L’Esprit Literary Review accepts short fiction, creative non-fiction, novel extracts, literary criticism, autotheory, and book reviews. Pieces incorporating research, footnotes, and/or a works cited page are especially welcome.
Please include the following with each submission:
- A third-person bio, to be used as the contributor’s note should your work be accepted.
- Social media handles (Twitter and Instagram), if you’d like to be promoted online.
- An optional cover letter to introduce the work, yourself, or provide some context to your submission; please note that this in no way impacts the likelihood of publication.
- Finally, we would appreciate knowing how you found the journal (social, ad listing, database search, reference, etc).
L’Esprit does not discriminate based on the background, education, or identity of those who send work to us. All work is evaluated solely on merit, without regard for any other consideration whatsoever. We encourage those of all backgrounds and experiences to send in their work, and look for writing exploring the range of the human condition.
Both simultaneous and multiple submissions (across genres or within the same genre; no more than two at a time) are welcome; please do let us know if a piece is under consideration elsewhere, and if it is accepted. We welcome work in translation; it is the translator’s responsibility to secure all necessary permissions before submitting. Similarly, we accept previously published work, so long as the author has full rights and informs us of the original publisher so that we may credit them. Please only submit once (up to two pieces) before hearing back. To ensure we remain equally open to all, we must limit contributors to one publication per issue, but are happy to feature further work by past contributors in future issues.
We aim to reply to all submissions within six weeks. All entries are judged by the editorial staff. L’Esprit reserves all publication rights for each issue’s design and content, as well as for first North American publishing rights. The journal also retains rights to use works for promotional and publicity pieces. We nominate for the Pushcart and other literary awards. Authors and artists retain their rights for future publication and use, but we ask that L’Esprit be credited with original publication.
Edits will be done collaboratively, between the editorial staff and the author. All final decisions are at the discretion of the author. We accept pieces on an intermittently rolling basis. Submissions will open and close at the discretion of the Editor, and these announcements will be made both here and on social media. We currently offer a modest honorarium of $10 per published work as payment. Issues are published online in April and October. We encourage work to be read in the order in which it appears on the table of contents, as each issue is put together with consideration to theme, rhythm, and an overall narrative-stylistic progression.
We look for ambitious, voice-driven literary fiction and criticism that emphasizes consciousness and interiority in the Modernist tradition. Please no genre work. We seek writing that takes risks on the sentence level and is propelled by dynamic, poetic language. We also look for criticism that engages literary work on a critical, technical, mechanical, and/or theoretical level, including book reviews and essays. For an overall indication of what we seek, see previous issues and the essay “100 Years of Modernity”, originally published here and reprinted in Issue Zero, which serves as our aesthetic manifesto.
Indirect Books will source the majority of our published work from the slush pile, building relationships with talented authors and championing their work at all stages. We are open to submissions of novels, story collections, essay collections, memoirs, and hybrid projects. We only consider literary fiction.
See our website for more detailed guidelines. We are seeking risk-adept, language-driven writing that pushes the boundaries of form and rests comfortably beyond convention.
Substantive Guidelines
Please send us sample pages from a section of your manuscript, beginning with the opening, up to 5,000 words. To accompany your submission, please include a brief author bio, including publication history, alongside a query letter with the following information:
- Word count
- 1-2 sentence pitch
- 2-3 paragraph synopsis
- Comp titles
We respond to all submissions, and we work to do so within six weeks. If you need to edit your submission (query letter or sample pages), please use the 'request edit' feature on Submittable. Minor errors and typos will not affect the result of your query.
Formatting Guidelines
- All submissions should be in Times New Roman, 12pt font, double spaced, one-inch margins.
- Please include page numbers.
- We can only consider work written in English, but welcome British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand English in addition to American English.
- Please proofread and only send us polished, completed work.
We look forward to reading your work. Thank you for your support of fearless writing.
The Clarissa Dalloway Prize for Short Prose
L'Esprit Literary Review
Judged by Diane Josefowicz
L'Esprit seeks short prose of exceptional vision and skill. $500 and publication in the journal awarded to the winner; $100 and publication to Second Place. All entries receive a digital copy of Issue Six and are considered for publication. $10 entry fee.
