Call for Submissions: Sand Hills Literary Magazine

 

Sand Hills, Augusta University's premiere literary magazine, is committed to publishing the highest quality of creative writing and visual art in print every Spring. Housed in the heart of the American south, Sand Hills has been keeping the written word and independent voices alive since 1973.

Sand Hills brings together new and established voices from diverse backgrounds. We are looking for works that celebrate different perspectives, we want writers to submit their truths, their fictions — to share their humanity.

We seek to publish the best drama, poetry, prose (creative nonfiction and fiction), and visual art created by individuals currently residing in the U.S. All general submissions are read blind by the Sand Hills staff. 

While we do accept simultaneous submissions, we do not accept previously published work (including self-published material in print or online at personal blogs, social media, or websites). Visual art may be accepted even if they are posted on personal social media or websites. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw your work from Sand Hills as soon as possible. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in disqualification. For questions about the magazine, email:

sandhillslitmagau@gmail.com

Submit your work here. 

Deadline: March 8, 2026

Submission Fee for Those Outside the University: $3.00  

Call for Poetry Submissions on Theme of Change: Speckled Trout Review

Speckled Trout Review 

Submission Dates: The submission window will open January 1 and close March 5.

Issue theme: Change

Editors of Speckled Trout Review welcome submissions of unpublished poetry (nothing previously published in an electronic publication of any kind or print) for its winter issue (Winter 2026). Poets can paste up to 4 poems, followed by a 50-75 word writer’s biography at the end, in the body of an e-mail to:

speckledtroutreview@hotmail.com 

Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please share the good news when a poem finds a home elsewhere. For any questions about submissions or Speckled Trout Review, reach out to us at the above e-mail address.

For contributors whose work appears in either a summer or a winter issue, we ask poets to acknowledge Speckled Trout Review as the original publisher of the poem(s) in any subsequent publication thereafter.

Call for Submissions: Persephone Literary Magazine

THE MEDUSA ISSUE (SPRING 2026) 

DEADLINE: March 09, 2026 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Your work should be formatted as follows:

Writing: Single document with work and author biography attached. Please no PDFs!

Photography: Upload your images with a title and short description of your photography narrative.

Poetry submissions are limited to a maximum of five per quarter.

Fiction and non-fiction stories should range from a minimum of 500 words to a maximum of 2500 words. Each submitter may send no more than two stories per quarter.

Photography narratives may include a maximum of 10 photos per quarter.

Work that has been previously published will not be accepted. However, this exclusion does not apply to your own personal social media pages.

We welcome submissions across multiple categories, acknowledging and honoring your enthusiasm for exploring diverse mediums.

Submissions may be submitted year-round, though publication will occur quarterly.

The cost of a submission is $5. This small price goes toward production costs, as well as the growth of the magazine.

We currently operate on a contributing basis.

We do accept simultaneous submissions. We simply ask you let us know if your work is selected by another publication.

You will retain the rights to your work. We simply request that should you decide to republish a piece in the future, you include a sentence indicating its prior publication in Persephone Literary Magazine. For example: "Originally featured in the ___ edition of Persephone Literary Magazine."

If you have any questions or issues with the submission form, please feel free to email:

persephoneliterary@gmail.com 

Thank you! 

Submit your work here.

Writing Competition: FLARE Magazine Strength in Stories Contest

 

Strength in Stories Contest

FLARE is happy to announce our first contest in 2026!
Submissions OPEN Now-March 1st, 2026!
How Will This Work?

Theme: Disability as a Strength

We want pieces that show finding your voice when it comes to managing mental health, disabilities, and chronic illnesses. So often, a disability, a chronic illness, and/or a mental health condition is seen as a stigma or a weakness. But we didn’t have a choice–we were dealt a bad hand. So, this is your chance to find your voice and showcase how being disabled has made you (or a character, if fiction) stronger. What are your badges of honor, your battle scars? What does your “fight” look like?

