Call for Submissions: West Branch

 

The editors of West Branch welcome submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation. We normally read unsolicited manuscripts between August 1st and April 1st. We print only original, unpublished work. For accepted work, we purchase First North American serial rights.

Payment is awarded for accepted works in the amount of $100 per submission of poetry, and $.10/word for prose with a maximum payment of $200. Additionally, we provide each contributor with two copies of the issue in which his/her work appears and a one-year subscription to West Branch.

Please review the submission guidelines below before submitting using the online submission manager:

• All submissions should be paginated, with the author's name on each page. Prose should be double-spaced and include a word count.

• Please send no more than six poems or thirty pages of a single piece of prose. If you are submitting short-form fiction (flash, short-shorts, etc.), you may submit up to three pieces, so long as the total page count remains under fifteen pages. Poems and multiple short-form pieces should be saved and uploaded as a single file.

• The submission manager accepts most document types; we prefer to receive files in .DOC or .RTF format.

• We prefer to receive no more than two submissions from a single contributor in a given reading period. We make periodic checks for contributors who have reached the 2-submission limit, and reject any additional pieces submitted by those contributors. However, you will still be able to log in to view your account, and reaching the 2-submission limit will not affect pieces already under consideration. Please note also that the submission manager will only allow you to have one piece under consideration at any given time.

• Simultaneous submissions must be clearly marked as such in the comments section. If any of the work is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw your own West Branch submission immediately.

• Our usual response time is ten weeks or less--often much less--but if we find your material interesting you may wait longer to hear from us. Please DO query if more than four months have passed since your submission, via e-mail at:

 westbranch@bucknell.edu

• Book reviews are typically arranged by assignment, and we currently publish only poetry reviews. If you are interested in writing reviews, please query with a sample. Our pay rate for reviews is highly competitive.

• Please acquaint yourself with the magazine before submitting; sample back issues are available for only $3. Subscriptions are available at $10 for one year and $16 for two years. For subscription information, selected work, and news, see our website. 

Submission portal here. (You must create an account with their submission manager to submit.) 

Call for Submissions: Reckoning 11

 

We’re currently reading for Reckoning 11, which will close to submissions August 31st, 2026.

There are never any fees to submit. We pay SFWA-qualifying “professional” rates upon acceptance; click below to see how much for different kinds of work. Response time has ranged from one to six months and is slowest October through January, when we’re putting together a new issue and editors for the following issue have not been chosen.

What we’re looking for: creative writing and art about environmental justice.

We are always seeking work from Indigenous writers and artists, racialized writers and artists, queer, trans and/or disabled writers and artists, and anyone, anywhere in the world, who has suffered the consequences, intended or otherwise, of dominant society’s systemic disconnect with and mistreatment of the natural world. And we’re seeking new ways to reach all of the above. Seriously, if you know of a way we can do that, please share.

We don’t publish ecofascism or work we perceive to be prejudiced in any form, including sexism, racism, ableism, ageism. We reserve the right to point it out—respectfully—when we see it, though we’re as prone to mistakes and misunderstanding as anyone else.

We do not accept work that was created or edited in any part by an LLM-based app, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and/or assistive software like Grammarly. If you are concerned about how polished your English is, please note that we are a multilingual group; if we like your story enough to accept it, we will be happy to work with you on editing. LLM-based apps are against our principles as a magazine and their use is subject to a permanent ban from further submissions.

As with most markets for written work, we don’t consider unsolicited resubmissions or rewrites, including for works currently under consideration.

Here’s a start on a list of what else doesn’t work for us.

We do accept simultaneous submissions; you are welcome to submit a piece both to us and simultaneously to other publications, but please let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere either using the contact button in Moksha or by contacting us at:

ReckoningMagazine@gmail.com.

To get a better sense of what we publish, please try Reckoning 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, the special issues, the podcast, the interviews, or even LCRW 33.

For genre-specific guidelines and to submit, please choose from the categories below:

• Art
• Creative Nonfiction
• Critical Essay
• Fiction
• Novella
• Poetry
• Reprint
• Review – Fiction
• Review – Nonfiction
• Translation

Call for Submissions: The Hooghly Review

Submission Call for The Hooghly Review, Issue 5 (Oct/Nov 2026)

THIS CALL IS UNTHEMED. 

Poetry Deadline: August 15, 2026

Prose, Play/Script, Art, Photography: August 31, 2026 

Your work should be literary, but you can put in elements from any genre. We are open to eclectic work, and we like surprises.

