FAQ! This page is your go-to resource for common questions about submissions, processes, and policies here at BWR. We’re thrilled to finally have this resource live, thanks to the hard work of our 2024 Managing Editor, Lydia O’Donnell, who spearheaded this project with dedication and care. As our FAQ is a work in progress, we encourage you to check back regularly—new questions and answers will be added as we refine and expand this section. If you have a question that’s not addressed here, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to reach out to us at blackwarriorreview@gmail.com or managingeditor.bwr@gmail.com. We’re here to help.

Happy reading, and thank you for supporting BWR!

• What’s the status of my submission? How long should I wait before checking in? How should I check in?

1. 1. Every journal and every editor—including each year of genre editors here at BWR—approach decision notifications differently. Some editors prefer to notify as they read during the submission period. However, at BWR we often prefer to make decisions on the bulk of our submissions once the submission period has closed and we can compare all the pieces we’ve received. Because of this, we ask that you wait two months after the closing date of the submission period that you submitted during to enquire about the status of your submission. Submission enquiries received before this two month benchmark may not be answered.
   2. For example, if you submitted during the December 1-March 1 submission period, please wait until May 1 to enquire about your status. If you submitted during the June 1-September 30 submission period, please wait until November 30 to enquire about your status. These guidelines also apply to Boyfriend Village, online flash contests, special calls/themed calls/folios, and our summer contest.
   3. Once it has reached two months post-submission period, we do encourage you to reach out. It can also take us longer than two months to respond to everyone, so your submission likely hasn’t been forgotten but reach out anyway! Not always, but often, it’s the pieces that warrant several rounds of consideration that take the longest to receive a decision.

• Do you allow simultaneous submissions? Do I get any points if I don’t submit simultaneously, and I tell you in my cover letter?

1. 1. We not only allow simultaneous submissions, as writers ourselves we strongly encourage them. We do ask that pieces that are accepted elsewhere are withdrawn as soon as possible—we have encountered situations where much time and focus is devoted to a piece that makes it to the final round of decisions and is voted into the magazine; only to find out on sending our acceptance letter that the author had it accepted elsewhere and hadn’t told us. This is a huge bummer so please withdraw your submissions accordingly. Withdrawing will never hurt your future chances of publication but waiting to tell us until the piece has been accepted may.
   2. We have accepted pieces in the past that weren’t submitted simultaneously, and it made us awfully happy to do so. But, those pieces were accepted first and foremost based on their strength. Submitting only to us, while a very kind gesture, does not guarantee publication. We suggest that each author do what they feel is best for their work.

• How do I withdraw all or part of my piece?

1. 1. On Submittable, if the whole piece is accepted elsewhere, withdraw the piece and send us a short message so we can say congrats! If you submitted via email as per a fee waiver, reply to the original email you sent with your submission letting us know you’re withdrawing. 
   2. If only part of the piece is accepted elsewhere, do not withdraw the entire thing. Instead send us a message on Submittable as soon as you can indicating which section(s) you are withdrawing. If you submitted via email per a fee waiver, reply to the original email you sent with your submission and let us know which sections you’re withdrawing.
   3. In any case, if you submitted via Submittable please communicate with us via Submittable—do not email to withdraw a Submittable submission.

• I made some changes to my submission. Can you consider this new version instead?

1. 1. If you are submitting via Submittable, you will need to withdraw the version you don’t want considered, and create a new submission for the newer version. 
   2. If you are submitting via our fee waiver email, we ask that you do not send multiple versions of the same piece.
   3. In general, we prefer that authors stick to the original version they submitted. A typo or two will not greatly impact your chances of publication if we love your piece. While accepted authors are not allowed to make extensive edits to their piece, if they would like to change something small (a typo, a name/title change, a misspelling) we allow them to.

• Why do you charge a submission fee? Why is it so high?

1. 1. To keep BWR alive, we need to bring in a certain amount of money each fiscal year. These days, our main source of income is submission fees. The money from submission fees goes towards: printing costs, contributor payments, contest prize amounts, reimbursement for contest judges/guest editors, office supplies/software, maintaining our digital platforms, and modest summer pay (~$600-$1200 per month) for our editors who otherwise would not receive summer stipends.
   2. Excess income is all put back into the magazine. If we receive a financial surplus, none of it will go towards increasing the editors’ paychecks.
   3. Post-2020 financial difficulty forced us to make the difficult decision to raise submission fees. Keeping in mind the cut Submittable takes from each fee, we were not earning a realistic amount of money to support the journal. We took into consideration the fee rates of many of our peer journals when we settled on the current amount. 
   4. If the submission fee poses a hurdle to you, we encourage you to request a fee waiver.
   5. In the future, all of the editors would love to lower the submission fee, if we end up in a financial position to do so.

• Do you offer fee waivers for general submissions? How can I acquire one? Will I be required to explain why I need a fee waiver, provide income, or fill out paperwork?

1. 1. Yes! For general submission fee waivers please reach out to: feewaiver.bwr@gmail.com.
   2. The fee waiver process is simple and does not require documentation. You are not required to give a specific reason as to why you are requesting the waiver. You may simply indicate you are requesting one due to “financial need.”
   3. Once accepted, we will triage your submission to the appropriate genre editor. If you have not heard back two months after the close of the submission period you submitted during, please reach out.