Call for Submissions from Women 50+: Certain Age

 

Certain Age is looking for gorgeous essays, fiction, poetry, art, photography and video work from creative women "of a certain age" and a lot of attitude.

Sound like you?

Submissions open September 1, 2025.

Nonfiction

We're interested in works of up to 2500 words that explore big ideas, small wonders, topical issues, cultural happenings, and profiles of fascinating people. Looking for a strong voice and an uncompromising commitment to factual accuracy. Please take a look at the articles we have published to get a feel for the tone and length.

Fiction

We welcome literary-leaning fiction, short stories or stand-alone novel excerpts, that use narrative to explore the full realm of human experience. Max length is 5000 words. While we welcome all topics, we will decline pieces that feature gratuitous depictions of violence, sexual exploitation, or the exploitation of children or animals.

Poetry

We are drawn to poems that illuminate the human by offering fresh ways to see, feel, know, and alchemize experience to insight. All types of poetry will be considered, including formal and experimental verse, up to two pages in length.

Photographs, Illustrations, Video

We are eager to showcase the work of photographers, illustrators, designers, and videographers.

Certain Age does not accept:

Work that has been previously curated (published in books, magazines or journals, in print or online). Writing may be self-published on social media, blogs, or message boards. (Learn more in “Uncurated: The Case for a New Term of Art.”)

Work that has been generated by artificial intelligence.

Simultaneous submissions are expected and welcome. But please alert us if the piece your submitting gets accepted elsewhere.

We pay $75 or equivalent in local currency upon publication.

Certain Age Magazine asks for first-time rights and acknowledgement as the first place of publication. Because published pieces will appear and be archived on the website and may be promoted through our social media outlets, we also require non-exclusive electronic rights.

Response Time

We are committed to fast turnaround on all queries and submissions.

More information here.

Call for Submissions from Undergraduate Students: The Blue Route

 

The submission window for the next issue of The Blue Route will be open from September 15 to November 15, 2025.

The Blue Route is an online undergraduate literary journal run by students and faculty at Widener University. We publish short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction written by undergraduate writers from any school other than our own.

NOTE: We do not accept AI generated work.

WHO CAN SUBMIT: Undergraduate Students: Only previously unpublished work of current undergraduate writers will be considered. In order to verify your status as an undergraduate, we ask that with your submission you send along the email of a faculty member from your department. Until we gain confirmation of undergraduate status from this reference, we will not be able to publish your work.

Statement on Inclusion. While we gladly welcome works from all undergraduate writers (besides Widener), we specifically encourage submissions from underrepresented groups, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent writers, as well as writers with disabilities.

Note to Widener Students: At this time, work from Widener students will not be accepted. Widener students are invited to submit their work to Widener Ink, the university’s print journal.

Frequency of Submission: If your work has been published in The Blue Route, please wait at least one issue before submitting again.

WHAT TO SUBMIT:

We want good, highly imaginative writing about contemporary life as you see it. We’re not interested in romance, detective, horror, sci-fi, and other genres, unless the piece somehow rises above the conventions associated with those types of writing. We’re also not interested in writing that clichéd, overly influenced by TV or film, features flat characters, emphasizes end rhyme above all else, and/or exhibits a general insensitivity to the beauties and subtleties of language. No pornography. No racism. No sexism. If you use profanity, remember a little goes a long, long way.

As stated above, we DO NOT accept previously published work. However, we DO accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere. Our response time is about three months.

PROSE: Submit 1-3 pieces of fiction or creative nonfiction totaling no more than 2500 words. Payment: 25 dollars.*

OR

POETRY: Submit up to 3 poems. Payment: 25 dollars.*

*An important note about payment: Payment is issued through our university’s business office in the form of a check. We are sorry to say that we are unable to provide payment in any other form.

To increase your chances of acceptance, be sure to 1) carefully follow submission guidelines and 2) read a few recent issues of The Blue Route to get a sense of the kind of work we publish.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

Please write “Poetry–Your Name” or “Fiction–Your Name” or “Creative Nonfiction–Your Name” or “Artwork-Your Name” in the subject line of your email.

In a similar manner, please make your name as well as the genre of the piece clear in the title of the file(s). Send your work in an attachment in .docx format.