But no hate speech, no preaching, no proselytising, no gratuitous violence and no pornography.

By submitting to us, you confirm that your work is original, previously unpublished, plagiarism-free, and AI-free.

Simultaneous submissions are fine but let us know promptly once your piece is accepted elsewhere. We also expect you to let other venues know if we pick up your work before they do and you accept publication with us.

No reprints. Work shared exclusively on social media or personal blogs/websites (including Medium, Substack, etc.) is considered previously published and is not eligible for submission.

No multiple submissions or resubmissions.

Send no bios. Biographies will be requested upon acceptance.

If accepted, do not ask us to wait until you have heard from another magazine, do not withdraw your work(s) once you accept publication with us, and do not ask us to switch the work(s) with one or more of your other works.

We neither charge for submissions nor pay our contributors. But once you publish with us, you are part of our extended family, that is, we will continue promoting you on social media and would be happy to write testimonials, blurbs, reference letters, etc. for you, if requested.

More information and submission links here.

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Queer/Trans": Usawa Magazine

 

Open Call · Trans & Queer Issue
Queer Unfiltered
Emotions, Moments & Journeys

For a moment, let us imagine a world beyond heteronormativity. A world where children are not assigned futures before they are born. A world that does not prescribe how people should dress, speak, move through the world, or whom they should love. A world where human experience is not measured against a single norm, but embraced in all its complexity and possibility. Perhaps this world is not entirely imaginary. It already exists—in moments of queer joy, in chosen families, in radical care, in resistance, in becoming. Queer Unfiltered, Usawa’s trans and queer issue, hopes to gather these fragments and possibilities: part archive, part sanctuary, part blueprint for more liberated futures.

We invite LGBTQIA+ writers to send us poems, short stories, graphic fiction, creative nonfiction, and photo essays that reflect on the world they inhabit and the world they dream of. Send us stories of small and big acts of resistance that inhabit this world. Or, conjure up entirely new worlds for a transtastic tomorrow. Send us poems about moments of self-discovery, found families, or queer joy. Send us your lyrical odes to a diverse, equitable world. And send us essays that let readers into your world, work, and daily lives.

While we look forward to submissions of high literary merit, our focus is on featuring unique voices and perspectives. We accept short stories, poetry, graphic fiction, creative nonfiction, photo essays and humour pieces. If you have anything else that doesn’t fit into these categories but makes your heart sing, send it to us; we are open to hybrid and experimental forms.

Eligibility, Word Count & Timeline

We are primarily looking for entries from queer and transgender writers. But we welcome a few entries from allies that specifically and thoughtfully engage with queer and trans lives. Some of the entries will be by invitation, and the others through an open call for submissions.

 

Deadline: 25th August 2026

 

Prose

Up to 3,000 words (fiction & nonfiction)

 

Poetry

Up to 50 lines (max two poems)

 

Photo essays

Up to 16 photos & 3,000 words

 

Graphic narratives

6 to 12 panels

 

Multiple submissions: Maximum of two submissions across all categories. 

 

Simultaneous submissions: Welcome, but please let us know immediately if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

 

This is a paying market. 

 

Submit your work here.

Writing Competition: The Gloria Anzaldua Poetry Prize

The Gloria Anzaldúa Poetry Prize

Judge: The Editors at FlowerSong Press


Submissions: May 1 — August 31, 2026

History:

Originally founded by Newfound Inc. in 2014, the prize proudly honors queer Chicana poet, writer, philosopher, theorist and cultural icon Gloria E. Anzaldúa. She is well known for her book of prose and poetry, “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” a revolutionary and inspirational work that has influenced countless writers, activists, and others, which draws on her experience as a Chicana/Tejana/lesbian/feminist en la frontera

The Gloria E. Anzaldúa Poetry Prize is awarded annually to a full-length collection that embodies or is in conversation with Anzaldúa's legacy. We welcome submissions from all poets whose work aligns with the mission of FlowerSong Press. Submissions written in hybrid forms that exhibit multiple vectors of discovery are especially encouraged.

Maria, Maria, Maria by Angelica Maria Barraza Tran is the winner of the 2025 poetry prize and will be published in the Fall of 2026.

Our three finalists were also offered publication contracts: Erika Said Izaguirre, Claudia Hernandez, and Tara Mesalik MacMahon.

