SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED. Submissions will open again on September 15, 2024.

The Blue Route is an online undergraduate literary journal run by students and faculty at Widener University. We publish short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction written by undergraduate writers from any school other than our own. There is a great deal of emerging talent in the undergraduate population, and we aim to showcase that talent in our journal. 

WHO CAN SUBMIT:

• Undergraduate Students: Only previously unpublished work of current undergraduate writers will be considered. In order to verify your status as an undergraduate, we ask that with your submission you send along the email of a faculty member from your department. Until we gain confirmation of undergraduate status from this reference, we will not be able to publish your work.
• Statement on Inclusion. While we gladly welcome works from all undergraduate writers (besides Widener), we specifically encourage submissions from underrepresented groups, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent writers, as well as writers with disabilities.
• Note to Widener Students: At this time, work from Widener students will not be accepted. Widener students are invited to submit their work to Widener Ink, the university’s print journal.
• Frequency of Submission: If your work has been published in The Blue Route, please wait at least one issue before submitting again.

WHAT TO SUBMIT:

We want good, highly imaginative writing about contemporary life as you see it. We’re not interested in romance, detective, horror, sci-fi, and other genres, unless the piece somehow rises above the conventions associated with those types of writing. We’re also not interested in writing that clichéd, overly influenced by TV or film, features flat characters, emphasizes end rhyme above all else, and/or exhibits a general insensitivity to the beauties and subtleties of language. No pornography. No racism. No sexism. If you use profanity, remember a little goes a long, long way.

As stated above, we DO NOT accept previously published work. However, we DO accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere. Our response time is about three months.

PROSE: Submit 1-3 pieces of fiction or creative nonfiction totaling no more than 2500 words. Payment: 25 dollars.*

OR

POETRY: Submit up to 3 poems. Payment: 25 dollars.*

OR

ART: Works of any medium or genre are welcome so long as they can be easily converted into a digital format for printing. We are looking for creative, thoughtful, and visually dynamic art that does not incorporate any hateful or distasteful imagery. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer payment for art at this time.

*An important note about payment: Payment is issued through our university’s business office in the form of a check. We are sorry to say that we are unable to provide payment in any other form.

To increase your chances of acceptance, be sure to 1) carefully follow submission guidelines and 2) read a few recent issues of The Blue Route to get a sense of the kind of work we publish.

HOW TO SUBMIT: 

Please write “Poetry–Your Name” or “Fiction–Your Name” or “Creative Nonfiction–Your Name” or “Artwork-Your Name” in the subject line of your email. 

In a similar manner, please make your name as well as the genre of the piece clear in the title of the file(s). Send your work in an attachment in .docx format. Submissions of artwork need to be in IMG format to be considered.

DO NOT put your name anywhere on your submission. Instead, in your submission email, please provide the following information: 

• Name (First and Last)
• Pronouns
• School (full name of college or university you currently attend)
• Title of Submission(s)
• Name and Email of Faculty Contact for Enrollment Verification
• A Brief Biography (No more than 100 words and written in the third person.)

Send all poetry, prose, or art submissions to wutheblueroute@gmail.com.

Submissions that do not follow the directions above may be deleted. 

Terms: We acquire First North American Serial Rights, a one time, non-exclusive use of Electronic Rights, with all rights reverting to the author upon publication. We will archive your work online. If your piece is later published elsewhere, we expect that you will mention The Blue Route as the original publisher.

NOTE: Any work submitted outside of the submission window will be automatically deleted.