Call for Submissions: Toronto Journal

What do we publish?

We accept the following types of submissions: Fiction: short stories from anywhere in the world. See the Fiction category for some examples.

Stories from the City: non-fiction pieces that are set in and around the Greater Toronto Area. See the Stories from the City category for some examples.

Who do we publish?

We are firm believers in the idea that the writing should speak for itself. It’s irrelevant to us whether you’re a new writer or an established writer. All submissions to Toronto Journal are anonymous.

Compensation

We pay $50 per piece. All published writers will also receive a printed copy of the issue in which they appear.

Submission Guidelines

• Do not include your name or email on the pdf or word document with your content.

• Do not include a cover letter with your work.

• Word limit is 7,500 words.

• No strict formatting requirements besides legibility.

• Simultaneous submissions are ok. Please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

• If your work is selected for publication, Toronto Journal has first serial rights only, and the author retains all other rights to the work.

• We cannot accept any work that has been published previously in English, either in print, online, in audio format, or otherwise.

• Should we happen to accept multiple pieces from the same author for a given issue, the accepted pieces may be postponed to subsequent issues.

• If you are submitting for the Summer issue, expect to hear back from us by March 31st each year. If you are submitting for the Winter issue, expect to hear back from us by September 30th each year. If you don’t hear back from us, please get in touch:

submissions@torontojournal.com

Deadline: 1 September 2025

Submit your work here.

Artists' Residency: Willapa Bay AiR

Willapa Bay AiR, situated on 20 acres in coastal southwest Washington state, launched its residency program in March 2014. The Residency has been specifically designed, from the site selection to the architecturally specific building concepts, layouts, and materials, to combine the opportunity for solitude with the opportunity for daily community that fosters creative endeavor.

We offer month-long, self-directed residencies to emerging and established artists, filmmakers, writers, playwrights, scholars, singer/songwriters, and musical composers. The Residency provides lodging, meals, and work space, at no cost, to six residents each month from April 1 through October 28 of the year. Applications are evaluated by selection committees comprised of working artists and professionals in the applicants' respective fields of discipline.

Our residencies are one month in duration, typically beginning on the 1st of the month and concluding around the 27th. Our residency season begins April 1 and concludes October 28 of every year. Accepting a residency means making a commitment to arrive on the first day and to remain at Willapa Bay AiR through the last day of the residency.

The Residency is clustered on 20 acres near the hamlet of Oysterville, a historic landmark in Washington. The living spaces are cleared from a woods of hemlock, Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and shore pine. The studios and community Lodge building are situated in meadows fringed by salal, native spirea, and huckleberry. Ample visual artist studio spaces supplement the living quarters; those individuals not requiring separate studios are provided with live/work accommodations.

Residents are housed in individual accommodations with work and living space, bathroom and shower, bedding and towels. Each unit has a small refrigerator, electric kettle, coffee carafe, mugs, glasses, utensils. Cooking is not accommodated in the residences. Meals and communal gatherings take place in the main Lodge. There are steep steps and a wooden bridge to be negotiated between the cottages setting and the Lodge and studios. If you have physical limitations and require handicapped accessibility, be sure and discuss your requirements with our staff prior to application.

The application period for a 2026 residency is open June 15 to August 31, 2025.

When you click the Apply Now button you will be taken to the Willapa Bay AiR application in SlideRoom. If you do not have a SlideRoom account, you will be directed to create one. There is no charge to set up an account, although there is a $30 fee to submit your completed application. Your information and materials are password-protected.

Submit your application here.

Call for Chapbooks: Red Bird Chapbooks

 

Chapbook Guidelines

Please follow guidelines carefully. Manuscripts that deviate from these guidelines will not be read or considered.

GENERAL

Send manuscripts for consideration only during open reading periods. Our Chapbook Reading Period is open through August 31, 2025.

Manuscripts are accepted via email at:

possibilities@redbirdchapbooks.com 

or via snail mail at:

Red Bird Chapbooks

75 Fifth Street West #424

St. Paul, MN 55102

 

Red Bird accepts simultaneous submissions.

Please send only one manuscript per genre during a reading period.

