Call for Submissions of Hybrid Writing: Arkana Magazine

How to Submit – The Hybrid Issue

We seek unpublished work by established and emerging writers unaffiliated with the University of Central Arkansas.

“Hey, you got peanut butter in my chocolate!”

Two things become immediately better as one. Arkana is putting together its Hybrid issue and is looking for submissions! We want your prose poems, your cross-genre work, and your all around experimental and unclassifiable writing.

• Hybrids could include (but are not limited to): Cross-Genre/Multimedia works

• Experimental works

• Performance pieces/video essays/sonic pieces/visual poetry

• Prose poetry/flash fiction/flash nonfiction

• Autofiction

• Anything else that doesn’t fit the traditional bounds of creative writing genres!

Our submission guidelines for this issue:

– Up to 3 short pieces (in a single submission) or 1 piece no more than 20 pages.
– For this issue only: you may submit more than one piece, as long as they are different forms of hybrid.
– Include a cover letter with a brief bio and a brief description of what makes your work hybrid.

If you have pieces in more traditional genres and forms, consider saving them for the Fall 2025 submission window. We will only be accepting submissions that classify as hybrids for this special issue of Arkana Magazine. 

Submit your work here.

Writing Competitions: Sand Hills Literary Magazine

Please include only three poems per submission. All work must be typed (preferably in 12 point, Times New Roman), and single-spaced (not  including stanza breaks). Include the title of your work on your manuscript.  Do not include any identification or contact information on your manuscript, or in the file name. We do not accept previously published poetry (including self-published material in print or online at personal blogs, social media, or websites). Finalists will be selected and chosen by Sand Hills Staff.  

The winner will win $500.

Entry Fee: $12.00

Contributors should include only one short story or essay per submission. Please only send us one submission per reading period. Each short story or essay may be up to 5,000 words in length. All work must be typed (preferably in 12 point, Times New Roman), double-spaced, and paginated. Include the title of your work and the total word count on your manuscript. Do not include any identification or contact information on your manuscript, or in the file name. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in disqualification. We do not accept previously published prose (including self-published material in print or online at personal blogs, social media, or websites). Finalists will be selected and chosen by Sand Hills Staff.  

The winner will receive a $500 prize.

Entry Fee: $12.00

Deadline for both prose and poetry competitions: March 1, 2025. 

Submit your entry here. 

Call for Poetry Submissions: Rattle

Thanks for sharing your work with Rattle! All of our content comes from unsolicited submissions—we couldn't exist without you, and we want this process to be as easy and friendly as possible. For more information, see our full guidelines page.

Overview: Rattle publishes unsolicited poetry, translations, and book reviews.

• General submissions are open year-round, always welcomed, and always free.

• Rattle does not accept work that has been previously curated, in print or online—poems may be self-published on social media, blogs, or message boards, but cannot have been published in books, magazines, or similar collections open to the public. We want to be the first publisher to highlight the poems, but never want to discourage anyone from sharing their poems themselves. For more on this, read "Uncurated: The Case for a New Term of Art."

• Rattle does not accept work that has been predominantly generated by artificial intelligence. Poetry is a tool for expanding the human spirit, which means poems should be written by humans. It is possible to use A.I. toward that aim in some cases, so if used A.I. to assist in the writing process, please explain in the notes to your submission.

• Simultaneous submissions are encouraged.

• Contributors to the print magazine receive $200 and a complimentary one-year subscription. Poems for "Online" categories receive $100.

• All submissions are automatically considered for the annual Neil Postman Award for Metaphor, a $2,000 prize judged by the editors.

VERY IMPORTANT:

• Submissions cannot be revised after submission. Note that typos and minor changes never affect our decisions—proofreading is what editors are for. If you've made a significant mistake, use the internal messaging system to send a new file as an attachment.

• To withdraw a single poem from a submission of multiple poems, just log in, click on the submission, and send a message to let us know which you'd like removed. Do not withdraw the entire submission—if you do, the submission will no longer be active and we won't see it.

• Don't include any contact information in the file(s) that you submit. Your name and contact info will be included in the Submittable fields, and this will make it easier for us to read fairly.

