Call for Submissions: The Sunlight Press

 

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

thesunlightpress@gmail.com

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

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

***

What work do we consider at our journal?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How do you submit work?

Email submissions to:

thesunlightpress@gmail.com 

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

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

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

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 We also do not publish how-to articles, or work that is religious or political in nature, nor about current social issues.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

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

***

What should accompany your submission?

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

Does The Sunlight Press pay writers upon publication?

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

Our payment rates (as of June 2024) are:

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

When will you hear from us?

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

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

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

Many thanks for considering us for your work.

Writing Competition: The Iowa Review Awards

 

The Iowa Review Awards

About the Contest

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

 

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

 

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

 

Contest Rules 

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

• Work must be previously unpublished.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Submit between January 1 and January 31.

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

 

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

 

iowa-review@uiowa.edu 

 

Eligibility and Conflicts of Interest

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

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

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

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

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

The Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize 2026 

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

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

Prizes

First place: £3,000

Second place: £1,000

Third place: £1,000

Rules

There is a fee of £10 per entry.

Deadline: May 1, 2026 

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

Open to all nationalities. 

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

All entries must be written in English.

You can enter multiple prizes.

There is a maximum of 500 words per entry.

There is no minimum required word count.

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

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

Submit your entry here.

Call for Submissions: WAXEN

 

Accepting submissions year-round.

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

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

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

We love experimentation.

Please ensure:

Fiction submissions do not exceed 5000 words.

Illustrations are optimized for black and white printing.

Please avoid:

Graphic sexual violence.

Graphic violence against children.

AI-generated content.

Seasonal submission deadlines:

FALL…9/15

WINTER…12/15

SPRING…3/15

SUMMER…6/15

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

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

Payment: $50.00 plus one free copy 

Send your work to:

beverlybwix@gmail.com

Call for Submissions: Paranoid Tree Press

 

Paranoid Tree Press 

THE BASICS

PAYMENT: $50 per piece, plus 5 copies of the final printed zine

We are always open for submissions.

WORD LIMIT: ~400 words

GENRE: Fiction, creative nonfiction, prose poetry
(please do not send verse/lineated poetry, due to space constraints in print)

GUIDELINES: Up to 5 pieces per entry. Please consolidate your submissions into one file. Simultaneous submissions are allowed and encouraged.

NOTE: We collect submissions via Google Forms because it is free to use, which allows us to allocate all our income to paying our contributors and covering our operating fees. We know it’s less user-friendly than other submission managers, so thanks for bearing with us.

More information and submission portal here. 

Call for Submissions: Vast Chasm Magazine

Vast Chasm Magazine publishes bold work that explores the expansive human experience, including flash and short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and other nonconforming work.

• We read year-round, on a rolling basis, for our quarterly online issues.
• Submissions are reviewed only through Submittable, where specific guidelines for each genre are provided.
• Submit only one piece at a time, regardless of category. Please wait to hear back before trying us again.
• We do not charge a submission fee.
• We happily consider simultaneous submissions. Life is short. Just let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere, so we can update our queue and celebrate your success.
• Send us your previously unpublished work as a .doc, .docx or .rtf in an easily readable format. For a nontraditional piece, you may opt to submit a .pdf.
• Please include a 3rd-person bio of no more than 100 words.
• We will thoughtfully consider your work and typically respond within 3 months.
• If we’ve already read and declined a piece, please do not submit revisions unless specifically requested.
• Vast Chasm is a paying market. Currently, we are able to offer $50 per published piece, payable via Paypal or Venmo. 

Genre-specific submission guidelines are as follows:

• Flash Fiction: one piece, up to 1,200 words
• Fiction: one piece, up to 5,000 words
• Flash Creative Nonfiction: one piece, up to 1,200 words
• Creative Nonfiction: one piece, up to 5,000 words
• Poetry: one poem
• Other Nonconforming Work: one piece, mindful of the limits detailed above; use this submission category if you feel your work does not conform to the other genres listed. For example, you might submit a hybrid piece, a hermit crab essay, or anything we haven’t seen before.