Previously published poems, stories, essays, excerpts may be included in your manuscript. Please provide publication acknowledgements (title of poem/story/essay, where and when published) in the body of your email.

Illustrated chapbooks are limited to 3 color images. Black and white images are unlimited.

Projects will be selected within three to six months after the reading period closes. All authors will be notified of their status within six months. If you have not heard from us after six months, please reach out via email.

Red Bird reserves the right to refuse any manuscript.

FORMAT YOUR EMAIL

Enter the genre and your manuscript title as your subject line. Examples from past titles include:

Poetry - The Heart of Everything That Is

Fiction - Tree in Winter

Non Fiction - My Life as a Pencil

Hybrid: (specify genres) - Book of If & Ever

Pamphlet - Three Oranges

2. Enter your contact information, a brief bio, and any publication acknowledgements in the body of the email.

3. Attach your manuscript as a single Word .doc or .docx file. Manuscripts received in any other file format will not be read. Do not paste the manuscript into the body of your email.

4. A cover letter is not required. That said, we're a curious bunch and would love to know how you heard about us. Did you see a post about our reading period somewhere? Did a friend or colleague suggest you send us your possibility? Do you have any favorite Red Bird authors or chapbook titles? Please feel free to share these tidbits in your email when you send us your possibility.

FORMAT YOUR MANUSCRIPT

• Do not include any contact or identifying information or publication acknowledgements within your manuscript.

• Manuscripts should be between 24 - 26 pages. The Table of Contents, any section page breaks, dedication pages, etc. do count towards this 24-26 page limit.

• Tables of Contents page(s) are necessary if more than one piece of writing (poem, short story, essay, vignette, etc.) appears in the manuscript.

• Manuscripts must be formatted as Microsoft Word documents. Use standard .doc or .docx files only.

• Remove all special formatting from your Word document before attaching it to your email. You may use page breaks, but do not use section breaks, tables, WordArt or other special formatting within your manuscript. Do not include images in your manuscript.

Poetry Manuscripts: Each poem should begin on a new page.

Prose Manuscripts: Each story or essay should begin on a new page. Manuscript body should be double-spaced.

Manuscripts with artwork, illustrations or images: 

• Color images are limited to 3; black and white images are unlimited

• Send artwork as separate attachments

• Images should be provided as high resolution jpeg file

• Identify image in the file name (e.g. Image 1, Image 2, etc. or a brief description of the image)

• Note placement for each image within the manuscript (e.g. by page number or the adjacent piece of writing)

• Do not include images in manuscript document

Call for Submissions: Michigan Quarterly Review

 

General Submissions for the Print Journal

Submissions are currently open via Submittable!

General submissions for the print journal will be accepted in 2025 from January 1 to April 1 and August 1 to November 1. Average turnaround time is six months, but we may take longer and ask that you do not query us until a year has passed.

Prose submissions: Manuscripts should be double-spaced, right margins not justified; 1,500–7,000 words. All nonfiction submissions will be automatically considered for publication in MQR Online. All stories accepted for publication will be passed on to a judge as finalists for the $2000 Lawrence Prize. There is no additional fee for the prize beyond submission.

Poetry submissions: Please submit up to 6 poems in one document, not to exceed a total of 12 pages. Poems published in MQR by early career writers (those who have not yet published a full-length collection) will be considered as finalists for our Page Davidson Clayton Prize.

Translations: Please submit translations in the appropriate genre and include biographical information for both the author and translator.

Upon publication, MQR takes a nonexclusive license to publish work in print and online in perpetuity, and requests that MQR is formally acknowledged as the first publisher in any reprints.

Writing Competitions: The Juniper Prizes for Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction

Juniper Prize for Fiction

The Juniper Prize for Fiction is awarded annually to two original manuscripts of fiction: one short story collection and one novel. The University of Massachusetts Press publishes the winning manuscripts, and the authors receive a $1,000 award upon publication.

Competition guidelines

All submissions must be made through Submittable and will only be accepted each year between August 1 and September 30 (11:59 p.m. EDT). 

The entry fee is $30. 

