Call for Submissions: Fieldnotes

 

FIELDNOTES is inviting submissions for its eighth issue!

DEADLINE: 9 March 2026

We are searching for fresh departures. We are seeking submissions of text and visual material across all forms, including but not limited to: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, interview pitches, conversations, collaborations, work-in-translation, photography, drawing and collage. We welcome non-conforming submissions, works between text and image, experimental forms and poetic innovations. Writers and artists anywhere in the world are encouraged to submit.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES AND MATERIALS:

FN008 OPEN CALL GUIDELINES (PDF)
FN008 OPEN CALL FAQs (PDF)
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FORM (LINK)

Contributors selected from the Open Call will be paid a fee (between £150-£250) for original content not published elsewhere. We will work collaboratively with contributors to develop and edit all works before publication.

The best way to get a sense of the kind of work we publish is to buy a previous issue! Copies and concessions are available in our online shop.

SUBMISSION FEE:

£4 / FREE for those on low incomes or unwaged / FREE for subscribers
You can claim the cost of submission as a discount against any purchase from our online shop using the discount code FN008SD at checkout.

SUBMISSION FORMATS: 

Text submissions: maximum 6000 words or 15 pages in total, in Word or PDF format.
Image submissions: maximum 15 images in total, maximum size 2 MB, images can be sent in JPEG or PDF format.
Mixed submissions of text and image are welcome.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES AND MATERIALS:

FN008 OPEN CALL GUIDELINES (PDF)
FN008 OPEN CALL FAQs (PDF)
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FORM (LINK)

Contributors selected from the Open Call will be paid a fee (between £150-£250) for original content not published elsewhere. We will work collaboratively with contributors to develop and edit all works before publication.

The best way to get a sense of the kind of work we publish is to buy a previous issue! Copies and concessions are available in our online shop.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

Please pay the submission fee here or request a concessionary code by emailing

info@fieldnotes.site

• Include the completed order number in the subject line of your submission email.

• Title each submission file with your name and a file number (example: Jane_Smith1.jpeg). This is important! Otherwise we can’t track your submission once it enters our database.

• Send your submission via email as attachments to:

submissions@fieldnotes.site

• Please send submissions as attachments not as images embedded in the body of the email or as links for Wetransfer, Google Drive or similar.

Complete and submit an Equal Opportunities Form online.

Call for Submissions to Anthology on Theme of "Wonder and Whimsy": Wandering Words Media

Wandering Words 

Deadline: May 30, 2026 

What to Submit

We are currently accepting short stories, poetry, visual art, and creative nonfiction. Creative nonfiction includes genres like memoir and creative essay. Very Short Prose: Writers can submit up to three pieces of fiction or creative nonfiction of 500 words or less.

Short Prose: Writers can submit one short story or short piece of creative nonfiction of between 500 and 5000 words.

Poetry: Poets can submit up to five poems, all in the same document. Each poem should be no longer than two pages.

Visual Art: Artists can submit up to five pieces. Photography, painting, drawing, digital art, collage, photos of sculpture, fiber art, and all other kinds of visual art are welcome, as long as they can be presented in an image. Note that, except for art chosen for the cover, all art will be printed in black and white in the print copies of the anthology. JPEG or PDF format preferred.

How to Submit

• Work should be double spaced and in Times New Roman, 12 point font. Work should be submitted as a PDF or Word document. We are unable to accept submissions in any other form (Pages file, Scrivener file, etc.).
• We accept submissions via our Google form. Not following our submission guidelines may lead to automatic rejection.
• There is no fee to submit to this anthology.
• You may only submit once per submission period.

 Other Details

• Writing must be fully original and your own work.
• We are unfortunately unable to publish all submissions. If you are not accepted for publication in this anthology, do not take it as a personal rejection of your writing skill—it is likely your piece simply did not fit in this issue for one reason or another. We encourage everyone to try again with our next submission opportunity.
• We only publish work that has been unpublished elsewhere. This includes publication on your personal website or social media, or self-publication.
• We strive to get back to all submitters within 6 to 8 weeks, but we sometimes will take longer. We will reply to every submission.
• Payment: we are unable to pay for work accepted to this anthology, though we hope to pay authors and poets in the future. We will send every author a digital copy of the complete anthology.
• Publication: the Wonder and Whimsy anthology will be published digitally and as a physical book and will be available on Amazon. We aim to publish this anthology in autumn, 2026, and will keep all authors of accepted pieces updated on that process.
• We accept simultaneous submissions, but if your piece is accepted elsewhere, email us ASAP to withdraw that piece from your submission.
• We cannot accept any work that includes copyrighted song lyrics or uncited quotes.
• We do not accept work that has been AI-generated. The use of programs like Grammarly are okay to check spelling and grammar, but all work should be original and written by the author, not by a program. If we suspect a piece has been written in part or in full by ChatGPT or another similar program, it will not be chosen for publication.
• We will consider work that is violent, sexual, or political—however, we will not publish work that is discriminatory or pornographic in nature.
• We accept work internationally, but we can only accept work that has been written primarily in English.
  
