Call for Submissions on Theme of "New Beginnings": Northern Spy: A Journal of Literature and the Arts

Northern Spy Journal 

Call for Submissions

Deadline: April 23, 2026 

Our journal, formerly Bare Hill Review, has been renewed as Northern Spy, and so our Spring 2026 issue seeks works that celebrate new life and new beginnings.

Everyone has been a part of the cycle of new beginnings. We want to hear all about these fresh starts. We desire works that celebrate transformation, but also works that reflect on what was left behind, for every sapling is the culmination of another tree’s efforts.

Submit literature that embraces change. Someone leaving behind their old life. A married couple giving romance another chance. Kittens found in the woods. An unexpected opportunity. Tell us all about the move from your parent’s house, and let us help carry boxes to the U-Haul. Tell us about the ending that spurred a new chapter of your life—the new growth can’t come until the harvest ends.

Is there danger to your new beginning? The start of something can be intimidating; is the risk worth the reward? Give us the joy and fear of it, the unrelenting restlessness of a cycle at its culmination.

General Guidelines

• Please clearly indicate your name; the title of the piece as you would like it to appear; and a brief author bio of less than 100 words.

• We accept simultaneous submissions. We ask that if any of the pieces you submit are accepted for publication elsewhere, you kindly withdraw it from our submissions list.

• To support our student editors, ensure that the work you submit is fully accessible. Word documents should have heading structures; PDFs should be screen-reader friendly; text should be high-contrast. We ask that visual artists submit alt-text along with their images. Any work that is not accessible and WCAG 2.2 compliant may not be read.

• We reserve a special place in each issue for college students from the Rochester and Finger Lakes regions. If this is you, please indicate your status in your submission.

Poetry

Please submit three poems maximum per submission. You may submit once per submission cycle.

Fiction

Please submit one piece per submission, with a maximum of 5,000 words. You may submit once per submission cycle.

Creative Nonfiction

Please submit one piece per submission, with a maximum of 5,000 words. You may submit once per submission cycle.

Art

Please submit in JPEG format. Include one photograph or piece of art per submission, with three submissions maximum per person. Submit your work in as high of a resolution as possible. If your artwork is a piece which cannot be submitted electronically (i.e. an oil painting or sculpture), we ask that you provide a high-quality print or photo. We do not accept "snap shots," "selfies," or scans of your work. To support our student editors. include alt-text with your submission.

If you would like your work to be considered as an issue cover, please indicate this in your cover letter. Issue covers must be 4x6.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: The Baltimore Review

The Baltimore Review

If your work is accepted for publication, we ask only for the right to publish it for the first time, online and in print. Please do not submit work that has been accepted for publication elsewhere. All rights revert to the author after publication by The Baltimore Review. All accepted work will be archived on the website.

We accept submissions only through Submittable. We do not consider emailed submissions or submissions sent through the postal service. Every poem, short story, and work of creative nonfiction we accept is selected from the Submittable queue based on merit and the needs of the journal.

Submissions in more than one category are permitted, but please do not submit work more than once per reading period in any category.

Among other resources for writers, NewPages.com has a Publications for Young Writers page. We encourage teen (and younger) writers to review this list before submitting work to literary journals. The Baltimore Review considers submissions from writers who are 18 years of age or older.

Simultaneous submissions are absolutely fine. If you need to withdraw your work, or part of your work, from consideration, let us know. Use the Withdraw option if withdrawing the entire submission; send us a message through Submittable if withdrawing part of your submission, e.g., one poem from a group of three.

Once your work has been accepted by a publication, always withdraw it from any other publications right away.

About AI: Do we really have to say it? OK. No. We want to read work created entirely by humans.

Our current submission period: February 1 through May 31, 2026.

 Please do not withdraw and re-submit your work if making revisions. Simply note the minor edit or, if the changes are more extensive, attach the new version in the Submittable message. But it’s always best, of course, to take some time to thoroughly proofread your work before submitting. Thanks!

Response time: You will be notified of our decision within four months. We're aiming for a response time well within that time frame, usually one to three months, but we do receive thousands of submissions in each submission period, and we read each one of them. Thank you for your patience.

Fees: We do not charge fees for non-contest submissions and have no plans to do so in the future. We charge a modest $8 fee for contest submissions.

