Rise & Get Lit
NewPages Newsletter #223: Where words bubble, bread rises, and the week’s writing prompt waits to take shape.
Happy Monday!
The calendar insists it’s spring, but Mother Nature seems to be rolling her eyes and tossing us another round of snow just to make a point. On the bright side, my foray into sourdough hasn’t stalled out the way the weather has—apparently my starter is far more willing to commit to change than March is.
If you missed it last week, our March eLitPak went out, packed with submission opportunities, a residency you might want to bookmark, new book releases, and MFA program news.
Whether you’re looking for recommendations, submission opportunities, or something else, we have you covered this week.
📩 If this email gets cut off, click ‘View Entire Message’ at the bottom or head to Substack to read the full newsletter!
📰Recommended Reading
In the Fall/Winter 2025 issue of Epiphany, you’ll find June Glass’s “In McDonald’s,” a fierce and unflinching story about returning to a place soaked with memory and confronting the self you once were. Over the course of a snow‑choked afternoon, the narrator spirals through identity, dissociation, and the gravity of an old relationship that still pulls at her edges. By the time the storm breaks, so does something in her—a first, shaky sense that a different future might actually be possible.
Don’t miss JJ Amaworo Wilson’s “The Song of the Crow” in the March 2026 Cutleaf Journal—a jagged, propulsive portrait of Merle Divine Brown, a singer whose talent lifts her to dizzying heights and nearly destroys her. Haunted by family, history, and the music she can’t escape, she survives by sheer force of will and keeps singing into the void.
📚 Magazine Stand
Since the weather can’t decide whether to be spring instead of winter, escape to the Magazine Stand instead. Browse fresh issues from literary journals near and far and let them keep you nourished—if not emotionally, at least literarily.
New England Review – Issue 47.1
A wide-ranging issue featuring contemporary poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations from German and Spanish, and a “rediscovery” of Edmund Burke. Contributors explore grief, identity, technology, family, failure, and memory across genres, offering a rich blend of established and emerging voices.
Still Point Arts Quarterly – Spring 2026
A visually driven, theme-based arts and literary journal. The Spring “Crafting a Life” issue examines the overlap between craft and living with intention. Featuring historical and contemporary art, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, it highlights the risks, patience, and perseverance inherent in both art‑making and life‑making.
The Sunlight Press – March 2026
A nonprofit digital journal publishing new work twice weekly, The Sunlight Press features photography, poetry, fiction, essays, and its ongoing “Artists on Craft” series. Recent contributors include Russell Nichols, Thehara S.U., Claire Lynch, Lee Bernstein, Yiyao Li, and Ron Clinton Smith. Submissions open for essays, reviews, craft reflections, and photography.
Superpresent – Winter 2026
The Winter “echo” issue gathers visual art and writing interpreting echo from multiple angles. Featuring both emerging and seasoned creators, Superpresent continues its mission to present striking work online and in print, entirely free to read and submit to, with an affordable print edition for those who prefer paper.
Coming soon:
Swing back to our Magazine Stand later in the week to discover Chestnut Review Winter 2026, The Courtship of the Winds Winter 2026, and Blink-Ink #63.
🗄️ The Fool’s World :: Zine Alive Archive
The Fool’s World is growing its Zine Alive Archive, a free, accessible home for literary magazines and blogzines that have gone offline. Much like university special collections—but open to anyone—the archive preserves issues, provides active links when available, and keeps once‑vanished work discoverable. If your publication has ceased but deserves a life beyond its domain name, Zine Alive offers a place to keep those voices in circulation. Learn more about submitting your magazine’s past issues at The Fool’s World’s Zine Alive Archive.
📖 Book News
Eternidades / Eternities gathers poems Juan Ramón Jiménez wrote between 1916–1917, a pivotal period marked by his first trip to America and his engagement with English‑language poetry, especially Emily Dickinson. Nobel laureate Jiménez’s shift from “pure poetry” toward the spare, revelatory style he later called “naked poetry” is on full display here. A.F. Moritz’s new translation and introduction illuminate this landmark work of modern Spanish literature, now available from Bitter Oleander Press.
🖋️ Inspiration Prompt: Echoes Beneath the Nursery Rhyme
Mary Had a Little Lamb. Ring‑around‑the‑Rosie. London Bridge.
We grow up singing these without thinking much about them—simple melodies, easy to memorize, handed to us before we even remember learning them. But many nursery rhymes carry shadows: plague histories, ruined cities, forgotten tragedies. Others simply feel eerie, even without a confirmed backstory, as though something older and heavier is woven into the tune.
This week, choose a children’s song or rhyme—whether it’s one whose proposed “dark origins” you know, or one you’ve never questioned—and create from the feeling it stirs in you now.
What lives under the melody?
What memory, fear, tenderness, or myth does it unlock when you listen as an adult rather than a child?
Your challenge:
Write, draw, collage, compose, choreograph, design, or otherwise craft a piece that responds to the emotional undercurrent of a nursery rhyme. Don’t retell the rhyme itself; instead, follow the atmosphere it conjures—the sweetness, the dread, the nostalgia, the uncanny, the grief, the comfort.
Let the rhyme be a doorway, not a subject.
