Call for Submissions: Punctuated Equilibrium

 

Punctuated Equilibrium is interested in your most polished work that engages with the natural environment. 

As a theory, Punk Eek (punctuated equilibrium) is an evolutionary model wherein a sudden burst of change occurs after an extended period of stasis. Born from urgency, we are an online magazine dedicated to interrupting the current moment. Fast-paced, bold, and responsive. Punk Eek follows the flow of nature: sometimes steady, sometimes unexpected.  

As editors, we take a broad view of what constitutes the natural world, and welcome writing that explores various interpretations and intersections. We value experimentation and innovation, opinions and research, audacity and compassion. We are dedicated to uplifting the writers behind the work we publish, acknowledging that writing is born from our different identities, experiences, and beliefs.  

The core of Punk Eek is the natural world—its beauty and power, the threats it faces, and the many species and places within it. Words are the spark that ignite change. 

We only accept original and unpublished work. 

Please make sure...

You email your submission to:

 punkeekmag@gmail.com

• In the subject line of the email, you put [Genre/Category – First and Last Name]
• If you’re submitting a fiction feature, your subject line should look like this: Fiction – Jane Doe
• If you’re submitting a nonfiction feature, your subject line should look like this: Nonfiction – John Appleseed
• If you’re submitting a poetry feature, your subject line should look like this: Poetry – Jane Doe
• If you’re submitting a hybrid feature, your subject line should look like this: Hybrid – Jane Doe
• If you’re submitting a Microburst, your subject line should look like this: Microburst – John Appleseed
• If you’re submitting to Heat Index, your subject line should look like this: Heat Index – Jane Doe
• If you’re submitting to Into the Fire, your subject line should look like this: Into the Fire – John Appleseed

In the body of the email, you include the title of your piece(s), word count (prose), a brief bio (100 words max), and any other info you’d like to share

You attach your work as a PDF (poetry) or Word (prose) document

You use a typeface like Arial or Times New Roman that is easy to read

There is no identifying information within the document

We accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us if it is a simultaneous submission in the body of your email. We also ask that you let us know as soon as possible if your work is accepted elsewhere. Email us on the same email chain you used to submit your work to let us know. 

Payment: $50.00

Any other questions, please send us an email with “question” in the subject line.

More information here. 

Call for Submissions: The Rumpus

The Rumpus publishes original fiction, poetry, literary humor writing, comics, essays, book reviews, and interviews with authors and artists of all kinds. Founded in 2009 and independent from the start, The Rumpus is a home for excellent, incisive writing that stands the test of time. We welcome work from both emerging and established writers. (We are closed to interviews until September.) All work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs and social media.

• I wish this didn't have to be said, but it has to be said. We don't accept or even consider work that was written with assistance from or by AI.

• We are an all volunteer publication and hope to respond to your submission within three (3) months. Please do not query before three months have elapsed.

• Please only send one submission to a given section at a time; when we've responded with a decision, you are welcome to submit to that section again.

• We accept simultaneous submissions. Please promptly withdraw your submission if your work is accepted at another publication

• Please note if you are an annual Rumpus member you should've received a link to a "magic" portal via a Member welcome email that ensures a 6 week initial response time. Please use that link to submit to any of the open calls below OR to submit to specific genres (poetry, fiction, essays) outside of our usual open reading periods.

• We accept submissions of fiction, poetry, essays, comics, criticism, and interviews. Accepted work will be published on The Rumpus website and/or in The Rumpus newsletter. More specific guidelines for a given genre can be found at the relevant submission link.

We pay $500 for prose submissions and comics, and $200 for poetry. 

Submit your work here. 

Publication Announcement

 I'm very pleased to share the publication of my review of Alicia Bay Laurel's graphic novella, Earth & Aetherias, in the latest issue of Tiferet Journal. You can find the review here on page 167: 

https://tiferetjournal.com/tiferet-journal-spring-summer-2026-issue/

And do check out Alicia's novella. It's both a romantasy and a coloring book. Ordering information is included with my review. I've pasted a copy of the gorgeous cover below.

 

Call for Submissions: Turn & Work

Turn & Work

Turn & Work is an independent music and literary publication. We believe that a literate, creative subculture is essential for understanding the world we live in. Art is upstream of politics; it shapes people and culture. And somehow, despite all this technology, it’s harder than ever for independent artists to break through.

This site started as a book blog, but it’s evolved to be about more than that: independent music, original short stories, and other great work from around the web.

Because art is work, regardless of medium. It’s hard, it takes time, and it generally doesn’t pay well. It takes guts to share that work with the world and hope that it connects with people.

So, Turn & Work is our way of supporting the people who do that work. It’s a way to show appreciation for the art that’s connected with us and to share it with you.

