Call for Submissions: Fresh Words

At Fresh Words, we believe in the transformative power of literature to bridge cultures, inspire creativity, and ignite meaningful conversations. Our mission is to provide a vibrant platform for emerging and established writers from around the globe to share their unique voices, perspectives, and stories. We are committed to celebrating diversity, fostering literary excellence, and nurturing a global community of readers and writers who are passionate about the written word.

Through our curated selection of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and visual art, we aim to challenge boundaries, explore new horizons, and amplify underrepresented narratives. Fresh Words is more than a magazine—it is a space where creativity knows no borders, and where every story has the power to connect, heal, and inspire. Together, we strive to cultivate a world where literature thrives as a universal language of empathy, understanding, and change. 

It will publish 12 times a year. It will be available in both print (paperback) as well as eBook format.  

We are also publishing special anthologies on one act plays.  

We expect your kind support and affection for this endeavour.  

We are open for submissions. We invite poems, short stories, essays, plays, diaries, excerpts from books (published or upcoming submitted by author only), book reviews, interviews and travelogues. Please send all submissions to:

 

freshwordsmagazine@gmail.com

 

as per the following guidelines:

 

Poetry:

 

3 to 4 poems (all themes and forms).

 

Short Stories:

 

Maximum 2 stories

Word limit for each story (maximum 500 words)

Essays:

Topic must be literary.

Maximum 2 essays 

Word limit for each essay (maximum 1000 words)

Send a summary of the work

Plays:

Maximum 2 submissions.

You can send one-act play (Maximum 15 pages for each work).

Also send a summary of the work.

Diaries:

You can send parts of your daily diaries and your observations about life.

Maximum word limit 1000 words

Excerpts from books:

For Upcoming books:

You can send maximum 5 pages of your novel

You can send maximum 5 pages of your full length/ one act play

You can send maximum 2 poems of your poetry book

A note (maximum 100 words) about the publisher and website from where it will be available.

Book Reviews:

Two book reviews at a time (maximum 500 words for each)

Book review must mention (on the top right hand corner)the name of publisher, ISBN (if any), year of publication, total pages of book, weblink of book or website of publisher.

E-Interviews:

The interested author/s may send an email to us with detailed literary achievements for consideration.

Travelogues:

Share your travelling experiences with the world

maximum word limit 1000 words

Do not forget to include your website and social media links at the end of text

You may share up to 10 pictures of your travel, in case they are available.

General Guidelines:

All submissions must contain a cover letter and a short literary profile (Maximum 70 words) of author in third person narrative.

All submissions must be sent typed in MS Word or PDF doc as attachment with the email.

The author should mention:

Legal Name:

Pen name (if any):

Snail mail address:

In the Subject line of your submission email please clearly mention the category like 'Poetry Submission' or 'Short Story' submission etc.

The author must send a high resolution photo of self as a separate attachment with the submission.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome but please immediately inform us in case they are accepted elsewhere.

Call for Submissions from Undergraduates: Dark River Review

 

Dark River Review

 

We are currently accepting submissions for Issue 13 to be published in 2027.

 

Email submissions to:

 

dark.river.review@gmail.com

 
Attach submission. Include short bio. See below for details.

We do not always have the chance to send rejection letters, though we will contact you if you are accepted.

 

If you submitted before 2026, your work was not accepted, but we encourage you to re-submit.

 

If you submitted your work during 2026, your work is still being considered for the 2027 issue.

We accept submissions from students currently enrolled as undergraduates at two and four year colleges and universities.

We accept poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and any kind of visual art.

Upon publication, Dark River Review assumes first serial rights. All rights revert back to contributors upon publication. Authors and artists may re-publish their work elsewhere, provided proper acknowledgment is given to Dark River Review.

Guidelines and Advice:

• Submit a brief third-person bio of no more than fifty words. Include your college/university affiliation. (See examples in our previous issues.) We do not need a cover letter.

• All work must be original and previously unpublished.

• Simultaneous submissions are fine, but let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

• Submit files with last name, first name, and genre (Smith, Robert – Poetry.docx).

• Submit writing as .doc, .docx, or .rtf.

• If you are submitting in multiple genres, send the submissions in separate emails.

• We reject many otherwise-strong submissions simply because they were not carefully proofread. See our house style below.

Poetry Guidelines: 

• Submit no more than five poems.

