Call for Submissions: What Books Press

WHAT BOOKS PRESS

With its genre-bending list of bilingual poetry, eco-fabulist science fiction, magic journalism, hybrid collaboration, and graphic narrative, WPB was founded in 2008 to assert the imperative for serious writing that reflects the diversity of literary and political cultures emerging from Los Angeles, a center for art in the globalized world, We came together with a single purpose: to create an outlet for groundbreaking fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, with extraordinary art by renowned multi-media artist Gronk on every cover. And we’re still doing it, bringing out exciting new work every year that we believe truly needs to be in this world. We remain committed to—and are always looking for—new, innovative, and underrepresented writing that challenges both formal boundaries and the pressing social and political issues of our time.

To keep up to date with our press and publications, please sign up for our email list here.

What Book Press is actively seeking full-length works of prose in any genre--fiction, nonfiction, hybrid. In keeping with our eclectic collection of titles from our inception in 2008, we are looking for work that thrills us with a bending of literary expectation, or a striking use of language, or a poignant portrayal of the human condition--or (why not?), all three.

Please submit a query letter telling us a little bit about yourself, your submission, and your interest in WBP. For your submission, please also submit a 10-20 page sample of your book. Works submitted in their entirety at this stage in the process will be returned unread. Should we find your work of interest, we will invite you submit the rest of the manuscript.

Submit your queries and sample pages here. 

Deadline: April 15, 2025

Writing Competitions: 2025 Beautiful Pause Poetry Collection Award

The 2025 beautiful pause prize is open now through may 1 for full-length poetry manuscripts

the beautiful pause prize…

is a yearly prize of $1,000 and the print publication of a full-length manuscript awarded to a writer of exceptional talent and heart.

One runner-up will receive $500 and publication of a series of poems in one of our biannual print volumes.

Contest Timeline*

• Winning and shortlisted manuscripts announced in August/September 2025

• Publication and release of the winning manuscript in December 2025/January 2026

• The prize will reopen for nonfiction on November 15, 2025.

Guidelines

• 18 and older to submit.

• This contest is judged by Press Pause editors, and submissions are anonymized.

• Please submit complete manuscripts. 30 poems minimum.

• Only one attachment/manuscript per submission. A single author may submit multiple manuscripts but must pay the $25 reading fee for each submission.

• Remove any identifying information from your manuscript. If there is identifying information anywhere on your manuscript, it will not be considered.

• It is okay if some or all poems are published elsewhere separately, but not if they have been published as a collection before. Poetry collections should be thoughtful and cohesive.

What Makes a Beautiful Pause?

We are looking for original, honest, beautiful poems from humans. We have no gates to keep. Haunt us from every corner of every place. Send us thoughtful collections that make us pause, slow down, think, laugh, cry, and feel more connected to our fellow humans. As we always say: Send us whatever is in your hearts.

publishing with us

Dear Future Beautiful Pause Winner:

We love you.

Your manuscript will be treated with respect, with you at the helm of the editing process. We will copyedit your manuscript in suggestion mode, and maybe provide a few thoughts on developmental edits that you can take or leave. You will be able to extensively proof your work before publication.

We are fans of the feel of beautiful books in our hands. We don’t print anything that isn’t beautiful.

You will receive $1,000 immediately upon winning and 25 contributor copies when printed. You will receive royalties on all sales.

Because we do not have a social media account—(We’re Press Pause!)—we will also work with you to market your book and put a small budget behind doing so.

Questions? Email se.harsha@presspausepress.org.

Writing Competitions: Prime Number Awards for Poetry & Short Fiction

The 2025 Prime Number Magazine Awards for Poetry and Short Fiction

Open for Entries, January 1-March 31, 2025

Before entering, please read the following guidelines carefully

Entry period: January 1 to March 31, 2025 (midnight EASTERN time)

Judge for Poetry: Molly Rice, author of Forever Eighty-Eights: Poems

Judge for Short Fiction: Dennis McFadden, author of Jimtown Road: A Novel in Stories, winner of the 2016 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction

First Prize in Each Category: $1,000 and publication in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 277, Sept-Dec 2025 (a Press 53 online publication)

Two Runners-Up in each category receive $250 (new!) plus publication

Announcement: Winners, runners-up, and finalists will be announced no later than July 1, 2025 (hopefully sooner)

Reading Fee: $15
How to Enter the Prime Number Magazine Awards

Entries are only accepted online via Submittable

Poetry: Submit one (and only one) unpublished poem, no more than three pages in length in standard 12-pt. type. (Times, Garamond, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the page with your poem.