We hope you find things you love here. If you do, share them widely. If you’ve spent some time here and have something you’d like to share with us, we’d love that too.

It is:

• 3-ish book reviews a week, plus an essentials list of what we think everyone should read

• 4-ish music features a week — reviews, interviews, and Backstory posts, where artists tell their own story in their own words. See some examples, and read the brief

• The Shortlist: curated links to excellent short fiction and creative nonfiction from around the web

• The Setlist: a weekly playlist of new independent music, plus callouts to artists worth your time

• Short Stories: original and reprinted short stories

• Welcome Distractions: the Thursday newsletter. Music, books, links, opinions, and a custom playlist for subscribers who request it

It isn't:

• Pay-for-play. We don’t take money from musicians or writers, directly or indirectly.

• Coverage of artists who already have ten publications writing about them

• “Band X Announces Y.” We don’t republish press releases or repackage announcements as content.

it might be:

Something even better! We’re always looking for people who are serious about something. If you have a beat (a genre, a scene, a love of literature nobody’s covering well) and you want to write about it, we want to hear from you. Guest posts, regular columns, one-offs. No pitching to an anonymous inbos: Email Hugh directly.

Simple rule: we cover things we’d want to find somewhere else. If you think your work belongs here, we want you to reach out. If you want to put someone else’s work on our radar, please do that too.

We don’t take money from artists or authors, directly or indirectly. We’ll happily accept freebies (ARCs, vinyl, or t-shirts have shown up from time to time), but coverage is always at our discretion. We don’t use SubmitHub or any pay-for-play discovery service.

Everything on Turn & Work is written by a human. We only cover work we actually care about.
For publicists and agencies

We work with publicists regularly and we’re always interested in early access to music that we would consider covering. We do reviews, premieres, Backstory posts (artist-written, no interview format), and Q&As. If you’re pitching, email Hugh. If you’re not sure whether it’s a fit, check the New Music features or the Setlist Archive first.

Always open. The only real requirement is that the story is compelling.

What we look for:

What we look for: fiction and creative nonfiction, flash through short story length. No hard minimum or maximum — if it’s over 2,000 words it should have a great hook. Any genre, any style. Reprints are welcome, just be upfront about prior publication. Poetry too, though I lean toward narrative verse that reads like flash fiction.

We don’t accept AI-generated text. If we suspect it’s AI-assisted, it’s a pass.

How to submit:

Send a Word doc with a short bio (one or two sentences). Simultaneous submissions are fine — just let us know if it gets picked up elsewhere. You keep your rights; we ask for first publishing rights only. We aim to respond within a month. No response means no.

Submit your story! 

We cover full albums, EPs, and singles. We lean toward indie rock, post-punk, punk rock, hyperpop, and electronic music with English lyrics — but a compelling song in any genre will get our attention. Check the Setlist Archive or Music Essentials to get a sense of what moves us.

Check the New Music features or the Setlist Archive to see what we dig.

What we look for:

Music that’s a little rough or weird, with a strong emotional core. Extra credit for Canadian and Australian artists.

What to include:

A link to your music (MP3s preferred, streaming is fine), an EPK or basic bio with at minimum your name and where you’re from, lyrics if available. Pre-releases welcome.

How We Cover Music:

Singles from early-stage artists go into Monday Music Posts. EPs and shorter projects get covered in New and Noted. Full features are for albums and EPs with a strong narrative core. Backstory posts are artist-written — no interview format, no Q&A, just the story behind the work in your own words, the more personal the better. We also do interviews and profiles.

Everything we cover during the week lands on the Friday Setlist alongside other new music we’ve found.

Submit your music 

We’re looking for people who are serious about something — a genre, a scene, a corner of literature or music that isn’t getting the coverage it deserves. Guest posts, regular columns, and one-offs all welcome. We don’t pay yet, but I expect that to change in 2026.

Come at US!

Call for Submissions: Jagged Edge

Jagged Edge 

We publish sharp, pointed poetry and prose on a rolling basis, about 1-2 pieces a week.

(In the future we hope to publish in physical, printed form.)

What we’re looking for:

poems / short fiction / short plays / book reviews / essays

Some writers we love: Caren Beilin, Mary Ruefle, Wendy Xu, Robyn Schiff, Fady Joudah, Layli Long Soldier

Some magazines and presses we love: Ethel, bethh, betweenthehighway, Rescue Press, Tilted House, Edge City

Don’t self-reject! If you think your work might fit in here, send it. We read each submission with love and care.