Pieces must use this theme for the contest. This is only a writing contest, so no art for this contest. This contest is open WORLDWIDE.

*Please note that the FLARE team consists of ONE person.

The Nitty Gritty Details

This contest is COMPLETELY FREE to enter, but please only ONE piece (this includes poetry) per person. Winners get paid via PayPal or Venmo.

1st Place Winner: $140 + online publication (Update 2/7/26: we increased the prize money $15 due to donations received – original was $125.)

2nd Place Winner: $80 + online publication (Update 2/7/26: we increased the prize money $5 due to donations received – original was $75)

3rd Place Winner: $55 + online publication (Update 2/7/26: we increased the prize money $5 due to donations received – original was $50)

3 Runners Up: $15 each + online publication (Update 2/5/26: we received some donations, so we can pay runners up a little now! This number might increase if we get more donations!)

Update 2/5/26: There will be a longlist! These writers won’t receive publication or prize money, but they can list the accomplishment on socials, websites, writing bios, and for street cred! Think of this as an honorable mention!

Please number the pages and REMOVE ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN THE DOCUMENT INCLUDING THE TITLE OF THE DOCUMENT. ANY INCLUDED WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION. We plan to read these blindly to ensure fairness.
Response Time for Contests

Since we are open for longer periods of time, we will likely not be responding to entries within 24 hours like for regular issue subs, but it is possible to hear back within 24 hours for a rejection (it depends on where we are in submission reading). We try to manage the workload as subs come in because this is one-person show (one editor, no readers or other editors).

The winners will be announced shortly after the contest ends. We’ll give an update as we receive entries and/or after the contest closes.
Extra Important Info!

In 2025, we raised about $250 between our GoFundMe and Redbubble store, which is amazing! If anyone cares to donate to our GoFundMe from last year and/or buy something through our Redbubble store during the open call, we’ll increase the monetary prize for winners! But of course, this is only OPTIONAL and as already said, this contest is absolutely free to enter. The 2025 GoFundMe can be found here!

To continue having contests, we’re opening a GoFundMe page for 2026, and any donations will be for future contests in 2026 or 2027 and beyond! To donate to the 2026 GoFundMe, you can donate here!

Since this is a contest, there will be no feedback option for this, like regular submissions have the option.

Please only submit unpublished pieces for contests.

Accepted Genres for This Contest

• flash fiction: up to 1200 words (giving more leeway here since it’s a contest)

• microfiction: up to 400 words

• short story: up to 2500 words

• creative nonfiction: up to 2000 words

• poetry: ONE poem ONLY per person (prose poetry is allowed) if more than one piece is sent in, only the first piece will be judged.

• hybrid/experimental: up to 1200 words and ONE piece ONLY

ONLY Microsoft Word and/or PDFs are allowed.

Please double-space prose submissions!

Please use content warnings ahead of your submission.

Simultaneous submissions are okay, but like with general subs, please let us know immediately when it’s accepted and promptly withdraw your submission.

When submitting, please put the title of your sub and its genre (poetry, short story, etc.) in the subject line of the email. Also, please write CONTEST in the subject line as well, so we can differentiate between contest subs and general submissions when we open in February!

In the body of the email, please include a short 3rd-person bio with pronouns, any website links, and any social media links/handles (including which social media platform each handle belongs to). You’ll also include your name in here too, but just not in the piece itself.

Send your submission to:

flaremagazinesubmissions@gmail.com 

Call for Submissions and Internship: Mascara Literary Review

Co-founded in 2007, Mascara is a journal which focuses on the work of First Nations, CaLD, disabled and neurodivergent writers, as well as human rights and experimentation. We specialise in publishing platforms for minorities, focusing on cultural cohesion and participation. We foster a space for critical research to bridge the gaps left by institutions; a space for writers, readers and researchers that is progressive and vibrant. We are interested in shaping the way that discourse structures social realities and positions individuals hierarchically.

