NewPages Blog :: Where to Submit

Stop by the NewPages Blog every Friday to find writing contests and calls for submissions from literary magazines, independent publishers, creative writing programs, and more, to help you figure out where to submit your work.

Call :: Fleas on the Dog is Still Open for Issue 6

Reaching out takes many forms. We seek short fiction, poetry, plays, screenplays, and nonfiction for our upcoming Issue 6. You might be isolated but the world is at your keyboard—let’s connect. No, this isn’t a cheeky call like our previous ones. We don’t think that’s appropriate given the pandemic. But our enthusiasm and love of GOOD WRITING is unchanged and yes, we are still the crazy Dude Sextet. We want your junk and we want it now. See fleasonthedog.com for guidelines. Runs April 2-30.

Contest :: Carve Magazine 2020 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest

Carve Magazine flierCarve Magazine‘s Raymond Carver Short Story Contest is open April 1 – May 15. Accepting submissions from all over the world, but story must be in English. Max 10,000 words. Prizes: $2,000, $500, $250, + 2 Editor’s Choice $125 each. All 5 winners published in Fall 2020 issue and reviewed by lit agencies. Entry fee $17 online/$15 mailed. Guest judge Pam Houston. www.carvezine.com/raymond-carver-contest/

Contest :: Black Warrior Review Seeks Work for 2020 Writing Contest

Deadline: September 1, 2020
Biannual print journal Black Warrior Review seeks 2020 contest submissions. Winners will receive publication and cash prizes ($500 for flash and $1,000 for poetry, fiction, and CNF). Judges: Mayukh Sen (nonfiction), Paul Tran (poetry), C Pam Zhang (flash), and Lucy Corin (fiction). Open until 9/1. Submission fee: $20. Complete information available at bwr.ua.edu.

Fiction Southeast Extends Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize Deadline

Good news, writers! You now have until April 30 to submit your flash fiction of 1,500 words or less to literary magazine Fiction Southeast. They have extended the deadline of their Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize from March 31. Winner receives $200 and publication in the journal. All finalists considered for publication. $10 entry fee. Check out their website for full guidelines.

Contest :: Baltimore Review Wants Short Shorts for Summer Contest

Something new: No theme for our summer contest! Subject matter is entirely up to you. Surprise us. But keep it short. Three categories: flash fiction, flash creative nonfiction, prose poem. We want to be amazed at how you abracadabra a sprinkling of words into magic. And maybe be a little jealous of how you do that. One writer in each category will be awarded a $300 prize and published in the summer issue. All entries considered for publication. Total word limit for each category is 1,000. See www.baltimorereview.org for complete details. Deadline: May 31, 2020. Fee: $5.

Contest :: Killer Nashville Wants to Know if You’re a Killer Writer

Killer Nashville 2020 ContestsThe 2020 Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference will take place August 20-23 in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a premier forum for all literature incorporating mystery, thriller, suspense, or true crime. Scholarships are available! Apply today. Killer Nashville is also seeking both published and unpublished works for its annual contests. The Claymore Award is an open competition for unpublished works open to entries through April 1. The Silver Falchion Award is an open competition for works published in 2019 open to entries through June 1. For complete details including prize information, visit www.KillerNashville.com.

Call :: BALLOONS Lit. Journal Seeks Work to Bring Warmth to Young Readers

Deadline: April 11, 2020
Many parts of the world have shut down under the threats of COVID-19. Schools are suspended, gatherings are discouraged. In this difficult period of time, BALLOONS Lit. Journal is seeking poetry, short stories, and artwork that brings warmth to our young readers. Works may praise the medical officers, mourn for the deceased, encourage the infected, cheer up the children staying home, show support to educators, reflect love and humanity or anything that brings out positive energy, the energy everybody needs now. Visit www.balloons-lit-journal.com for submission details. Stay healthy, stay happy!