Payment for non-contest submissions is $50 via Amazon gift certificate or $50 through PayPal, if preferred, as well as a copy of the annual print compilation in which the author's work appears. We hope to continue this as long as funding is available. We also nominate our contributors' work for every possible prize. Contest prize amounts are announced with each contest.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Fantasty Submissions: PodCastle

We are OPEN to general submissions until midnight BST on May 1, 2026.

PodCastle is looking for quality fantasy fiction. If you’re a writer with a speculative short story that you’d like to hear narrated by one of our performers, we’d like to see it.

Submit online via our Moksha submissions portal using a Standard Manuscript Format, with the exception that we do not require your home address or telephone number on the document. We accept files in .rtf, .docx, or .doc format.

Word count: up to 6,000 words.

Occasionally, we run reprints in the novelette range (up to 17,000 words), although they are a harder sell. Please note we do not accept originals at this length. Be aware that if you submit a story over 6,000 words without seeking prior permission from the editors, your story is likely to be rejected unread. Send a query to:

 podcastle@escapeartists.net

before submitting reprints over 6,000 words. Please do not waste your time or ours if your query relates to a previously unpublished work – we absolutely cannot consider any original stories that exceed 6,000 words in length.

Reprints are welcome and encouraged. We are happy to consider stories previously released on Patreon as reprints. However, if a story was sent to us as an original and received a rejection, please do not submit it again as a reprint.

Multiple submissions: you are permitted to submit one (1) original story and one (1) reprint at any given time, thus you may have two (2) stories under active consideration at a time. If you receive a rejection while submissions are still open, you can send another story of the same type. If your story is still being held from a previous period or special call, you are free to submit another story (or stories) this period.

Simultaneous submissions are permitted; just mention in your cover letter upfront that you’ve submitted your story elsewhere, and let us know if you sell it to another market first. Caveat: The only places we ask you not to simultaneously submit your story are to the other EA podcasts, namely Escape Pod, PseudoPod, Cast of Wonders, and CatsCast.

Translations of stories into English are welcome. We will treat stories that have not previously been published in English as originals even if they’ve been published elsewhere in a different language; we’ll consider them reprints only if they have already appeared somewhere in English. The author and translator will be asked how they’d prefer to split payment for the story.

AI-generated stories will not be accepted for submission. We are not interested in stories for which the “traditional elements of authorship,” as the U.S. Copyright Office describes it, were performed by AI or machine-learning tools. Stories drafted using spell-check and grammar-check are acceptable, but we are not interested in any story where AI tools or text generators wrote or drafted any portion of the text. We consider the representation of an author’s work as their own when it is, in fact, machine-generated, whether whole or in part, to be plagiarism, and grounds for being permanently banned from submitting to us. In short, DO NOT submit AI-generated works.

PodCastle is looking for quality fantasy fiction. If you’re a writer with a speculative short story that you’d like to hear narrated by one of our performers, we’d like to see it.

Submit online via our Moksha submissions portal using a Standard Manuscript Format, with the exception that we do not require your home address or telephone number on the document. We accept files in .rtf, .docx, or .doc format.

Word count: up to 6,000 words.

Occasionally, we run reprints in the novelette range (up to 17,000 words), although they are a harder sell. Please note we do not accept originals at this length. Be aware that if you submit a story over 6,000 words without seeking prior permission from the editors, your story is likely to be rejected unread. Send a query to:

podcastle@escapeartists.net

before submitting reprints over 6,000 words. Please do not waste your time or ours if your query relates to a previously unpublished work – we absolutely cannot consider any original stories that exceed 6,000 words in length.

Reprints are welcome and encouraged. We are happy to consider stories previously released on Patreon as reprints. However, if a story was sent to us as an original and received a rejection, please do not submit it again as a reprint.

Multiple submissions: you are permitted to submit one (1) original story and one (1) reprint at any given time, thus you may have two (2) stories under active consideration at a time. If you receive a rejection while submissions are still open, you can send another story of the same type. If your story is still being held from a previous period or special call, you are free to submit another story (or stories) this period.

Simultaneous submissions are permitted; just mention in your cover letter upfront that you’ve submitted your story elsewhere, and let us know if you sell it to another market first. Caveat: The only places we ask you not to simultaneously submit your story are to the other EA podcasts, namely Escape Pod, PseudoPod, Cast of Wonders, and CatsCast.

Translations of stories into English are welcome. We will treat stories that have not previously been published in English as originals even if they’ve been published elsewhere in a different language; we’ll consider them reprints only if they have already appeared somewhere in English. The author and translator will be asked how they’d prefer to split payment for the story.