Guidelines:

Poetry: up to 5 poems at a time

Prose: up to 2 pieces at a time, no set word limit but be reasonable

Submit your work as an attachment (pdf or docx) to:

hello [at] jaggededge.org (Change [at] to @ )

with the subject line “Jagged Edge <insert genre here> Submission”. Please include a brief bio and any website/social media you’d like included. We’d love if you could also include how you found out about us!

We hope to get back to you within eight weeks of your submission but we greatly apologize if we are late.

Call for Submissions: Does It Have Pockets?

 

What We Want

We are looking for original fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. We also welcome interviews, book reviews, and other literary adjacent projects. Of particular interest are digital art, hybrid, and cross-genre works that straddle the lines of classification. We are not open to AI generated work at this time.

Submission Specifics

Categories

Poetry: a minimum of 3 poems and a maximum of 5 poems. Note: we rarely publish poems that run over 3 typed pages.

Creative Nonfiction: up to 5K words.

Fiction: up to 5K words. We welcome flash fiction up to 1,000 words. You may send 5 flash pieces (up to 5K words) in a single document.

Artwork: 6 -10 images sized 1080x1080 pixels submitted as a jpeg.

Please limit submissions to two (over all categories) until we’ve replied.

Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know in your cover letter. We appreciate timely notification if a piece under consideration has been accepted elsewhere. We generally accept sets of poetry and cannot guarantee publication if the full set is not available.

Please wait two months after receiving a response before submitting again.

Formatting

We prefer standard formatting and Times New Roman 12 pt font. We will do our best to retain poetry formatting within the limits of our online platform.

We will be glad to look at previously published work (reprints) as long as:

You have the rights;

It has been at least 24 months since published online or three months if published in a small print-only run, and;

You provide the prior publication credit at submission.

Submissions Fee: We charge a $3.00 submission fee.

These funds are used for artist payments and administrative costs (Submittable, website, etc.). We hold fee-free periods for the last two weeks of each February and August, to ensure cost is not a barrier for any writer.

Pitches are free. For periodic features or one-off interviews, reviews, etc., use the Pitch Pockets category. Please include an explanation of your idea, audience, intended frequency, and a writing sample.

Artwork submissions are free. Please use the Pitch Pockets submission category.

Rights

All rights remain with the author before, during, and after publication. We request non-exclusive permission to feature your work on our site, our social media channels, archives, and special projects (anthologies, collections, etc).

Payment

If published, we pay $10 per issue (including artwork). We understand this is nowhere near what writers/artists deserve, and we will raise rates as soon as we are able.

Response Time

Though we strive to make quick decisions, our team meets weekly to discuss each submission we receive. Subsequently, our response times will vary depending on submission queue volume. Please feel free to query if you have not received a decision within 90 days.

Content Warnings

DIHP may provide content warnings when publishing pieces that touch on the following subject matter:

• Sexual assault

• Abuse/child abuse

• Child loss

• Abortion

• Self harm/suicide

• Excessive Violence

• Eating disorders/body dysphoria

Looking for more detail? Read Duotrope’s interview with our editor-in-chief.

Submit here: https://doesithavepockets.submittable.com/submit

Call for Submissions: Colorado Review

  

• Fiction & poetry manuscripts are accepted from August 1 to March 31.

• Nonfiction manuscripts are accepted year-round.

• Book reviews are accepted August 1 through April 30.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted; writers must notify us immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere.

If Colorado Review has published your work in the last two years, please refrain from submitting so that we may continue to feature new voices.

With the exception of book reviews, Colorado Review does not publish the work of CSU faculty (current or emeritus), staff, or students; CSU alumni may submit three years after their graduation.

We consider only previously unpublished work.

We accept translations of previously published or unpublished work. Upon submitting a translation, writers must provide proof of permission to translate.

Colorado Review purchases First North American Serial Rights; all rights revert to the author upon publication in CR. We pay our poets a flat fee of $100 and we pay $300 for short stories and essays. Authors also receive two copies of the issue in which they are published and a one-year subscription to CR.

We strongly encourage writers to be familiar with our magazine before submitting to it. Examples of work published in Colorado Review are posted on our website; sample copies of issues before Spring 2020 are also available for $10 each, including postage; issues beginning with Spring 2020 are $12 each, including postage.

Authors do NOT need to be residents of Colorado or the United States. If you are, however, a foreign national working in the United States, please check the conditions of your visa status with regard to receiving payment from entities other than your sponsor. Colorado State University cannot issue honoraria to foreign nationals with B1/WB, B2/WT, H-1B, or F-1 visas. A J-1 visa holder with a sponsor other than CSU must have written authorization from the Responsible Officer (RO) at their sponsoring institution prior to the activity.

Cover letters should provide the author’s name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address (if available).