Submit
Submissions will open from 5 February 2026 to 2 March 2026 in all categories.

Submission Guidelines

We only consider previously unpublished work, ie first serial rights, electronic and print. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as long as we are notified immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere. 

• Nonfiction: One piece of up to 3000 words.

• Reviews: Word length is approx. 1200-1500 words. Please use endnotes, not footnotes for citation.

• Poetry: 3 poems max., all in one file

• Fiction: One short story up to 3000 words, or for flash fiction send no more than 1000 words.

• Formatting & Process: We accept only Microsoft Word doc files (.doc and .docx)

• Format your document in 12 point, Times New Roman, 1.5 spaced

• Name your file by surname and genre (e.g. yoursurname_poetry)

• In the subject line of your email, write your surname and genre of submission (i.e. non-fiction, review or poetry)

• In the body of the email, include a short bio and attach your submission file

Email your submission to:

submissions@mascarareview.com

***Note: Please only submit once until you have heard back from us. (See response times below.)

Response Times

We are a very small team whose editors work on a voluntary basis. Our response time is 3-6 months. Please do not query the status of your submission before 3 months. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Payment

Poems $100
Fiction and essays $200
Reviews $200
First Nations & CaLD critics $500
Tasmanian critics $400

Please note: We are not currently funded to pay international contributors.

Intern Opportunity

Thanks to a grant from the Copyright Agency, we are currently offering two opportunities for emerging or established First Nations and CaLD editors to write and acquit a grant and be paid $5000. Applications close 27th February 2026. 

Head over to our Support page for details.

Call for Submissions: Cover Literary Magazine

We publish fiction and poetry.

We pay $25 per accepted piece.

 We have no affiliation with this magazine that existed until 2000, but it looks rad and was founded the year I (Ryan) was born.

Hanna Shea edits poetry. “I want to read poems that make space for incompatibility, disunion, chaos. Also poems about the rocks and clouds near your home.”

Ryan Shea edits fiction. “I want to publish work that gives a shit, that is not afraid to move, that is paying attention, but to something else. I’m excited about experimental, transgressive horror, speculative fiction that is not twee, and literary stories that run for the cliff’s edge.”

Submissions

Submissions are open

Email submissions to:

coverlitmag@gmail.com

Include the title(s) and your name in the subject line.

Add the work as an attachment (doc, pdf, whatever makes sense).

We’ll ask for a short bio on acceptance.

Please submit with the knowledge that we will likely have edits.

Call for Submissions: Toronto Journal

We accept the following types of submissions: Fiction: short stories from anywhere in the world. See the Fiction category for some examples.

Stories from the City: non-fiction pieces that are set in and around the Greater Toronto Area. See the Stories from the City category for some examples.

Who do we publish?

We are firm believers in the idea that the writing should speak for itself. It’s irrelevant to us whether you’re a new writer or an established writer. All submissions to Toronto Journal are anonymous.

Compensation

We pay $50 per piece. All published writers will also receive a printed copy of the issue in which they appear.

Submission Guidelines

• Do not include your name or email on the pdf or word document with your content.

• Do not include a cover letter with your work.

• Word limit is 7,500 words.

• No strict formatting requirements besides legibility.

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

• If your work is selected for publication, Toronto Journal has first serial rights only, and the author retains all other rights to the work.

• We cannot accept any work that has been published previously in English, either in print, online, in audio format, or otherwise.

• Should we happen to accept multiple pieces from the same author for a given issue, the accepted pieces may be postponed to subsequent issues.

• If you are submitting for the Summer issue, expect to hear back from us by March 31st each year. If you are submitting for the Winter issue, expect to hear back from us by September 30th each year. If you don’t hear back from us, please get in touch: 

submissions@torontojournal.com

We are currently accepting submissions for our Summer 2026 issue. Deadline: 1 March 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.

Submit your work here.