AI-generated stories will not be accepted for submission. We are not interested in stories for which the “traditional elements of authorship,” as the U.S. Copyright Office describes it, were performed by AI or machine-learning tools. Stories drafted using spell-check and grammar-check are acceptable, but we are not interested in any story where AI tools or text generators wrote or drafted any portion of the text. We consider the representation of an author’s work as their own when it is, in fact, machine-generated, whether whole or in part, to be plagiarism, and grounds for being permanently banned from submitting to us. In short, DO NOT submit AI-generated works.

Payment and Rights

We pay $0.08 per word USD for original fiction, $100 flat rate for reprints over 1,500 words, and $20 flat rate for flash fiction reprints (stories below 1,500 words).

PodCastle publishes stories in both text and audio. You are indicating both are available when you submit your story. We ask for 4 months exclusivity for text and audio for original stories, and 4 months audio exclusivity for reprints. We are happy to receive previously-podcasted stories; this just means don’t re-pod the story until 4 months after publication with PodCastle.

We distribute under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Briefly, this means that the entire world has permission to distribute the audio files for free, provided they give credit for it, don’t try to make money off of it, and don’t change it in any way. Transcribing it, extracting portions from it beyond fair use, and mashing it up are all prohibited.

This license applies only to our audio performance of your work, for which we’ve contracted and paid you. It does not apply to your story itself; you retain your copyright and all rights to any other use of the story.

You can find samples of our contracts here. Note that these are for informational purposes only, and upon acceptance all the relevant information will be completed by our managing editor.

What We Want

PodCastle is looking for fantasy stories. We’re open to all the sub-genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy, and everything in between. Fantastical or non-real content should be meaningful to the story. Our word count limit is 6,000. Please note that for original stories, the closer to the limit the story is, the more difficult it is for us to buy it. Our “sweet spot” for story length is between 3,000 and 4,000 words.

We are an audio magazine. Our audience can’t skim past the boring parts. Ideally, fiction should have strong pacing, well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, clear action, and still be beautiful. Above all, we’re looking for stories that are fun to listen to. Humor is encouraged.

We hope to publish fiction reflecting the full range of settings and tropes found in fantasy fiction. We’d particularly like to see more stories set outside America, and stories that feature characters who represent a range of backgrounds and ethnicities.

We only publish short fiction. We do not accept poetry, novel excerpts, screenplays, audio dramas, or non-fiction.

Hard sells

This list may be altered or added to as time goes on, so do keep checking in, but for now our main hard sell is selkies. We receive a tremendous number of selkie stories at PodCastle, and for us personally it’s a least-favourite trope. “Hard sell” does not mean “do not submit” – there will always be an exception to the rule – but unless you’re doing something truly fresh and unique with this trope, a selkie story will almost certainly be declined.

More information here.

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Call for Submissions: The Argyle Literary Magazine

 

The Argyle is an online, quarterly that brings you the best poetry, fiction, CNF, essays, art, and more from across the globe.

The Argyle Literary Magazine (“The Argyle” for short) philosophy is simple: GOOD writing should be celebrated not segregated. We don’t follow a particular aesthetic nor do we prefer a certain “type” of literature or art. What we do care about is the artistry and impact of a piece: How we are touched, changed, even shaken to our cores by the images and words that wait for us just around the corners of proverbial pages. In a nutshell, we LOVE to touch of the unexpected and the daring with splash of sexy-cool in all their manifestations.

The Argyle seeks to blur the lines between genres and strips the labels off your “little darlings,” offering an immersive experience of words and images that feeds the mind, stirs the soul, and disturbs the quiet of blank spaces. Our content is motley…and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Submission Guidelines

***General Submissions for Issue #8 are currently OPEN!!!***

***Submissions for Issue 8’s theme-page “Bright Lights, Dark City” are currently OPEN***

We are looking for original, unpublished work; however, we are also all about reprinting strong pieces that aren't done making their “rounds” (just let us know where reprints they were originally published and acknowledge you currently retain the rights to them). Please do let us know if your submission (or part of your submission) has been accepted elsewhere ASAP by leaving us a “Note” via our Submittable page so we can omit said portion from consideration and give you a heartfelt “Congratulations!”

The Argyle accepts general submissions for poetry, short fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, and more.

Short fiction, CNF, & Essays – up to 3 pieces (approximately 3,000 words each). We can be a little flexible for longer pieces).