April 2020 Writing Contests

Have nothing better to do and want to build up your submissions calendar? Don’t forget to check out our Big List of Writing & Book Contests. We have a whole year’s worth of contests that we work hard to keep updated for you all. April is literally around the corner . . . so why not start there?

Call :: The Revolution (Relaunch) Wants Your Creative Activism

Deadline: Rolling
Founded in July of 2019, The Revolution (Relaunch) is a creative resurgence of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s 1868 publication, The Revolution, which was the official newspaper of the National Women’s Suffrage Association. Like any good 19th century newspaper (or any good 21st century zine), we publish a range of styles—memoir, poetry, cultural criticism, interviews, and profiles featuring activists and grassroots organizations. Our focus is feminism in the broadest sense—in other words, we’re interested in “creative activism” that voices the marginalized and/or criticizes corrupt authority. Submit one piece of prose under 750 words, three poems, or 5 images to [email protected].

Call :: True Stories about Winter Holidays

Christmas in the Air CoverDeadline: April 30, 2020
It may be April, but Christmas is already in the air at Chicken Soup for the Soul. Share your winter holiday memories and traditions with our readers, from the heartwarming to the hilarious. Everything from Thanksgiving, to Hanukkah, to Christmas, to New Year’s. Be sure the stories are “Santa safe” so we don’t spoil the magic for precocious readers! If we publish your piece, you will be paid $200 plus 10 free copies of the book. Writing guidelines and more info at www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics.

Reader, Writer, Editor – Driftwood Press Has You Covered

Village of Knives by Helli FangDriftwood Press has plenty on the horizon for both readers and writers.

Writers looking to hone their craft can benefit from the two seminars Driftwood Press offers—Editors & Writers: The Path to Publication, and a seminar for Erasure Poetry. These are both conducted online and have plenty of information to help guide writers and editors better their work. The deadline to apply for each of these is April 30.

Readers can now order copies of Helli Fang’s new chapbook Village of Knives from the press. Chen Chen says of the collection, “The poems here listen to immigrant life and dream, to gendered expectation and subversion, to desire, to the body’s surging, briny rhythms.”

If you’re interested in having your own poetry read by the editors, consider submitting your full-length manuscript. Submissions are currently open for the rest of the month, so act fast! If you do end up missing this submission period, there are still two contests currently open until July.

Whether you’re looking to learn, read, or submit, Driftwood Press has you covered!

What Are You Reading?

What are you reading?

We’d love to hear about what you’ve been reading. Whether it’s a new issue of your favorite literary magazine, the book you’ve just added to your shelf, or one piece of poetry or prose that really spoke to you, we’re looking forward to your recommendations.

Share the love

What have you connected with recently? Who said those words that kept you going through another day? How have you re-read a favorite?

Send us an email with a brief, previously unpublished review (200 words maximum) and we’ll share it with our users on our blog and across our social media accounts.

NewPages seeks reviews of contemporary literary books from small presses and new magazine issues or work. Contemporary = within the past year. Literary = no ‘popular genre’ works (fantasy, thriller, sci fi, murder mystery, etc., unless it is from a publisher we list on our site).

Click here to find example posts.

NewPages practices these ethical boundaries: 

  • No reviews from publishers promoting their own titles. 
  • No gratuitous promotion of friends, family, current/past teachers, publishers you are waiting to hear back from, etc. 
  • If you know the author, editor, and/or publisher but believe your review is a fair critique, please disclose that relationship. 
  • We will Google names, and if they show up together, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do. 
  • We do not support publishers requiring authors to provide “cross promotion” of other’s works published with them. 

If your submission is accepted, we will clean up minor errors, and it will appear on the NewPages blog within the next two weeks and shared via our social media. 

There is no payment at this time, just the standard fame and glory.

Have questions?

Contact our editors — [email protected]

Where to send your review

Send your guest blog post review to [email protected] with “Review” included in the subject line.