PLEASE DO NOT put your name anywhere on your submission. Instead, in your submission email, provide the following information: Name (First and Last)
Pronouns
School (full name of college or university you currently attend)
Title of Submission(s)
Name and Email of Faculty Contact for Enrollment Verification
A Brief Biography (No more than 100 words and written in the third person.)

Send all poetry and prose submissions to:

wutheblueroute@gmail.com

Submissions that do not follow the directions above may be deleted.

Call for Submissions: The Berlin Literary Review

 

Who We Are

All work must be original and unpublished.

If your work is accepted by us for publication, you consent to giving The Berlin Literary Review first serial rights, after which, all rights automatically revert back to you. Should you choose to republish elsewhere, we kindly ask that you acknowledge us as the original publisher.
All submissions are for the online magazine.

Please submit your work in a Microsoft Word .doc or .docx document, double-spaced and 12-point text.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your submission if your work is accepted elsewhere.

We aim to read and respond to your submission within three months. Rest assured, we will get back to you. Please do not email us about the status of your submission until at least three months have passed.

Beginning September 2025, one work per submission period will be chosen as our issue’s Centrepiece, presented first and most prominently. The author of this work will receive a €25 honorarium.

We proudly nominate standout work for the Pushcart Prize and other respected literary awards.

Please refrain from submitting your work if you are a racist, a homophobe, a sexist, or an asshole.

Submit here.

Fiction

We are interested in Literary Short Fiction and Flash Fiction.

There is no word limit, although anything over five thousand words will be a hard sell.

Please include a brief bio (100 words max).

 ***

Submit here.

Poetry

Submit no more than five poems at once. Copy all poems into the same .doc or .docx attachment.

Please include a brief bio (100 words max).

***

Submit here.

Non-Fiction

Travel-related essays are particularly encouraged.

From September 2025 onwards, we welcome well-argued, thought-provoking opinion pieces that engage with current events, societal issues, or cultural phenomena.

There is no word limit.

Submit here.

Call for Submissions on Theme of :"Resistance: Grit, Rebellion, and Dissent": Santa Fe Literary Review

The Santa Fe Literary Review (SFLR) is published annually by the Santa Fe Community College. An in-print literary journal, SFLR features work by local, national, and international writers and artists. We use Submittable, an online submissions platform, for all submissions.

From July 15 to November 1 each year, we invite submissions of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. In recent issues, we’ve proudly featured the work of such writers as Tommy Orange, Layli Long Soldier, Kirstin Valdez Quade, and Darryl Lorenzo Wellington.

Our submissions period opens July 15, 2025, and closes November 1, 2025.

Our suggested theme for our 2026 issue is “Resistance: Grit, Rebellion, and Dissent.” SFLR accept submissions of poetry, dramatic writing, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art. SFLR editors notify writers and artists of editorial decisions by December 25 each year. If you’ve submitted work and have not heard a reply by January 1, feel free to email us at:

sflr@sfcc.edu 

to request an update.

During our submissions period, we accept submissions for free through Submittable, but first, please review the SFLR guidelines for prose, poetry and visual art.

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2025 

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: Five Points: A Journal of Literature and Art

Five Points welcomes unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, flash fiction, literary non-fiction, and translations in these genres. We encourage you to send us your work. The best way to learn about what we are looking for is to order sample copies of the magazine through our website.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

Include a cover letter with your submission. Simultaneously submitted works are permitted. Prose pieces should be typed double-spaced on one side and be no longer than 7500 words total. Submit one prose work per submission. Submit up to three poems per poetry submission. Each poem should be no longer than fifty lines. Poems should be individually typed either single- or double-spaced on one side of the page. Please make sure your name appears on all of the pages of your manuscript. See Submittable for further guidelines.

DEADLINES: Submissions will open for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on September 1, 2025. Please visit our Submittable site for our most recent guidelines and reading period dates.

Current deadline: Dec. 31, 2025

Reading Fees: $3.00-$5.00 

NOTIFICATIONS AND QUERIES: Our response time varies and may range from four weeks to four months or more. We receive a high volume of submissions and appreciate your patience. Please do not query us until five months have elapsed; we are unable to respond to email inquiries concerning the status of a manuscript any sooner than this. We thank you for your patience.

