Lit Floats Down Like Snow
NewPages Newsletter #209: 119 submission opportunities & events + new mag issues & book review update
Happy Monday!
It’s officially December—can you believe it? In just 30 days, we’ll be saying goodbye to 2025. Another year has flown by, and so much has happened in such a short time. Some days, we all wish life were a little less hectic.
As we head into the final stretch, may this month treat you kindly and help you reach those submission, writing, and reading goals you set back in January. If you’re looking to finish the year strong, NewPages is here to help with great lit and our weekly roundup of open submission opportunities.
In other news, our final eLitPak of 2025 goes out December 17. There’s still time to sign up and showcase your new books, journal issues, submission opportunities, services, and upcoming events!
📩 If this email gets cut off, click ‘View Entire Message’ at the bottom or head to Substack to read the full newsletter!
📚 Magazine Stand
Looking for fresh reads? Catch up on the latest releases from standout literary magazines—each offering new voices, thoughtful features, and creative inspiration.
Mudfish – Issue 25
The newest issue of Mudfish celebrates a rich mix of voices, featuring work by Stephanie Dickinson, Doug Dorph, Tim Macaluso, and many others. Poetry prize winner Stacy Spencer and honorable mentions Elisabeth Murawski and Ann Robinson set a high bar, while Jack Pierson’s stunning artwork unifies the issue into a single, resonant vision.
The Writing Disorder – Fall 2025
The latest issue of The Writing Disorder blends experimental creativity with classic storytelling, featuring fiction, poetry, nonfiction, interviews, and reviews. Highlights include striking artwork by Tom Plamann and new work from Nia Crawford, Sohana Manzoor, Kevin Dwyer, Erika Seshadri, and more—plus reviews of Eject City, The Idea of Light, and Sojourns.
Coming soon: LIBRE’s Surrealism Tomorrow issue, Valley Voices Fall 2025, and New England Review 46.3–4—don’t miss them!
🔍 Book Review Updates
After much consideration, we’ve decided we can no longer keep up with posting book reviews. A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who contributed reviews and to all who enjoyed reading them. We’ll continue highlighting great literature through our Magazine Stand and other features—so stay tuned for fresh recommendations!
🖋️ Inspiration Prompt: Orthostatic Hypotension
Blood pressure—love it or hate it, it’s something many of us deal with. Orthostatic hypotension is a sudden drop in blood pressure when moving between positions—lying down, sitting, standing—often worsened by dehydration or lack of sleep.
Craft a poem, story, or essay exploring this experience. Or take a visual approach: create a collage or piece of art that puts the viewer in the shoes of someone living with this condition. How does the world tilt when the body falters? What emotions, fears, or unexpected beauty emerge in those dizzying moments? And what if it isn’t dizziness, but your legs weakening from the knees down?
What does gravity feel like when it becomes an adversary? How does the body betray the mind in those moments?
Looking for more inspiration? Stop by our Weekly Roundup of Submission Opportunities for more prompts.
Calls, Contests, & More
Ready to submit your work or attend a literary event? We’ve got 119 opportunities waiting for you this week!
Call For Submissions From Girls Worldwide
Deadline: December 31, 2025
Girls Right the World is a literary journal inviting girls and young, gender-expansive writers and artists, ages 14–21, to submit work for consideration for the tenth annual issue. We believe girls’ voices transform the world for the better. We accept poetry, prose, and visual art of any style or theme. We ask to be the first to publish your work in North America; after publication, the rights return to you. Send your best art and/or writing, in English or English translation, via email by December 31, 2025. Please include a note mentioning your age, where you’re from, and a bit about your submission. See website for more details.
2026 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction
Deadline: December 31, 2025
Awarded to an outstanding, unpublished collection of stories. Reading Fee: $30. Award: publication, $1,000 advance, 53 copies. If runner-up is named, publication, $500 advance, 25 copies. Submit online via Submittable until December 31. Press 53 publisher Kevin Morgan Watson will serve as judge. Winner and finalists announced by May 3, 2026. Publication in May 2027. Details at our website.