Short Fiction: Submit one (and only one) unpublished short story of up to 5,300 words, with title and word count, double spaced with numbered pages in standard 12-pt. type. (Times, Garamond, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the manuscript.

Multiple entries: Multiple entries are accepted, but you must enter each poem and/or story individually and pay the reading fee for each entry.

Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your entry via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere. You may not replace the withdrawn poem or story with another poem or story. Reading fee is not refundable.

Editing entry: If you discover an error before the deadline and wish to replace your entry with a newly edited version, request "Open Editing" via Submittable. Requests made after the deadline will not be honored.

Judging: All entries are read blind. Judge is asked to disqualify any entry that is recognized, so please use your best judgment.

Eligibility: Contest is open to writers anywhere in the world, 18 years of age and older, who write in English.

Note: Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine editors and family members are not eligible. Authors who have published a book-length collection with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in anthologies published by Press 53 or have previously published in Prime Number Magazine are eligible.

Disclaimer: Prime Number Magazine reserves the right to extend the deadline if deemed necessary. Only unpublished works are eligible. Reading fees are non-refundable. Entries with author's name appearing anywhere on the manuscript will not be considered. No refunds will be made. Entries withdrawn from the contest will not receive a refund. All entries must be original to the author.

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher & Editor in Chief of Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine.

Call for Horror Submissions to Anthology: This World of Vile Wonder: Horror Tales of the Scientific Revolution

Submission Guidelines for Anthology: This World of Vile Wonder: Horror Tales of the Scientific Revolution

General

• Payment: $75 usd per story via PayPal

• Word Count: 5,000 (firm) to 10,000 words

• Submission Window: January 1 to February 28, 2025

• Submit To:

the.scythian.wolf@gmail.com

• Subject Line: Scientific Revolution Submission: Story Title

• Submit as: .docx Attachment (no links)

• Format: Standard Manuscript Format

• Include: Name or Pen Name in Email

• Include: Brief Synopsis (3-4 sentences will suffice) in Email

• Publication Date: 2025

 Editor: Coy Hall (He/Him)

 Additional

• Story must be set between the years 1500 and 1700 ce

• Any category of science from the period welcome

• With setting and details, historical accuracy is vital

• All subgenres of horror welcome

• No Poetry Submissions

• No Reprints

•  Stories that utilize AI in any capacity will be rejected

•  Multiple Submissions Not Permitted

•  Simultaneous Submissions Permitted

•  Receipt of Submissions Will be Confirmed

•  Acceptances and Rejections sent March 2 - April 30

  Rights

 exclusive publication for one year after publication date

non-exclusive publication after one year

All Copyright belongs to the Author

Call for Submissions: ephemeras Literary Magazine

ephermeras literary magazine

Deadline: Feb. 28, 2025

Submission Guidelines​
Fiction: we are namely seeking literary fiction and its sub-genres. If it's weird, if it's nostalgic, if it's urgent—we want to read it.
​Up to 3,000 words in a singular submission or 3 pieces of flash fiction (under 1,000 words).​​​​

Nonfiction: we accept creative nonfiction and cultural commentary/criticism (up to 3,000 words)
​We will not accept submissions of interviews, book reviews, academic papers, or personal narratives that do not address a wider scope at this moment​​

Queries/pitches are encouraged but not necessary prior to submitting

Poetry: up to 3 poems in a single submission. So the integrity of the original work is not lost, please refrain from sending experimental line breaks and spacing that will not translate during formatting.

Visual art: film photography, paintings, sculptures, digital artwork (submit 3-5 photos as individual high-quality JPEG files)
​
ephemeras will NOT accept work generated from or with the assistance of AI.