• Sometimes we will accept some of the poems you have submitted but not others.

• Single-space.

• Punctuate poetry appropriately unless you have good reasons for doing so.

• Poetry should be left-justified unless there is a good reason for doing otherwise. We usually do not accept poetry that involves complicated formatting.

Fiction Guidelines:

• Submit no more than one piece of fiction.

• 20 pages maximum. 5-12 pages is preferred.

• Double space.

Creative Nonfiction Guidelines:

• We loosely define “creative nonfiction” as nonfiction that utilizes the conventions of fiction (image, scenes, dialogue, etc.). We are not interested in research essays or similar types of academic writing.

• Submit no more than one piece of creative nonfiction.

• 20 pages maximum. 5-12 pages is preferred.

• Double space.

Visual Art Guidelines:

• Visual art may include photographs, paintings, drawings, comics, etc.

• Submit no more than five works of visual art.

• Submit as .jpg or .png at 300 dpi or better.

House Style:

• Avoid comma splices. Include the Oxford comma and other necessary commas (after introductory phrases, setting off parenthetical expressions, before the conjunction that conjoins two independent clauses, etc.).

• Periods and commas go inside double quotation marks.

• Avoid unnecessary or incorrect punctuation, such as ellipses to indicate a pause.

• Spell out easily-written numbers like seven, fourteen, and thirty, unless there is a good reason for doing otherwise.

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Trauma and the Government": Tendrils Journal

 

Tendrils, a trauma-focused art & literary journal, seeks visual art and short-form literature for our upcoming “Trauma and the Government” issue. This edition will explore the profound theme of trauma and the government—how policy, laws, and programs have rippled through communities, neighborhoods, and lives.

The work can reflect historical or contemporary themes related to local, national, or global policies, laws, etc. We’re interested in thoughtful, bold, and distinctive voices that contribute fresh and meaningful perspectives to this topic. We invite artists and writers to submit work that offers a unique perspective, whether abstract, realistic, or something else entirely.

The work submitted can reflect governments from around the world, but we ONLY publish US-based (incl. territories) artists and writers. Each selected artist and writer will be paid a $20 honorarium.

Fee: There is no fee for submission. 

What kind of art can you submit?

Art submissions: any medium or size that explores the themes of trauma and the government.

Literature: Short-form pieces (max. 1000 words) such as poetry, essays, and short stories that focus on the trauma and the government theme. We're open to considering an excerpt if you have a long-form work that aligns.

Deadline: Dec. 19, 2026

Address the theme of “Trauma and the Government”

Only original, human-created works will be considered.

Submitter MUST be 18 years old or older

Submitter MUST live in the US and/or its territories

Artworks can be of any medium or size (if video or performance, please submit a still image AND a link to view the video)

Artist Statement about how the work addresses the theme (between 100 and approximately 300 words)

For art submissions: upload jpg (jpeg) files at 300dpi. The longest side should be no greater than 3500 pixels. Each file must be saved as “FirstnameLastname_Title”

For literature submissions: upload pdf files. Each file must be saved as “FirstnameLastname_Title”

Literature must be short-form (poetry, essay, short story, etc.), OR an excerpt from a long-form text. (max. 1000 words)

Max 2 submissions will be reviewed.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: Four Way Review

  

Four Way Review accepts poetry and fiction from both established and emerging authors. We look for work that demonstrates fine attention to craft while retaining a powerful and compelling voice. We want writing that showcases the imagination’s unique ability to refine the raw materials of human experience.

We encourage submissions from diverse voices.

Unsolicited submissions are considered year-round. Before submitting, please see our latest issue and ensure your work is a good fit. Please wait to hear back from us before submitting again.

We accept .pdf (preferred), .doc, and .docx. You may also include a cover letter with your contact information and a brief bio in the “comments” box. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please note this in your cover letter and let us know immediately if a piece is accepted somewhere else. Due to a high volume of submissions, we cannot respond individually to withdrawal requests.

In order to offer our writers a small honorarium, we now charge a small submission fee of $3 for part of the year. In January, April, August and November, all submissions are fee-free. During these months, we might close submissions for one or more genres, should the submission maximum be reached. This is done to ensure that our readers are able to read and respond to each submission in a timely manner.

Poetry

— We are interested in all styles and forms of poetry.

