Call for Submissions: Rockvale Review

The reading period runs from January 1 to March 31, 2025.

Issue Fourteen will be published in May 2025.

We publish poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Please read the following guidelines carefully and in their entirety. Disregarding our guidelines may result in the disqualification of your submission.

The reading period for Issue Fourteen is January 1 to March 31, 2025 Work submitted outside this window will not be read. We invite you to submit your best work that is both bold and vulnerable. This issue is unthemed.

Guidelines applicable to all genres:

• We read blind, so don’t put your name anywhere on your work or in the title of the file you attach. If we see a name, the submission will be disqualified and we won’t read it. You can add a cover letter and a 100-word, 3rd-person bio in the appropriate section on the form if you wish, but we are more interested in the quality of the work you send now than in your past achievements. If your work is accepted, we will contact you for your author’s bio.

• Please use 12-point, Times New Roman font. We only accept .doc, .docx or PDF files.

• Once a piece is submitted, and especially if it is accepted, revisions by the writer will not be allowed. However, we may ask to lightly edit a piece of writing we really believe in.

• While we’d love to compensate you for your beautiful words, we can’t do that.

• We only accept work via Submittable.

• Simultaneous submissions are perfectly OK, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted somewhere else by making a note in Submittable. Previously published work is not accepted.

• We acquire first North American serial rights for work we publish. All rights revert to the author upon publication. Should your work be subsequently published in a chapbook, full collection, another journal, or anthology, please mention that it appeared first in Rockvale Review.

• Submission Fee: We charge a $3.00 submission fee for all submissions. All fees go towards supporting our Submittable platform. None of the editors receive any compensation.

Specific guidelines for each writing genre.

Poetry: 

• Send 1-3 poems. Start each poem on a new page. Please don’t send poems longer than 50 lines. Poems may be single-spaced.

• Please don’t send song lyrics or greeting card verse, poems with explicit language, or poems that are overtly political, sexual, or discriminatory.

• It is unlikely that we will publish rhyming verse. It is unlikely that we will publish translations.

• While we will consider all types and forms of poetry, we lean toward image-driven work that is clearly grounded in craft. We pay attention to line breaks, enjambment, use of punctuation, musicality, rhythm of language, etc.

Short Fiction:

• Send 1 piece of writing, double-spaced, with a word limit of 2500.

• In the header of each page, please include the story title. Please include page numbers.

• Story must be a complete work on its own and not an excerpt of a greater work. There must be a clear narrative arc that peaks with crisis/action. We are looking for stories that move us.

• Please carefully check your work for misspellings, punctuation, language issues, etc.

Creative Nonfiction:

• Send 1 piece of writing, double-spaced, no longer than 2500 words.

• In the header of each page, please include the CNF title. Please include page numbers.

• We consider CNF to include memoir, essay, and reported material written in a narrative style using storytelling techniques.

• Please carefully check your work for misspellings, punctuation, language issues, etc.

Submit your work here.

Writing Competition on Theme of "Redemption": Megacity Review

Megacity Review is now accepting submissions for both art and prose for an opportunity to have your work featured in our publication and win up to $1,000. We welcome submissions from professional and amateur creators alike, reflecting a wide range of voices and perspectives.

Submission Period:
Dec 1, 2024 to Apr 1, 2025

Prose Guidelines

Theme: Redemption

Word Count: Up to 3,000 words

Format: Submissions must be in a standard manuscript format (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins) and submitted as a PDF or Word document.

Genres: We accept literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and personal essays.

Additional Requirement: Please include a short bio (50–100 words) with your submission.

Art Guidelines

Theme: Open

What We’re Looking For: Street-inspired art, fine art, photography, and other visual media that enchant and captivate.

Number of Pieces: Up to four (4) images per submission.

Format: Digital files (JPEG or PNG) at 300 DPI resolution. Files should not exceed 10 MB each.

Additional Requirement: Please include a short bio (50–100 words) with your submission.

Review Submission Fee

Prose: $10 per submission.

Art: $10 per submission (up to four pieces). 

The submission fee helps cover the cost of reviewing and administrating the selection process. Due to staff constraints, we do not provide feedback on entries.

Awards

Selected submissions will be featured in an upcoming issue of Megacity Review. Contributors whose work is chosen will receive an honorarium of up to $1,000.

Eligibility

Open to creators 18 years or older.

Submissions must be original, unpublished work. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Multiple submissions are permitted. Each submission requires a separate fee.

How to Submit

Prepare your submission following the guidelines above.

