It’s the final week of March. April starts on Friday, which feels like a joke. How is it April already? Yesterday, we featured a review by Shelby Kearns of The Way Forward: Master Life’s Toughest Battles and Create Your Lasting Legacy by Robert O’Neill and Dakota Meyer on our blog. Stay tuned for more short reviews.
Interested in writing a review for our blog? Please see our new guidelines for what we are looking for.
With a new month around the corner, don’t forget to check out our Big List of Writing Contests for upcoming deadlines in April. Plus, don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to view all of the submission opportunities featured below, many of them new this week.
NewPages Blog
Stay caught up at our blog. There you can take in short reviews, contest & book award winners, book & literary magazine news, new issues of literary magazines, new and forthcoming titles, and cultural & political news.
Calls, Contests, & More
Check out the latest and featured calls for submissions, writing and book contests, and more in the NewPages classifieds. Please note the ads featured here are paid listings.
Calls for Submissions
CHESTNUT REVIEW Invites Submissions Year Round
Chestnut Review (“for stubborn artists”) invites submissions year-round of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, and photography. We offer free submissions for poetry (3 poems), flash fiction (<1000 words), and art/photography (20 images); $5 submissions for fiction/nonfiction (<5k words), or 4-6 poems. Published artists receive $120. Notification in <30 days or submission fee refunded. We appreciate stories in every genre we publish. All issues free online which illustrates what we have liked, but we are always ready to be surprised by the new!
Daily Stories of Fifty Words or Less Straight into Your Inbox
Deadline: Rolling
If a reader signs up to 50 Give or Take, they will receive daily micro fiction of fifty words or less straight into their inbox. Despite popular opinion, the name 50 Give or Take doesn't refer to the number of words in the story. It is a metaphor for what we, as readers and writers, give and take emotionally from the written word. Do you write flash fiction? Then submit! We publish all accepted stories in a print collection every November 6. All you have to do is submit your story, one-line bio, and vertical photo of yourself. Full info at our website.
Able Muse (Poetry, Prose, & Art) - Submission Now Open
Deadline: July 15, 2022
Able Muse is now accepting submissions for our forthcoming issue, Winter 2022/2023. Submit poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews, art, and photography. Submission opens yearly January 1 and closes July 15. Read our guidelines and submit at our website.
Oyster River Pages Seeks Submissions for Annual Issue
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Oyster River Pages is a literary and artistic collective seeking submissions for our annual issue that stretch creative and social boundaries. In addition to submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual arts, we also seek to promote new voices in our Emerging Voices Poetry and Emerging Voices Fiction sections. We believe in the power of art to connect people to their own and others’ humanity, something we see as especially important during these tumultuous times. Because of this, we seek to feature artists whose voices have been historically de-centered or marginalized. Please see our website for submission details.
Atmosphere Press Reading Book Manuscripts in All Genres
Deadline: Rolling
Atmosphere Press currently seeks book manuscripts from diverse voices. There's no submission fee, and if your manuscript is selected, we’ll be the publisher you’ve always wanted: attentive, organized, on schedule, and professional. We use a model in which the author funds the publication of the book, but retains 100% rights, royalties, and artistic autonomy. This year Atmosphere authors have received featured reviews with Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and have even appeared on a giant billboard in Times Square. Submit your book manuscript at our website.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Wants Your Story for The Magic of Christmas!
Deadline: May 1, 2022
It may be March, but at Chicken Soup for the Soul we are still thinking about the magic of Christmas. Share your winter holiday memories and traditions with our readers, from the heartwarming to the hilarious. Everything from Thanksgiving, to Hanukkah, to Christmas, to New Year’s. Be sure the stories are “Santa safe” so we don’t spoil the magic for precocious readers! If we publish your piece, you will be paid $200 plus 10 free copies of the book. Writing guidelines and more info at our website.
