The Gate is Open for Long Story Submissions

We at the Iron Horse Literary Review would like to welcome you to another season of submissions! This past summer we received submissions for the First Book of Prose Prize and Photo Finish and we look forward to reading all your submissions and getting back to you.

While we read previous submissions, we want to also inform you that we are now accepting Long Story Prize Submissions. We will accept submissions until October 15, 2024. So, send us your best work to read and don’t miss this opportunity.

The Long Story Prize

For the IHLR Long Story Prize, we read nonfiction and fiction—prose manuscripts that run between 20-40 pages. The accepted stories are published in an e-single released during the month of June and it features only one long story, essay, memoir, or brief novella. To learn more about this prize and guidelines for submissions, click here.

The Long Story Prize is a contest that serves as an opportunity and allows you the freedom to explore, create, and recreate other writing projects, styles, or even just to better understand yourself as a writer. Beyond your long story submission, this contest prepares you for a longer project or to uncover stories that need to be told only by you, just like some of our winners have gone ahead to accomplish in their own writing careers.

Sarah Freligh, whose story, “Heaven” was the Long Story Winner in 2023 has gone on to produce a story collection that is forthcoming in February of 2025 by Moon City Press’ annual book series. In an article, she talks about how her story, “Heaven” inspired an idea for another long story which will appear in her story collection. We cannot wait to have access to her book so, we are including some images about her writing process and her forthcoming collection.

Another writer, Leslie Pietrzyk, whose story “F-I-N-E” won our Long Story Prize also has a collection of linked stories that is in progress. In an interview published by “The Creative Independent,” she talks about her writing process and the research involved in the process of putting or writing her short stories. She also discusses the inspiration behind her long story and the inspiration it sparked in working on more stories and exploring as a writer.

Here are the links to read their stories, “Heaven” and “F-I-N-E”

You can also find more information on our Submittable Page. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your piece is taken elsewhere.

In case you’re wondering, below are some images of our previous Long Story Prize winners’ story covers

Again, we look forward to your submissions.