Submit the $10 submission fee via our Submission Portal.

Upload your work through the portal, and make sure that your submission includes a short bio.

Rights

By submitting your work, you grant Megacity Review first publishing rights and the non-exclusive right to include your work in digital and print formats. After publication, all rights revert to the author or artist.

Terms and Conditions

Submissions that do not adhere to the guidelines will not be considered.

Submission fees are non-refundable.

Winners will be notified by Oct 1, 2025.

Megacity Review reserves the right to make editorial changes to accepted pieces with the contributor's approval.

For questions, please contact us at:

submissions@megacityreview.org

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Flaw and Favor": The Ilanot Review

Reading period for our summer 2025 issue: February 1 to March 31, 2025

Theme: Flaw and Favor

Submission Guidelines:

• Only one submission per reading period, please! Multiple submissions (including submissions to multiple genres) will be automatically disqualified. Submission fees: Submissions are free for two weeks or until Submittable’s submission caps are reached, whichever comes first.

• After that, we charge a submission fee of $3.

• Translations are free throughout the submission period.

• The Ilanot Review is a volunteer operation. Funds go towards web hosting fees and Submittable service fees.

• We will consider simultaneous submissions but ask that you retract your work immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

• If your work appears in our current or previous issue, we kindly ask that you refrain from submitting to our upcoming issue.

• Please include a short bio (50-100 words) with your submission.

• We welcome unpublished translations of original work, provided the translator has obtained permission from the author. Please include a copy of the original work with your submission.

• We welcome work that challenges conventions of form, style, and content.

• We retain first serial rights to work published in The Ilanot Review. At the time of publication, all rights revert back to the author. However, The Ilanot Review retains the right to publish the piece(s) in any subsequent issue or anthology, whether in print or online. Should you decide to republish the piece elsewhere, we kindly ask that you cite The Ilanot Review as a place of previous publication.

Categories:

Poetry:

Up to 5 poems, not to exceed 7 pages. Please submit all work + bio in a single Word file, with each poem beginning on a separate page. Please include your name and contact information on each page.

Fiction:

One story up to 3,000 words long or 1-3 works of flash/microfiction, up to 500 words each.

Creative Nonfiction:

One essay up to 4,000 words long or 1-3 works of flash/micro-CNF, up to 500 words each

Art, Photography, Comics:

Please submit a single document or up to 6 image files (all files must be included in a single submission). Stand-alone images submitted to this category will be considered for inclusion within the journal’s pages and as cover art.

Translations:

We welcome unpublished translations into English from any language, provided the translator has obtained permission from the author. See above for word limits for each genre. Please include a copy of the original work with your submission.

Submit your work here.

Writing Competition: 2025 Rising Poet Chapbook Prize

Description: Sponsored by our publishing partner, Shadow Dog Press, the 2025 Rising Poet Chapbook Prize seeks to elevate and reward exceptional emerging literary talent.

Submission Window: March 10th, 2025 at 12:01 am EST through August 10th, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Prize:
Publication by Shadow Dog Press with a transparent and competitive royalties contract, including:
-A $500 advance (payable upon signing)
-25 author copies
-Chapbook marketing & promotions
-A multi-page feature in SDL Review
-A 5-year digital subscription to SDL Review
-2 print copies of the issue(s) in which you are featured.

Up to three prize packages will be awarded. All submissions will be considered for offers of publication.

Eligibility: The 2025 Rising Poet Chapbook Prize is open to previously unpublished chapbook-length poetry manuscripts from all US-based poets who have not yet published a full-length collection. Here, for the purposes of The 2025 Rising Poet Chapbook Prize eligibility, we consider “published” to mean any full-length collection that has been traditionally or self-published in any print and/or digital format. Individual pieces that have been previously published may be included, provided you hold the rights and proper acknowledgments are made. We ask that no more than 1/3 of your manuscript be made up of previously published work. Employees and board members of Shadow Dog Press Literary Group entities and their immediate family members are ineligible. We do not accept any submissions created, in whole or in part, with or assisted by generative AI. We require a personal statement certifying that generative AI was not used at any stage in the creation process of your manuscript. This does not include simple spellcheck applications. Learn more about our AI policy.

Reading fee: $18
Every submitter receives personalized manuscript feedback.

A limited amount of sponsored free submission slots will open to submitters August 1st, 2025 at Noon EST and remain open until exhausted or the submission window closes.

Submission Guidelines: When building your submission packet, please be sure to adhere to the following guidelines. Submissions that do not follow the guidelines below will be rejected.