Sky Island Journal: Issue 20 (Spring 2022) Call for Submissions
Deadline: March 31, 2022
Sky Island Journal is an independent, international, free-access literary journal dedicated to publishing the finest poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction. We publish accomplished, well-established authors—side by side—with fresh, emerging voices. We provide over 100,000 readers in 145 countries with a powerful, focused, advertising-free literary experience that transports them: one that challenges them intellectually and moves them emotionally. We publish quarterly, and our average response time is 9 days. Every submission receives a prompt, respectful response detailing what we appreciated. Enjoy our previous issues and submit to our stunning Issue 20 before midnight on March 31st, at our website.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Wants Your Story for My Wonderful, Wacky Family!
Deadline: April 30, 2022
We all have them! Those eccentric, goofy, wacky, lovable, and oh-so-fun family members—the ones we tell all the stories about. They could be a parent or grandparent, an in-law, a brother or sister, an aunt, uncle or cousin. Share your true stories and poems about those family members. With love and appreciation, please. No mean-spirited stories wanted. If we publish your piece, you will be paid $200 plus 10 free copies of the book. Writing guidelines and more info at our website.
LIGHT Calls for Submissions: Art, Letters, Stories, Poetry, & More
Deadline: May 1, 2022
Leaders Igniting Generational Healing and Transformation (LIGHT) is calling for submissions of art, letters, stories, poetry, and other creative works for the first issue of our biannual literary journal in public health. We invite everyone to share their lived experiences of healing and health as a way to connect with each other using the dialogue, expressions, and language that you resonate with best. The deadline to submit is by May 1, 2022. Prize money (1st: $500, 2nd: $375, 3rd: $125) will be given to the top three contestants of each category. To learn more, please visit our website.
Plus more calls for submissions at our website:
Beliefs, Myths, and Narratives in the Modern South :: Nobody’s Home: Modern Southern Folklore
Parhelion Literary Call for Submissions
Gold Man Review Open for Submissions
Waxing & Waning Presents: The Blackout Edition
Submissions Open About Domestic Violence for Feminist Literary Magazine :: They Call Us
Writing & Book Contests
2022 Prime Number Magazine Awards for Poetry and Short Fiction
Deadline: March 31, 2022
$1,000 first prize in each category plus a Pushcart Prize nomination. Winners and two Runners-up in each category published in Prime Number Magazine. Reading fee $15. Poetry judged by Faith Shearin, author of Lost Language and others. Short Fiction judged by Jubal Tiner, author of The Waterhouse and founding editor of Pisgah Review. Open January 1 to March 31. Submit online through Submittable. Details at Prime Number Magazine website.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee)
Deadline: April 1, 2022
Submit one humor poem up to 250 lines to win $2,000. Second prize: $500. 10 Honorable Mentions: $100 each. Top 12 poems published online. 21st annual contest sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope. No fee to enter. Accepts published and unpublished work. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. This contest is recommended by Reedsy. Learn more and submit at Winning Writers' website.
2022 Able Muse Contests Now Open for Submissions
Deadlines: March 31, 2022
2022 Able Muse Contests :: Submit now! Book Award (poetry): $1,000 + book publication. Final Judge: Rachel Hadas; $25 entry; deadline: March 31, 2022. Enter now—go to the Able Muse Press website for full details.
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
Deadline: April 30, 2022
30th year, sponsored by Winning Writers, co-sponsored by Duotrope, and recommended by Reedsy. Submit published or unpublished work online to win $3,000 for the best story and $3,000 for the best essay. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each. Length limit: 6,000 words. Entry fee: $20. Top 12 entries published online. Judge: Mina Manchester. Learn more at our website.
The Nimrod Literary Awards: $6,000 in Prizes
Deadline: April 1, 2022
Submissions are open for the Nimrod Literary Awards, the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry and the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, with prizes of $2,000 and $1,000 and publication, as well as readings at our Awards Ceremony. Finalists and selected semi-finalists will be published and paid at a rate of $10/page. For poetry, submit 3-10 pages; for fiction, one story, 7,500 words maximum. Manuscripts may be mailed or submitted online via Submittable. Each entry must be accompanied by a $20 entry fee, which includes a one-year subscription. Open internationally. Email or visit our website for complete rules.
