Guidelines and Suggestions for Story Submissions
At The Delacorte Review, we accept completed stories of between 3,500 and 50,000 words. We do not accept pitches. Why? Because we want to read the story you needed to tell, not the story you think an editor might be interested in reading and publishing.
We focus exclusively on original works of narrative nonfiction—think nonfiction short stories or “novellas”—stories driven by plot, drama, and character. Much as we admire exposes, essays, criticism, and investigative work, that is not what we publish.
Reporting is at the core of our stories. If fiction is driven by imagination, narrative nonfiction is driven by reporting. You may have a terrific memoir, but we are looking for a memoir in which memories are examined, interrogated, and challenged by reporting. We are not bound by newsworthiness, or location.
We are open to submissions year-round. We’re fine with simultaneous submissions, but ask that if your story is accepted elsewhere you inform us quickly. We do not accept multiple submissions.
To get a sense of the kinds of stories we publish on The Delacorte Review and which we published previously on The Big Roundtable, we suggest you look at the Archives page on our story vertical.
Guidelines for Grant Submissions
The Delacorte Review is offering three grants intended for candidates whose work will contribute to diversity and excellence. Each grant will pay $1000 and will run for five months. Our goal is to help each recipient work to bring their voice to life in a work of ambitious narrative nonfiction.
Each recipient will be assigned an editor who will work with them on every step of the process, from story inception, framing, reporting, to writing, with the goal of publication with the Review. The Review’s publishing partners include Granta, Scientific American, Longreads, Lithub, and CrimeReads.
We are committed to close working partnerships between writer and editor. Recipients should expect to file frequent memos and receive constant feedback. We do not believe that writers grow by sending a pitch, writing a first draft, having it kicked back for revisions until they get it right. We believe that writers grow when they have an editor at their side, pushing, cajoling, encouraging.
Applicants should send a CV, up to three samples of nonfiction writing they are most proud of – it need not have been published — and a letter proposing an idea for a story they’d like to work on, and how they’d go about reporting it.
Please send applications to delacortereview@gmail.com with the subject line GRANT APPLICATION (all caps please, to ensure they are not lost).
Application deadline is December 1st 2020. Grantees will be notified by January 15th. The program runs through May 15th.
We look forward to hearing from you. And if you know writers who might be interested, please spread the word.