Identify your relationship to the author, editor, and/or publisher. If there is no relationship, say, “No relationship.” If you can’t say this, see the note above. 

Include the title of the publication, author, publisher, and publication date.

Include a short bio (under 50 words) written in the third person with any relevant personal links including your social media tags.

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Call :: The Voices Project Poetry & Short Prose in Response

Deadline: May 15, 2020
The Voices Project is taking submissions of poetry or prose in response to the current global health crisis. We believe self expression can be therapeutic for many people and promote empathy during uncertain times. We are interested in hearing your perspective, your reality, and also writings of hope. What did people do to help you or others? What acts of compassion have you witnessed? Prose, no longer than 350 words. Include a short thoughtful bio (160 words or less) with your submission. Multiple submissions welcome, no more than 2. We do not take anonymous submissions. Submit through our website:
www.thevoicesproject.org/submit.html
.

Home with the Kids? Write!

YA Guide There have been plenty of great resources shared around the web recently for keeping your kids occupied while schools are currently closed, and we’ve got another one to throw your way.

Our Young Writers Guide to Publications and our Young Writers Guide to Contests are great ways to get the creativity flowing and imaginations stimulated, and they may even secure a little bit of quiet time for your own working or writing.

There are a handful of contests deadlines left this month, which is a good place to start. Plus, you can find plenty of publications by young writers to read in between writing and submitting.

Call :: This is What America Looks Like Anthology

This is What America Looks Like coverCalling poets & fiction writers from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (and all those who have links to these areas), The Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s first anthology in 25 years is open for submissions—This is What America Looks Like—and we want your poetry and short fiction. We are a 47-year old nonprofit, cooperative, all-volunteer press. We are looking for new and established writers, a cross-section of diverse voices, to write on America today. Be provocative, be personal or political (or both), we are looking for writing that helps us see and reflect on this moment we are living in. More information at www.washingtonwriters.org. Submit at wwph.submittable.com/submit. Deadline: June 1.

Call :: Adanna Literary Journal Seeks Work on Mothering in Times of Crisis

Deadline: Friday, May 15
Adanna Literary Journal is a women focused print publication. We are seeking essay, poetry, and creative nonfiction that speaks towards the experience of mothering in a time of crisis—caring for children, especially those with children in college returning from affected areas, those with younger children exposed to media and the anxiety of school shut-downs, as well as women who are caring for elderly relatives or those in the medical profession. To submit, please go to adannajournal.blogspot.com/p/submission-guidelines.html. The subject line should read “Special Issue” to distinguish this from our annual issue.

Call :: The Compassion Anthology Seeks Work on Hope & the Human Spirit

Deadline: April 15, 2020
What is this thing, hope, the tenacious part of us that makes us rise not only to the occasion, but out of bed? Dickinson acknowledges its perseverance (“never stops at all”), but sees it as a separate entity (“Yet, never, in extremity/ it asked a crumb of me”) exempt from the human element, perhaps divine. For the spring edition of The Compassion Anthology, we are looking for work that inspires this universal and at the same time intensely personal attribute without being sentimental or cliché. Hope and the Human Spirit Deadline: April 15. Details at www.compassionanthology.com/submission-guidelines.html.

Call :: Brush Talks Summer 2020 Issue

Deadline: Rolling
Brush Talks is a journal of creative nonfiction, photography, and poetry related to China. We are currently seeking submissions for our next issue, to be published in the summer of 2020. This can take many forms: general essays, travel essays, profiles, memoir, and narrative nonfiction. We seek submissions about places, people, history, culture, the arts, science and technology—anything related to China that is well written, creative, and true (we do not publish fiction). No submission fee. Please visit our website for more information and read the guidelines before submitting. brushtalks.com

Call :: Hamilton Arts & Letters Issue 14.2

Deadline: November 15, 2020
Science is among the most creative of human endeavors. From ancient depictions of scientists and scientific phenomena to contemporary graphic novel formats, from Frankenstein to recent best-selling novels dealing with such themes as pharmacology and climate change, and from memoirs on scientific discovery to essays on “life in the lab,” the people and ideas of science continue to capture our imaginations. We seek work that incorporates ideas, language, characters, main or sub-themes, images, and artwork related to STEM expansively imagined and rendered. Full call: halmagazine.wordpress.com/submit/submit-to-hal-magazine. Send submissions or queries to [email protected].

