Call for Submissions: Magpie Zine

 

Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reports, experimental/unclassifiable, and visual art—artwork, photography, collage, comics.

The prose word limit is 3000. For poetry, submit 1-3 pieces. For visual art, submit 2-8 pieces. We strongly favor work with depth and unique insight that explores the human condition and leans toward unusual, possibly urgent, and slightly unhinged. Life is absurd, and we like being moved in unexpected ways by its absurdity. Unsettle us. Charm us. Send us something entirely YOU. To make sure we’re a good fit for each other, view our issues. All content is free. For humor, we’re currently accepting delightful middle school book reports.

We publish a bound, online issue (no paywall) and feature individual contributor pages.

We only accept submissions through Submittable, and submissions are generally open unless we’re between issues or have reached our capacity, emotionally and Submittably. Note: Poetry subs tend to fill quickly. If you don’t see an option to submit poetry, poetry submissions have closed for that reading period.

We don’t charge a submission/reading fee for general submissions. Please only submit to one category per reading period. Multiple submissions will be declined.

Magpie is a paying market. For Issue Six, we are able to pay a small $15 honorarium per published written piece and $20 for art portfolios.

Submissions must be previously unpublished, original, and from the original creator. (Sharing on your personal social media or personal blog is fine. We don’t consider this a publication.) For artwork, it should not have been previously published online or in a major print publication. We only accept work created by corporeal human beings.

Our current response time is about 4.5 months. Each editor reads every submission in their genre, so sometimes hearing from us can take a little longer. We only read for one issue at a time.

Your work belongs to you.

We will publish, lovingly promote, and maintain a copy online. If your submission is later published elsewhere, please mention its home on Magpie Zine.

p.s.

Our list of absolutely nots:

Racist, queerphobic, transphobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, fascist, exploitative, ableist, or appropriation of experiences and communities that aren’t your own. We also refrain from publishing creators whose work may not espouse these views, but who personally do.

We do not, never ever, no way at all, want AI-created work. Do not send us that unoriginal bologna. “AI” literally has the word “artificial” in it. Artificial anything is in direct opposition to everything we value, support, and try to represent.

We reserve the right to remove your work from our site without notice if we become aware of cringey behavior, plagiarism, or other issues not enumerated here.

If we have already published your work, please wait three issues before sending us more.

If a piece was previously declined, please do not resubmit it unless encouraged to do so.

Submit your work here. 

Deadline: Dec. 31, 2026 

Call for Submissions: Blue Earth Review

Blue Earth Review is looking for ambitious and exuberant works of short fiction, essay, memoir, poetry, and visual art that offer insights, complicates existing conversations, and enriches our understanding of what it means to be human in this increasingly diverse world. We gravitate towards small, focused works in which every word matters. We currently publish twice a year in the fall and spring.

We accept all voices, and do not discriminate based on race, ancestry, disability, gender identity, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. Our mission is to create a collection of artistic works that celebrate the uniqueness of the world told through characters, verse, and artists—compacted into our square magazine.

We read general submissions for all genres year-round. For contest submissions, we read all genres during and up to a month after the contest period. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. We ask that writers notify us immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere.

At this time, we do not accept AI-generated works.

Please submit using our Submittable page at: blueearthreview.submittable.com/submit. We recognize and understand that this excludes individuals who do not have access to the internet, and we’re working on ways to allow these individuals to submit to us in the future. At this time, we do not accept emailed or mailed works.

Please adhere to our submission guidelines

Fiction: Our unique square format fairs best with shorter pieces that reflect our mission of dramatic impact in a small size. We welcome all genres, including literary, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, surrealist, magical realism, and any others, or blend of others.

Please provide a title and artistic statement for your story when submitting. Please only submit one story at a time. Submissions are capped at 4,000 words. Pieces longer than 4,000 words will not be considered.

Creative Nonfiction: Blue Earth Review is most interested in essays that are under 3,000 words. We love nonfiction that works on more than just a narrative level. Surprise us with metaphor and layers of meaning. We are interested in creative nonfiction (memoir and personal essay) with contemporary themes. No literary criticism. We can’t wait to read your work!

Please provide a title and artistic statement for your piece when submitting. Please only submit one piece at a time.

Poetry: We consider poetry in any style. Please limit poetry submissions to no more than five poems or 10 pages at a time and place all poems in a single submission. Please provide a title and artistic statement for your collection when submitting. Please only submit one collection at a time.

