Submit Your Work

Writers and artists are invited to submit original, previously unpublished works for possible publication in the VLP's annual Red Coyote journal.

Reading period deadline: DECEMBER 15, 2025.

PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES BELOW BEFORE SUBMITTING.

1. Submissions accepted only through our SUBMITTABLE only link. Submissions received via email or "snail mail" will not be read. To submit your work, click here: https://redcoyote.submittable.com/submit.

2. There is NO ENTRY FEE. 

3. Submit up to TWO short stories or creative non-fiction essays, up to THREE poems, and/or up to FIVE black-and-white drawings or photographs. Preference is given to works with a South Dakota connection, however esoteric. Submit each poem on its own page. 

4. Images and manuscripts should not be AI generated. 

5.  Our theme for this year is Unseen Spaces - As with the majority of the Midwest, South Dakota is known as part of fly-over country, leaving our patch on the Earth unvisited and unknown by others. With our theme, we challenge the idea that there are places not worthy of note.  From below the Earth’s crust, to landscapes, to cities, to a subculture, to attics and basements, and even into minds, we believe there are limitless spaces we can explore. In these areas, we connect with the world, others, and ourselves. Space is an a liminal region which bridges the gap between the greater material world and  amorphic ideas.

Due to a high submission rate, we are seeking authors who have lived, are living, or attended secondary and vocational education in South Dakota and/or the states which receive in-state tuition from the University of South Dakota. These states are: Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming. We believe this allows room for lesser-heard voices, including international students and those who chose to attend a school in South Dakota's region despite familiarity with a more "known" place.  Please include your connection to one of the states listed above in your cover letter.

6. IMPORTANT: We use a blind submission process (the editorial staff doesn't know who submitted work), so please give your name and contact information in the comments section of the Submittable page - NO NAMES OR CONTACT INFO SHOULD APPEAR ON THE SUBMISSIONS THEMSELVES, or the submissions will be disqualified.

The VLP is an award-winning, non-profit literary & creative writing student organization at the University of South Dakota. In addition to publishing the annual literary journal, Red Coyote, since the 1960's, the VLP hosts monthly readings, open mics, poetry slams, literary contests and festivals, and other literary events on the USD campus. For more info about the VLP, email projlit@usd.edu