Our submission process for general submissions and our poetry contest is handled exclusively online via Submittable. We are unable to consider manuscripts or queries sent via the post office and cannot return mail that has been sent to us.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions on Theme of: "DOUBLE/TWIN": Witness

 

The theme of this issue is: DOUBLE/TWIN. What do you see in a mirror? What is reflected back? What kinds of twins—elemental, emotional—appear in the world around us? We invite you to interpret our theme “Double/Twin” imaginatively, beyond the looking glass, across winding roads that double back yet lead to somewhere new. As always, we seek work that complicates and confounds us, work that makes us see and feel seen; words that bear witness through strange and unexpected lenses.

About the Magazine

Witness seeks original fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and photography that is innovative in its approach, broad-ranging in its concerns, and unapologetic in its perspective. The magazine blends the features of a literary and an issue-oriented magazine to highlight the role of the modern writer as witness to their times.

 

Our mission is to amplify extraordinary voices, feature writers from every part of the globe, and highlight pieces that speak to the present moment in an enduring and distinctive way. The magazine seeks to open up conversations surrounding oppression and transcendence, prejudice and compassion, fear and raw honesty. The editorial team is also proud to feature the work of emerging voices alongside that of established writers.

 

Reading Periods

Witness is published twice a year: a Spring print issue, and a Fall/Winter online issue. Please note: submission windows are subject to change based on submission capacity. Additionally, your submission may be considered for future issues--regardless of the submission window--depending on the volume and quality of work submitted in a single reading period.

 

General Guidelines: 

• We do not accept previously published work. This includes material that has appeared online in any form or format, including personal blogs.

• We do not accept more than one submission per genre, though you may submit up to five poems and three flash pieces as a single submission. We work to respond to all poetry submissions within four months; response times for fiction and nonfiction may be six months or longer, depending on the volume of submissions.

• Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please withdraw your work promptly if it is accepted elsewhere. If submitting multiple poems or flash, if any of your pieces has been accepted by another publication, please notify us directly by sending a message through Submittable.

• If Witness publishes your piece, we ask that you wait two years following your publication date before submitting to us again. We love our contributors, but seek to platform as wide an array of authors as we can.

• Graduates and current UNLV MFA/PhD candidates or other students affiliated with the university are asked to wait two years post-graduation before submitting work for consideration at Witness.

We pay our contributors $150 for prose and $75 for poetry, whether in the print or online issue. We suggest a reading fee of $3 for a general submission. If you have any questions or requests, please email:

 

witness@unlv.edu

 

Submit your work here. 

 

Deadline: Oct. 2, 2025

Call for Submissions: The Southampton Review

 

Reading period: September 10 – October 15 

We do not accept multiple submissions. Please submit only once per reading period. We do not accept emailed submissions.

WHAT we publish

We encourage submissions from unpublished authors. We’re interested in voice-driven writing that takes risks with structure and content.

fiction

- We accept short stories and novel excerpts.
- 5,000 words max.
- Flash Fiction is welcome!

poetry

- 5 poems max per submission.

nonfiction

- We accept creative nonfiction, memoir, personal essay, and traditional essay.
- 5,000 words max.

fine art / photography
illustration / graphic story
comic

Artwork should conform to the following specifications:
- 10 images max.
- Raster based images (photos/scans) must be 300dpi at 7” wide at least (larger is okay).
- All files should be in CMYK color mode.

Submissions are $3

All submissions will be considered for the print edition or TSR Online.

PRINT EDITION PAY RATES

Prose: $100+
Poetry: $75 per poem
Art Portfolios: $200
Illustration: $100 per page

Every contributor receives one copy of TSR.

TSR Online contributors receive a one-year subscription.
* For reasons related to the university with which we’re affiliated, we are prohibited from paying current students or employees of any SUNY or CUNY institution, or anyone who’s been a student or employee of a SUNY or CUNY institution within the past three years from the date their work is accepted for publication.
* We are prohibited from paying for work published on TSR Online.

cover letter

Please include your name, telephone number, address, and email address.

Internet submission is preferred

We urge all of those who submit work to read copies of TSR or visit TSR Online in order to have a better idea of our editorial range. The Southampton Review is published twice each year. Annual subscriptions are $25. Individual copies are $15.

Purchase a copy of TSR or subscribe here.

Submit your work here.