Visual Art: We publish full-color reproductions of a wide range of artwork: paintings, photography, woodcuts, ink drawings, sculpture, and more. Generally, we feature one work on the front cover plus an interior layout of several additional works and an artist bio and statement. Our preference is for groupings that display an engaging variety within some overall thematic unity, which highlights originality, the artist’s individuality, mastery of medium, and technical virtuosity. We publish in a small, square, focused format, so we gravitate towards works which transfer well to this size and elicit a strong, immediate reaction. Submissions must include at least nine and up to sixteen related images. You may submit up to twice a year.

Editors reserve the right to select published pieces and disqualify pieces that don’t meet our guidelines, our mission, or our commitment to diversity and equity.

If your work is accepted, Blue Earth Review assumes First North American Serial Rights. The author retains all other rights. If your work is accepted, you will be paid with 2 contributor’s copies.

*Due to the high volume of work we receive, our editors are currently working backlogs of submissions. Our staff is composed entirely of volunteers, so we do acknowledge that the time between submission and decision can be long. Rest assured that we are always working to shorten this gap.

Call for Submissions: The Fiddlehead

The Fiddlehead's regular submission period via Submittable is now open. Our reading periods are January 1 - January 31 and September 15 - October 15.

As of 2026, The Fiddlehead requires a $5 USD fee on all international submissions. This policy does not apply to Canadian citizens living abroad.

We accept poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Due to overwhelming submission volume, once your work has been submitted, we cannot process substitutions or modifications. Mailed submissions in any category are accepted and considered throughout the year.

The Fiddlehead is open to good writing in English or translations into English from all over the world and in a variety of styles, including experimental genres. Our editors are always happy to see new unsolicited works in fiction, including excerpts from novels, creative nonfiction, and poetry. We also publish reviews, and occasionally other selected creative work such as excerpts from plays. Work is read on an ongoing basis; the acceptance rate is around 1-2% (we are, however, famous for our rejection notes!). Apart from our annual contest, we have no deadlines for submissions.

We particularly welcome submissions from Indigenous writers, writers of colour, writers with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ writers, and writers from other intersectional and under-represented communities. If you are comfortable identifying yourself as one or more of the above, please feel free to mention this in your cover letter.

The Fiddlehead does not publish work that is ableist, misogynistic, queer-phobic, or racist. Strong writing treats identity categories with nuance.

In solidarity with authors whose work has been used to develop LLMs without permission or payment, The Fiddlehead will not consider submissions that have been AI-generated or have been developed using AI as a tool.

If you are serious about submitting to The Fiddlehead, you should read an issue or two to get a sense of the journal. Consider subscribing or contact us to order sample back issues ($12 or $18 for Summer Issues, plus postage).

General Guidelines for Unsolicited Submissions• Pay is $65 CAD per published page, plus two complimentary copies of the issue with your work. Contributors may purchase additional copies of an issue at a discount.

• The Fiddlehead buys first serials rights; copyright is retained by the author at all times, and authors are free to resell the work, though we do ask for a 90-day exclusive from our first publication of the work.

• Writers may only submit once per calendar year per genre. (This does not include our contests).

• Please wait for an editorial response before submitting again. We try our best to respond in a timely matter, but due to volume of submissions, a response may take 6 months or more. Please wait 6 months before querying.

• We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit work that has been previously published or accepted for publication, including in anthologies, chapbooks, blogs, Facebook pages, or online journals.

• For online submissions, please submit one file containing your creative work (.doc, .docx, or .pdf). Log back in any time to check the status of your submission.

• For hard copy, mailed submissions, all submissions should be typed/word-processed, spell-checked, and paginated. Please use white paper, print on one side only, and put your name on every page of your submission.

• In Submittable, please copy and paste your cover letter and biographical statement in the appropriate fields.

• Tell us in your cover letter whether your submission is exclusive to The Fiddlehead or whether you have submitted it to other magazines simultaneously. If another magazine accepts your work for publication that you have also submitted to us, then please advise us immediately.

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions on Theme of "First Light": Desert Luz

Desert Luz is a bilingual arts and culture journal rooted in the Sonoran Desert and the US-Mexico borderlands. We publish poetry, essays, fiction, creative nonfiction, photography, and visual art that illuminate the living world of this region - its landscapes, its people, its silences, and its crossings. We are a publication of Luminental, a nonprofit arts organization based in Tucson, Arizona.

