Call for Submissions to Anthology on Theme of "Paris": Pure Slush

Paris Great Cities Vol. 1

Submissions for Paris Great Cities Vol. 1 are NOW OPEN.

We are accepting submissions of poetry and prose (fiction and non-fiction) for Paris.

Your submission must include Paris, whether as a memory, wishful thinking, an anecdote, the setting for your story or poem, a place of importance, or where you live or holiday …

Your submission must also be: original, so previously unpublished online or in print (so that includes authors’ websites and blogs)
150 word minimum limit for fiction and non-fiction, stories and essays / maximum 1000 words. (That’s for each story / essay: maximum number of prose pieces you can submit is 3.)
80 word minimum limit for poetry / maximum 1000 words. (That’s for each poem: maximum number of poems you can submit is 5.)

A good idea is to check out what we do and don’t like … and to find out more about this, click here.

If you have any further questions, please email:

edpureslush@live.com.au

(Submissions will close 31st January 2025.)

To submit, click here. Please include the word PARIS, plus your name and the title of your submission, and the word count. (Please note: word counts do not include titles or your name.)

PLEASE NOTE: if you are submitting more than one poem, story or essay, we really prefer they are all included on one document. So if you have 5 poems or 3 stories to submit, please include them on one document, and thus make one submission, rather than 5 submissions (one for each poem) or 3 submissions (one for each story).

If you are new to Pure Slush, please include a brief bio or profile of yourself.

For other topics re submitting and rights etc, click here.

The volumes in the series will be, in order: Paris Vol. 1
London Vol. 2
New York Vol. 3
Rome Vol. 4
Berlin Vol. 5
Madrid Vol. 6
Vienna Vol. 7
Lisbon Vol. 8
Reykjavik Vol. 9
Sydney Vol. 10

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Flare": Sophon Lit

 

At Sophon Lit, we embrace the liminal, introspective, and surreal. We love thinking that explores our connections with every cosmos, intergalactic and interpersonal, in deeply honest ways. We publish three issues a year of prose, poetry, and art.

Submissions are currently OPEN for Issue 6: Flare until 2/1/25! Submissions sent outside reading periods will not be read. Please send all submissions and correspondence to:

sophonlit@gmail.com 

Additionally, we offer free feedback of around 300 words on submissions if requested.

Additional guidelines:

Submit as a PDF or Word document.

Please title the email subject as follows: GENRE/Last name (e.g. POETRY/Smith). If you are submitting in multiple genres, please divide them into separate submissions. Please submit no more than 3 pieces per genre per reading period. Please limit prose to 2000 words. Additionally, we are open to art that pushes boundaries; please title your submission with OTHER if your piece(s) do not fit within conventional genre definitions.

Please include a short third-person bio.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome, and even encouraged—though please let us know if so, and notify us ASAP if the piece is accepted elsewhere.

We accept previously published work—please include where and when it was previously published and if it is eligible for republication.

We ask for First Serial Rights, and after a piece is published with Sophon Lit, the contributor retains all rights. If you choose to publish your piece elsewhere after us, we kindly ask that you credit Sophon Lit as the first publisher.

We aim to keep response times within one month, and usually sooner. Please feel free to query after a month has passed.

Sophon Lit has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism, and we do not accept AI-assisted work. We also do not condone bigotry or excessive violence of any kind.

Call for Submissions: The New Croton Review

The New Croton Review, a journal of the literary and visual arts, is a direct descendant of its precursor, the Croton Review, published in the 1970s and '80s with a distinguished roster of contributing writers and artists. Our new endeavor builds on this legacy by seeking out and publishing high quality poems, stories, creative nonfiction, photography and art from a diversity of sources. Whether as a consumer or a contributor – or both – we hope you will join us as we strive to live up to your expectations, and our own.

To submit work, send an email to:

review@crotonarts.org 

with the file(s) containing the work(s) attached. You'll get a confirmation email that the work has been received, and is being reviewed by the editors. There is no fee to submit work, and no compensation for accepted submissions. You'll get another email when the editors have reached a decision, and if it's accepted we'll ask you to sign a form giving us permission to publish it in the Review. You retain the copyright under this agreement, and are free to publish it elsewhere. 

We do not publish work generated by AI tools, or work that's been published elsewhere.

Guidelines
Poetry: No more than 100 lines
Short Fiction and Nonfiction: no more than 4 pages (about 2,200 words).
Artwork and Photos: Any standard digital image format less than 2MB
Limits: 3 poems, 1 story or essay, 3 artworks, 3 photographs.