  Journey’s End Publishing and Wandering Words Media requires non-exclusive first publication rights and incidental promotional rights. We retain the unrestricted right to publish selected stories in its anthologies, in print and online, and in any relevant promotional material, and will retain copyright and economic rights for the anthology as a whole. All rights for individual stories, poems, and art revert back to their respective author/creator upon publication. The author/creator is free to republish their work, either in part, as a whole, or in an altered form, wherever they like after we have published the anthology, but we ask that you list “Journey’s End Publishing with Wandering Words Media” as the first publisher if you do so.
  
  Please note that submission of work by an author to this anthology shall be considered acceptance of the full guidelines above.
  
  If you have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to contact us at:

 christina@wanderingwordsmedia.com.

Call for Submissions from Queer Writers: ALOCASIA

ALOCASIA accepts creative writing of all genres from queer writers on a rolling basis with no reading fee. Please send no more than 6 pieces to:

ALOCASIAmagazine@gmail.com

Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, and we DO accept previously-published work. Please send writing in either .docx or .pdf format. Max word count for prose is 3500 words.

Please include a brief bio, and inform us where your piece was previously-published, if applicable.

We appreciate both traditional work, as well as the weird, erotic, explicit, anti-colonial, and whatever you can come up with.

This is a journal about plants, gardens, gardening, parks, and indoor horticulture. Please don’t send us work that isn’t about plants.

We do not accept AI-generated or AI-assisted writing or art.

ALOCASIA requests First North American Serial Rights from previously unpublished work. We request Reprint Rights, Electronic Archival Rights, and Anthology Rights from all work you agree to publish with us. We pay $50 per contributor.

Call for Submissions: The Sunlight Press

 

If you’re interested in submitting work to The Sunlight Press, send a completed piece to:

thesunlightpress@gmail.com

Find our submission guidelines below. Please always check the website before submitting work to confirm we are open to a particular genre. Thank you.

We are now open to all submissions as of Monday, Jan. 5. Please note: If you submitted while we were closed for the holidays, you will need to resubmit your work now. Thank you.

***

What work do we consider at our journal?

The Sunlight Press considers submissions within the following categories (please note work count guidelines):

• Personal Essays (Nonfiction): 750-1,000 words.

• Fiction: Includes microfiction (under 400 words); flash fiction (under 1,000 words); and short stories (under 2,000 words).

• Poetry: Up to three poems in one submission (all in one attached document, please). Note: Unusual formatting in poetry often cannot be replicated on our site.

• Reviews: Review of books (fiction & nonfiction), short story collections, and essay collections (750-1,000 words); preference for newly published books. Reviews of current films (750-1,000 words).

• Artists on Craft Series: Interviews/Reflections by artists on their process of the art of choice (accompanying photos welcome); 1,000 words and under.

• Photography: Up to three photographs in one submission (Please note: submit only unfiltered, non-AI generated images attached in jpeg format).

How do you submit work?

Email submissions to:

thesunlightpress@gmail.com 

with the subject line clearly indicating the genre — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, review, artist on craft, or photography. Submissions should be attached in a Word document (docx., doc.), without names and contact info on the document.

Please submit only one written piece at a time (in other words, do not submit written work in multiple categories at the same time). The only exception: You may submit a written piece and photography simultaneously. In written pieces, please use only one space after periods.

Do not send new work for consideration until hearing back from us on the status of a current submission. Also if a piece is not accepted, please wait three to six months after hearing from us before submitting new work. Writers whose work has been accepted, please wait three months after its publication to submit new work. Thank you.

We typically do not consider pieces beyond the word lengths above. We also do not publish how-to articles, or work that is religious or political in nature, nor about current social issues. (For poets submitting work, our poetry editor Clive Collins recommends the book, Singing School by Robert Pinsky, about the craft of writing and reading poetry.)

Final note: We will not acknowledge or review work that does not follow the guidelines above. Thanks for your understanding.

***

What should accompany your submission?

Please include a 3-4 sentence, third person bio (no more than 150 words) and any social media handles (Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, X/Twitter, etc.), as well as a current email address and contact information. We review simultaneous submissions; please inform us of this status upon submission.

Does The Sunlight Press pay writers upon publication?

Yes, The Sunlight Press pays for original, unpublished work only, via PayPal. We occasionally accept previously published work (in print, on a personal blog, or another digital publication) but offer no payment.

Our payment rates (as of June 2024) are:

$50 for essays (including book reviews and Artists on Craft pieces)
$50 for fiction (short stories and flash fiction)
$35 for the first poem accepted, and $10 for each additional accepted in the same submission.
$20 for each photo accepted

When will you hear from us?

Every submission will receive an email acknowledging receipt of the submission from the editors. Writers will be informed of the status of their submission within three to four months of submission. Please query after that time period if you have received no update.