Manuscripts should be double-spaced, printed on one or both sides of the paper. We appreciate one-inch margins, 12-point type, and standard typefaces (e.g., Times New Roman). Please don’t send your only copy; we are not responsible for loss of or damage to your manuscript.

Please wait until you've received a response to your submission before submitting again.

Every single submission received at Colorado Review is read at least once. If two or more of our editorial assistants upvote a submission, it moves on to a genre editor, who will make the final decision to accept it. We have a large and talented editorial staff, and generally we respond within four months (and sometimes quicker). Please do not assume that we did not read your work just because you receive a response within a couple of weeks of having submitted to us. At the beginning of our reading period, for example, we are very quick, as we have fewer submissions to read. If, however, you submit during winter break, much of the staff is on vacation and response time may be longer. Similarly, if you submit close to the end of our reading period, we may not get to your submission until the fall. If you have not received a response from us after three months, you are welcome to call or e-mail about your submission.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Ripples": Libretto Magazine

 

For Issue 15, with the theme RIPPLES, Libretto Magazine is pleased to announce it’s call for submissions. Libretto Magazine invites writers and artists to respond to the theme RIPPLES, the visible and invisible waves created by a single moment, action, or voice. This issue explores how small beginnings expand outward, shaping memory, identity, relationships, environments, and futures. Submissions may engage with personal, social, political, emotional, or ecological ripples, embracing subtlety as much as impact. Libretto Magazine welcomes thoughtful, imaginative work that traces movement, consequence, and connection across time and space.

Send in your experiences and desires, your resilience and patience for brighter days to return, as well as your dreams and despair in relation to the theme. We want voice. We want artistry. We want heart. The selection process is set to be thoroughly rigorous, therefore, endeavor to submit only your best work of art.

The submissions window opens: February 1—March 31, 2026

Submission Guidelines:

POETRY:

• Submit up to 3-5 poems per entry.

• Each poem can be of any length.

• Include all poems in a single document.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12.(Single-Spaced).

• Each poem should be titled and every new poem should begin on a new page.

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your poetry submissions Here

NONFICTION/ESSAY:

• Submit one entry for nonfiction, essay or article.

• Length: 2,500 to 3,000 words.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12 (Double-Spaced)

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Nonfiction/Essay submissions Here

FLASH FICTION:

• Submit one short story per entry for flash fiction

• Length: 1,000 to 1500 words.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Flash Fiction submissions Here

FICTION:

• Submit one short story per entry for fiction

• Length: 3,500–5,000 words.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Fiction submissions Here

VISUAL ARTS/PHOTOGRAPHY:

• Submit original artwork or photography.

• Length: 10-15 artworks

• High-resolution images preferred (at least 300 dpi) with a note about the work you are submitting.

• Submissions should include a cover letter with a brief history/synopsis about each artworks.

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be sent through our submission form.

Submit your Visual Arts and Photography submissions Here

ONE ACT PLAY:

• Submit original plays or scripts for one act play

• Length: 10 to 20 pages.

• The submissions should have at least 8-10 characters

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Submissions should include a cover letter with a brief synopsis of the play, and include the reading time, performance history and awards (If there are any).

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your One Act Play submissions Here

BOOK REVIEWS:

• Submit original book review

• Length: Not more than 1,500 to 2,000 word

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Submissions should include a cover letter with a brief synopsis of the book you are writing a review on.

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Book Review submissions Here

SPOKEN WORD (VIDEO):

• You can submit 1-3 spoken word video entries.

• Keep your video between 3-5 minutes. Short, powerful, and to the point.

• Your piece should reflect the theme of this issue, which is “Ripples.”

• Record in a quiet place with good light. Make sure your face is visible and the sound is audible.

• Record the video in landscape (horizontal) dimension.

• Keep it simple—no need for heavy edits, filters, or visual effects.

• Deliver like you are speaking directly to your audience.

• Save your video in MP4 format (or a widely supported format).

• Ensure the video is of good quality (preferably HD).

• Submit within the deadline provided.

• Name the file: Spoken Word_ [Your Name] _Ripples

• By sending in, you allow us to share your video on the Libretto Publishers platforms (YouTube, Spotify, Audiomack, social media and website).

• Credit will always be given to the performer.

Submit your Spoken Word (video) submissions Here

Call for Submissions: Cider Press Review

CPR Journal Submission Guidelines

Cider Press Review, a journal of contemporary poetry, seeks to discover and publish the best of new poetry written in English—writing that showcases craft and substance, poetry that has something to say and says it beautifully. CPR actively seeks new original work and translations into English from both established and emerging poets. We especially encourage submissions from writers who are female, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ identifying, and/or otherwise from communities traditionally underrepresented in U.S. literary magazines and journals. Our only criterion is excellence.