The 2025 Clarissa Dalloway Prize for Short Prose will be awarded to the best work of prose–fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work–under 5,000 words. There are no other requirements; we’ll simply be looking for the best work we can find, inspired by the exceptional writing of Virginia Woolf in this, the 100th anniversary of Mrs Dalloway.
In the first round of judging, the L'Esprit team will assemble a shortlist based on technical-mechanical skill, acuity in blending verisimilar narrative elements with robust narrational architecture, and prosody. Shortlist announcements will be made on a rolling basis. At the close of submissions, the L'Esprit Editors will select from the shortlist a group of finalists to be sent to the Guest Judge. Shortlist, Finalists, and any Honorable Mentions will be announced permanently on the journal website. All entries will be considered for paid publication in the journal.
We have two options for entrance. A $10 fee includes a complimentary digital copy of L'Esprit Issue Six, featuring writing from Nataliya Deleva, Yara Zgheib, Colm O’Shea, and 2025 Leopold Bloom Prize Winner Art O'Conner, among many more. This high-resolution version is optimized for reading on tablets and other devices, allowing the issue to be experienced as designed, immersive and rich.
A $15 fee includes the digital copy of Issue Five plus an Expedited Response; we will prioritize your submission and reply with a decision about the shortlist phase within three days. This option may be ideal for those who are planning to submit their piece elsewhere and would especially benefit from a quick response.
We accept simultaneous submissions; please let us know right away if a piece has been offered elsewhere. Likewise, multiple submissions are welcome, with an individual submission and payment for each piece.
All proceeds help support the journal and pay contributors.
L'Esprit does not discriminate based on the background, education, or identity of those who send work to us. All work is evaluated solely on merit, without regard for any other consideration whatsoever. We encourage those of all backgrounds and experiences to send in their work, and look for writing exploring the range of the human condition.
Please include the following with each submission:
- A third-person bio, to be used as the contributor’s note should your work be accepted.
- Social media handles (Twitter and Instagram), if you’d like to be promoted online.
- An optional cover letter to introduce the work, yourself, provide some context to your submission, or mention how it celebrates narration; please note that this in no way impacts the likelihood of publication.
- Finally, we would appreciate knowing how you found the journal (social, ad listing, database search, reference, etc).
See our complete guidelines on our website.
Thank you for your support of fearless writing.
Diane Josefowicz is a writer, editor, historian, and translator. Her books include Ready, Set, Oh: A Novel, published in 2022 by Flexible Press,L’Air du Temps (1985)published in 2024 by Regal House, Guardians & Saints: Stories, forthcoming in October from Cornerstone Press, and, with historian Jed Buchwald, two histories of French Egyptology, both published by Princeton University Press. Her next novel, The Great Houses of Pill Hill, will be published in 2026 by Soho Press. Her translations of writing by the French poet Anna de Noailles (1876-1933) have appeared in L’Esprit and Exacting Clam.She is a senior editor of translation at The Adroit Journal, books editor atNecessary Fiction, and managing editor of theVictorian Web, the internet's oldest and largest website devoted to Victoriana. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island and New York City.
Virginia Woolf Anthology
Indirect Books seeks submissions for an anthologized collection responding to the work of Virginia Woolf. Focused on works of literary criticism and autotheory, we are interested both in writing that engages playfully and seriously with Woolf’s fiction and nonfiction. The anthology will be published in Spring 2027.
Traditional scholarship offering fresh interpretations and innovative essays detailing personal readings will equally be considered. We hope to curate a selection of critical and autotheoretical work that puts forth an expansive, insightful, and erudite understanding of Woolf’s oeuvre in pieces that are willing to take risks artistically, formally, or substantively.
With submissions opening in 2025 and publication scheduled for 2027, the anthology will span the 100th anniversaries of Mrs Dalloway and To The Lighthouse. Contributors will receive a complimentary copy.