Dates Mar 8 – last date for submissions to the 2025 Spring issue
May 10 – the 2025 Spring issue will be available

Call for Submissions: LIBER: A Feminist Review

 

LIBER is a broadly feminist publication that welcomes timely reviews and essays on forthcoming books of all genres. Our interest is in feminist theory, culture, history, and publishing, though we welcome submissions that use a feminist lens to analyze works that are not explicitly feminist. Although primarily a review, we also publish poetry, comics, personal or hybrid essays, photo essays, and long-form reported features on topics related to feminist history and publishing. Reviews can vary in length, from 1,000 to 2,000 words. Average length for a feature is 2,000 to 4,000 words.

WE REVIEW: Nonfiction, fiction, and academic books of interest to a feminist audience or classroom.

PITCHING: Please pitch us three to four months ahead of the book’s publication date. We will occasionally assign an already published book for review if its significance warrants the coverage. To pitch a review, send a brief proposal to:

info.liberreview@gmail.com 

Your pitch should include the book’s (forthcoming) publication date, publisher, and author, as well as a brief description of your angle and your case for its significance. Ideally, the piece functions as both review and an entry point to explore larger issues within feminism and culture. To pitch film, television, and art reviews, essays, and long-form reportage, provide clips in addition to angle and why you’re the one to write it.

PLEASE DON’T PITCH reviews of books written by friends, teachers, or close colleagues. We are unlikely to review self-published or hybrid-published books.

PITCHES THAT STAND OUT display expertise and a unique take, have a sense of humor, and are well-versed in feminism (its principles, history, theory, debates).

FOR POETRY SUBMISSIONS:

Send no more than five of your best unpublished poems to Katha Pollitt at:

katha.pollitt@gmail.com

Fees: We pay $100 per book review and $50 per poem upon publication. Payment for features is $100-$300, depending on the length and complexity of the piece.

Writing Competitions for Nurses, Nurses' Aides, Nursing, and Midwifery Students: Hektoen International 2024-2025 Writing Contest

 

Nurses, nurses’ aides, and nursing and midwifery students are encouraged to submit an essay to Hektoen International’s 2024–2025 nurse writing contest. Submissions will be initially reviewed by the Hektoen International Editorial Staff, followed by a panel of nursing professionals, who will determine the recipients of the following awards:

Grand Prize: Single winner of $3,000
Runner-Up: Single winner of $2,000

Winners will be published in the journal and featured in our newsletter and on X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.

Essays must be between 500–1,600 words and on any topic as it relates to medicine, including: 

Art
History
Literature
Education
Music
Science
Famous healthcare workers
Famous hospitals

Original poetry, fiction, and standalone artwork will not be considered. Before submitting an article, please search for your topic on our site to see that it has not been fully covered in a previous publication. Essays on previously published subjects will not be accepted. For possible topic categories, see our Sections.

Authors will receive notice of receipt of submission.

• All submissions due by January 15, 2025.

• Late submissions will not be considered.

• Contest submissions should be sent to:

 contest@hektoeninternational.org 

or via the form online.

• Participants must certify that their work is original.

• Participants must have copyright ownership or permission to use any images submitted.

Guidelines

• Submission of an article implies consent to publish in Hektoen International. If major edits are made, proofs will be sent to the author before publication.

• Inquiries about the contest should be sent to:

 contest@hektoeninternational.org

• Single-author essays only; multiple authors on one article are not allowed.

• Entries must be written in English and follow our article guidelines, including a cover page and proper formatting of both text and illustrations. Incomplete submissions may be deemed ineligible for consideration in the contest.

• Submissions will be read by Hektoen International’s editors and contest judges. They will review contributions for appropriateness, originality, style, and content.

• Submissions are processed on weekdays during business hours. Please check your email for confirmation of your submission. Please wait one week before inquiring about the reception of your article if you do not receive a confirmation email.

• Articles and the images within them may also be publicized via our newsletter, which is currently received by 30,000+ subscribers, and on our social media platforms.

Articles

• Articles must be unpublished, original work, saved as a Word document by the author’s last name followed by the title (or abbreviated title). For example, the article “Big Hugh” by Dr. Smith, should be saved as Smith_Big Hugh.docx. Each submission should include: A cover page with: Author’s name, titles/degrees, professional affiliation, email address, and location (as you would like these listed in the journal)

• A biography no longer than 100 words, written in the third person, that includes your current educational status and future educational/career goals. See the bottom of our articles for examples. Submissions must also have the following formatting: The title and page numbers in the document header

• The full text of the article in Times New Roman, size 12, and double-spaced. Please format according to the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition (chicagomanualofstyle.org) or the American Medical Association Manual of Style 11th Edition (academic.oup.com/amamanualofstyle/book/27941)

References for quoted and cited material formatted according to Vancouver, Chicago, or AMA style, with the endnotes in numerical order.