Poetry – up to 6 poems (no limitations, but rhyme at your own risk).

Interviews & Reviews – query us to pitch your ideas.

Articles - between 750 and 2500 words is the "sweet spot" (and pay careful attention to overuse of passive voice). The Argyle is open to articles about writing, art, and especially the intersections between writing, literature, the visual arts, and culture. Query us to pitch your ideas.

Digital Art - up to 5 submissions. Color and black & white accepted. Work that is strongly poetic and/or narrative works nicely. This includes multi-modal prose/verse submissions.

Writing Competition: The Iowa Poetry Prize

Iowa Poetry Prize

Eligibility

The Iowa Poetry Prize, open to new as well as established poets, is awarded for a book-length collection of poems written originally in English. Previous winners, current University of Iowa students, and current and former University of Iowa Press employees are not eligible.

Manuscript

Manuscripts should be 50 to 150 pages in length. Put your name on the title page only; this page will be removed before your manuscript is judged. Poems included in the collection may have appeared in journals or anthologies; poems from a poet's previous collections may be included only in manuscripts of new and selected poems.
Publication

The winning manuscript will be published by the University of Iowa Press under a standard royalty agreement.

Submission

Please submit only via Submittable. Hard copies of manuscripts sent to the Press will not be accepted.

Manuscripts must be submitted during the month of April. Please note that the Submittable form opens at 12:00 am CST on April 1st, and closes at 11:59 pm CST on April 30th.

A $20 reading fee is payable to the University of Iowa Press Poetry Fund. We consider simultaneous submissions but ask that you notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Only the winners will be notified. The results will be posted on our Instagram account.

Submit your entry here. 

Call for Submissions: Four Way Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four Way Review accepts poetry and fiction from both established and emerging authors. We look for work that demonstrates fine attention to craft while retaining a powerful and compelling voice. We want writing that showcases the imagination's unique ability to refine the raw materials of human experience.

We encourage submissions from diverse voices.

Unsolicited submissions are considered year-round. Before submitting, please see our latest issue and ensure your work is a good fit. Please wait to hear back from us before submitting again.

We accept .pdf (preferred), .doc, and .docx. You may also include a cover letter with your contact information and a brief bio in the "comments" box. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please note this in your cover letter and let us know immediately if a piece is accepted somewhere else. Due to a high volume of submissions, we cannot respond individually to withdrawal requests.

In order to offer our writers a small honorarium, we now charge a small submission fee of $3 for part of the year. In January, April, August and November, all submissions are fee-free. During these months, we might close submissions for one or more genres, should the submission maximum be reached. This is done to ensure that our readers are able to read and respond to each submission in a timely manner.

 

Poetry

— We are interested in all styles and forms of poetry.

— We ask that writers submit poetry no more than three times per year, with three to five poems in a single submission.

— Please email us to withdraw individual poems.

 

Fiction

— We're looking for finished stories that are both whole and surprising.

— Keep longer submissions below 6,000 words. Submit only one piece at a time and no more than three pieces a year.

— Short shorts should be under 1,000 words. You may submit up to three flash pieces in one submission.

 

Translation

— We are interested in all styles and forms of writing in translation.

— We ask that writers submit work no more than three times a year, adhering to our guidelines for poetry, fiction and nonfiction (i.e., no more than three to five poems in a single submission and keeping prose below 6,000 words).
— If possible, please include the original piece with your translated submission.

— Please confirm that you have obtained permission, either from author or rights holder, to publish the translation.

 

Creative Nonfiction

— We're looking for pieces that surprise us, pieces that push at the corners of the form.

— Keep longer submissions below 6,000 words. Submit only one piece at a time and no more than three pieces a year.

— We do accept flash nonfiction. These should be under 1,000 words. You may submit up to three flash pieces in one submission.

All submissions must be previously unpublished. We request first North America serial rights for any work that we accept. All rights revert to the author upon publication, though we ask that you acknowledge Four Way Review if the work is published elsewhere.

You can withdraw your work using our submissions manager. To withdraw part of a submission, email us at:

 

fourwayreview (at) gmail [dot] com (Change (at) to @ and [dot] to . )

We try to respond within 90 days. Please note that our submissions manager is separate from the manager for Four Way Books. We will not respond to manuscript submissions.

We accept submissions through our online submissions manager. Unsolicited email submissions will be discarded unread.

THE BASICS

Submit through our Submissions Manager

Up to 5 poems or 6,000 words

We'll respond within 90 days