All manuscripts will be judged anonymously by a faculty-judge from or affiliated with the distinguished University of Massachusetts MFA program. The winners will be announced on the University of Massachusetts Press website in April, with publication slated for the following spring.

Eligibility

1. The competition is open to all writers in English, whether or not they are U.S. residents. However, current employees and students of the University of Massachusetts and previous Juniper Prize for Fiction winners are not eligible.

2. Both novels and collections of stories are eligible.

3. Work that has previously appeared in magazines, in whole or in part, is eligible, but should be so identified on the manuscript cover sheet.

4. Self-published works are ineligible.

5. Manuscripts by more than one author are not eligible.

6. Translations are not eligible. 

More information and entry portal here.

Juniper Prize for Creative Nonfiction

The Juniper Prize for Creative Nonfiction is awarded annually to one original manuscript. The University of Massachusetts Press publishes the winning manuscript, and the author receives a $1,000 award upon publication.

Competition guidelines

All submissions must be made through Submittable and will only be accepted each year between August 1 and September 30 (11:59 p.m. EDT). 

The entry fee is $30. 

All manuscripts will be judged anonymously by a faculty-judge from or affiliated with the distinguished University of Massachusetts MFA program. The winner will be announced at the University of Massachusetts Press website in April, with publication slated for the following spring.

Eligibility

1. The competition is open to all writers in English, whether or not they are U.S. residents. However, current employees and students of the University of Massachusetts and previous Juniper Prize winners are not eligible.

2. While submissions might span the genres of memoir, essay, literary journalism, or biography, we seek fresh and innovative projects.

3. Selections of the work that have previously appeared in magazines are eligible but should be identified in the cover letter.

4. Self-published works are ineligible.

5. Manuscripts by more than one author are not eligible.

6. Translations are not eligible. 

More information and entry portal here.

Juniper Prize for Poetry

The Juniper Prize for Poetry is awarded annually to two original manuscripts of poems: one first book prize for a previously unpublished author and one prize for a previously published author. The University of Massachusetts Press publishes the winning manuscripts, and the authors receive a $1,000 award upon publication.

Competition guidelines

All submissions must be made through Submittable and will only be accepted each year between August 1 and September 30 (11:59 p.m. EDT).

The entry fee is $30. 

All manuscripts will be judged anonymously by a faculty-judge from or affiliated with the distinguished University of Massachusetts MFA program. The winners will be announced at the University of Massachusetts Press website in April, with publication slated for the following spring.

Eligibility

1. The competition is open to all writers in English, whether or not they are U.S. residents. However, current employees and students of the University of Massachusetts and previous Juniper Prize for Poetry winners are not eligible.

2. Manuscripts by more than one author are not eligible.

3. Translations are not eligible.

4. Chapbooks are not eligible. If your manuscript is derived from a chapbook, please ensure that the Juniper submission is significantly different from the chapbook.

5. Collected works of previously published poems are not eligible.

More information and submission entry here

Call for Submissions: The Emerson Review

 

• We accept submissions through our Submittable page, which can be found here. We do not accept email submissions.

• We accept submissions between August 1 and January 1 for our annual issue, which is published in April.

• Submissions are reviewed by our genre editors and general reading staff, who are all undergraduate students at Emerson College. Expect a response within two months.

• Simultaneous submissions for multiple genres is okay. Please notify us immediately if a simultaneous submission is accepted elsewhere.

• Every contributor receives complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears. Additionally, we will be paying non-Emerson contributors. Unfortunately, due to legality issues, we cannot pay Emerson College students at this time.

• Submissions submitted in Word Document (.doc or .docx) format are preferred, but PDFs are also accepted.

Please include the following information in your cover letter: Short author biography

• Word count (for fiction and nonfiction)

• Medium (for artwork)

• Trigger warnings (if applicable)

Fiction

Maximum word count: 3,500 words

We are looking for fiction pieces that create an emotional connection as well as a meaningful reading experience. We accept all kinds of fiction, including genre fiction (i.e., romance, sci-fi, fantasy, etc.), though we are particular fans of literary fiction with evocative prose. We also accept flash fiction (fiction pieces that are 300 words or shorter).

