The Oxford American print magazine periodically opens submissions in general and themed categories. At various times, we welcome fiction, poetry, and nonfiction submissions, as well as proposals for articles. (There is a $3 processing fee for most categories.)
Calls for OxfordAmerican.org submissions are listed below and additional information about web-first publications can be found on our website.
The Oxford American can be purchased at bookstores, newsstands, and our website. Single-copy issues and back issues may be purchased here. New editions typically appear in March, June, and September, with our annual Southern Music Issue releasing in December.
The Oxford American does not accept submissions on paper and cannot return manuscripts sent to the office.
A city, a story; a fantasy, a reality. From jazz to bounce, from Cajun fiddle to sludge metal. With over three hundred years of musical history, it’s bound to get complicated.
The Oxford American is dedicating our 28th annual Music Issue to exploring and celebrating the music of New Orleans, Louisiana. Inimitable and enigmatic, the city has nurtured some of the most foundational artists in American music: jazz piano pioneers like Jelly Roll Morton and Sweet Emma Barrett; accordionist Amédé Ardoin, the Black Creole father of Zydeco; Mahalia Jackson and her irrepressible voice.
We’re interested in stories that engage New Orleans’s past while keeping their finger on the pulse of its present. What might make New Orleans a contender for the Black music capital of America? Is the idea of such a place antiquated? How was Houston music affected by people moving there from New Orleans after Katrina? How do the genres and grooves that New Orleans has exported to the rest of the world, from Juvenile to Sissy Nobby to EyeHateGod, still live within the city? What venues are too local for the tourists, and why?
We want to push past the conventional narratives of New Orleans music to find hidden truths. We want to know what’s happening today on its many venerable stages; we want to glimpse what it has in store for the future. How are musicmakers in New Orleans, like Leyla McCalla, Flagboy Giz, or Twisted Teens, mining their city’s long past? Where do ghosts, figurative or literal, show up in New Orleans’s sounds?
Recent headlines have reported that New Orleans must be abandoned to the rising seas, but we don’t believe that’s true. We want to hear perspectives on life and music in the city in the midst of climate change, learn what New Orleanians really need, and share stories of the work they’re doing to meet the challenge of a changing world.
We’re seeking reported features, personal essays, short stories, short dispatches and meditations, poems, music criticism, and liner notes for tracks on the vinyl LP that will accompany the issue. For fiction, poetry, and personal essays, full drafts may be submitted; for reported nonfiction work, please send us a pitch.
We will be accepting submissions for this project through Submittable only. Submissions will remain open until Friday, July 31st, or until we reach 300 submissions. Multiple submissions are not allowed; if submitting multiple works, please include them in a single submission. The Oxford American does not accept or review submissions created with the use of generative AI.
We’ll be accepting submissions on a rolling basis, and deadlines will fall through the late summer and early fall. The issue will be on newsstands in late November. Compensation will depend on the length and complexity of the story; all writers will be paid.
We look forward to hearing from you!
The Oxford American offers an editorial fellowship program that provides a comprehensive view of editorial work at The Oxford American offers an editorial fellowship program that provides a comprehensive view of editorial work at our nonprofit literary magazine. This program is designed with young professionals in mind, though anyone is welcome to apply.
We have one 15-20 hours per week position available per term. We offer a stipend of $3,750 per term. Internships begin in February and August. Fellowships can be remote; fellows local to Conway will be expected to report to our offices at least 5 hours per week.
We accept applications for both terms year-round but please note the following deadlines:
- December 1 for fellowships starting in February
- June 1 for fellowships starting in August
Fellows are a vital part of the Oxford American’s print and digital production teams, and work closely with the magazine’s full-time editors throughout the production process. Duties include evaluating pitches and manuscript submissions, participating in issue planning through weekly editorial meetings, and fact checking pieces for print. Fellows are also encouraged to participate in our off-site events.
Our ideal applicant has experience in fact checking, research, or reporting; is highly organized and self-motivated; seeks to develop their professional skills in editing or publishing; and demonstrates an enthusiasm for the Oxford American’s mission, as well as an understanding of the tone, style, and scope of the pieces we publish.
Applications should include a detailed cover letter, résumé, and one writing sample of up to 5 pages in length. Your sample could be one long piece or a collection of short pieces. (Samples can include critical and/or creative work, though a substantial portion should be prose.) Please specify the term for which you are applying.
Applications will be responded to no later than 2 weeks after the application deadline. Please send any questions to submissions@oxfordamerican.org. Thank you for your interest.