Images

• Articles may include images. If you provide an image, review and follow the guidelines below prior to submission. Final image choice will be determined by journal staff.

• Rights to use and publish images in Hektoen International must be acquired by the author prior to submission, either via a source’s declaration the images are in the public domain or under a Creative Commons or similar license, or by obtaining permission from the copyright holder(s) of the images. For more information, see https://guides.library.stonybrook.edu/copyright/public-domain or contact us at contest@hektoeninternational.org.

• Images must be high quality and saved as a .JPG

• Images must be titled by author’s surname and short article name. For example, an image to accompany the article “Big Hugh” by Dr. Smith would be saved as Smith_Big Hugh.jpg. Add a number at the end to distinguish additional images (e.g., Smith_Big Hugh2.jpg).

• Images must be accompanied by a caption. In a separate Word document entitled “Caption” with the following information: Caption, source, and permission/copyright/licensing information (including the address of the website where you found the image)

• For artwork, please provide the title and date of work, the artist’s name, and the location of the artwork (museum or private collection)

• Save the caption as a Word document by author last name. In the example of Dr. Smith, the illustration would be captioned as Smith_Caption.docx.

• Caption example: Spock Behind G.W. Library. Photo by Warren K. Leffler, October 15, 1969. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication.

General Guidelines for All Submissions

• We DO NOT accept clinical studies

• All submissions should be the stated author/artist’s original work

• Authors are responsible for obtaining publication rights for accompanying images

Patient Consent/Confidentiality

Our confidentiality policy is based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Please refer here if you have any questions: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/. Authors/artists should protect the confidentiality of all persons and not reveal personal details without their consent.
Copyright (©) and Plagiarism

Authors retain the copyright to their submissions to Hektoen International. We request, however, that authors refrain from submitting their work for publication for four months after the piece has been published in our journal. Authors are requested to notify us and reference the Hektoen International website as the original publisher in subsequent publications of the article.

By submitting your work to us via Forminator or by email for consideration for publication, you consent to the scanning of your work by third-party plagiarism checker programs along with, on a case-by-case basis, research by our staff of your publication history to ensure the work published in our journal is original. By performing these checks, we protect our reputation as well as your own.

Plagiarism is, in its simplest wording, claiming someone else’s work as your own. When you submit work or portions of a work that you yourself did not write, without giving credit to its original author, that is plagiarism. Plagiarism ranges from copying another’s entire publication to rewording portions and ideas from another’s publication without a citation.

We also acknowledge the concept of self-plagiarism, in which you republish work you have already written without permission from the copyright holder. Examples of self-plagiarism include: you submit an article to us that was already published in another journal without that journal’s permission; you draw information and/or concepts from an article you wrote that is already published elsewhere without citing that article in your submission.​

Submissions are processed on weekdays during business hours. Please check your email (including junk or spam) for confirmation of your submission. If form is unavailable, please submit to:

contest@hektoeninternational.org

Please only submit via each method once and allow 5 business days before inquiring about missing submissions. Thank you!

Call for Submissions: Philadelphia Stories

Philadelphia Stories is a free print magazine that strives to publish the finest fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art written by authors living in, or originally from, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey. Philadelphia Stories seeks submissions from diverse perspectives: all ethnicities, races, abilities, and gender identification. We wish to demonstrate the vitality and vibrancy of the Philadelphia-area residents in every issue.

Philadelphia Stories is an all-volunteer non-profit supported by the donations of its members. You can help support other local writers and artists by making a donation here.

Thanks to the support of the Conrad Weiser Contribution Fund, we are a paying market paying an honorarium of $50 to our authors published in the print magazine.

Below are the guidelines for submitting material. There is no reading fee.

SUBMISSION PERIODS:

Art: Rolling submissions

CNF/Fiction/Poetry —

Winter/Spring 2025: October 1, 2024 – January 15, 2025

PLEASE NOTE: You will be notified of the status of your submission within six months AFTER the issue deadline. If you have not heard from us within six months after your submission was sent, please feel free to contact us and we’ll check the status for you. Please note, our emails do sometimes get caught in spam filters. Thanks for submitting to Philadelphia Stories!

