Submissions

We are currently open for submissions.

Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation is open for submissions to our upcoming Spring issue, RESONANCE. The deadline for submission of works in translation is February 28, 2026. 

We seek works in translation that explore and expand resonance. Think of a tuning fork as it transforms physical impact into sonic echoes: what lingers, what morphs, what expands? What remains? The same can be asked of translation—as echoing force, dynamic movement, impact made material.

We are eager to read tuning-fork translations: stories that echo, leave an imprint, and continue to resound and reverberate long after the last word. Resonance in translation is a celebration of the enduring impacts of texts, the way literature lets us move and be moved across time, culture, and space. 

For RESONANCE, send us translations that sing—any key, any note.

Please read the submission guidelines (below) in full. 

All our best from frigid Iowa City, 

Exchanges editorial staff

Submission Guidelines for regular issues

We accept translations of poetry, short or excerpted fiction, plays, and literary nonfiction into English. 

A critical component of your submission is the Translator’s Note. Please use this opportunity to speak to the source and receiving contexts of the work and any unique challenges faced in the act of translation itself. Take care here—the Translator’s Note is often a deciding factor in our review process.

We happily accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that you please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere. 

To be considered for publication, submissions must include: 

  • Both the original text and the translation in a copy-pastable text file format. Please, no .pdfs. If you absolutely must submit a .pdf in order to make the submission deadline, please notify us of this in your submission, and be prepared to supply a copy-pastable text file in advance of publication.

  • Brief biographies (100-150 words each) of both author and translator.

  • A Translator's Note (150-500 words, approximately) in which you reflect on the translation process or another important aspect of your work that will help readers to contextualize, appreciate, and understand your piece.

  • Proof of permission from the original's rightsholder(s) for publication of the original text on the internet.

To submit, please collate all of the above in a single .doc or .docx attachment with the file name format translator’s surname_author’s surname_original language_genre.doc (e.g. Schmidt_Do_Arabic_fiction.doc) and email to exchanges@uiowa.edu. Submissions lacking any or multiple of the above components will not be accepted for publication.

When you send your submission, the subject of your email must be: TRASUB-Translator’s name, Author’s name, Language, Genre (e.g. TRASUB-Juan Schmidt, Jane Doe, Esperanto, Fiction). Emails with alternate subject lines are likely to be filtered or lost.

If your work has appeared previously in Exchanges, we encourage you to wait at least one submission cycle before submitting again.

Submission Length

  • POETRY: no more than 7 poems.

  • FICTION: no more than 4,000 words.

  • DRAMA: no more than 15 pages.

  • LITERARY NONFICTION: no more than 4,000 words, or 2,500 words of translated criticism.

  • REVIEWS OF A SINGLE WORK: no more than 1,000 words.

  • REVIEWS OF MULTIPLE WORKS: no more than 2,000 words.

  • INTERVIEWS: no more than 2,500 words.

  • ESSAYS ON TRANSLATION: no more than 2,500 words.

Compensation and Rights

Unfortunately, Exchanges has no funds with which to compensate translators, authors or artists. We ask for first serial rights, after which the rights for all work revert to the author and translator. 

Translating from an Ancient Language?

Please consider submitting to our sister publication, Ancient Exchanges. Submission dates and guidelines can be found on the Submissions page of the AncientX tab of this website.