Thank you for your interest in being a staff fiction reader for New England Review. Our staff readers, all volunteers, are responsible for reading and evaluating thousands of submissions each year. They play an essential role in our editorial process and in our mission to discover new voices in contemporary literature.

Qualifications: Our staff readers must be familiar with New England Review. Please be sure to review past and current issues before applying. Applicants must have a strong background in contemporary literature. They must have exceptional critical abilities, clear communication skills, and a strong sense of responsibility.

Requirements: Readers must treat each manuscript with respect and attention and complete their assigned work in a timely manner.

Fiction readers are assigned 20 submissions per month. They are asked to finish their assigned batch in four weeks.

Readers must create an account in Submittable in order to read submissions on a computer, phone, or tablet. They also cannot submit to the journal while they are serving as a reader.

Readers who complete their work on a regular basis are listed on our masthead and receive a complimentary print or ebook subscription to New England Review for as long as they are active as readers.

Application: The application has two steps. First we ask all applicants to provide a resume and a cover letter describing their background in contemporary literature and why they would like to read for NER. Then, if we think it’s a good match, they are asked to read and evaluate a test sample of three or four fiction submissions.