Tip Jar Submissions are optional and will be treated exactly the same as standard submissions. Please follow the same guidelines as standard submissions with the exception of noting the genre for your submission in your submission title and in your cover letter.



A Tip Jar Submission will not increase your chances of publication, but you will be helping us to manage the costs of Submittable and to continue to pay contributors. Mud Season Review has an all-volunteer staff and is a production of the Burlington Writers Workshop, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that offers free writing workshops. Thank you for your support and for sharing your work with us! We're excited to see what you've created.


Please submit one nonfiction piece of up to 6,000 words as well as a brief biography. Please also include your email and mailing addresses. Please do not submit PDF documents.

Mud Season Review’s creative nonfiction team seeks:

Memoir that goes beyond a personal story to offer insight that feels universal

and/or

Narrative-driven essays that present data, perspectives, persuasive arguments, and/or critical social topics in a palpable context

In short, we value well-polished, well-crafted stories that move us.

Send us the story that only you can tell, where subject matter isn’t the story but adds another layer to a rich and complex journey of thought. Likewise, craft decisions—point-of-view, structure, chronology, etc.—that enrich meaning and understanding, that have purpose beyond pure wit, whimsy, boundary pushing, or aesthetics.

As we read, we remain committed to founding editor Rebecca Starks’ three tenets:

A strong voice

A view from elsewhere

That it be fully realized

See what Rebecca means in this interview.

And while our word count is generous, it is not an invitation to be careless. Please be sure that every word in your submission is needed to tell your story.

Creative nonfiction accepted for publication will be fact-checked. To the extent your essay draws on research and/or reportage, our editors will ask you for documentation of your sources and for help with the fact-checking process. Citations need not be submitted with essays, but we would recommend that you keep notes and/or a bibliography on file.