Assembling your submission packet: We require you to submit the following separate documents.

Document #1- Your Manuscript

—An eligible chapbook manuscript saved as a .docx file of no less than 15, but no more than 30 pages.

—Start each piece on a new page.

—Please be sure to strip identifying information from your manuscript document.

—Include your manuscript title in the header of each page.

—Number your pages.

—Page size 8.5×11, with all margins set to 1 inch.

—Use 12pt Times New Roman.

—Images- Please do not include art or images in your submission. You’ll have ample opportunity to discuss art and imagery with your publishing team should your manuscript be accepted.

Document #2- Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter should be a single-page document consisting of a few paragraphs that introduce both you as the author of the work and the work itself. Beneath that information, please provide a brief 3rd-person bio. Next, list your website and any social media handles you have. After that, include a brief statement certifying no generative AI was used at any point during the creation of your manuscript.

Finally, include your contact information as follows:

—Pen Name under which you wish to publish, if applicable

—Pronouns

—Legal Name (for internal uses such as accounting and contracts)

—Email address

—Mailing address

—Phone number

Document #3- Acknowledgements Page

Please provide a list of the individual previously published works included in this manuscript, including their original publishers and respective issue, volume, or online domain as applicable.

Please note that the inclusion of this document is only required if any of the individual pieces that make up your chapbook manuscript have been previously published elsewhere as defined in the eligibility section above.

Rules, Restrictions, Terms, and Conditions

The 2025 Rising Poet Chapbook Prize adheres to the Shadow Dog Literary Inc. Mission Statement and the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics and operates on a yearly cycle. The contest is organized and administered in a three-phase format.

Phase I— Submissions period. The 2025 submissions period runs from 12:01 am EST March 10th, 2025 through 11:59 pm EST August 10th, 2025.

Phase II— The Selection Process. Blind reading of manuscripts may commence no earlier than August 12th, 2025, however, in adherence with the Shadow Dog Literary Inc.’s nonprofit mission statement of commitment to Publishing Excellence and maintaining high editorial standards, a minimum threshold of submissions must be met to commence the selection process. In the event that the threshold is not met by the end of the submission window, the window will be extended in 30-day increments until the threshold is met. At least one submission will be selected. The number of additional selections is based on the overall quality of the submissions received and the total volume of submissions received within the current prize cycle submission window.

Phase III- Notification Period— Decision notifications are to be sent out no later than the 21st of November 2025 provided the submission window runs as scheduled. Should the submission window need to be extended in accordance with the rules above, this date will also be adjusted. All submissions will be answered. Decisions are delivered via email. If you would also like to receive a physical decision letter, please send a S.A.S.E. to
Shadow Dog Press
P.O. Box 39
North Adams, MA 01247

before the 1st of August 2025. Selections will be announced on Shadow Dog Group’s social media channels. The Shadow’s Call newsletter, and in The SDL review. Selected manuscripts will be slated for release dates throughout 2026.

The Reading Fee—All fees collected go to paying and elevating writers, as well as transaction, platform, and administration fees associated with doing so. Shadow Dog Literary Inc. is a small nonprofit in its infancy, started with seed money scraped together by working-class writers. We’re run by volunteers still seeking sponsors at this time, but we hope to lower or eliminate submission fees as we grow and our funding increases.

The Prize Packages— Each selected manuscript’s author will be awarded a transparent and competitive publishing contract with our partner publisher, Shadow Dog Press Independent Publishing House that includes a $500 cash advance, (payable upon signing,) royalties, and 25 author copies; chapbook marketing & promotions, a multi-page feature in The SDL Review, a 5-year (25 issues) digital subscription to The SDL Review and 2 print copies of the issue in which you are featured. Up to three prize packages will be awarded. Should a selected manuscript’s author decline our offer to publish, the prize package will default to the runner-up.

If you have any questions not answered here, please send an email to ChapbookPrize@ShadowDogPress.com

NOTICE: Abuse, threats, harassment, and mistreatment directed toward any member of our staff or our contributors on or off our platforms will result in being permanently banned by Shadow Dog Literary Group, all its holdings, and partner programs, including but not limited to its current and future holdings, publications, platforms, events, social media pages, outreach and support programs, grants, scholarships, contracts, prizes, awards, etc. and reported to the authorities as necessary.
 

Submit

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Memories of the Future": Usawa Literary review

Usawa: Call for Submissions - June 2025 Issue

MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE

Isn’t premonition memory of the future? Did Proust say writers have a blurred memory of things they do not know?

