Submissions

We are OPEN for submissions.

Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation is OPEN for submissions to our upcoming Fall issue, MODERNITIES. The deadline for submission of works in translation is October 15, 2026. 

We seek works in translation that explore, expand and pluralize ideas of modernity. How do we live alongside modernities? What remains of modernity? What makes something “modern”? More importantly, what makes a translation “modern”?

We are eager to read translations of works written in or before the early 1950s. Translations of contemporary works directly inspired by texts produced in or before the early 1950s are also acceptable provided you offer an explanation in your Translator’s Note. We are interested in how translators engage with modernities and the idea of the modern from a global perspective, as well as the enduring aesthetic effects of modernism on contemporary literature in translation. 

Please read the submission guidelines (below) in full. 

All our best from Iowa City, 

Exchanges editorial staff

Submission Guidelines for regular issues

We accept translations of poetry, short stories or novel excerpts, plays, and literary nonfiction into English. 

A critical component of your submission and a deciding factor in our review process is the Translator’s Note. Please use this opportunity to speak to the source, especially the context of the work as well as your choices and challenges as a translator. For this issue, in particular, use the note to explain how your source text and translation engage with “modernities.”

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.
    All submissions should be numbered, typed in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides.

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

  • A Translator's Note (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 availability of English-language translation rights and for publication of the original text on the internet from the original's rights-holder(s) of the project.

To submit, please collate all of the above in a single .doc or .docx attachment with the file name format: Translator’sLastName_Author’sLastName_OriginalLanguage_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: SUBMISSION-Translator’s name, Author’s name, Language, Genre (e.g SUBMISSION-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.

  • BOOK REVIEWS OF A SINGLE WORK: no more than 2,000 words.

  • BOOK REVIEWS OF MULTIPLE WORKS: no more than 3,000 words.

  • INTERVIEWS: no more than 4,000 words.

  • ESSAYS ON TRANSLATION: no more than 4,00 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.