Call for Submissions: A Short Story Long

Short stories, 2k-8k words long (with the 3,000-5,500 range being our real sweet spot). What are we looking for? Honestly, best indicator is to read a story or two we've already published.

https://ashortstorylong.substack.com/

Second best indicator is to generally be familiar with Aaron's taste and what he's published on HAD, and Hobart before that.

Every published story will be paired with original art, and both writer and artist are paid $150. (Becoming a paid subscriber helps pay contributors!) Submissions will be open until the end of January. Please only submit once per submission period. Thanks! —Aaron Burch

Deadline: Jan. 31, 2026 

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions from Australian Writers: Slush

Slush seeks previously unpublished (including Substack, Instagram etc.) short fiction of up to 5000 words in length. This includes micro and flash fiction as well as comics, prose poetry and other forms.

Basically, if your piece is fiction ~ a short story ~ Slush would like to read it.

• Submissions are open to writers currently living in Australia, or Australians living overseas.
• You may submit up to three stories for consideration.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please withdraw your work if it is accepted elsewhere.

Slush does not accept work written by generative AI, in whole or in part.

Deadline: Sunday 1 February 2026, 11:59PM AEDT

Payment: Selected authors will be paid $100 AUD for their work.

Submit: Send your stories via the Wufoo form here.

Call for Submissions: Palooka Press

 

Interests:

We're open to all voices, forms, and styles. Please send your best unpublished chapbooks, fiction, poetry, nonfiction, artwork, photography, graphic narratives, and comic strips.

Simultaneous:

We encourage simultaneous submissions. Please withdraw your piece if accepted elsewhere.

Multiple:

No problem. Send all you like.

Misc:

Contributors receive a free copy and unlimited discounted copies of their issue, a bio and photo in the magazine, and the support of a caring and hardworking editor!

Response:

A week or so.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: Chestnut Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading Periods:

Jan 1-March 31: reading for Summer Issue (July 15th release) 

April 1-June 30: reading for Autumn Issue (October 15th release)

July 1-Sept 30: reading for Winter Issue (January 15th release) 

Oct 1-Dec 31: reading for Spring Issue (April 15th release)

General Information

• Unpublished work only. We only accept unpublished work that has not appeared in any publicly-accessible form previously, including online. NOTE: art and photography submissions may have previously been presented online, but are eligible for publication if they have not been featured in another magazine, website, or venue besides an artist's portfolio or webpage. Work that is contracted to be published is considered published. Do not submit work from a volume that has been contracted with a publisher.

• We do not accept submissions of AI-generated work. If a submission is sent to us claiming to be author work but then discovered or identified as AI-generated, it will be rejected and the author no longer welcome to submit in the future. We reserve the right to withdraw acceptances from any work found to be AI-generated, even if after publication. Such work will be removed from our online platform and all print editions. 

• We do not use AI to evaluate your work. Just as we do not accept AI-generated work for publication, we do not allow our staff to use AI tools to evaluate pieces, write paid feedback, or complete any other tasks which they are assigned at Chestnut. We stand by our promise that all feedback an author pays for will always be human-written. We consider this to be a serious ethical issue and any staff member found to be using AI to do their CR work will be dismissed. 

• We are an international group of editors, readers, and writers, and wish to emphasize that the language and diction used by the individual(s) who write feedback on your work may not conform to your own dialect. We embrace a world of Englishes with their unique and valuable idiosyncrasies. Our editors will do their best to ensure all feedback is clear and does not depend on an idiomatic usage that might be misunderstood, but we ask our artists to bear in mind these nuances. Artists are always welcome to seek clarification if feedback is unclear or confusing. 

• Language: English. We welcome written works that engage culture through languages other than English if the majority of the piece is in English. We do not publish translations in any form. Epigraphs in other languages are fine as long as the piece provides a translation or sufficient context to appreciate the text. 

• Countries of origin. Any artist from anywhere in the world may submit. 

• Simultaneous submissions are encouraged provided you message us on Submittable if you need to withdraw a piece. 