The editors read submissions of individual poems from February 15 to May 31 each year, and full manuscripts (in conjunction with the CPR Annual Book Award and Editors Prize) between September 1 and November 30 and again between April 1 and June 30 each calendar year. Short reviews of full-length poetry collections are considered year-round. Please Click here for CPR Book Award Guidelines. Short reviews are considered year-round.

Download/View Quick Submission Guidelines.

Journal Submission Guidelines

Cider Press Review publishes online issues six times per year—April, June, August, October, December, and February. Issues may be periodically compiled into ebook volumes.

CPR considers only poetry or translations of poetry in English, and reviews of poetry books of approx. 600-750 words. CPR accepts simultaneous submissions so long as we are notified. CPR does not accept emailed submissions.

Submit up to 5 poems at a time during the open submission period (between February 15 and May 31). 

Writers can submit using submittable. We no longer accept postal mail submissions. There is no reading fee for individual poem submission for the CPR journal.

Call for Submissions: New Delta Review

 

New Delta Review publishes a wide range of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, book reviews, interviews, and artwork. Please read the editor statements below for a sense of our aesthetics, our mission statement, and, of course, check out our back issues, available online. All submissions must be sent using Submittable.

Fiction
We publish fiction of wildly different styles and modes. While we tend to gravitate toward the weirder side of things, our aesthetic is always in flux and this dynamism is exciting to us. We enjoy stories with or without plots, but, either way, we’re looking for complete fictions, ones with an arc, an atmosphere, a heart, preferably with blood. Novel excerpts are fine as long as they’re self-contained: if it needs a summary to make sense, it’s not for us. Please check out what we’ve published in the past; current and back issues are available for free, right here, on the internet.

While we do occasionally publish longer pieces, we prefer our stories to come in at around 3,000 words. We also have a special interest in flash fiction, and brief series of flash pieces.

Poetry
We would like you to challenge traditional notions of lyricism, or avoid the lyric altogether. Stricter forms are fine, but we tend to prefer them corrupted. Embrace the the bizarre, the political, the radical, but do so with purpose. Five poems maximum, please and thank you.

Nonfiction
We welcome essays with compelling emotional resonance and distinctive, effective command of voice. Experiments in form and structure that feel urgent, necessary and inextricable to the content make our brains tingle, and we get excited over excellently executed traditional narrative. Bring us your lyricism, your breaks in form, your reclaiming histories, your deepest inquiries — all topics fair game.

Write from personal experience or not, but please note we do not accept essays that amount to voyeurism of/parachuting into marginalized cultures by authors from Western backgrounds, or essays rooted in the dehumanization of marginalized peoples. We do accept essays that engage with current events, so long as they are relatively evergreen, given that our publication process lasts roughly three months.

For longform submissions, we prefer essays around 3,000 words or less, though we may occasionally publish a longer piece. For flash submissions, send up to three essays of no more than 1,000 words each.

Hybrid
NDR’s hybrid category is intended for works that use language, in its broadest terms, to push the boundaries of writing and genre. Possible forms could include: collages, interactive writing, micro-fiction and nonfiction, sound-texts, video-texts, visual and/or concrete poems, or anything else that challenges the boundaries of medium and genre or might not otherwise be able to be published in a print magazine.

Art
We consider artwork in all media—from traditional (painting, drawing, photography, installation/sculpture) to new media (video, animation, and hypertext). Please consider our online format, and the possibilities of art on the web, when submitting your work. We want art that works with or around the limits that our online platform offers. Please see our past photography contest winners and the cover art featured in our back issues for a sense of our evolving aesthetic. We strive to push against traditional concepts and forms; send us your wildest and most challenging pieces.

Interviews & Reviews
NDR seeks the most creative interviews and reviews—we want to hear about books and authors that range from the mainstream or the very-well-known to the not-so-well-known and deeply underground. We want to know what’s hot to you. Please see our back issues to get a sense of our length requirements and standard practices—but don’t be afraid to surprise us with something that’s entirely different.

While we do occasionally publish longer pieces, we prefer our stories to come in at around 3,000 words. We also have a special interest in flash fiction, and brief series of flash pieces.

Submit your work here.

Deadline: April 30, 2026 

One published piece a year in each category receives $250. 

Call for Submissions: Willow Review

Anyone may submit writing to the Willow Review for consideration.

We invite your submissions year-round. You may send a maximum of five poems or short fiction and creative non-fiction of up to 7,000 words. As part of our mission, we also publish reviews of books written by Midwestern writers or published by Midwestern presses. 

Include a cover letter with your submission and indicate how many manuscripts you enclosed for consideration. Your work must be unpublished and accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Manuscripts will not be returned unless requested.

