Literary Journal

Garfield Lake Review

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Journals & literary magazines0 open opportunities listed

About the magazine

Garfield Lake Review is a literary and arts journal rooted in the quiet, lake-country rhythms of the American Midwest. Founded to provide a deliberate counterpoint to the speed and spectacle of urban publishing, the review has maintained a steady commitment to work that rewards patience—poems, stories, and essays that unfold with the unhurried clarity of a long shoreline. Its mission is not to discover the next viral voice but to sustain a readership for writing that is formally attentive, emotionally precise, and unafraid of silence. Over the years, the journal has built a reputation for editorial care, offering each accepted piece the kind of close reading that authors rarely receive elsewhere.

Editorial focus

The Garfield Lake Review prides itself in accepting a wide selection of fiction, poetry, and visual arts from the Olivet community and beyond.

PoetryFictionCreative Nonfiction

Submitting your work

Reading periodSep 7 to Sep 27

Reading feeNo

PaymentContributor copies only

Response timeLess than 3 months

Simultaneous submissionsYes

Unsolicited submissionsYes

Before submitting, read at least one full issue to understand the journal's tonal range—it favors restraint, concrete imagery, and narrative or lyric structures that trust the reader. Avoid work that relies on shock, irony as a default mode, or overt polemic. Cover letters should be brief and professional; the editors care most about the manuscript itself. Simultaneous submissions are typically accepted, but notify promptly if a piece is taken elsewhere. Response times can be slow, especially during reading periods, so plan accordingly and do not query before the stated window has passed. Finally, proofread meticulously: the review's aesthetic is one of care, and that care begins with the submission.

Read official guidelines

Submission calls

1 listed

ClosedDeadline · 2026-09-27