We believe that art from this region deserves to be paid for, held carefully, and given room to breathe.

Who we are looking for

We welcome submissions from writers, poets, photographers, and visual artists whose work is rooted in or deeply engaged with the Sonoran Desert, southern Arizona, and the US-Mexico border region. We publish work in English and Spanish. Bilingual and code-switching work is especially welcome.

Desert Luz is also seeking freelance writers and visual storytellers - in English, Spanish, or both - to create celebratory, illuminating prose and photography rooted in the arts and culture of the Sonoran Desert and the US-Mexico borderlands.

Desert Luz is a paying market. We are committed to compensating all contributors fairly.

Submission Guidelines

Reading Periods: 10/1/2026 - 11/15/26

March 2027 Editorial Theme: First Light/Primera Luz

This season, we're seeking work that explores beginnings, emergence, and the quiet moments that bring us into the light. Like the desert at dawn, every story begins with a first light.

Simultaneous submissions: Accepted. Please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Previously published work: We accept previously published work only in exceptional cases. Please query before submitting.

Response time: Every submission receives thoughtful consideration. We aim to respond to all submissions, whether accepted or declined, within 60 days.

What We Publish

Poetry Up to 3 poems per submission. Any length. We value compression, image, and breath. If the silence in your poem is doing work, we want to read it.

Essays, Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Up to 5,000 words. Memoir, lyric essay, hybrid forms, and reported work are all welcome. We are drawn to writing that resists easy resolution.

Photography Single images or photo essays. We accept both color and black-and-white. Submit high-resolution files (300 dpi minimum) as TIFF or JPEG. Include a brief caption and a note on rights.

Visual Art Paintings, drawings, prints, mixed media, and digital work. Submit high-resolution files (300 dpi minimum). We are particularly interested in work that responds to the light, scale, and ecology of the desert Southwest.

Cover Art We accept cover art submissions on a rolling basis. Please query with samples before submitting.

Honoraria

In addition to the honoraria listed below, published contributors will receive two complimentary copies of the edition of Desert Luz in which their work appears.

Reported Features (2,500-4,000 words)
$400 flat

Interviews/Profiles (1,500-2,500 words)
$300 flat

Arts & Culture Commentary / Short Essays (up to 1,500 words)
$200 flat

Arts & Culture Reviews/Criticism (up to 1,000 Words)
$150 flat

Cover Art or Photography
$250 per image

Visual Art (interior)
$100 per piece

Photo Essay (3–6 images)
$200 flat

Photography (single image)
$100 per image

Essays, Fiction & CNF
$100 per piece

Poetry
$50 Per Poem

Payment is made via [PayPal / check / Venmo - TBD] within 30 days of publication.

A Note on Language

Desert Luz is a bilingual journal. Work submitted in Spanish will be reviewed by our consulting reader. We do not require writers to provide their own translations. If you would like your work to appear in both languages, please note that in your cover letter and we will discuss options with you directly.

Rights

We acquire first publication rights (print and digital) for the issue in which your work appears. All other rights remain with you. We ask that you credit Desert Luz in any subsequent publication of the work.

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions: Brevity

 

Brevity publishes well-known and emerging writers working in the extremely brief (750 words or fewer) essay form. We have featured work from Pulitzer prize winners, NEA fellows, Pushcart winners, Best American authors, and writers from India, Egypt, The Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Malaysia, Qatar, and Japan. We have also featured  many previously-unpublished authors, and take a special joy in helping to launch a new literary career. Over the past year Brevity has averaged more than 10,000 unique visitors per month.

Authors are paid a $45 honorarium for featured essays (via PayPal).  

If you would like to hear our founding editor Dinty W. Moore discuss his ideas on what makes flash nonfiction successful, you can access this interview from the River Teeth blog. or this post from the Brevity Blog.

We prefer that submissions should be formatted as seen here (single space, no indentation, one extra space between paragraphs) unless alternate formatting is a specific design element of the essay.

Brevity does not accept submissions of AI-generated work, which includes writing that was partially created with or assisted by LLM technology. If an AI submission is identified, it will be rejected. We also reserve the right to withdraw acceptances from any work found to be AI-generated, even after publication.

Submit your work here. 