We aren’t accepting electronic submissions currently. Mail your submission to:

Willow Review
College of Lake County
19351 West Washington Street
Grayslake, IL 60030-1198

Willow Review can be found on EBSCOhost databases, assuring a broader targeted audience for our authors’ work.

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.

Call for Submissions on the American South: Callaloo Literary Journal

 

Callaloo is a journal devoted to creative work by and critical studies of the work of African Americans and peoples of African descent throughout the African Diaspora. We accept original submissions of scholarly articles, book reviews, interviews, nonfiction essays, short fiction, poetry, and visual art. Studies of life and culture in the Black world are also published regularly in Callaloo, as is wide-ranging cultural criticism. Callaloo is a quarterly journal. We accept submissions through Submittable during our open reading period.
 

Callaloo seeks submissions for a special issue to commemorate the journal’s 50th anniversary. In 1976, Callaloo was founded to create a space for writers from the US South whose voices had been overlooked or excluded from mainstream American literature. The issue, guest edited by our co-editor for Poetry Tyree Daye, will feature pieces by Southern writers or those living in, working in, or observing the South from another regional vantage point. We seek poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, scholarly articles, book reviews, interviews, and artwork for a survey of the contemporary arts and letters landscape in the South. 

Deadline: Feb. 14, 2026

All manuscripts must be double spaced (except poetry) and submitted only as a Word document (.doc or .docx). We suggest that prose manuscripts not exceed 6,000 words (excluding the abstract and references in the case of scholarly articles), although we will consider submissions of up to 10,000 words if the piece truly merits the length. All manuscripts should follow the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd edition) and include a works cited and endnotes, not footnotes. Callaloo's Style Guidelines can be downloaded here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All submissions made to the journal are considered final drafts. In order to honor our publisher's production schedule, manuscripts accepted for publication in Callaloo must be forwarded to our Production Editor immediately, allowing contributors no time to make revisions. Before submitting your work, please be sure that the manuscript being uploaded is the version you wish to ultimately see in print.

Poetry submissions are limited to no more than six poems at a time (all in a single document) with a maximum of twelve poems by an author per calendar year. Additional poems (unless requested by an editor) will automatically be declined.

Prose submissions are limited to one manuscript per submission with a maximum of three submissions by an author each calendar year. Additional prose submissions (unless requested by an editor) will automatically be declined.

Artwork must include the following information: title of piece, year created, media, dimensions (in inches), location of the piece.

We do not accept any unsolicited material that has been previously published.

Please do not send revisions during the time your manuscript is being reviewed; those revisions will not be considered during the review process.

 

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: Colorado Review

 

Colorado Review pays its writers and artists: $300 for short stories and nonfiction; $100 for poetry; and $100 for cover photography.

Like most literary magazines, we ask that anyone submitting work be familiar with our publication. You may purchase sample copies from the website (see the “current issue” or “back issue” pages). We also feature recently published stories, poems, and essays on our website. Somehow, please read what we publish and see if your work and our vision are a good match before you submit.

We accept submissions for fiction and poetry between August 1 and March 31.

Colorado Review purchases First North American Serial rights and pays $300 for short stories and nonfiction pieces. We pay $100 for poetry. Payment for cover art is $100. Published writers/artists also receive two copies of the issue in which their work appears, as well as a one-year subscription.

Nonfiction manuscripts, book reviews, and cover art are considered year-round. Please do not submit fiction or poetry to the nonfiction or cover art categories during the summer.

The fee for online submissions is $3. We do not charge for book review or cover art submissions.

Please include a brief cover letter.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted; writers must notify us immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere.

We consider only previously unpublished work.

We accept translations of previously published or unpublished work. Please upload proof of permission to translate with your submission document.

We strongly encourage writers to be familiar with our magazine before submitting to it. Examples of work published in Colorado Review are posted on our website; sample print copies are also available for $10 (issues before Spring 2020) or $12 (issues from Spring 2020 on), including postage. Digital copies (as PDFs) are available for $5 each. Visit our website to order.

It is not necessary to query us first.

If Colorado Review has published your work in the last two years, please refrain from submitting so that we may continue to feature new voices.

Note: By submitting, you agree to let us occasionally e-mail you relevant announcements. But the last thing we want to do is annoy you; there will always be an easy way to opt out in every e-mail.

Submit here. 

Call for Submissions: New Letters

 

New Letters reads submissions all year long. We only accept work submitted through Submittable, our online submission manager. There is a small fee for submissions, though fees are waived for current subscribers. You may subscribe to the magazine here.Please send no more than six poems, one chapbook, one piece of nonfiction, one short story (graphic or traditional), or one novella per submission.

