Send one piece of fiction up to 3,000 words. Stories must be one file, with your work double-spaced, 12pt standard font.  One submission per reading period. Revisions may be made upon acceptance; do not withdraw and resubmit your work due to revision concerns. Pieces accepted will be published in the fall issue of Crab Creek Review.

We look forward to reading your authentic, narratively engaging, and well-crafted fiction.

Guidelines

• Send one piece up to 3,000 words or up to three pieces of flash fiction/lyric prose fiction. 
• Send one file, with your work double-spaced, 12pt standard font. 
• Files should be a single attachment; docx preferred (.doc, .rtf, .PDF also accepted)
• Title your document with the title and your name (i.e: TITLE_Aimee Bender).  
• One submission per reading period. 
•  Include a cover letter in the provided space (not in the document). Include your mailing address, email, and social media handles (where relevant), a 50-word bio, and the title of the pieces you are submitting.
•  Should you submit something that is under simultaneous consideration, please indicate this in your cover letter and notify us immediately if the piece is accepted elsewhere. 
• Only original, human-made and previously unpublished work will be considered. Work generated by AI will not be considered. 

Submissions are open until March 30 or until our Submittable cap is hit.

The entry period for the 2026 Crab Creek Review Poetry Contest begins on February 15th with entries accepted until May 15, 2026.  A $500 prize will be awarded for the winning poem.  All entries considered for publication. Winner and finalists will appear in Crab Creek Review.   

The entry fee is $16 per submission. Multiple submissions are allowed, but each batch must be submitted separately, with its own entry fee. This submission fee funds the print production of each issue.      

About the Judge  Born in New Delhi, India, Vandana Khanna is a writer, educator, and editor. Her recent collection of poetry,Burning Like Her Own Planet, was published by Alice James Books. Her previous books have won the Crab Orchard Review First Book Prize, The Miller Williams Poetry Prize, and the Diode Editions Chapbook Competition. Her work has appeared in publications such as Ploughshares, Poem-a-Day, The New Republic,Guernica, New England Review and The Penguin Book of Indian Poetry.  

   ​   Submission Guidelines:

• Please do not include your name in your submission. All submissions should be kept anonymous.
• Only original, previously unpublished work will be considered.​ This includes website or social media. We do not accept works generated by AI.
• Include a cover letter in the provided space in the Submittable form (not in the document). Include your mailing address, social media handle, email and phone number, a 50-word bio, and the titles of the pieces you are submitting.
• Should you submit something that is under simultaneous consideration, please indicate this in your cover letter and notify us immediately by adding a note to your Submittable account if the piece is accepted elsewhere.
• Send your work as a SINGLE attachment (.doc; .docx; .rtf; PDF); docx preferred.
• Please submit no more than up to four (4) poems in a submission.
• The entry fee is $16 per submission. Multiple submissions are allowed, but each batch must be submitted separately, with its own entry fee.​
• Semifinalists will be notified by early July. The winner and finalists will be announced by the end of July.

Order your copy of Crab Creek Review's 2023 Spring/Summer issue here!

From cathedrals to dance floors to climate change, this issue tackles our loftiest questions while celebrating the most personal. It shifts from deep meditations to startling crystallizations as each work takes on a new form and shape.  With this latest issue, you'll find writing from Jory Mickelson, Jared Beloff, Rebecca Martin, Rodrigo Toscano, Julia Mallory, Shilo Niziolek, Sarah Dalton, Forester McClatchey, Shannon K. Winston, David J. Bauman, Melody Wilson, Stephanie L Harper, Benjamid D. Carson, Carolyn Oliver, Jane Zwart, Jude Dexter, Lauren Camp among so, so many others. And we can't wait to share them all with you.