Memory by Priya Sarukkai Chabria,

Calling Over Water

Time flows linearly. We move forward and then memories sneak up and take us back or rather, bring to the present what once was. And in dreams instead of falling downwards, the sand in our hourglass may start moving up.

All memory is imagination. All dreams are…well dreams.

Imagining, dreaming, and remembering by their very nature resist censor. Are they acts of resistance then? Then writing in their language must be too.

When we mine your dreams tomorrow what would we find?

For its Summer 2025 Issue, Usawa Literary Review invites contributions in genres of poetry, short fiction, reviews, interviews, essays, and creative non-fiction, based around the theme, ‘Memories of the Future ’.

There is no submission fee.

Deadline: 25th April 2025

We pay 1000 INR/12 $ for an accepted piece.

Section Guidelines

Poetry:

Please submit 4-6 poems.

Usawa will be publishing unpublished poems only. However, poems that have been shared on the author’s social media are acceptable.

If you have previously published work that strongly resonates with our theme kindly share the same with our Poetry Editor, Babitha Marina Justin, at:

babitha@usawa.in 

stating why you would like the piece to be considered. The body of editors will review it collectively and take a decision accordingly.

Short Fiction:

Submit short fiction of length between 2000-5000 words.

While our primary focus is on literary fiction that explores the depth and complexity of the human experience, we are also open to exceptional works of genre fiction that push boundaries and offer fresh perspectives. Bring us stories with emotional depth, vivid characterization, and inventive storytelling.

Our Editor-in-Chief, Smita Sahay, can be reached at:

smita@usawa.in 

for queries.

Translations:

Include at least 4 poems or a text ranging from 2000-5000 words for consideration. The translation should be alongside the source text.

Please ensure that you have the original author’s consent and mention the same in your submission. Include the original author’s short bio and photograph if possible.

Our Translations Editor, Sonakshi Srivastava, can be reached at:

sonakshi@usawa.in 

for queries.

Book Reviews:

Submit 1000-1500 word book reviews. Reviews can be of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction books.

Submission Guidelines for Book Reviews

Our Reviews Editor, Ankush Banerjee, can be reached at:

ankush@usawa.in 

for queries.

Nonfiction:

Submit nonfiction of length up to 5000 words.

We are looking for pieces that reflect honesty of the experience, personal or from the point of witness. What are you subverting? Why? Send us well-crafted writings, especially essays, or even hybrid pieces, in a way that we look at the world anew even though the facts remain the same. We’re most excited by not only reading about things little known or talked about, but also by pieces that subvert and surprise.

Our Nonfiction Editor, Smita Sahay, can be reached at:

smita@usawa.in 

for queries.

Visual Narrative submissions:

Please send up to six-eight stand-alone photographs or photo essays in .jpeg format at 300dpi along with an artist statement or a paragraph about the inspiration behind your piece to our Visual Narratives Editor, Priyanka Sacheti at:

priyanka@usawa.in

We are looking for images which see the world anew, the camera revealing what our gaze sometimes overlooks. There are so many ways of looking and we are particularly interested in those images moving away from and challenging the patriarchal/male gaze. We would also like to see images where the framing of a subject is as much a story as the subject itself.

We welcome both landscape and portrait-oriented images as well as colour and black and white images. 

Visual Narratives FAQ

Interview Submissions:

The interview piece should have at least 5-8 questions. Kindly mention whether you have taken the interview in person, by any virtual tool, or through questionnaires. Kindly include a short description of 100 words, highlighting what made you choose the individual.

We are looking for interviews of people from every sphere of the society. Since our world is built with dreams, hard work, kindness, and compassion, our objective is to understand people who embody these traits in their work. Our idea is to acknowledge and celebrate an individual’s contributions towards shaping the society.

Our Interviews Editor, Kabir Deb, can be reached at:

kabir@usawa.in 

for queries.

More information and submission form here.

Call for Submissions: Feminist Spaces

Feminist Spaces is an international journal of women's, gender, and sexuality studies that invites students, faculty, artists, activists, and independent scholars from institutions worldwide to submit formal essays, creative writing, and multimodal artistic pieces per our annual Call for Works. The online journal is published and designed independently by our editorial board.​

Originally established in March 2014, Feminist Spaces emerged as the brainchild of the Women's Studies Collective at the University of West Florida. The student-run organization successfully published six issues of Feminist Spaces and hosted 17 annual Women’s Studies Conferences with notable keynote speakers such as Angela Davis, Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, and Andrea Gibson.