Call :: The Absurdist Fiction Magazine Relaunch

Deadline: Tuesday, March 31st
The Absurdist Fiction Magazine is an online publication of strange and surreal fiction, featuring a new story every week. We are looking for short fiction (750-1,250 words) that is as engaging as it is bizarre. It can be farcical, unsettling, or just a little off-center—check out previously published work to get a sense of what fits. If you are interested in submitting, please review the guidelines at absurdistmag.com/submissions and show us what goes on in there.

Contest :: Sandeen Prize in Poetry 2020

Deadline: April 30, 2020
The Sandeen Prize in Poetry is open to any author, with the exception of ND graduates, who has published at least one collection of poetry. We pay special attention to second volumes. A $15 administrative fee should accompany submissions. Make checks payable to University of Notre Dame. The volumes of the Sandeen Prize will be published in trade paperback format. The author will be offered a standard contract with the University of Notre Dame Press. There will be a $1,000 prize, a $500 award, and a $500 advance against royalties from the Notre Dame Press. Submission information on program website: english.nd.edu/creative-writing/.

Call :: The Voices Project

Submissions accepted year-round.
The Voices Project (www.thevoicesproject.org), a literary journal, mainly for women and girls, is taking submissions of poetry or prose. We are currently looking to publish the work of poets who
have not yet been published on this site. Prose, no longer than 250 words. Include a short thoughtful bio (160 words or less) with your submission. Multiple submissions welcome, no more than 2. We no longer take anonymous submissions. Check our site and see what we may be missing and submit something to that accord, if inclined. Submit through our website: 
www.thevoicesproject.org/submit.html
.

THEMA’s 2020-21 Upcoming Themes

THEMA Spring 2020 issue coverSince 1990, literary magazine THEMA has been publishing issues focusing on unique themes. Their latest issue is themed “Six Before Eighty” and features work by Matthew J. Spireng, J. J. Steinfeld, Cherie Bowers, H.B. Salzer, James “Jack” Penha, Margo Peterson, Alison Arntz, Lisa Timpf, Lynda Fox, Yuan Changming, Georgia A. Hubley, Annie Percik, Robert Wooten, and Larry Lefkowitz.

Interested in trying your hand at writing short stories, short-shorts, and poems on a theme? Check out the upcoming themes and deadlines.

  • The Tiny Red Suitcase (July 1, 2020)
  • The Other Virginia (November 1, 2020)
  • A Postcard from the Past (March 1, 2021)

Call :: Blink-Ink Road Trip Issue

Those same old four walls getting you down? Nothing going on, and not likely to? A road trip is the only cure. Time to get out of Dodge! So where to go, or does it matter? The time to pack up and go is now. Tell us your tails of the trails, your songs of the highway, be they real, imagined, or seemingly impossible in stories approximately 50 words in length. Send your submissions in the body of an email to: [email protected]. No poetry, attachments, or bios please. Submissions are open now through April 15th, 2020. www.blink-ink.org

Contest :: december 2020 Curt Johnson Prose Awards

december Winter 2020 LitPak flier

december magazine seeks submissions for our 2020 Curt Johnson Prose Awards in fiction and creative nonfiction. Judges: Dorothy Allison (fiction) & Brittney Cooper (nonfiction). Prizes each genre: $1,500 & publication (winner); $500 & publication (honorable mention). All finalists will be listed in the 2020 Fall/Winter awards issue. $20 entry fee includes a copy of the awards issue. Submit 1 story or essay up to 8,000 words from March 1 to May 1. For complete guidelines visit our website decembermag.org/2020-curt-johnson-prose-awards/.