Announcing the Second Annual Perkoff Prize from the Missouri Review
Extended Deadline: March 31, 2022
The 2022 Perkoff Prize is a tri-genre contest from the Missouri Review that awards $1,000 and publication each to writers of the best story, set of poems, or essay that engages in evocative ways with health and medicine as judged by the editors. Extended Deadline: March 31. Regular entries ($15) will receive a free year-long digital subscription to TMR, while All Access entries ($30) will receive a year-long digital subscription plus access to the last 10 years of digital issues, complete with audio recordings of all features. All entries considered for publication. Learn more at our website.
Flying South 2022: Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Contest: $2,000 Prizes
Deadline: May 31, 2022
$2,000 in prizes. From March 1 to May 31, Flying South 2022, a publication of Winston Salem Writers, will be accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. One of the three winners will receive The WSW President's Favorite award and win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website.
Submit to the 2022 Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry
Deadline: June 15, 2022
Lynx House Press seeks submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts for the annual Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry. The winner will receive $2,000 and publication. Entries must be at least 48 pages in length. The fee for submitting is $28. Previous judges include James Tate, Yusef Komunyakaa, Dorianne Laux, Dara Wier, Melissa Kwasny, and Robert Wrigley.
Swan Scythe Press Announces its 2022 Poetry Chapbook Contest!
Deadline: June 15, 2022
Swan Scythe Press announces its 2022 poetry chapbook contest. Entry fee: $18. We are accepting submissions from March 1 to June 15 (postmark deadline). Winner receives $200 and 25 perfect-bound chapbooks. The 2021 winner is Rae Gouirand for Little Hour. For full submission guidelines, visit the Swan Scythe Press website.
Sheila-Na-Gig Editions Poetry Chapbook Contest: Accepts Submissions May 1-31
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Sheila-Na-Gig Editions announces our second annual Poetry Chapbook Contest. Submit 20–40-page poetry manuscript (not including front/back matter) via Submittable. $500 prize + publication awarded. Reading Fee: $20. Familiarize yourself with the works on Sheila-Na-Gig online to get a sense of our aesthetic. We publish well-crafted free verse poetry and especially seek poems with excellent imagery and a strong sense of voice. Chapbooks should also include a consistent theme. Simultaneous submissions/previously published poems accepted if rights have reverted. Manuscripts are judged on the merits of the work alone. No author names allowed! Please read/follow all of the guidelines carefully at our website.
North Street Book Prize for Self-Published Books
Deadline: June 30, 2022
Now in its eighth year, the North Street Book Prize is sponsored by Winning Writers. Self-published books in seven categories can win up to $8,000 plus additional benefits. Submit online or by mail. Winning Writers is a partner member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, and this contest is recommended by Reedsy. Entry fee: $70 per book. Free gifts from our co-sponsors for everyone who enters. Deadline: June 30. View guidelines here.
Baltimore Review Summer Contest - Micro Lit
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Baltimore Review Summer Contest – Micro Lit. Miniature. Mighty. Magical. What can you do with 400 words or less? We want to read your micro-length work. How you define your micro is up to you. Fiction, creative nonfiction, prose poem—no need to categorize your work. We're reading them all in one category—Micro Lit. First place: $500. Second place: $300. Third place: $200. All entries considered for publication, with payment for accepted work at our regular rate. $8 contest fee. Final judge: Beth Ann Fennelly. Deadline: May 31. Visit our site, enjoy, and submit your work here.
First Pages Prize – Submit by April 24th!
Deadline: April 10 (April 24 extended)
The 2022 Prize supports five emerging writers with cash awards totaling $6000, a tailored edit, and an agent consultation. Open to un-agented writers worldwide, the First Pages Prize invites you to enter your first five pages (1250 words) of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. View guidelines here.
2022 Dorianne Laux & Joseph Millar Prize
Deadline: June 1, 2022
We welcome your submissions to our 2022 Dorianne Laux & Joseph Millar Poetry Prize at Raleigh Review. The preliminary reading is led by our dynamic team of readers and editors. Our final judges are Dorianne Laux & Joseph Millar. All who submit to this prize shall receive a copy of the beautiful prize print issue thanks to the generosity from our entire staff and board. Also be sure to check out our 2022 Laux/Millar workshop that will take place in May. View guidelines here.