Writing Competition for Writers from North and South Dakota: The 2025 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

Established in 1984, the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community. The prestigious award, which aims to provide promising writers a network for professional advancement, has helped to launch the careers of Sue Monk Kidd (The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees), David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei), Craig Santos Perez (from unincorporated territory [åmot]), Mona Simpson (Case), Lidia Yuknavitch (Thrust), and others. Since Poets & Writers began the Writers Exchange in 1984, 114 writers from forty-four states or jurisdictions have been selected to participate. The award is generously supported by Maureen Mahon Egen, a member of the Poets & Writers Emeritus Board.

This year, North and South Dakota have been selected for the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. Writers from the states of North and South Dakota are invited to apply for the 2025 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. One fiction writer and one poet will be selected. Winners receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with top literary professionals, including editors, agents, publishers, and prominent writers. This year’s judges are Kali Fajardo-Anstine for fiction and Chet'la Sebree for poetry.

Entries must be submitted by March 1, 2025.

Complete guidelines and application link here.

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Handmade Tales": Wyldcraft

Now accepting submissions for the SPRING/SUMMER 2025 issue!

Deadline for submissions: MARCH 1st, 2025

Click HERE to take a look at our previous issues!

❮ GENERAL ❯ We accept the following types of submissions: 

• Fiction

• Creative Nonfiction

• Poetry

• Experimental forms (spells, recipes, obituaries, grocery lists, legal citations, horoscopes – we’re open-minded)

• Written submissions, other than poetry, should be no longer than 1500 words. For poetry and all other forms: use your judgment.

• Please proof-read your work prior to submission.

• At this time, we can only publish English-language submissions (or translations).

• We accept simultaneous submissions, with the understanding that you’ll let us know if another outlet has chosen to publish your content.

• THIS ISSUE (Spring/Summer 2025): The theme is “Handmade Tales”. Please interpret the theme however you’d like!

❮ SUBMISSION PROCESS ❯
Submissions are accepted via email:

wyldcraftmag@gmail.com 

• Please include the word SUBMISSION in the Subject Line

• Emailed submissions should be attached as separate, editable documents (not in the body of the email). For the sake of clarity, we don’t intend to edit your submission (outside of correcting any unintentional spelling mistakes), but we require this in the event your material is selected for inclusion in order to make the formatting and publishing processes easier on us . By the way, if we are digging your work but have editorial notes that we feel might strengthen your submission, we will reach out!
  

• You must include the following along with your submission: Your Full Name (and, if different from your given name, your preferred author byline).

• You may include the following as well (it can’t hurt!): If you prefer, any social media handle or website you’d like to appear alongside your work.

• Any additional info about you that we may find cool (have you written for other publications before, or won any awards? We love that for you and want to hear about it!)

• If your submission is accepted, we will obviously let you know! You’ll receive an email response directly to the email address your submission came into us from.

• If your submission is not accepted, you likely won’t hear from us – we’d love to chat, of course, but given the volume of submissions we receive, we don’t have the bandwidth to get back to everyone. If you haven’t heard from us in 6 weeks, please assume your submission has not been accepted on this occasion.

 ❮ LEGAL JUNK ❯ We don’t have any desire to steal your work – you maintain the copyright to the original material you submit; we’re just here to provide a platform!

• Speaking of ownership: please don’t send us work that isn’t yours! In fact, by sending us a submission, you’re confirming that you are the sole owner of the material submitted.

• Submitted works MUST be original – while we love leftovers, we don’t want your scraps from a previous publishing. Don’t send us pieces you’ve already had successfully published in other magazines, blogs, etc.

❮ OUR VIBES ❯ About Us: We are a grassroots, female-run literary magazine currently in the new moon of our life. We think of ourselves as foragers, going out into the wild to find and elevate emerging literary voices. We’re committed to lowering the traditional barriers of entry to publication, and we encourage submissions from authors in every stage of their literary journey.

We’d love it if your submissions mesh with the vibe of our mag – to that end, here’s what our dating app profile would say, if we had one:

• Spiritual but not religious

• Eco-feminist (no fish pics plz)

• Witty & witchy

• Inclusive

• Down to clown

Writing Competition: The Rumpus 2025 Prize for Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction

December 5, 2024-March 2, 2025 we're open for submissions for our inaugural Rumpus Prize for Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction.

 $3,600 in prizes$1,000 1st prize and publication in three genres: poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction.

Honorable mentions receive $200 and publication in each of the three genres

All writers can opt in if they’d like to be considered for publication by The Rumpus, regardless of whether they’re named a winner or finalist. See details and submission links BELOW. Submission fee is $20 per entry.

Complete submission guidelines and portal here.

Writing Competition on Theme of "Post-Election Turmoil": Front Street Press

Front Street Micro Press

Submit Now: Free Contest!

The recent election in the USA has seemingly shown women, people of colour, and members of the LGBTQ+ that more people are anti-basic human rights for all than we ever thought possible.If you went into a depressive spiral in November, you're not alone. Share your grief, your rage, your feelings of helplessness with us. 

Grand Prize: $50
Short List: $20
Long List: $10 

Closes on February 28th, 2025.

Submit your work here!

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.