Guidelines

• Send at least 50 pages of poetry. There is no maximum page limit. Visual art may be included but must be in black and white. Please include no more than one poem per page.

• The author's name must not appear anywhere in the manuscript.

• Please include a title page and table of contents. Manuscript pages should be numbered.

• Manuscripts may include a dedication and acknowledgements page as long as the author's identity is not discernible.

• Simultaneous submissions and submissions that contain previously published individual poems are acceptable. Please notify us immediately if your collection has been accepted elsewhere by emailing:

 editor@flowersongpress.com

• All entries must be sent online via our submission manager and be contained in a single document.

• A non-refundable $25 reading fee must accompany your work.

Deadline

 

The deadline is August 31, 2026, 11:59 PM, Central Daylight Time.

Prize Details

 

The winner will receive a prize of $1,000 plus 25 copies of the published manuscript. The author will have the opportunity to purchase additional copies at a discount.

 

The author will receive a royalties contract.

 

FlowerSong will design, print, and distribute the collection. The cover will be decided in cooperation with the winning author. FlowerSong's catalog includes award-winning poetry, fiction, and graphic novels.

 

All finalists will be announced in Winter 2026. Publication is expected in late 2027.

 

Due to the number of submissions received, personalized feedback is not possible. Authors will receive acknowledgment of receipt and decision.

Submit your entry here.

Writing Competition: 2026 Boudin Novelette Chapbook Contest

 

2026 Boudin Novelette Chapbook Contest

Final judge: Robert Olen Butler

Deadline: September 15th, 2026

Prizes: The winner will receive $1,000, 25 author copies, an author-signing at AWP 2027, promotion in Boudin (“the spicy online cousin of The McNeese Review”), and a three-year subscription to The McNeese Review. The winning manuscript will be published as a special issue of The McNeese Review and distributed by TRP: The University Press of SHSU.

Two runners-up will be offered publication of individual pieces in Boudin.

Fee: $20

Manuscript details: 25-40 manuscript pages of a single story in a readable font like 12-point Times New Roman. Unpublished and original work only. Include only a title page.

Your name and contact info should NOT appear anywhere on the manuscript. Please include a cover letter and third-person bio on the Submittable submission form.

Judging: The first rounds will be read anonymously by McNeese State University’s MFA faculty and students. The final round will be read anonymously by Robert Olen Butler, who will determine the winner and two runners-up.

Robert Olen Butler's short-story collection A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1993. His most recent novel is Twice Around a Marriage.

Other: Co-authored manuscripts are fine. Submitting multiple manuscripts is fine with entry fees for each. Simultaneous submissions are fine; please withdraw immediately through Submittable if your work is accepted elsewhere. Please note that the AWP author signing will take place at the Boudin/McNeese Review booth, and does not include travel expenses. Current McNeese State University students and employees are not eligible to submit. McNeese alumni are welcome to submit if it has been at least three years since they graduated.

We, unfortunately, cannot award the prize money to international submissions, though can still offer publication and subscription prizes.

--

Boudin fine print

Please only submit original work. If your work borrows from or quotes another writer, please make explicit mention of this with your submission, giving full attribution to any material you’re using from another source. We do not accept any work that was written with the assistance of AI.

Please only submit new, previously-unpublished work.

Please limit your submissions to four issues per calendar year.

In all genres, we are particularly interested in seeing work from women, people of color, LGBTQ writers, non-binary writers, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

No material published in Boudin may be reprinted or reproduced, in whole or in part, without the permission of the authors. Writers retain all rights to their work. We ask for ourselves only that Boudin be credited with first publication. Unfortunately, we are not a paying market; contributors to Boudin will receive our thanks and the promise that we’ll promote your work.

We encourage you to simultaneously submit your work while it’s under consideration at Boudin. If your submission is accepted by another publication, please withdraw immediately through Submittable.

We look forward to seeing your work! Surprise us. Spice it up!

Submit your entry here. 

Call for Submissions: Wildscape Literary Journal

Wildscape Literary Journal

Subs are OPEN.

Issue #8 subs for all genres are open until August 15, 2026

poetry guidelines

-Up to 5 poems

-Each poem must be two pages or shorter

-Please put all poems in one document, and start each poem on a new page

-12pt, times new roman font

-upload ONLY as a .doc/.docx (NOT a PDF, unless a PDF is needed to preserve the formatting. If this is the case, please let us know in your cover letter)

-Please leave all identifying information off of the document itself, as well as the document title. We prefer to read blind (i.e. not knowing who the author is)

-Keep your bio under 75 words, please. A cover letter is not mandatory and will not affect our decision, but we do enjoy getting to know the person behind the words/art, so feel free to let us know a little about yourself or the background info on your work, if you’d like.