— We ask that writers submit poetry no more than three times per year, with three to five poems in a single submission.

— Please email us to withdraw individual poems.

Fiction

— We’re looking for finished stories that are both whole and surprising.

— Keep longer submissions below 6,000 words. Submit only one piece at a time and no more than three pieces a year.

— Short shorts should be under 1,000 words. You may submit up to three flash pieces in one submission.

Translation

— We are interested in all styles and forms of writing in translation.

— We ask that writers submit work no more than three times a year, adhering to our guidelines for poetry, fiction and nonfiction (i.e., no more than three to five poems in a single submission and keeping prose below 6,000 words).

— If possible, please include the original piece with your translated submission.

— Please confirm that you have obtained permission, either from author or rights holder, to publish the translation.

Creative Nonfiction

— We’re looking for pieces that surprise us, pieces that push at the corners of the form.

— Keep longer submissions below 6,000 words. Submit only one piece at a time and no more than three pieces a year.

— We do accept flash nonfiction. These should be under 1,000 words. You may submit up to three flash pieces in one submission.

All submissions must be previously unpublished. We request first North America serial rights for any work that we accept. All rights revert to the author upon publication, though we ask that you acknowledge Four Way Review if the work is published elsewhere.

You can withdraw your work using our submissions manager. To withdraw part of a submission, email us at:

fourwayreview (at) gmail [dot] com (Change (at) to @ and [dot] to . )

We try to respond within 90 days. Please note that our submissions manager is separate from the manager for Four Way Books. We will not respond to manuscript submissions.

We accept submissions through our online submissions manager. Unsolicited email submissions will be discarded unread.

Statement on Use of AI

No part of this website, magazine or books may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.

We require submissions to be the writer’s or translator’s own work. If any element was developed using found materials or written in collaboration with others, whether human or through artificial intelligence, this must be disclosed in your cover letter. This includes works edited with the use of AI/ large language models (LLMs).

Call for Eco-based Submissions: Channel

 

About Channel

Channel is a biannual literary journal, in publication since 2019, that acts as a home for Irish and international work grounded in ecological entanglement.

Like Channel Press, our journal takes its name from the notion of a channel as always being something that connects – whether referring to a body of water, a band of electromagnetic frequencies or the act of channelling a spirit, the word always points to a conduit through which one thing can flow through or towards another. Channel exists to house work that acts in this same way, drawing human beings and the rest of the living world closer together.

Although we draw inspiration from global nature writing traditions and from the many dedicated platforms for writing on climate and ecology that exist around the world today, the scope of our publishing is not limited by constrictive definitions of nature writing and eco-writing. We are interested in work that speaks directly of a writer’s love and fear for the biosphere, or that challenges the political and cultural conventions behind runaway climate change; equally, though, we believe that work drawing on nature for setting, image or metaphor can carry power to reshape our relationships with the world around us. Historically, all human language and creativity has been shaped by embeddedness in our environment – the kind of work we want to publish is the kind that takes that universal seed of connection and plants it, revelling in how it might grow.

The best way to find out what we love is to read a back issue.

Guidelines

• We can accept submissions to Channel only during our dedicated submissions windows, running from 1–30 November for our spring issue and from 1–31 May for our autumn issue each year.

• All submissions must be previously unpublished. We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please let us know as soon as possible if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

• Please send your work by email to:

submissions@channelpress.ie

with ‘Poetry/Fiction/Non-Fiction Submission for Channel’ in the subject line. Your submission should be attached as a single Word document or PDF, with no author name or other identifying information in the document itself. You may, if you wish, include a short bio and/or background to the work in the body of your email.

• We believe that creative work should occupy the space it needs to reach its full potential, and so place no limit on the length of submissions. That said, given the limited space in each issue we’ll only offer a home for a prose piece of over 6000 words or a poem of over 300 lines if we think it’s an especially good fit.

• Submissions are welcome from anywhere in the world, and can be in English or Irish. Authors of work in Irish accepted for publication may, if they choose, have their work published with an accompanying English translation by our Eagarthóir Gaeilge.

• We also welcome submissions of work translated into English or Irish. Please note when submitting work in translation that you must be able to obtain rights for our reproduction of your translations as detailed below. Responsibility for clearing permissions for translated work, and for payment of any related fees, lies with the translator, to whom our contributor fee will be paid.