For more detailed information about rights, rules, privacy, and payments for publication, see our full guidelines.

NOTE: Please don't query to ask if we have a reply to your submission yet. If the status says "received" or "in-progress," then it's received and in-progress. We always go as fast as we can, but we're only human and the submission flow waxes and wanes, so response times vary considerably. 

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions: 100-Foot Crow

What do we want? Speculative fiction (science fiction or fantasy) Note: We accept horror, but it must have a speculative element, whether science fiction or fantasy.

Drabbles (100-word stories EXACTLY) Note: We calculate word count using Microsoft Word. If using Google Docs, please manually count your words. It has a truly baffling definition of a word (e.g., “1,000” = 2 words).

Actual, complete stories Even though they’re only 100-words, drabbles still need all the essential elements of a story: character, setting, conflict, theme, and plot.

What do we NOT want? 

• Child abuse (of any type)

• Erotica

• Rape

• Revenge stories

• Hateful content

All the details

Simultaneous submissions: Yes! Go crazy. Submit everywhere! But if it is accepted elsewhere, please let us know.

Response time: Responses will be within 60 days. Please query after this time.

Multiple submissions: You may submit two stories per submissions period.

Note: Only one story will be accepted per author per period.

Reprints: Nope. Stories many not be previously published in any format (including on your blog, Patreon, etc.).

Formatting: Please format italics with surrounding _underscores_. You do not need to add indents or manual line breaks.

AI use: No. All work must be original and yours. Using AI or plagiarizing will get you banned forever. No redemption arc will be possible.

Contract terms: We require first worldwide English electronic rights with a 90-day exclusivity period.

Compensation: $8.00 ($0.08 per word) via PayPal.

Acceptance rate: We accept about 4% of submissions. Because of the high volume of submissions, we are unable to provide personal feedback.

Hard sells: The following are hard sells for our magazine: 

• Myth and fairy tale retellings

• Stories where the characters are real historical figures or from classic literature

• Holiday stories

• Stories where aliens destroy Earth (especially if the motive is that humans are deemed too violent)

• Stories where the resolution is an unexpected murder in the last line

• Screenplay format

• Stories where the speculative element could be removed without changing the story

But if you have a unique take on any of these that you think would knock our socks off, don’t be afraid to send it along!

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions to Anthology: Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved and Insane: Nostalgic Terror

Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved and Insane: Nostalgic Terrors
Edited by Wendy Dalrymple and Grace R. Reynolds

What We Are Seeking
A pinch of poetry, a dash of drabbles, a frisson of flash fiction… mix well together in a cauldron of nostalgia and what do you get?

A recipe that's dastardly, delectable, and pure poison.

Welcome to Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved and Insane, an anthology like no other designed to inspire, soothe, and satisfy the dark hearts of Horror lovers everywhere.

The genre stirs a sense of nostalgia for us all, through vintage television hits like Tales from the Crypt and Elvira’s Movie Macabre, to famed comics such as Adventures into Terror and Weird Tales. Give us your nightmares, your childhood frights, your sleepaway camp mysteries. Tell us how Clive Barker tricked you into a ride on The Midnight Meat Train or which episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark made you sleep with the light on. When you stare into the shadows, what do you see? What whispers and caresses your ears with shadowy tendrils? Where does your mind go as you conjure unimaginable apparitions just beyond your reach?

We want to know… when did Horror take root for you?

Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane: Nostalgic Terrors is a collection of original fiction, poems, and essays where new and seasoned horror writers recount their first experiences with the genre. A mix of terror, inspiration, comfort, and reassurance, this anthology offers a powerful experience for those who seek to create and consume stories that transcend the page.

Submission Window
December 14, 2024 - December 31, 2024

Submit to:

poisonedsoup@brigidsgatepress.com

Word Count
Poems: Up to 32 lines
Drabbles: 100 words
Flash Fiction: 500-1000 words
Non-Fiction: Up to 1k words

Payment
8¢ per word for prose
$50 per poem or drabble
Paid via PayPal, along with an ebook contributor’s copy of the anthology

Please Do Not Send
Absolutely no AI. Anyone caught submitting AI written material will be boiled in our cauldron.
No graphic rape/sexual assault scenes.
No splatterpunk, extreme horror or toilet humor.
Please use your best judgment!