The content of The Sunlight Press is exclusively online. The Sunlight Press claims first publishing rights, which revert to the author upon publication; however, please acknowledge The Sunlight Press if your work appears later online or in print. Many thanks.

Final word: We strive to publish pieces within six months of acceptance and welcome your query if that time period has passed.

Many thanks for considering us for your work.

Writing Competition: The Iowa Review Awards

 

The Iowa Review Awards

About the Contest

Each January since 2003, The Iowa Review has invited submissions to The Iowa Review Awards, a writing contest in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. 

 

Winners receive $1,500; first runners-up receive $750. Winners and runners-up are published in each December issue. 

 

The judges for 2026 are Julian Talamantez Brolaski (poetry), Tom Lin (fiction), and Tisa Bryant (nonfiction).

 

Contest Rules 

• Submit up to 25 pages of prose (double-spaced) or 10 pages of poetry (one poem or several, but no more than one poem per page).

• Work must be previously unpublished.

• Simultaneous submissions are fine assuming you inform us of acceptance elsewhere.

• To submit, visit iowareview.submittable.com during the month of January and follow these instructions: Select the appropriate genre category. If you’d like to purchase a discounted yearlong subscription to The Iowa Review for $12, please choose a genre marked “(subscription).” Otherwise, choose “(no subscription).”

• A cover letter may be pasted into the appropriate field in Submittable.

• Do not include your name in the uploaded manuscript itself or in its filename.

• Multiple poems or prose pieces can comprise a single entry if the total number of pages does not exceed 25 for prose or 10 for poetry. For instance, you may submit two short stories of ten pages each as a single entry; the stories will be read and judged separately. But please do not mix genres: a ten-page story and a two-page poem constitute separate entries.

• Pay the $20 entry fee using Paypal, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover.

• If you submit more than one entry, even within the same genre, you must submit the $20 entry fee with each entry.

• Submit between January 1 and January 31.

Judges will select winners from a group of finalists chosen by Iowa Review editors. All manuscripts, whether selected as finalists or not, are considered for publication.

 

Notice: We no longer accept paper contest submissions. If you need help with our online submission system, cannot access it, or would like to request a fee waiver due to financial need, please email:

 

iowa-review@uiowa.edu 

 

Eligibility and Conflicts of Interest

• Previous Iowa Review Awards winners and runners-up are not eligible to enter the contest.

• Current students, faculty, and staff of the University of Iowa are not eligible to enter the contest. University of Iowa students must wait three years after graduation to submit to the Iowa Review Awards.

• Work is ineligible to win our contest if it is slated for publication before December 2026, whether in another magazine or as part of a book. Please withdraw work from our contest immediately if these conditions apply.

• Judges are instructed not to award the prize to entrants with whom they have had a personal or professional relationship. Despite reading the entries with author names removed, judges may sometimes be able to guess the identity of the entrant. Even if they can’t tell during the judging process, they have the right to change their decision if it turns out that the entrant is someone with whom there is any appearance of conflict of interest. Therefore, we advise entrants not to enter the contest if the judge is someone they know personally or have worked with professionally.

Writing Competition on the Theme of "Joy": The Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize 2026

The Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize 2026 

Awarded for the best poetic response on the theme of JOY.

The winner and runners-up will receive financial support in the following amounts:

Prizes

First place: £3,000

Second place: £1,000

Third place: £1,000

Rules

There is a fee of £10 per entry.

Deadline: May 1, 2026 

You may submit only ONE poem per entry. If you wish to submit more than one poem, then you should complete multiple entries. Any entry with more than one poem attached will risk disqualification.

Open to all nationalities. 

Applicants must be aged 18 or above at the time of entry.

All entries must be written in English.

You can enter multiple prizes.

There is a maximum of 500 words per entry.

There is no minimum required word count.

The use of generative writing programmes or artificial intelligence (for example, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) is strictly prohibited.

Please note: we reserve the right to change any aspect of our prizes at any point during the submission or judging process, or to not award a prize if we wish.

Submit your entry here.

Call for Submissions: WAXEN

 

Accepting submissions year-round.

WAXEN is a quarterly, cooperative effort. All contributors are fairly compensated and retain the rights to their work.

We are looking for short fiction, poetry, and illustrations.

We are interested in the weird, the occult, the surreal, and the horrific.

We love experimentation.

Please ensure:

Fiction submissions do not exceed 5000 words.

Illustrations are optimized for black and white printing.

Please avoid:

Graphic sexual violence.

Graphic violence against children.

AI-generated content.

Seasonal submission deadlines:

FALL…9/15

WINTER…12/15

SPRING…3/15

SUMMER…6/15

We are interested in work that is dark, heady, and strange. We appreciate unique voices and perspectives. We enjoy works that others might deride as too weird, self-indulgent, or experimental.

If you’ve submitted a piece, and we haven’t gotten back, why not try sending something stranger?

Payment: $50.00 plus one free copy 

Send your work to:

beverlybwix@gmail.com