Applause is an annual online (and soon to be physical!) journal staffed by undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. Our mission is twofold: to showcase the best undergraduate writing and art from across the country, while offering valuable experience to students wishing to enter the publishing world.
Submissions for Spring 2026 Are Now Open!
We are thrilled to announce that submissions are now open for the Spring 2025 issue of Applause!
General Submission Guidelines
- We only consider previously unpublished work.
- The author must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate
- We ask for First North American Serial Rights. After publication, rights revert to the author.
- Your work will be published on our website, in limited print, and promoted through our social media channels.
- Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please notify us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- Please submit only once to each genre.
- We do not accept multiple submissions in the same genre, but feel free to submit to multiple genres.
- Response time: Reading will begin in January; expect a response in 1-3 months from then.
Genre Guidelines
Poetry
- A picture is worth a thousand words; we ask you to create a tapestry in a few stanzas. We want poetry that thrives on the senses, surprises through form, and leaves a lingering voice.
- Submit 1-5 poems in a single PDF or Word document (.docx)
Prose
We accept all genres of fiction! Send us your stories, your myths, fairy stories, science fiction, folktales, etc. Send us your everything.
We want your essay, braided, lyrical, memoir, hybrid, experimental. Any true thing you know, and think we need to know, too.
- Submit one short story (1,000-3,000 words) or 2-3 flash fiction pieces (each <1,000).
-OR-
- Submit one piece of creative nonfiction up to 3,000 words.
- Submit as a single PDF or Word document (.docx) in standard manuscript format.
Art and Photography
- Submit up to 5 pieces in a single PDF file.
- Files must be at least 300 dpi.
- Include titles, medium(s), dimensions, etc. for each piece. If a work is selected, we will require a high-resolution image file, jpg or tiff.
Poetry
- Submit 1-5 poems in a single document
- A picture is worth a thousand words; we ask you to create a tapestry in a few stanzas. We want poetry that thrives on the senses, surprises through form, and leaves a lingering voice.
Prose
- Submit one short story (1,000-3,000 words) or 2-3 flash fiction pieces (each <1,000).
- Creative Nonfiction: Submit one piece under 3,000 words.
- Submit as a single PDF or Word document (.docx) in standard manuscript format.
Art and Photography
- Submit up to 5 pieces in a single PDF file.
- Files must be at least 300 dpi.
- Include titles for each piece within the file, including: Subject, Medium(s), Date Created, dimensions, etc.
If selected, we will require individual high-resolution image files.