How To Submit

Email your submissions to:

ephemerasmag@gmail.com 

with the following in the subject line:
​[Genre and Work Title/s], Name

Include a brief cover letter, and a third person bio (15o characters).

Please submit all written works as .doc or .docx files only.

For extra credit, tell us how you found us. We always like hearing about it.

Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, please let us know if work submitted to us is in consideration elsewhere.

We cannot compensate writers at this time.

We will not accept previously published work, unless previous publication is defunct.

ephemeras reserves first initial publishing rights in North America, archival rights for as long as ephemeras is operational.

Call for Submissions: Common House Magazine

 

Submissions to Common House are open from January 20th to March 16th 2025. Please ensure to review our submission guidelines before submitting.

How to submit:

We accept electronic submissions only. We will not accept work submitted directly through email.

Please submit your piece(s) as a:

Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) for written work

PNG file for art and photography

MP3 file for audio

MP4 file for video

Name your document LastName_Title, and include all pieces of the same genre in a single document. Please refrain from including additional identifying information such as first name or bio in the document.

Our preferred format is 1.5 spaced, 12-pt font Times New Roman.

If your work does not fit into one of our five main genres—poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, visual art, or multimedia work—simply choose the genre you feel fits best.

What to submit:

Please submit:

1 work of prose up to 3500 words or 2–3 flash pieces up to 1000 words each

OR up to 5 poems

OR up to 5 works of art or photographs

OR audio and video submissions of up to 5 minutes

We are interested in original, previously unpublished pieces. Published pieces include those posted on personal blogs or social media.

We will consider excerpts from longer work, but we are unlikely to accept an excerpt that doesn’t work well on its own.

We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us by email:

 commonhousemag@gmail.com 

if your work has been accepted elsewhere.

We recommend scrolling through a few of our previously published issues before submitting to know whether your piece is a good fit for us.

Who can submit:

We accept work from anyone, anywhere in the world.

​After submitting:

Our response time is 1–3 months. Feel free to inquire by email about the status of your submission after 3 months have passed.

Unfortunately, we are currently unable to pay contributors. Common House is an entirely volunteer-run operation; as we continue to grow, we hope to be able to compensate contributors in the future.

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions: subTerrain

 

subTerrain publishes original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, essays, and commentary three times a year. Submissions must be previously unpublished material. (Note maximum number of submissions per issue below.)

 

Feel free to interpret our themes in unique and unusual ways.

 

All other regular submission guidelines still apply, as below.

 

The following are some general guidelines (as always, we suggest READING an issue of the magazine to see what we're all about).

Submissions must be previously unpublished and be:

1. typed, double-spaced on 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

2. Fiction: a maximum of 3,000 words. (Max. 3 stories per issue)

3. Poetry: we no longer accept unsolicited poetry submissions (unless specifically related to one of our theme issues). Poetry should be single-spaced with stanza breaks. (Max. 5 poems per issue)

4. Creative Non-Fiction: a maximum of 4,000 words. (Max. 2 articles per issue)

5. Commentary (social or otherwise): a maximum of 4000 words. (Max. 2 articles per issue)

6. Photography & Illustration: we only accept solicited art and photography. Please forward us a link to your work;

7. Please do not send submissions via email; online submissions accepted through Submittable only (mailed submissions are still accepted as well.)

8. Please allow 6 months for a response, though we shall strive as always to respond sooner.

 

Payment rates for published submissions:

Poetry: $50 per poem

Prose: $.10 per word (to a maximum of $500.) 

 

Submission fees:

Electronic submissions come with a $3.00 submission fee to help cover our Submittable account and thereby allow us to continue accepting online submissions. If you choose to submit by traditional mail, you will not be charged the submission fee. Mailed submissions can be sent to the address below.

*If submitting by mail, please identify on the front of the envelope the theme issue to which you're submitting. (Note: Writers outside of Canada submitting by mail must include Canadian postage for their SASE.)

 

subTerrain Magazine

P.O. Box 3008, MPO

Vancouver, BC V6B 3X5

Canada

 

More information and submission portal here.