Submitting to the Sigma Tau Delta Journals? It’s Easier Than You Think!

If you’re like me, you joined Sigma Tau Delta because you heard the words “English Honor Society” and instantly thought, “They sound like my kind of people! Where can I sign up?”

You also might have joined Sigma Tau Delta because your chapter officers talked about the many opportunities that are available to you as a member. Scholarship opportunities, internship opportunities, and the opportunity to go to the yearly convention all make joining sound like a blast.

As a senior who’s been a member of Sigma Tau Delta for years, I’m here to tell you: all of those things are just as cool as they sound, but you have to apply for them to get them. Luckily, applying is easy, and it’s worth it.

My first application with Sigma Tau Delta was for the 2023 Convention. I sent in a paper about The Tempest, and I was lucky enough to be accepted. While there, I got the chance to see in-person many of the other opportunities available with Sigma Tau Delta. I saw my new friends win scholarships and get their writing recognized, and I also got my hands on a 2014 copy of the Sigma Tau Delta Review. That was what inspired me to submit to the Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle—sharing your work at convention is amazing, but getting it printed in a literary journal is amazing in a different way.

If you’ve submitted a piece to convention, then the process to submit to the journals is very similar. If you haven’t submitted to either, then what are you waiting for?

The 2025 call for submissions opened on March 10, and closes on April 7, 2025, so your time to submit is now!

The process is simple. First, find your piece. If you’re in an English or Writing class, you probably already have something that you can submit. The submission formatting and length guidelines are all listed clearly on the website. Rectangle accepts fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and Review accepts essays of all sorts: critical essays, essays on pedagogy, and essays on rhetoric and composition. For my Rectangle submission, I revised an experimental piece of creative writing that I’d written for a workshop class to make sure that it met the word count, and uploaded it to the AwardSpring website.

After you’ve uploaded, then it’s time to wait. This is always the hardest part of submitting your work, and I recommend distracting yourself—go to your chapter meetings and get involved with English events on campus to stay busy!

Once you get the email with your results, the process is nearly over. If you’re accepted, you’ll send in a brief bio and headshot, and within a month you’ll be emailed to approve any minor edits to your story.

That’s it! All you have to do after that is wait until the journals come out! Then you can email the link to your family and friends and tell them to look at the awesome collection of writing that you’ve helped make.

Miranda Miller
Author of “Where is your Treasure?,” published in the 2024 Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle
Alpha Tau Iota Chapter
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Journal Submissions

Annually, Sigma Tau Delta publishes two journals to distribute the best writing and criticism produced by active members of the Society.

Undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled through the spring semester and are members of active Sigma Tau Delta chapters are invited to submit their work to the Sigma Tau Delta Review and the Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle. Chapter Advisors, faculty members, alumni, and honorary members are not eligible to submit.

Submissions for the Sigma Tau Delta journals are accepted via AwardSpring during the Spring Awards Cycle (March 10 – April 7, 2025, at 4 p.m. CT).

Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle (founded in 1931) is an annual journal of creative writing—fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Submissions should not exceed 2,500 words. Members whose works are published also may participate in a reading at the annual Sigma Tau Delta convention.

Sigma Tau Delta Review (founded in 2005) is an annual journal that publishes critical essays on literature and rhetoric/composition and essays devoted to pedagogical topics. Submissions should not exceed 3,000 words, excluding notes and works cited. Critical essays follow the style guidelines as defined in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (latest edition).

Publication and Awards

These journals are refereed, with jurors from around the world selecting works to be published. The journals have had illustrious head judges including Jane Brox, Henri Cole, Jim Daniels, W.D. Earhardt, CJ Hribal, Kyoko Mori, Lisa Russ Spaar, and Mako Yoshikawa.

The Sigma Tau Delta journals are catalogued with the Library of Congress.

These publications reach chapters worldwide and also honor the best writing in each category, with five awards (each $500):

Award categories:

E. Nelson James Poetry Award
Eleanor B. North Poetry Award
Frederic Fadner Critical Essay Award
Herbert L. Hughes Short Story Award
Elizabeth Holtze Creative Nonfiction Award

Claim your copy of the 2025 Sigma Tau Delta Journals to read samples of the quality of work habitually accepted for publication.

Journal Submissions Q&A

Join us for an online Q&A session with Carie King, the Managing Editor of Society Publications, to ask any questions you have. The meeting link will be open on Monday, March 31, from 7 to 8 p.m. CT.

Join the meeting