• One active submission per category at a time. We’re excited to read your work, but please let us consider each piece in turn. As long as you have received a reply to your previous submission, you may submit again as often as you wish. 

• No re-submissions. Writing is a process, but if we’ve already read and declined a piece as a regular submission (magazine or chapbook), please don’t send us revisions for reconsideration or resubmit unless directly requested. 

• Submitting after publication. We ask that artists wait two years from their appearance in the magazine to submit again. This only applies to the magazine; published artists may submit manuscripts for chapbook consideration at any time the reading periods are open. 

• Genre. If you have work that doesn’t fit neatly into the categories, that doesn’t mean we won’t want to see it. Choose the most appropriate and include a note—we’ll figure it out.

• Titles. Please note that we do not have a title field for submissions and the system will auto-number your submission. This is no cause for concern.

Our Process 

• 30-day turn-around. We notify all artists of their status within 30 days for magazine submissions. If it takes longer, we will refund your submission fee (but still consider your work). Feedback fees are not eligible for refund. We may very well get back to you *very* quickly, and we consider that a sign of respect for your time. Every submission is given a complete read by multiple individuals before we decide. Note that chapbooks have their own schedule which does not adhere to the 30-day policy.

• Shortlisting: we occasionally shortlist pieces while we make final decisions on an issue's composition. The following policies apply: We will respond with a shortlist request within 30 days.

• If the writer paid a submission fee and is shortlisted, we will refund the submission fee.
  If the writer paid for feedback, we will deliver that feedback within 30 days, regardless of shortlist status.

 Legal Stuff 

• Minimum Age. All those who submit work must be at least 18 years of age.

• Rights and Payment. We purchase First North American Serial, First Anthology rights (for the annual print anthology), and Audio rights (for non-art pieces). Payment is US $120 per piece, delivered on publication. We only issue payments via Paypal. 

• We will not publish work that seems to us offensive or which exhibits hatred directed towards a particular gender, race, ethnicity, ability, sexual identity, socioeconomic class, or other status, regardless of whether it is protected by law. If we decline to consider a piece, we will refund in full any submission or feedback fees paid. 

• We never solicit written submissions—all come through Submittable. Please do not email us submissions; they will go unread. We do occasionally solicit art submissions, primarily from DeviantArt. 

• No staff submissions. No past or present staff member of CHESTNUT REVIEW may have their work appear in the magazine. Published artists may join our staff after their work is published (and many have!), which is why some of our staff may have CR publication credits.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions from Writers with Midwestern Ties: Midwest Review

MIDWEST REVIEW features work by writers, photographers, and artists who have a connection to the Midwest. We define the Midwest as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri. But while borders shape and bind they sometimes need to be crossed.

We publish annually and accept unsolicited submissions of original poetry, creative nonfiction, short fiction, and visual art. We are especially interested in new voices, perspectives, and contributions from underrepresented communities. The issue will appear online six months after print publication.

MIDWEST REVIEW is curated by faculty of the English Department at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, along with an editorial team of practicing writers from across the Midwest.

Submission Period:

We accept submissions of original creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and visual art. 

Submissions are open January 15 to May 15.

Awards:We’re proud to nominate our contributors to Alternating Current Press Best of Small Fictions, Pen/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, Pushcart Prize, and more.

CLMP: We are proud members of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses.

Fee waived:

Any writer with financial need can email to request a fee waiver. Writers who have been or are incarcerated may send their submission (hand-written is acceptable) by mail to:

Midwest Review

English Department

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

1801 Fourth Avenue

Stevens Point, WI 54481

Other:

• Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please let us know if your work has been accepted elsewhere.

• We do not accept previously published work.

• If your work was included in a previous issue, please wait a year before submitting again.

• Authors of work accepted for publication by Midwest Review receive a contract granting non-exclusive first serial rights. Payment is in one free issue copy. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication with the request that subsequent re-publication of the work acknowledges first publication in Midwest Review.

Submit your work here beginning Jan. 15, 2026. 

