Applause is an annual online journal staffed by students at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. We want to showcase the best undergraduate writers across the country and the globe. 

We are now open for submissions for the Spring 2025 issue!

This issue will contain a themed special feature. We are based out of Arkansas, also known as The Natural State, due to our beautiful lakes and rivers, forested mountains, and rich wildlife. For this special feature, we want to see your “Unnatural State,” whatever that may mean. We want work that examines unnatural relationships with the natural world, our personal relationships with the unnatural, our unnatural relationships with ourselves and/or others, or any other "Unnatural State" you want to explore.

We only consider previously unpublished work and ask for First North American Serial Rights. Work selected for publication will receive publication through our website and national exposure through our social media support systems. Our response time is approximately one to four months.

***Deadline Extended***

We are accepting submissions until Mar 7th, 2025.

Genre Specific Guidelines

Poetry

Applause is looking for the unusual to inspire us! This year’s issue of Applause will contain a themed special feature. We are based out of Arkansas, also known as The Natural State, for this special feature, we want to see your “Unnatural State.” We are seeking work exploring the boundaries of poetry and what poetry can be. Whether that exploration comes by way of your poetic themes or through the style and form of the poem itself, show us your poetry in its most "Unnatural State." 

All poetry will be considered for publication, but if you would like your poems to be considered for our special feature, please include "Unnatural State" in the title. Ex: Unnatural State - "Three Poems" 

Please submit 3 to 5 poems in a single document, and please be sure to remove any identifying information from the document.

We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere.

We are looking forward to reading your work!

Fiction

Applause is looking for original short stories for our Spring 2025 issue. This year’s issue of Applause will contain a themed special feature. We are based out of Arkansas, also known as The Natural State, for this special feature, we want to see your “Unnatural State.” We are seeking stories of hope and redemption in a dark and eerie world. We welcome the slightly creepy and off-putting. But, when we explore your worlds, we want them to be populated with deep, fleshed-out characters who discover what it means to be in an "Unnatural State." We look forward to reading your stories! 

All stories will be considered for publication, but if you would like your stories to be considered for our special feature, please include "Unnatural State" in the title. Ex: Unnatural State - "My Story Title" 

Please submit either:

• one short story between 2,500 and 5,000 words
• up to three flash fiction pieces each 1,000 words or less.

Stories should submitted as a single PDF or Word doc, be in standard manuscript format, and contain no identifying information. 

Creative Nonfiction

Attention authors! Applause is looking for creative nonfiction that explores the big ideas and human connections at the heart of our social systems, cultural norms, and relationships with ourselves and others. This year’s issue of Applause will contain a themed special feature. We are based out of Arkansas, also known as The Natural State, for this special feature, we want to see your nonfiction that engages with life in “Unnatural States,” whatever that might mean to you. 

All pieces will be considered for publication, but if you would like your work to be considered for our special feature, please include "Unnatural State" in the title. Ex: Unnatural State - "My Essay Title" 

Please submit either:

• one creative nonfiction piece between 2,500 and  5,000 words
• up to three flash nonfiction pieces, each 1,000 words or less

Your work should submitted as a single PDF or Word doc, be in standard manuscript format, and contain no identifying information. 

We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere.

We are excited to hear from you and see your submissions!

Art & Photography

Submit up to five pieces for consideration.

Please upload files in .pdf format.

Files must be uploaded in at least 300 dpi.

Put the title(s) of the works submitted in the "Title Your Submission Box." If submitting multiple pieces in one submission, include them all in a single PDF file with the pieces separated by title.