Contest :: Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry 2020

Lynx House Press 2020 Poetry Prize flier

Deadline: June 1, 2020
Lynx House Press seeks submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts for the annual Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry. The winner will receive $2,000 and publication. Entries must be at least 48 pages in length. The fee for submitting is $28, and includes a copy of a book from our catalog. Previous judges include James Tate, Yusef Komunyakaa, Dorianne Laux, Dara Wier, Melissa Kwasny, and Robert Wrigley. lynxhousepress.submittable.com/submit

Contest :: Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest 2020

Deadline: April 30, 2020
28th year, sponsored by Winning Writers and Duotrope. $8,000 in cash prizes, including two top awards of $3,000 each. Seeks short stories and essays up to 6,000 words each. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Fee per entry is $20. Final judge: Dennis Norris II, assisted by Lauren Singer Ledoux. Winning Writers is one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” (Writer’s Digest). See guidelines, past winners, and enter online at winningwriters.com/tomstory.

Call :: The Red Wheelbarrow Review Summer 2020 Issue

The Red Wheelbarrow Review, formerly Red Savina Review (est. 2013), is open for submissions. The editors have a fresh focus in line with poet Rich Murphy’s concern that literature is in need of “prophetic voices now.” We seek poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction where word meets spirit in a commingling of the sacred and mundane. We have published writers such as Sharman Apt Russell, winner of the John Burroughs Medal; Rich Murphy, winner of the Gival Press Poetry Prize; Khanh Ha, winner of the Robert Watson Literary Prize; bestselling memoirist Gleah Powers; and many others. Submission guidelines at theredwheelbarrowreview.com/submissions/.

Contest :: Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest 2020

Deadline: March 31, 2020
First prize: $1,000. Second: $100. Three honorable mentions: $25 each. Entry fee: $8. We are open to any subject, style, genre, or length. What do we want? We don’t know until we see it! Simply send your best, most powerful, unpublished work by email or snail mail. All five finalists will be published online in the June/July 2020 issue of Gemini. Both new and experienced writers have won our contests. Over four dozen winners/finalists may be read online. All entries are read blind so everyone gets an equal chance. We look forward to reading your work! Enter at www.gemini-magazine.com/shortstorycomp.html.

Contest :: Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest 2020

Deadline: April 1, 2020
19th year. Free contest sponsored by Winning Writers and Duotrope. $2,250 in cash prizes, including a top prize of $1,000. Both published and unpublished work welcome. All entries that win cash prizes will be published on WinningWriters.com. Final judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer Ledoux. Winning Writers is one of “101 Best Websites for Writers” (Writer’s Digest). See guidelines, past winners, and submit one humor poem online at winningwriters.com/wergle.

Call :: Nzuri Spring 2020 Issue

Nzuri logo

The objective of Nzuri (meaning Beautiful/Fine in Swahili) is to promote the artistic, aesthetic, creative, and scholarly work consistent with the values and ideals of Umoja community. Additionally, we accept work responsive to the experience of the African and African-American diaspora. African American and other writers, digital media content creators, photographers, and artists are urged to submit their best work for consideration. Check out our current call for submissions for Nzuri‘s Spring 2020 issue at nzuriumojacommunity.submittable.com. See our current issue online at Nzurijournal.com.

Call :: Transference 2020 Reading Period

Transference is now accepting submissions of poems translated from—or inspired by—poetry originally written in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Latin and Classical Greek, with accompanying commentary. Submissions relating to the theme of vision/seeing are especially welcome. For this issue we also welcome essays on the translation of poetry. Deadline: April 30. Read current and past issues online and submit at scholarworks.wmich.edu/transference/. Transference is peer-edited in a blind submission process. Published by the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Western Michigan University. Write to the editors at [email protected].