Call for Submissions: Bennington Review

Bennington Review is published twice a year in print form. Our next reading period will be from January 5th through March 9th, 2026. We no longer accept film submissions as their own category; if you are submitting writing about film, please submit it through nonfiction.

We aim to stake out a distinctive space for innovative, intelligent, and moving fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, and cross-genre work. In the spirit of poet Dean Young’s dictum that poets should be “making birds, not birdcages,” we are particularly taken with writing that is simultaneously graceful and reckless.

We only accept unsolicited submissions through Submittable. We are unable to respond to paper submissions or unsolicited e-mail submissions, or to comment on individual pieces. Submissions response times vary, though we aim to respond to most submissions within five to eight months.

We pay contributors $120 for prose of six typeset pages and under, $250 for prose of over six typeset pages, and $25 per poem, in addition to two copies of the issue in which the piece is published and a copy of the subsequent issue.

Work must be previously unpublished in print or online, including on personal blogs. Prose submissions must be double-spaced and paginated. Please include a cover letter with your submission. We welcome simultaneous submissions, as long as you notify us immediately when work has been accepted elsewhere.

We do not accept unsolicited submissions from current or recent students, faculty, or staff of Bennington College. Undergraduate and graduate alumni, as well as past employees of Bennington, are asked to wait three years before submitting work to the magazine.

We welcome submissions from established and emerging writers alike. We ask that writers who submit to the journal possess a familiarity with contemporary literature in the genre of their work. For poetry, please send no fewer than three and no more than five poems per submission. For fiction and creative nonfiction, please send no more than thirty pages per submission; any excerpts from a longer project must work as self-contained essays or stories.

For film writing (and/or television writing), we are not looking for evaluative “reviews”; rather, please send essays that engage with cinema in a unique and/or personal way. We want writers who are aware of the greater cultural, aesthetic, and social significance of their subject, be it domestic, international, avant-garde, classic, or contemporary cinema. We will also consider pieces on television, video art, viral videos, Vines, or any of the other alternative forms that moving images might take. Our preferred length for film writing is ten to twenty pages.

We are additionally interested in publishing translations: translators should have permission from the copyright holder and a copy of the work in the original language.

We do not accept unsolicited reviews or interviews, though we are always happy to entertain queries about genres of work that fall outside the journal’s current scope.

We will consider all submitted work for the print journal; some work will additionally be featured on Bennington Review’s website. We acquire first North American serial rights for all accepted work.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email us at:

 

benningtonreview@bennington.edu

Call for Submissions on Theme of "People": Quibble Lit

Quibble Lit 

Theme: PEOPLE

This volume’s theme is PEOPLE—a word stretching across countless stories, identities, communities, contradictions, and constellations of connection. We invite you to explore it broadly or intimately: portraits, crowds, strangers, ancestors, avatars, alter-egos, lovers, enemies, neighbors, selves.

Submission Guidelines

Prose: Submit a single work of no more than 2,000 words.

Poetry & Art: Submit up to 3 pieces.

Include a short personal bio (third person).

Document Specifications

File type: .doc or .docx only

Format: single-spaced, 12pt, standard readable typeface (Times New Roman, Georgia, etc.)

Simultaneous submissions are welcome—please notify us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Compensation

At the moment, we can only afford to offer complimentary copies to our authors for agreement to share their work online and in print.

While we wish the compensation were greater, we will take whatever measure we can to help share your story and promote you or your brand on social media, email, and any other channels.

Deadline: Jan. 31, 2026

Submit your work here. 

Writing Competition: Pegasus Poetry Book Prize

Pegasus Poetry Book Prize

The Pegasus Poetry Book Prize, established in 2025 in partnership with Graywolf Press, awards $10,000 and publication to an unpublished first or second poetry collection by a United States poet 40 or older. This prize replaces the Poetry Foundation’s former Emily Dickinson First Book Award and will be offered periodically rather than annually.

Eligibility Guidelines: 

• Poets must have published no more than one full-length poetry collection. This is a prize for either a first or second book. Chapbooks and self-published books do not count toward this requirement.