We accept simultaneous submissions; please let us know right away if a piece has been offered elsewhere. Likewise, multiple submissions are welcome, with an individual submission and payment for each piece.
Please include the following with each submission:
- A third-person bio, to be used as the contributor’s note should your work be accepted.
- An optional cover letter to introduce the work, yourself, provide some context to your submission, or mention how it celebrates narration; please note that this in no way impacts the likelihood of publication.
- Finally, we would appreciate knowing how you found the press (social, ad listing, database search, reference, etc).
Indirect Books does not discriminate based on the background, education, or identity of those who send work to us. All work is evaluated solely on merit, without regard for any other consideration whatsoever. We encourage those of all backgrounds and experiences to send in their work, and look for writing exploring the range of the human condition.
Thank you for your support of fearless writing.
General Submissions to Issue Seven
Publication Date: Mid-October, 2025
L’Esprit Literary Review publishes writing that is fearless, risk-adept, and revolutionary. We accept short fiction, creative non-fiction, novel extracts, drama, literary criticism, autotheory, and book reviews. Pieces incorporating research, footnotes, and/or a works cited page are welcome.
We invite simultaneous submissions and work in translation. Please do let us know if a piece is under consideration elsewhere, and if it is accepted; it is the translator’s responsibility to secure all necessary permissions before submitting.
L'Esprit does not discriminate based on the background, education, or identity of those who send work to us. All work is evaluated solely on merit, without regard for any other consideration whatsoever. We encourage those of all backgrounds and experiences to send in their work, and look for writing exploring the range of the human condition.
Please include the following with each submission:
- A third-person bio, to be used as the contributor’s note should your work be accepted.
- Social media handles (Twitter and Instagram), if you’d like to be promoted online.
- An optional cover letter to introduce the work, yourself, or provide some context to your submission; please note that this in no way impacts the likelihood of publication.
- Finally, we would appreciate knowing how you found the journal (social, ad listing, database search, reference, etc), and your answer to the following: What is the most overlooked novel of all time?
All submissions will be considered for both Issue Seven which will be published in print, digital, and online formats, and upcoming Quarterly Features, which will appear online only. Accepted pieces will be placed in one of these releases, with all such decisions made at the sole discretion of the editors.
See our complete guidelines, including genre-specific notes and details about personalized feedback options, on our website.
Thank you for your support of fearless writing.
L’Esprit Literary Review accepts visual art to accompany stories in print, digital, and online.
This form is for artwork and photography only.
Images should be high-resolution, 300+ DPI images, in black-and-white. Both landscape and portrait orientation accepted.Please see past issues (beginning with Issue One) for a sense of the type of work we seek.
Please include the following with each submission:
- A third-person bio, to be used as the contributor’s note should your work be accepted.
- Social media handles (Twitter and Instagram), if you’d like to be promoted online.
- An optional cover letter to introduce the work, yourself, or provide some context to your submission; please note that this in no way impacts the likelihood of publication.
- Finally, we would appreciate knowing how you found the journal (social, ad listing, database search, reference, etc).
Thank you for your support of fearless writing.
L'Esprit considers book reviews and critical essays, be it a pitch or the finished product.
*This is for proposals of book reviews and critical work. For completed pieces, please submit via the General Submissions form*
For a pitch, no secret formula is required; simply describe the piece in mind with a fair amount of detail and vision. Reviews can be of books new or old, and critical essays should engage with one or multiple works on a theoretical-technical level (scholarly pieces using citations are especially welcome).
L'Esprit is open to critical work of ambition and scope; we understand that these pieces are hard to place in the current literary landscape, and as such welcome pitches in hopes of being considerate of the writer's time and energies. We review all proposals carefully, and while we cannot guarantee publication based on a pitch, will work to come to a shared vision before asking for the finished product.
If you have a piece which in some way engages smartly with literature but may not fit easy definition, pitch us; we’re likely interested. Please see our previously published essays for an idea of what we're after–but note, too, that we're always open to something new.
Word count is flexible–approximately 800-1,200 for reviews; essays need what they need.