• Send one submission at a time.

• Put your name, postal address and email address at the top of the first page of the submission.

• We generally publish short stories that are no more than 5,000 words; novellas that are no more than 30,000 words or roughly 60 pages; graphic short stories in comic spreads up to ten pages and in color or black and white; and chapbooks that are no longer than 30 pages.

• We consider simultaneous submissions if you (a) let us know and (b) notify us immediately if the work you sent to us has been accepted for publication elsewhere.

• Like most literary magazines, our staff is small and the volume of submissions large; please be patient. We make every effort to respond to submissions within six months.

Book Review Guidelines 

• New Letters is primarily—but not exclusively—interested in reviewing excellent books (even movies and visual art) otherwise not receiving much attention in the national media. We also like books that have something important to say about culture, politics, aesthetics, or any kind of art; that includes scholarly, critical, or biographical books that could find a non-specialized readership.A single-book review will run 500 to 900 words, usually; essay-reviews of groups of books run longer. The review should merit its length. 

• If you have a potential conflict of interest, you should mention that connection in the review.

• Negative appraisals can be included as part of reviews; however, if the review is substantially negative, we prefer simply to ignore the book.

• New Letters pays, typically, $25 for book reviews; payment is not guaranteed but made as resources allow. 

Artist Guidelines 

• New Letters publishes photographs, drawings, paintings and even, at times, photographs of three-dimensional work. Although placement in the magazine sometimes creates a resonance with a particular piece of writing, we generally do not use art to illustrate the writing. Art in New Letters is there for its own sake.

• We have two principal standards for selecting art: Is it fresh, interesting, high-quality work; will it effectively reproduce on the pages of this magazine?

• Please note these criteria and suggestions:We have no preferences for subject matter or style. We evaluate each work of art on its own terms, based on how it will serve the needs of the magazine.

• Send professional resume information and one or two (at most) sample works of art. Do not send art without professional background information.

• Send sample low-res images by email to:

 NewLetters@umkc.edu 

 

or direct us to a website where we can view your work.

• There is a small payment for work after publication. The amount varies, depending on grant revenue.

• We usually respond within three or four weeks.

 Format & Style Tips

• Our only fixed requirement is good writing, and we have no rigid preferences as to subject, style, or genre.

• We are open to critical discourses about writing, art, or culture, as long as that writing is, in itself, lively, fresh, and vivid.

• We do not read unsolicited email submissions, nor do we respond to such submissions by email.

• Double space prose.

• We suggest generous margins (consider 1.5-inch side margins for prose and at least that for poems).

Rights & Payment

 

We buy first North-American serial rights. All rights revert to the author upon publication. New Letters is among a group of literary magazines that actually pay writers & artists, albeit modestly. Payment to contributors also includes two copies of the issue and 50 percent discounts for additional copies and subscriptions.

Call for Submissions: Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine

Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine

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 Teen Writers: Blue Marble Review

 

Submissions

Thanks for your interest in Blue Marble Review. We welcome submissions from students ages 13-22. Please take a look at our submission guidelines before you submit. Please use a personal, or parent email (or gmail) but not a school email. School email filters will often block our responses. We look forward to reading your work.

What to Send:

Blue Marble Review is published four times a year and accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, opinion pieces, travel writing, photography and art on a rolling basis. We are looking for new work that hasn’t been published anywhere else either online or in print.

Fiction:

Send us your stories! Flash, short stories, hybrid forms—all in 1500 words or less. A maximum of three pieces per submission.

Non-Fiction:

We accept memoir, personal essays, travel adventures, and have been known to publish the occasional research paper and book review. One to two pieces per submission please.(1500 word limit)

Poetry:

Up to three poems per submission.

Art:

Four pieces of artwork (scanned, jpeg format) or four photographs per submission.

Payment:

Contributors published online in Blue Marble Review will receive $30 per published piece, $75 for cover art.

When you submit to Blue Marble Review you are allowing us First Serial Rights as well as the right to archive your work on our site. Copyrights of all work published in Blue Marble Review remain with the author.

Submit your work here. 

Writing Competitions: Wishing Jewel Prize for Poetry and Stephem Mitchell Prize for Translation

The submission window for the annual Wishing Jewel Prize is open. The Prize awards $1000 and publication for an innovative, book-length manuscript that challenges expectations of what a book of poems can be. Named for an essay in Anne Carson’s Plainwater, we seek work that questions the boundaries of genre, form, or mode while engaging the rich possibilities of lyrical expression. All manuscripts are considered for publication, even those that don’t aim to “push the envelope,” so this is both a contest for the most innovative manuscript and an open-reading period.