General Guidelines

• Only work submitted through our Online Submission Form will be considered.

• We do not accept previously published work. This includes work published online, on personal blogs or websites.

• Any work received after the closing date for a particular issue will be considered for the next issue.

• Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

• Please attach a SHORT bio (about 75 words, written in third person) including your connection to Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey.

• We will send notice by email regarding the acceptance or rejection of your material within six months after the issue’s deadline.

Fiction

• Please send all submissions to the Fiction Editor through our Online Submission Form.

• We accept short stories or novel excerpts in varying lengths up to 5,000 words. (Hint: Shorter works are more likely to find a spot in print.)

• We look for fiction written by Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey writers (either currently residing in, originally from, or lived here at some point) that features sharp writing, carefully crafted plots, and, above all, compelling characters. Novel excerpts should be able to stand alone as a complete work.

Poetry

• Up to three poems may be submitted in one submission period. Due to themed issues and contests, there may be a delay between winter, spring, and summer. Thank you for your patience.

• Each submitted poem is not to exceed 36 lines. Poems may be single spaced (unlike prose submissions which should be double spaced). Poems that exceed 36 lines/one page may be excluded from consideration.

• Submit each poem in its own single document/attachment. This will allow the submitter to WITHDRAW work that is accepted elsewhere as we DO expect some poets to make simultaneous submissions to multiple journals. Submitted documents that include multiple poems may be excluded from consideration.

• If your simultaneously submitted poem is accepted elsewhere, please WITHDRAW your poem as soon as possible. And congratulations!

• Your cover letter should include a SHORT bio (about 50-75 words, written in third person) including your connection to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware. Feel free to copy and paste the same text in each of your three submissions. Upon acceptance, we will also ask for a photo and an updated bio.

• Please title your submission with the TITLE of the attached poem.

• Please send all poetry to the Poetry Editor through our Online Submission Form.

Nonfiction

• Creative nonfiction essays should not exceed 2,500 words. We’re looking for pieces that focus on positive Philadelphia experiences, but will consider any well-written essay on any subject. In particular, essays should convey real emotional honesty and or humor.

• Please send all essays to the Nonfiction Editor through our Online Submission Form.

Artwork

• All artwork must be submitted electronically.

• Please submit no more than five previously unpublished images for consideration.

• Preliminary images do not need to be print resolution and may be attached as a JPEG or GIF. Final, approved artwork should be of professional quality, at least 300 dpi saved as a TIFF, PDF, JPEG or EPS.

• Do not send us links to your website. We’ll leave it to you to find your best work.

• Please upload all artwork to through our Online Submission Form or email to:
  

 art@philadelphiastories.org.

PS Junior (writers/artists aged 18 and younger)

Philadelphia Stories, Junior, a division of Philadelphia Stories, is a literary magazine published each Spring for writers age 18 and under who currently live in Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Southern New Jersey. Please follow these guidelines for submitting material. There is no reading fee. Deadline: February 1.

General Guidelines
1. Philadelphia Stories, Jr. accepts work submitted to our online submission form.
2. On the first page, please include your name, school, grade, and information on how we can contact you.
3. Any work received after the closing date for a particular issue will be considered for the next issue.
4. Tell us about yourself and where you live. For example: George Smith is in sixth grade and likes to write poetry. He also likes basketball and lives with his cat and little sister in Cherry Hill, NJ. He has read all seven Harry Potters twice.

If you would prefer to email your submission, email to:

PSJR912@gmail.com

Call for Submissions: Feign Literary

Feign is an online literary magazine for fiction and operates out of Reno, Nevada.

 

Inspired by the city’s gambling roots, Feign seeks fiction that takes risks. Much like playing blackjack or roulette, fiction can entertain, surprise, and devastate us. We want stories that are inventive, stories that arrive with their cards face down. Imaginative stories, ones that hurt like nearly drawing that royal flush. Words float smoke-like over the page, images flashing throughout bright as neon, perhaps even leaving that distinctive fluorescent hum. Stories that make us go all in, leaving us either gutted by a lost chance or soaring with luck. They may bluff to throw us off, but ultimately through the pretense, we see the joker’s heart.

 

Feign is the best bet on literary fiction.

Feign accepts fiction only.

Submissions may include flash fiction, prose, and stories up to 6000 words long.

Please have your work formatted with double spacing and in a 12pt font, Times New Roman preferred.

Cover letters are welcome but are not mandatory.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted but do let us know immediately if the work you submitted to us is accepted elsewhere. Email:

feignlit@gmail.com

with the subject line, “Withdraw” to notify us.