Reprints
No

Simultaneous Submissions
Yes

Multiple Submissions
No

Additional Information
The anthology will be a mix of 25% solicited stories and 75% stories selected from the open call submission period.

This anthology is open to all writers, but we strongly encourage writers from the LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and other marginalized communities to submit.

*Each submission will be received through a third party and assigned a number to allow for blind readings by the editors. No nepotism here, horror friends!

More information and submission link here.

Call for Submissions: The Meadow

The Meadow publishes work each summer from beginning and experienced writers and artists. We are one of the few literary journals in the country that publishes our students alongside writers such as Campbell McGrath, Robert Wrigley, Kim Barnes, Michael Branch, Toni Graham, Bob Hicok, Joe Wilkins, Alyson Hagy, David Kirby, Joseph Fasano, Susan Deer Cloud, Khaled Hosseini, Susan Gubernat, Adrian C. Louis, Lisa Lewis, Donald Revell, and Ellen Hopkins.

Writing from The Meadow has been reprinted in the Utne Reader. We have received a special mention in poetry from the Pushcart Prize anthology, and John Gifford’s essay, “Decoy,” was selected as a “Notable Essay” in both The Best American Sports Writing anthology and The Best American Essay anthology of 2019.

We are also a 100% free journal. Issues are free on campus and distributed freely around the Reno area. If we accept your work for publication, payment is two free copies.

Between Aug. 15 and Jan. 15 of each year, we accept poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and cover artwork.

All submissions must be uploaded through our submission manager system

 Submission Guidelines

We welcome submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and cover artwork. Your name may not appear anywhere on the pieces submitted, as we review all submissions without names.

All submissions must be accompanied by contact information (name, address, telephone and email) and a brief (less than 50 words) biography; include the title(s) of each piece submitted.

We do not accept previously published work, but we will consider simultaneous submissions and expect to be notified immediately of acceptance elsewhere.

We will accept up to five poems, photos or art pieces, or one work of prose (fiction or nonfiction) from each author or artist. Prose may not exceed 5,000 words.

Writing Competition: Ellen Meloy Grant for Desert Writers

There is a $15 fee to apply. The application requires a project proposal, a biographical statement, and a writing sample of no more than 10 pages. Please submit all materials in one document.

If your application contains any identifying information (name, web links, article citations, bibliographical data, etc.) we will ask you to revise your application and resubmit. The resubmitted application must still reach us by midnight on January 15. Thank you for following the award guidelines to ensure the integrity and fairness of our selection process.

Please note: The submission confirmation you see after hitting the submit button (and please only click it ONCE) is the ONLY confirmation you will receive. You will be notified in early spring of this year's winner and finalists.

SUBMISSIONS OPEN NOVEMBER 1. Submit by January 15 to be considered for a $5,000 grant. 

GRANT GUIDELINES

The Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers grants one $5,000 award in the spring of each year. Only proposals for literary or creative nonfiction book projects will be considered. No fiction or poetry proposals will be reviewed.

 The Fund supports writing that combines an engaging individual voice, literary sensibility, imagination and intellectual rigor to bring new perspectives and deeper meaning to the body of desert literature. All applications will be reviewed through a peer-panel process.

Considerations in the selection process will be:

• the writing sample’s artistic excellence and desert literacy,

• the strength of the proposed book project,

• the biography’s ability to demonstrate a history and future of writing and desert experience.

• We encourage emerging, mid-career or established writers in the field of literary nonfiction to apply

• Financial and other kinds of need, the body of past work, geographic location of the applicant, academic career, professional reputation, etcetera, are not criteria for receipt of a grant.

We do NOT fund:

• Individuals who have received an Ellen Meloy Grant within the last five years

• Poetry or fiction proposals

• Children's literature

More information and application forms here.