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Hellbender Magazine—formerly Cheat River Review—is a home for fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art that isn’t afraid to share its unique perspective and tone of resilience with the world. We are a hardworking team of volunteer grad students in the MFA, MA, and MA-PWE programs at West Virginia University. We publish online issues biannually—in the Spring and Fall.

Our submissions are currently CLOSED. Follow us on social media for updates and announcements regarding future submission opportunities!

Submission Guidelines

Prose

Submit 1 piece of up to 5,000 words of fiction or creative nonfiction.

Poetry

Submit up to 3 poems (no more than 10 pages).

Visual Art

Submit up to 3 pieces of visual art. We consider visual art for the issue covers and as supplementary visuals throughout.

  • Multiple and Simultaneous Submissions: We welcome simultaneous submissions but ask that you notify us ASAP if your work is accepted elsewhere. We do not accept multiple submissions; we ask that you please wait until the next submission period before submitting again.
  • Publication Rights: Submitted work must be unpublished. Hellbender Magazine will take first North American Serial Rights, which will revert to the author upon publication. We ask that you credit us if the work is published again elsewhere.
  • Cover Letters: Appreciated, but not necessary. Letters should include a brief, third-person bio, as well as publishing credits if you have them.
  • Formatting: Text submissions should be in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. Image submissions should be in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format. Please submit text piece(s) in 12-point Times New Roman (or a similar, easy-to-read font) with page numbers.
  • Content Warnings: For the safety of our team and readers, please include a content warning either at the top of your submission or in your cover letter if your work includes any potentially triggering content.

Send us your best fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or visual art that isn’t afraid to share its tone of resilience with the world!

We accept submissions via Submittable only. Submissions received via email or otherwise will not be considered.

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