• We can only consider up to four poems, one story and/or one non-fiction piece from the same author per submissions window. Files containing work beyond these quotas will be deleted unread.

• Work written with the assistance of generative AI is not permitted.

• We aim to showcase a variety of voices in Channel. For this reason, if your work was published in our last issue we ask that you wait one issue before submitting again.

Payment and Rights

We pay €35 per printed page, with a minimum fee of €60 for single-page works and a maximum fee of €250 per piece. 

When we pay for your work, we are buying the rights to include it in all print and ebook editions of the issue in which it appears, as well as to potentially feature it as archival material on the Channel Press website in future. Short extracts may also be used for promotional purposes on social media. In all cases, copyright remains with the author and you are welcome to republish your work elsewhere after its publication date in Channel. We would be grateful if you mention Channel as the place of first publication.

Call for Submissions: Boulevard

 

Boulevard strives to publish only the finest in fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. While we frequently publish writers with previous credits, we are very interested in less experienced or unpublished writers with exceptional promise. If you have practiced your craft and your work is the best it can be, send it to Boulevard.

To get a feel for style, content, quality, and form of the work we publish try a sample issue or subscription.

Accepting submissions from November 1 to May 1

Submit online through Submittable. No email submissions will be read.

Include author's name and contact information on all submissions.

We allow simultaneous submissions, but please immediately withdraw work that has been accepted elsewhere.

We accept multiple submissions but wait at least a month between entries.

Work submitted must be previously unpublished, print and online.

Authors retain rights to their work from the time of publication in Boulevard.

Cover letters with previous credits are not required.

We accept international subscriptions, for both the general submissions and the contests.

Submissions must be in English.

Our average response time is four months. Please do not query before then.

Send only complete, fully proofread work. We will not consider revisions--this is too difficult administratively for our small staff.

There is a $3 fee to submit online.

Prose Guidelines

We accept works up to 8,000 words.

We do not accept science fiction, erotica, westerns, horror, romance, or children's stories.

Poetry

Submit no more than five poems at a time.

We accept poems of up to 200 lines.

We do not accept light verse.

Payment

Prose minimum is $100, maximum is $300 

Poetry minimum is $50, maximum is $250

Natural Bridge Online publication is a flat rate of $50

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Reimaginings and What-ifs": Sinking City

Sinking City is based out of Miami, where rising sea levels threaten the future of a diverse, multicultural community. Our online literary journal is published semi-annually by MFA students and undergraduate interns at the University of Miami.

The average response time for submissions is between 1 and 6 months. If you have not received a response after 6 months, please check on the status of your submission in Submittable.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome, just please indicate this somewhere in your submission. Additionally, please notify us immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere. (And congratulations if that's the case!)

Past contributors, please wait three years from the date of your publication to resubmit work. We'd like to highlight urgent work from new artists in every issue.

Our masthead changes annually and our specific wants may vary issue to issue, so be sure to read any guidelines specific to the genre and issue you are submitting to. 

Fiction, Poetry, and Art 

Sinking City invites you to reimagine the past, the present, and the future. It's a chance to rewrite history, myths, dreams, and serendipitous connections that perhaps dissolved prematurely. What if we reimagined history so our lands and people were never colonised? What if we reimagined a world where queerness was cherished and celebrated by everyone? What if we reimagined a dream, a memory, or even conversations and conflicts that rest at the edge of our subconscious minds?

We want prose, poems, and visual art that explore the many “what-ifs.” The paths we didn't take and the choices we still wonder about. Send us the most wonderful and profound reimaginings that only you can create!

The last day to submit is November 20th, 2026. All submissions must be original, unpublished work. 

 Creative Nonfiction

Sinking City invites you to reimagine the past, the present, and the future. It's a chance to rewrite history, myths, dreams, and serendipitous connections that perhaps dissolved prematurely. What if we reimagined history so our lands and people were never colonised? What if we reimagined a world where queerness was cherished and celebrated by everyone? What if we reimagined a dream, a memory, or even conversations and conflicts that rest at the edge of our subconscious minds?

We want creative non-fiction that explores the many “what-ifs.” The paths we didn't take and the choices we still wonder about. Send us the most wonderful and profound reimaginings that only you can create!

The last day to submit is November 20th, 2026. All submissions must be original, unpublished work. 

Submit your work here.