Following a four-year publishing hiatus, Feminist Spaces relaunched and rebranded in January 2021 by a team of graduate students at a university in Florida. After a year of hacking passwords, meeting via Zoom, and digging through ancient editorial files, the editorial team was proud to present a revamped installment and digital facelift of Feminist Spaces.

However, in 2024, Feminist Spaces made the decision to cut ties with our original institution after conservative laws were passed in Florida. Florida regulation 9.016, nicknamed "the anti-DEI regulation," prevents "Social and Political Activism," which is defined in this regulation as "any activity organized with a purpose of effecting or preventing change to a governmental policy, action, or function." The state accused Feminist Spaces, as an openly activist journal, of violating this regulation, thus "threaten[ing] the integrity" of our prior institution. Our options, then, were two-fold: be silenced or break away. The choice was clear.

While Feminist Spaces does not fault the university with which we were previously affiliated for this censorship, we acknowledge that becoming an independent journal is in the best interest of the journal’s mission and our goals as a group of intersectional feminist activists. Independent publication not only allows our editorial board to speak, post, and publish freely, but it also allows us to advocate openly for women's rights by amplifying a larger number of voices of members of marginalized communities globally and exploring a wider range of "polarizing" topics.

We refuse to be silenced, and we refuse to silence you.

Feminist Spaces accepts submissions each year between the months of January and May during our annual Call for Works. New issues are published each summer.

To submit work to Feminist Spaces, please send us an email with your submission to:

feministspacesjournal@gmail.com 

with "Submission [Year]" in the subject line.

All submissions must be sent using an editable file such as .doc, .docx, or .rtf. Please ensure that all written submissions adhere to the guidelines and conventions set forth by the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition). Standard essays should be single-spaced at a 12 pt. font. Additionally, all writers and artists should include a third-person biography of less than 150 words with their submission.

For artistic submissions, please send us high-resolution photos as a JPEG, PNG, or link to an online photo sharing platform like Google Drive. All artistic submissions must include a first-person artist statement of less than 600 words which contextualizes the artwork. All art submissions will be considered for cover art for the journal.

Call for Submissions from Maryland Writers: Artists from Maryland

 

Issue 2 Timeline: 

March 9th to April 26th: Submissions open for all genres
April 26th to May 4th: Final round of judging
May 5th: Responses to all submitters
May 7th: Announcement of honorees and payment

All responses will be sent out by May 5th. If accepted, you MUST respond by May 7th to be paid. We will only pay through PAYPAL and ZELLE. 

For clarity: the editor-in-chief will not be deciding the winner or the runner-ups. The EIC (Aldrin Badiola) will be anonymizing each of the submissions, and sending them to the judges for Issue 2: Diamond Abrams and nat raum. The EIC, however, will be deciding the finalists that will be included for publication alongside the winner and the runner-ups.

Payment goes as follows (all honorees will be published alongside payment):

Winner: $40 USD
Runner-ups: $20 USD
Finalists: $10 USD

GUIDELINES:

The following are necessary for your submission to be considered:

• A cover letter. Nothing too fancy! Just explain whether what you’re submitting is a simultaneous submission, if it has been previously published, and tell us about who you are and where in Maryland you are from!

• A short artist bio (around 50 words, but we're flexible), since we want to get to know you and promote anywhere you may have been published before.

Genre specific guidelines (maximum of four pages/documents, depending on genre):

• 1 to 3 poems, each on a new page, as a .pdf or .doc/.docx file

• 1 to 2 prose pieces (fiction or nonfiction, max. of 2000 words) each on a new page, as a .pdf or .doc/.docx file

• 1 to 4 pieces of art as separate .jpeg or .png files (Attaching alt-text is appreciated, however we are also willing to work with you to create alt-text.)

• You are allowed to submit multi-genre, it just must fit in the five document upload limit and follow the genre restrictions.

• No AI-created works. No discriminatory, gory, or excessively sexual content (when in doubt, submit with content warnings).

• We do accept previously published pieces, but only if you have permission from the previous publisher. We also allow pieces from Artists from Maryland to be published elsewhere after the fact, just credit us!

• We do accept simultaneous submissions, just notify us immediately if part of your submission is accepted elsewhere so we can congratulate you.

• If you submit when we are closed, your submission will be deleted and left unread.

• If you are rejected, please wait three months before submitting again, unless otherwise requested. If you submit before that period is over, your submission will be deleted and left unread, and all future submissions will be given the same treatment.

We request the nonexclusive rights to publish your works with us. Artists maintain the right to republish the work they publish with us, elsewhere, after our publication.

Submit your work here.