TR accepts work from international and Canadian writers alike, though we prioritize writers based in Toronto. We’re looking for voicey, argument-driven writing by both emerging and established writers. We recommend that prospective contributors read our site to get a sense of TR’s style and subject matter.
Pitches should briefly (200-300 words) outline your idea, why your piece is timely, and why it is well-suited for TR. Please also provide a bit of background on who you are as a writer, including any links to previous work. Pitch emails should be sent with the following subject line: “PITCH (Section): [Brief title/description].”
We regret that we cannot accept pitches for poetry at this time. We do not publish visual art, photo essays, or lists. With the exception of fiction, please do not submit completed works before pitching. We do not accept pitches or submissions that are under review elsewhere. Pitches and submissions will receive a response within 6 weeks.
Our current rates are $150 for published works of prose and $125 for interviews.
Send pitches to reviews@thetorontoreview.ca, fiction@thetorontoreview.ca, or essays@thetorontoreview.ca.
A TR review should be idiosyncratic, responsive but not reactive, historicized, contextualized, and showcase a clarity of vision and taste. We like essayistic reviews that provoke new questions, question stable answers, and introduce new ways of reading.
TR welcomes reviews of forthcoming texts that thoughtfully engage with the present but that also outlast it. A TR review offers a rich occasion to think through form, to read closely yet think broadly—to not just critique but reveal. Though we focus on literary fiction and literary nonfiction, we also occasionally cover film and are open to considering pitches for reviews of works in other mediums. Review pitches should precede the text's Canadian publication date by at least 3 months. TR typically publishes reviews within four months of the work’s publication; however, we also occasionally accept reviews that revisit older works with a new perspective. We do not review self-published works.
Completed submissions will not be considered. Reviews should not exceed 3,000 words.
Send pitches to reviews@thetorontoreview.ca.
Toronto Review’s is looking for fiction with an advanced sense of style and a developed voice, attentive to its own language, rhythm, and logic. Stories should be both well-considered and exploratory, interested in both narrative and conceptual propulsion.
TR accepts both original short fiction, as well as occasional excerpts from upcoming novellas or novels. Pieces should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words.
Only full drafts, not pitches, will be considered for publication. Please only submit one story at a time. Due to the volume of submissions we are not always able to respond to each piece. If you have not heard back in more than eight weeks, please assume we are not able to publish your story.
Send submissions to fiction@thetorontoreview.ca.
Toronto Review invites essays of literary and cultural criticism. A Toronto Review essay plays with form and can have a narrative thrust; it is sharp, argument-driven and/or ekphrastic, prioritizing deep deliberation over surface spectacle; it can centre the author’s perspective and sensations; it can assume a range of tenors and techniques; but it must always be critical. Writing by experts in their field should be accessible for Toronto Review’s generalist readership while still being rigorous and innovative.
Though undergirded by the imbrication of aesthetics and politics, a TR essay is neither journalism nor news. It does not seek to speedily churn out hot takes and takedowns, but to provide a thoughtful analysis of language, art, and power, amongst other topics.
If your prospective piece provides sustained engagement with one or a few recent or timely texts, please pitch instead to the Reviews editors.
Completed submissions will not be considered. Essays should be between 2,000 and 3,000 words.
Send pitches to essays@thetorontoreview.ca.