Santa Clara Review Call For Submissions
Deadline: January 15, 2026
The Santa Clara Review publishes a wide variety of work from all over the world. Our magazine is open to all and is especially interested in writing and art from Black writers, Indigenous writers, LGBT+ writers, and writers of color. Writers–send us your best poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, including flash pieces, humor, satire, short screenplays and plays, and hybrid works. Visual artists–send us your art of any kind, including photography, painting, sculpture, drawings, collage, and textile creations. For further submission guidelines, visit our website. We are now accepting submissions for our Spring 2026 issue via our Submittable page.
2026 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
Deadline: January 30, 2026
Submissions are now being accepted for the 12th Saroyan Prize. The awards, co-sponsored by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, are intended to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan legacy of originality, vitality, and stylistic innovation. Two prizes of $5,000 each are given for works of fiction and nonfiction. Writers who have published three books or more are ineligible. Submit five copies of your work published between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025, and $50 entry fee by January 30, 2026. Visit our website for complete eligibility and submission details.
RCC MUSE Now Accepting Submissions & Spangler Poetry Award Entries
Deadline: January 31, 2026
RCC MUSE is now accepting general submissions for the Spring 2026 edition and poetry submissions for the Spangler Award. For the Spangler Award—Submit up to 3 poems about a child or childhood for a chance to win $200 and publication in the Spring 2026 edition of RCC MUSE. A $5 entry fee is required (payable by check to “RCC MUSE” or via Venmo @RCCMUSE). Email your submission as an attachment with the subject line: "LastName–Spangler Award–Title." General submissions are also open through January 31, 2026. You may submit 1 prose piece (1,500 words max) or up to 3 poems. Use the subject line format: "LastName–Genre–Title" and include your contact info and a short bio. Full guidelines at our website.
The swamp pink Prizes in Fiction, Poetry, & Nonfiction
Opens: January 1, Closes: January 31
The swamp pink Prizes award $2,000 and publication to a story, essay, and poem. From January 1 to 31, submit a story or essay of up to 25 pages or a set of 1–3 poems via Submittable. Judges for each genre can be viewed on our website. The entry fee is $20; all entries will be considered for publication. Learn more here.
National Baseball Poetry Festival Call for Submissions
Deadline: Noon, March 27, 2026
The National Baseball Poetry Festival invites submissions of poems that deal with any aspect of the gamesmanship, nature, and atmosphere of Baseball and/or Softball, for example: opening day, ballpark food, childhood memories, first pitch, athletic heroes, uniforms, ball parks, Little League, dugout chatter, the season of the game, etc. No restriction on form. Poets may submit one (1) poem for consideration, which should fit on a single page. The thematic views of baseball/softball and the game will be given wide interpretation by the judge(s). Submissions are free. For full submission guidelines, please visit our website.
2026 National Indie Excellence© Awards
Deadline: March 31, 2026
The 2026 National Indie Excellence© Awards (NIEA) are open to all English language printed books currently for sale including self-published authors, small to midsize independent publishers, and university presses. Now in our twentieth year, NIEA is a proud champion of self and independent publishing and authors of all genres who produce books of excellence and distinction. Eligible books must have been published within the two calendar years prior to our deadline. Please visit our website for more information about our prizes, awards, and how to submit.
JackLeg Press is Looking for the Next Great Thing
Deadline: Rolling
JackLeg Press seeks bold, vibrant, authentic writers. Is that you? We’d love to find out. We focus on poetry, short fiction collections, select novels & creative nonfiction. Query us today!
Palooka Seeks Chapbooks, Prose, Poetry, Artwork, Photography
Deadline: Year-round
Palooka is a global literary magazine of daring prose, art, photography, comics, and chapbooks drawn exclusively from unsolicited submissions. We champion underdog voices, read anonymously, and only publish what we love. Bold voices. Brave stories. Learn more.
Want even more opportunities? Upgrade to a paid subscription for exclusive early access to the full list of submission calls and events!
🌟 Make Like a Cucumber
Life piles on—stress, deadlines, endless to-dos. Sometimes the best thing you can do is pause, breathe, and be a cucumber: cool, calm, and hydrated.
Until later, keep writing and crafting works that matter.
— The NewPages Crew