Contest :: The Masters Review Anthology IX

The Masters Review Anthology IX Contest flier

Deadline: March 29, 2020
The Masters Review opens submissions to produce our annual anthology, a collection of ten stories and essays written by the best emerging authors. Our aim is to showcase ten writers who we believe will continue to produce great work. The ten winners are nationally distributed in a printed book with their stories and essays exposed to top agents, editors, and authors across the country. This year, the anthology contest will be judged by Rick Bass. We’re looking for your best work up to 7000 words. Please note you must not have published a novel-length work at the time of submission. mastersreview.com/anthology/

Contest :: Flying South 2020

$2,000 in prizes. From March 1 to May 31, Flying South 2020, a publication of Winston Salem Writers, will be accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. One of the three winners will receive The WSW President’s Favorite award and win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website: www.wswriters.org.

Prime Number Magazine February/March 53-Word Story Contests

Prime Number Mag logo

Every month, Prime Number Magazine (published by Press 53) offers a free contest, inviting writers to respond to a prompt in 53 words.

February’s prompt was: This month, the Kansas City Chiefs return to the Super Bowl after a fifty-year run of coming up short. Vegas will run the numbers and the 49ers will run the ball. Many expect the Chiefs to run the table. In this spirit, let’s run with the word that has the most dictionary definitions.

The winning story by Elizabeth Barton will appear in the next issue of Prime Number Magazine, releasing April 1.

You still have a couple weeks if you’d like to submit to the March 53-Word Contest (deadline March 21). This month’s prompt: On March 17, people everywhere, regardless of ancestry, will wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. Green can also mean someone is envious, sick, or inexperienced. Green fruit is not ripe. The Green Party protects our environment. And putting well on a green can lead to a pro golfer winning a lot of green.

Find full submission details, check out past winners, and see what’s up with the Prime Number Magazine Awards for Poetry & Short Fiction at the journal’s website.

Call :: Fleas on the Dog Issue 6

We’re the site your teacher warned you about! The no frills brown bag in your face thumb your nose online psychotropolis for the literarily insane. Get committed today! The infamous dude sextet is bustlin’, hustlin’, itchin’, and twitchin’ for QUALITY short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, and screenplays that smell ripe and kick ass for our hopefully offensive upcoming Issue 6. If we like what you submit we’ll be all over you; if we don’t we promise to be gentle, especially if it’s your first time. See our Guidelines for details: fleasonthedog.com. Submissions open March 1-April 30.

Call :: Flexible Press 22 Under 22 Anthology

Deadline: April 30, 2020
This anthology seeks to offer a channel for people under 22 to talk to older people about their experiences and concerns. We are looking for short stories, poetry, essay, memoir, from people under 22 discussing what worries you? What angers you, or delights you? In other words: what’s on your mind? Submit up to three poems, or one short story, essay, or memoir up to 5000-words. Art and graphic stories are more than welcome, but the book will in black and white. Everyone under 22 is welcome. We are especially interested in voices from undeserved communities too often left out of the discussion. www.flexiblepub.com/22_under_22

Contest :: Jacar Press Book & Chapbook Contests 2020

Jacar Press Winter LitPak flier

Jacar Press, A Community Active Press, publishes poetry chapbooks, full-length collections, anthologies, and an award-winning online magazine, One which features Pulitzer Prize winners and new poets from 6 continents. Book sales support progressive organizations, including groups that address racism, gender discrimination, immigration issues, women’s initiatives, violence and abuse, prisoner reintegration programs, and others. Jacar Press offers low-cost workshops featuring writers like Lynn Emanuel, Patricia Spears Jones, Dorianne Laux, Li-Young Lee, Marilyn Nelson, Ilya Kaminsky, etc. Chapbook and full-length contests open through April 30. Past judges have included Chana Bloch, Toi Derricotte, Hélène Cardona, Lola Haskins, Rickey Laurentiis, Dorianne Laux, Jamaal May, and others. jacarpress.com/submissions/#contests