-Prose poetry, as well as hybrid forms such as blackout/erasure poetry, are more than welcome

–We tend to lean away from rhyming poetry, and we tend to prefer experimental, contemporary, and free verse work.

flash fiction & creative flash nonfiction guidelines

-Up to 2 pieces

-max 1,500 words per piece

-Double spaced, 12pt, times new roman font

-upload each flash piece separately, and upload ONLY as a .doc/.docx (NOT a PDF, unless your work has unique formatting – if this is the case, let us know in your cover letter)

-Keep your bio under 75 words, please. A cover letter is not mandatory and will not affect our decision, but we do enjoy getting to know the person behind the words/art, so feel free to let us know a little about yourself or the background info on your work, if you’d like.

-Please leave all identifying information off of the document itself, as well as the document title. We prefer to read blind.

art guidelines

Please send up to 10 works of art. We prefer the whimsical and the beautiful, the ethereal and the wild. We tend to lean towards nature and florals, abstracts, watercolors, pastels, and whimsical work. But even if your art doesn’t fit any of these themes, send it anyway! We’re always looking for something new.
We’re open to any and all mediums, though. Submit as the file type(s) that best preserves your work. Genre does not matter, but we tend to lean away from horror.

-Please include a short, third-person bio. Keep your bio under 75 words, please. A cover letter is not mandatory and will not affect our decision, but we do enjoy getting to know the person behind the words/art, so feel free to let us know a little about yourself or the background info on your work, if you’d like.general info/FAQs

-We welcome and encourage work from all historically marginalized creators

-We do NOT accept AI-generated work, and we ask that you do not submit any work, written or visual art, that has been created using AI in any way

–Languages We Accept: We can only accept work written in predominantly English, though works with words/phrases in other languages are absolutely welcome

–Previous Contributors: We generally ask that contributors of the most recent regular issue skip one submission period before submitting work again. This does NOT apply to themed issues. This also does NOT apply to artists (i.e. artists can submit to any issue with no previous contributor restrictions). Anyone can submit work to a themed issue, regardless of when you were last published with us.

–Multiple Submissions: We allow up to THREE submissions per issue. We also allow more than one submission at a time. We do ask, however, that your submissions be separated based on the genre-specific guidelines (i.e. please do not send multiple genres within one submission, and do not send more than one submission’s worth of work within one submission).

–Simultaneous Submissions: Simultaneous submissions are more than welcome. In fact, we encourage them! Please notify us immediately of acceptance for publication elsewhere by withdrawing your piece from Duosuma, leaving a note/message in Duosuma, or by emailing us (wildscapelit@gmail.com)

–Previously Published Work: So long as you have the rights to your previously published work, and can prove that you do (i.e. contract with previous publisher, screenshot from communications with them confirming that you do, etc.), then you are welcome to submit it! We will not need proof of such until/unless your work is accepted, but please do mention that it’s previously published in your cover letter.

–Response Time: It can take us 1-6 weeks to make a decision on a submission. Sometimes, if things are slow, we might respond in around one week. Other times, if we’re swamped, it could take as long as six weeks. If you don’t hear from us within 45 days, please feel free to reach out via email, at:

wildscapelit@gmail.com.

–Compensation: Unfortunately, since we are a small team, a newer magazine, and don’t charge for submissions, we are unable to pay our contributors at this time (but we hope to in the future). We do, however, nominate for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, O. Henry Prize, and Best Small Fiction. We also promote our contributors on social media as best we can.

–Author/Artist Rights: All rights revert back to the author/artist immediately upon publication. We ask that if work originally published with us gets published elsewhere in the future, that wildscape. receives credit for first/prior publication.

–WE DO NOT ACCEPT: Hateful words of any kind (if you need clarification on this, then we might not be for you). We believe that black lives matter, that the people of Palestine & Sudan & the Congo & Haiti & all other oppressed populations/nations deserve to be free, & that trans rights are human rights. If you send work that enables or condones the oppression of any marginalized people. We reserve the right to rescind acceptance/publication of your work if it is found that you are expressing hate towards any oppressed/marginalized groups. We also do not accept work that has been created using AI in any capacity.

Submit your work here.