Response times will vary between 1-3 months at this time. After 12 weeks, you may inquire about the status of your submission, by emailing:

feignlit@gmail.com

with the subject line, “Status Update.”

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions: X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine

FOR A SHORT TIME, X-R-A-Y IS DOING THEMED CALLS.

WE MAY ALSO OPEN THE MAIN SUBMISSIONS. WE’LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER.

CURRENT CALLS:

SHORT STORIES = GAMBLING

FLASH FICTION = BUGS

CREATIVE NONFICTION = QUIETUDE
~~~
On December 1, we will open short story (2,000-7,500 words) submissions for this theme: GAMBLING. 

This is what our editors Josh and Alice have to say about the GAMBLING short story call:

Josh says, “I am intersted in casino stories, but only when they have some amount of story taking place outside of the casino. I’m also less interested in the big stakes bet, the reversal of a life’s fortunes. My favorite gambling book is ‘Bob the Gambler’ by Frederick Barthelme.”

Alice says, “I’m interested in high stakes (Wall Street, Russian roulette), or mathematicians and philosophers. My favorite book on gambling is ‘Addiction by Design’ by Natasha Schull, about gambling in Vegas. I’d be delighted to get stories with that level of intellect and observation.”
~~~
On December 1, we will open flash (300-2,000 words) submissions for this theme: BUGS.

This is what Chris said about the BUGS flash fiction call:

There are around 10 quintillion insects in the world (10,000,000,000,000,000,000), or around 200 million insects for every human. In some kind of way that only makes sense to metaphor-crazed writers, insect consciousness far eclipses human consciousness on this planet. Sometimes humans can act like insects, and insects can act like humans. Send us a story about bugs, or where a bug makes some sort of appearance.

Examples:

-The Order of Insects by William Gass

-The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

-The Life of the Spider by Jean Henri Fabre

-The Flea by John Donne

-Army Ants by Tom Waits (song)

~~~
On December 1, we will open Creative Nonfiction (300-7,500 words) submissions for this theme: QUIETUDE.

This is what Jo and Michael said about the QUIETUDE Creative Nonfiction call:

What winter song brings comfort or discord? What birds do you strain to hear? What the silences you prize most? Send us stories that respond to this idea.
~~~
While we will look at any Fiction or Creative Nonfiction submission up to 7,500 words, these words counts are our sweet spots.

500-1,200
3,000-5,000

If you poke at our sweet spots, we will love your bones forever.

SUBMISSION PERIODS AS FOLLOWS

• SHORT STORIES (2,000 to 7,500 words): We open these submissions on the 1st of every month. Submissions close when we reach our cap. Every other month we limit these short story submissions to folk who have not submitted short stories to us in the past.

• MICROS (up to 300 words): We open these submissions on the 1st of each month. Submissions close when we reach our cap.

• CREATIVE NONFICTION (300 to 7,500 words): We open these submissions on the 1st of each month. Submissions close when we reach our cap.

• FLASH FICTION: (300 to 2,000 words): We open these submissions on the 1st of each month. Submissions close when we reach our cap.

MISCELLANEOUS

• We want prose only. No poetry, please.

• Wait until you hear from us before you submit again.

• You may submit your work elsewhere, no problem.

• We shoot for a response time of 3-8 weeks.

• We’re kind about it, but genre fiction might find a better home elsewhere.

• We’d love for you to look around before submitting. Have at it.

GRITTY BITS & BOBS

• By submitting to us, if accepted, you grant us first electronic rights and non-exclusive archival rights.

• All submissions remain the intellectual property of the artist. Rights revert to author upon publication.

• We’d love if you’d credit us if your work first appeared here.

• Work previously published in print only welcome if in no violation of original rights.

• You’ll feel really good if you check out these kick-ass authors.

• Exposure to the website carries a small risk of radiation poisoning. We suggest wearing a lead apron while submitting.

REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS

Our interviews/reviews editor is Rebecca Gransden, who is very nice; pitch her at:

rebecca@xraylitmag.com

We don’t take reviews as often as interviews, and we rarely assign our reviews. But go on, shoot your shot.

X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine’s vision is to publish uncomfortable, entertaining, and unforgettable prose that shines brighter than the skeleton in your body, prose that sees through the skin and reveals something deeper. We work hard to give our readers the best authors on the planet.

We publish new stories and features every week. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and wherever else tickles our fancy.

Submit your work here.

Happy Holidays!

 

 Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyous holiday!

 

 

 

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.