Submit no more than one story or three flash fiction pieces at one time. We do not accept novel excerpts.

Poetry

Maximum page count (per poem): 3 pages

Maximum poems per submission: 3

We accept all kinds of poems but have a special place in our hearts for narrative poetry and form poetry with a contemporary twist.

Please name your submission with the titles of each poem submitted. We will not take poems that have already been published or are set to be published.

Nonfiction

Maximum word count: 3,500 words

We are strong believers in the idea that you don’t have to have had extraordinary experiences to write extraordinary nonfiction.

We’re looking for pieces that showcase an understanding of thoughtful storytelling and beautiful prose about reality.

Submit no more than one personal essay and/or memoir at one time. We do not accept academic essays or research papers.

Photography and Artwork

Maximum pieces per artist: 5

We accept all kinds of 2D visual artwork, with a preference for paintings and digital art. All submissions will be considered to print in color in the interior of the book.

Please upload each submission individually at 300 dpi, at least 6″ x 9″. Please name the submission the title of the submitted piece. If you would like to submit more than one file, please do so in a separate submission.

We may not respond to art submissions until March.

Call for Submissions: Blue Mesa Review

 

Editorial Philosophy

Blue Mesa Review strives to publish the best poetry and prose available. We are open to writers from all backgrounds and are especially interested in work from writers of marginalized communities. We are also keen to read exceptional writing from or about the Southwest. Please refer to our current or back issues to see the kinds of work we publish.

Reading Period

We accept art, poetry, nonfiction, and fiction submissions between August 1 – October 31 for publication in our Fall issue and between December 1 – February 28 for publication in our Spring contest issue.

Genres

• Poetry: No more than three poems per packet.
• Fiction: No more than 6000 words.
• Nonfiction: No more than 6000 words.

We are always looking for visual art for publication in the magazine. Due to the layout of our site, we have a strong preference for landscape-oriented or square pieces, but we will accept the occasional portrait piece that captures our imaginations.

Magazine Payment & Copyright

We pay $25 per poem, essay, short story or artwork published in the magazine during our general reading period. 

Incarcerated Artists

We gladly accept submissions from incarcerated authors and artists and will waive the submission fee for such submissions. Please make sure to include a cover letter and a return address with your work. We will not be able to return original copies, so do not send us the only copy of your piece. You can mail your work to:

Blue Mesa Review
Department of English Language and Literature
Humanities Building, Second Floor
MSC03 2170
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001

General Guidelines

We only accept submissions online via Submittable. We do not accept submissions via email or postal mail (with the exception of incarcerated writers). Any submissions received by means other than Submittable will be returned to the submitter unread or recycled if a stamped, self-addressed envelope was not provided.

We do not consider work that has been previously published in print or online. Please do not submit anything that has been published on your blog, through your Facebook page, in other magazines including those online, or in an anthology or chapbook.

We gladly accept simultaneous submissions. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please notify us immediately and withdraw your submission through the Submittable system. If a poem in a packet is accepted elsewhere, add a note identifying the piece that is no longer available.

We do not accept writing or art generated by or with the use of AI. Submissions using such technology will be rejected.

We encourage you to read past issues of Blue Mesa Review before submitting so you have a sense of the type of work we publish. Keep in mind that our editorial staff changes year-to-year, so variance in style, point of view, and themes is to be expected.

Our editorial team publishes annual essays about the types of work we’re interested in publishing. We recommend you explore our Staff Writes page for further insight into what catches our eye.

You may submit to more than one genre. However, please submit no more than one submission in a given genre (poetry, fiction, nonfiction). Multiple submissions in the same genre will be disregarded.

Authors who have been published with Blue Mesa Review must wait two years before submitting again.

Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, response time can be longer than our standard two-to-six months. Please be patient. If you have not heard from us in six months, you can contact us here. “Submission Query” should be the subject line.

Individuals previously affiliated with the University of New Mexico (students, staff, and/or faculty) cannot submit to Blue Mesa Review until they have been unaffiliated for five years.

Submissions should be saved in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx). Prose submissions should be double-spaced. Poetry can be single-spaced. Please use a standard typeface and font size (12 pt). Pages should be numbered.