Writing Competition: Leonard Cohen Poetry Prize on Theme of "Love, Faith, & Sex"

$3500 LEONARD COHEN POETRY PRIZE

$1000 — 1 Winner

$250 x 10 Finalists

THEME: LOVE, FAITH, & SEX

Submission Period: September 21 - November 7
Results Announced: January
Winners Published: February

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Send us up to 3 pages of poetry.

• Each poem starts on a new page.

• In the spirit of Leonard Cohen, we ask that your poems deal in some way with the intersections of Love, Faith, & Sex.

• Open to anyone writing in English, anywhere in the world (with a special encouragement to poets submitting from outside North America).

• We only accept previously unpublished work. Self-published pieces (blogs, social media, personal sites) are welcome, but poems published in journals, anthologies, or books are not eligible.

• Please withdraw your poems if they get accepted elsewhere.

• We love reading cover letters. You’re welcome to share your love for Leonard Cohen, or your publication history, if any, though these are read only after the decisions are made and do not influence the outcome. Please make sure that the document of your poems is stripped of any biographical information—use the cover letter field on the submission form for this.

• Submission Fee: $22

• Each submission comes with a three-month ONLY POEMS Membership. We want every poet who submits to our prizes to receive more than just a contest entry.

• Still, if the fee is a barrier to you, please refer to our waiver policy here.

• Judging process: Each submission is read by at least 3 readers. The ones that move to the next round are read by 5 more readers. Longlist is read by our full team of 35+ readers and Editors. Shortlist is discussed by the Editors. Final decisions for the winner & finalists are made by the Editor-in-Chief, Karan Kapoor.

• Judging criteria: In evaluating submissions, we look for originality, emotional intensity, musicality of language, and a deep engagement with the themes of Love, Faith, and Sex.

• Timeline: We respond to everyone before the end of this January. Winner, Finalists, and Honorable Mentions are announced and published in February.

• Read our statement on Transparency & Fairness here.

Submit your entry here.

Writing Competition: The Masters Review Novel Excerpt Contest

 

The Novel Excerpt Contest quickly became one of our favorite contests, so of course it’s returning for the sixth consecutive year. Writing a novel is tough work, and we want to encourage everyone who’s undertaking this arduous journey to share their most exciting excerpts. We’re looking for resonant narratives, memorable characters, a voice that’s uniquely yours. We’re looking for excerpts that stand alone, that do not require a synopsis for understanding. Most importantly, we’re looking for excerpts that grab us from the get-go and refuse to let go. As always, we have no limitations on genre, though we are primarily interested in literary fiction. 

Submissions for the Novel Excerpt Contest will open on September 1 and close on November 8, 2026.

This year’s guest judge: Chinelo Okparanta, author of Under the Udala Tree, the forthcoming This Impossible Life, and more! Okparanta will select three finalists from a shortlist provided by The Masters Review’s editorial staff. 

The winning excerpt will be awarded $3,000; online publication; and an hour-long consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency. Second- and third-place excerpts will be awarded online publication and $300 and $200 respectively, in addition to written feedback from Takikawa.

Submission Guidelines

• The winner receives $3,000; online publication; and a consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency.

• The second- and third-place finalists receive cash prizes ($300/$200), online publication, and agent feedback.

• Submitted excerpts must be under 6,000 words.

• Submitted work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs, social media accounts, and other websites. Previously published excerpts will be automatically disqualified.

• Simultaneous and multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $20 entry fee.

• Writers from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups are invited to submit for free until we reach fifty submissions in this category. NOTE: Submission cap has been met.

• If your excerpt is accepted or contracted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the piece is no longer available.

• We do not require anonymous submissions for this contest, but the judge will review the shortlist anonymously.

• This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.

• International submissions are allowed, provided the work is written primarily in English.

• No translations, please.

• All submissions must be double-spaced with one-inch page margins and use 12pt Times New Roman or Garamond font.

• Excerpts from novels under contract for 2026 or 2027 are ineligible, but novels under contract from 2028 and beyond are eligible.

• The contest’s deadline is 11:59pm PST on Sunday, November 8, 2026.

• All entries are also considered for publication in New Voices.

• Every submission will receive a response by the end of March 2027. The winners will be announced in May 2027.

• AI-generated or -assisted submissions will be automatically disqualified.

• Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for this award, nor are past winners of the Novel Excerpt Contest.

Submit your entry here.