Submissions are accepted August 1 through November 30.

The submission window for the Stephen Mitchell Prize for excellence in translation is open. Green Linden Press will award $1000 and publication for a book-length manuscript in any genre translated from any language into English that honors Mitchell’s linguistic acumen. All finalists are considered for publication.

Submissions are accepted August 1 through November 30.

Interviews with poets and reviews of poetry books are read year-round. We are interested in conversations and reviews that provide insight and even complicate our understanding of recent or overlooked books. See our entire Interview & Review Series begun in 2008.

Because we agree with Mahmoud Darwish that poetry changes the poet, we are not interested in submissions generated, full or in part, by artificial intelligence.

We accept mailed submissions from incarcerated individuals and waive any fees: 

208 Broad Street South

Grinnell, IA 50112

 

Otherwise, please use the our online submission link to send your work. We look forward to it!

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Dirtiness": Barrelhouse Online

The Dirty Issue (special online issue, Fall 2025): We’re looking for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art on the theme of “dirtiness”: More details on what we’re looking for, and a link to submit, here on our Submittable page.

Book reviews (open, ongoing): Barrelhouse loves to celebrate books just like you do, so let's do that thing together! We're interested in running reviews of books that fit Our Whole Thing. You read Barrelhouse, so you know what we're about. Let that be your guide. Full submission guidelines are here.

Book pitches (creative nonfiction): We’re accepting pitches (through early August) for our new book series, For What It’s Worth. Specifically, we want to publish book-length essays that explore a pop-cultural obsession through a personal lens. For more, full submission guidelines are on Submittable.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

Please read these instructions before you submit. We know we aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but it will make it easier on all of us if you have a general sense for what we’re looking for and how we’d like to get it.

• We accept submissions through the Submittable online submissions manager. That’s the only way we accept submissions.

• No previously published work.

• There is no maximum length, although we tend to publish stuff shorter than 8,000 words

• Please submit only one piece at a time. Except for poetry. You can submit up to five poems. Everybody else — just one!

• Online issues have their own guidelines, so be sure to read them.

• We pay $50 to each contributor to our print and online issues, as well as two contributor copies. (We do not pay for book reviews, as they are not part of print or online issues.)

• We accept simultaneous submissions — you would have to be insane to be sending your stuff out to one place at a time, right? Seriously. We hope you’ll tell us as soon as possible if you place the work elsewhere, though.

• It will probably take us ~six months to get back to you. We try to do that faster, but there are few of us and many of you.

• About electronic files: Please only send us word or rich-text (.rtf) files. Seriously. If you send something in a file format that we can’t read, it greatly reduces your chances of publication. For poetry, please submit your poems as a single document.

Call for Submissions: Kismet Magazine

The best way to know if your work is a good fit for Kismet is to be familiar with Kismet. We’re not prescriptive about things like length and form—we publish style-forward writing with an interest in mystical, spiritual, and religious elements, broadly interpreted. To find out more about our approach, please read “Spirits of the Times,” an introductory note from Kismet 001.

That said, here are some specifics: 

• We publish essays, fiction and poetry.

• From 2026, Kismet will publish 3 annual print editions.

• We accept submissions on a rolling basis.

• Please send one prose piece at a time.

• We publish poetry folios, not individual poems—please submit a selection of up to 5 poems, in one document.

• We prefer essays that expand beyond the personal, that persist beyond the news cycle—i.e. stretch beyond reported pieces.

• We love work in translation; please ensure you are in touch with the rights holder.

• All contributors are paid for their work.

Submissions (in a Word doc) should be sent to:

info@kismet-mag.com

We’re a very small team. We’ll endeavor to read and respond to all submissions within each issue cycle. But if you don’t hear from us, please forgive us—even if the gods don’t—and consider it a respectful pass.

Pitching Book Reviews

Beginning in October, Kismet Magazine will publish one book review online per week.

We review the kind of books that fit with the magazine’s ethos, as described above: style-forward writing with an interest in mystical, spiritual, and religious elements, broadly interpreted.

We are currently accepting pitches for books forthcoming from December 2025 onward. All reviewers are paid $250 per review. And reviews should be between 1500-2000 words in length.

Guidelines for Reviewers: 

• Books must be forthcoming (not already published).

• A lead time of at least 2-3 months is preferred.

• Please briefly outline the relevance of the proposed title to the Kismet readership.

• Please include a brief contributor bio and links to up to 3 relevant bylines.

• We ask that reviewers do not pitch the work of friends, family, or close acquaintances.

Guidelines for publicists:

Please consider if the title you are pitching is a fit for Kismet before sending promotional materials.

Pitches should be sent to:

info@kismet-mag.com