• Poets must be 40 years of age or older by December 31, 2026.

• Poets must be residing in or citizens of the United States.

• Poets must have published no more than one full-length poetry collection. This is a prize for either a first or second book.

• Current employees, trustees, and immediate family members of the Poetry Foundation and Graywolf Press are not eligible to submit a manuscript for this prize.

Important Dates:

• November 12, 2025 - Submissions open

• November 25–28, 2025 - Registration requests will not be reviewed or approved

• December 19, 2025–January 5, 2026 - Registration requests will not be reviewed or approved

• January 26, 2026 - Cutoff to register for the online portal. This step must be completed first to access the online portal

• February 2, 2026, 5 PM (CT) - Submissions due

• Early August 2026 - All poets notified

How to Apply:

• Poets will need to register and submit manuscripts through the Poetry Foundation’s Grants and Awards Online Portal. To access the portal, poets must submit an initial registration form. Registrations will be approved within 3 to 5 business days. There is no entry fee to apply.

• Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Poets should submit one original, book-length poetry manuscript that has not been previously published in its entirety.

• The manuscript must be solely authored by the poet.

• Manuscript length should be between 48 and 80 pages.

• Multilingual works containing a full English translation by the author will be considered, as long as the manuscript has not been published in any language.

• All submissions are reviewed anonymously and must remain confidential until the conclusion of the review process. Poets are required to adhere to the following guidelines:The manuscript’s cover page should contain only the title.

• Do not include any personal information, including name, address, telephone number, email, acknowledgments, autobiographical statements, prior publications, curriculum vitae, and resumes.

• Contact information will be stored in the grants and awards portal and will not be disclosed to reviewers.

Manuscripts may not be altered in any way after submission.

If you need assistance in submitting your manuscript, please email:

grants@poetryfoundation.org.

Call for Submissions from Non-binary Writers: beestung

beestung is a quarterly online micro-magazine for non-binary, genderqueer, and two-spirit writers and readers, with an emphasis on intracommunity sensibilities. beestung resists the canon and all forms of bigotry. We’re particularly interested in exploration and the expansiveness and possibilities of writing and art.

beestung considers poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, hybrids, and art by creators who fall under the non-binary umbrella, genderqueer umbrella, and two-spirit umbrella. Multilingual work and work in translation is welcome. Historically underrepresented writers are encouraged to send work.

beestung pays a $20 honorarium to writers and artists selected for publication.

Who is non-binary? Who is genderqueer? Who is two-spirit?

That’s basically up to you. If you’re unsure whether to send in work, please email beestung@sundresspublications.com.
How do I send in work?

Please email all pieces for consideration to:

beestung@sundresspublications.com 

along with a brief biographical note.

There is no reading fee. Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, and we cannot accept previously-published work. Prose should be no longer than 3500 words. Please expect at least 3 months for a response, though we aim to be quicker.

As we are a small quarterly publication, you’ll be informed if your work is long-listed for a future issue. If your simultaneously-sent work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know. We read work on a rolling basis.

Please send writing in either .docx or pdf format, and art as low-resolution samples in either .jpg or .png format.

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

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Beginnings": Peruse Lit

ISSUE ONE

APRIL 2026

PERUSE LIT is now accepting submissions for our inaugural digital issue. This first issue sets the tone for what we aim to build: a thoughtful space for writers and artists whose work is bold and emotionally honest.

THEME: Beginnings

New beginnings, false starts, and quiet revolutions
Reinvention, departure, arrival, or transformation

Interpret the theme loosely. Surprise us.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Fiction (up to 5000 words)

Poetry (up to 5 related poems)

Creative Nonfiction (up to 5000 words) 

Visual Art (high-resolution illustration, photography, mixed-media).

PAYMENT & RIGHTS:

• This is an unpaid publication.

• Submissions must be original (and non-AI aided or written) and previously unpublished.

• Contributors retain all rights– we request first digital publication rights only. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are permitted.

• All submissions will be acknowledged, but please understand that individual feedback may not be provided.

DEADLINE: 1 February 2026

Submit your work here.