Looking for more inspiration? Stop by our Weekly Roundup of Submission Opportunities for more prompts.
🏬 NewPages Guide to Indie Bookstores
For writers and independent publishers, knowing where to take your work is half the battle. The NewPages Bookstore Directory gives you a searchable, curated list of independent bookstores across the U.S. and Canada—the kind of shops that actually hand-sell books, host local authors, and build the word-of-mouth that sustains literary careers.
Use the directory to find stores that are the right fit for your book, then reach out to schedule readings and signings, pitch consignment arrangements, or introduce yourself to the buyers and booksellers who champion independent voices. Planning a tour? The directory makes it easy to map out stops city by city, identify stores with active event programming, and build relationships before you ever walk through the door. You can also use it to target stores for review copy outreach, research which shops carry titles in your genre, or simply discover the indie bookselling community that your work belongs in.
Whether you’re a debut novelist trying to get your foot in the door or a small press building long-term retail relationships, the NewPages Bookstore Directory is the resource that puts the right stores at your fingertips.
And if you’d like to reach out to stores directly by mail, we also offer curated mailing lists for U.S. and Canadian independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble locations, and U.S. public libraries.
Calls, Contests, & More
Ready to submit your work or attend a literary event? We’ve got 178 opportunities waiting for you this week! With a new month comes a fresh wave of listings newly added to the full (paywalled) list—don’t miss out.
Below is a sampling of what you’ll find inside.
2026 ABLE MUSE CONTESTS :: SUBMIT NOW
Deadline: March 23 (Write Prize); March 31 (Book Award)
Able Muse’s writing contests are open! WRITE PRIZE (poetry & fiction - we particularly want short stories): $500 each + publication. Final Judges: Catherine Tufariello (poetry), Tobias Carroll (fiction); $15 entry; extended deadline: March 23, 2026. BOOK AWARD (poetry): $1000 + book publication. Final Judge: Annie Finch; $25 entry; deadline: March 31, 2026. Visit our website for details.
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.
The Headlight Review’s Annual Poetry Chapbook Prize
Deadline: March 31
The Headlight Review’s Annual Poetry Chapbook Prize of 2026 is accepting submissions through March 31st, 2026. Our first round finalists will be judged by Alafia Nichole Sessions and will have their poems featured in an upcoming issue. The winner of The Headlight Review’s 2026 Poetry Chapbook Prize Contest will receive publication (a perfectly bound book with a full color or black/white cover), an award of $500, and 25 copies of the book. Learn more.
The Missouri Review’s 6th Annual Perkoff Prize Invites Entries
Extended Deadline: March 31, 2026
The Missouri Review is pleased to announce that the 6th annual Perkoff Prize is now open. Winners in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction receive $1,000 and publication in the Winter 2026 issue, plus social media promotion. Regular fee $20; All Access fee $30. All entries are considered for publication in TMR, or in our web-exclusive features, BLAST and/or Poem of the Week. Visit our website to learn more.
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.
2026 Prime Number Magazine Awards
Deadline: March 31, 2026
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Prime Number Magazine are given annually for a poem and a short story. Two runners-up in each category receive $250 each and publication. Using only the online submission system, submit a poem of up to three pages or a short story of up to 5,300 words with a $15 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
New American Voices Award for Immigrant Writers
Deadline: March 31, 2026
The New American Voices Award is a $5,000 post-publication book prize from Fall for the Book and the Institute for Immigration Research, which recognizes prose works that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants. Two finalists each will receive $1,000. All finalists will appear at the Fall for the Book Festival in October 2026. $20 entry fee. Previous winners include Shubha Sunder, Shahnaz Habib, Rachel Heng, and Sindya Bhanoo. Visit website to learn more.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee)
Deadline: April 1, 2026
Submit one humor poem up to 250 lines to win $2,000. Second prize: $500. Third prize: $250. 10 Honorable Mentions: $100 each. Top 13 poems published online. 25th annual contest sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope and Chill Subs. 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 our website.
Write at Jack Kerouac’s Residency in Orlando for Seven Weeks
Extended Deadline: May 1, 2026
Write where Jack Kerouac wrote The Dharma Bums. The Kerouac Project residency of Orlando, FL offers the house to yourself, $600 grocery stipend, utilities paid. Finish your project in seven weeks. Six time slots available per year. We accept: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Plays, Screenplays. Fiction and Nonfiction can be in graphic narrative form if preferred. Applications now due May 1, 2026. Learn more and apply here.
Flash in Bloom - Queer Flash Fiction
Deadline: May 1, 2026
We are thrilled to announce an additional category of our contest this year, Flash In Bloom, seeking flash fiction and creative nonfiction by BIPOC, queer, and trans writers. We encourage submissions on multicultural and queer fantasies, futurisms, and liberations. The winner will be awarded $200 in cash prizes, and will also be guaranteed the publication of their submission in the Fall 2026 issue of the Santa Clara Review. The winner will also have the opportunity to participate in an interview conducted by the SCR and Office for Multicultural Learning, to discuss their experiences in writing and publication as a BIPOC and/or LGBTQ artist, their inspirations, creative processes, and more. Visit website.
Flash Takes Flight at the Santa Clara Review — Flash Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Contest
Deadline: May 1, 2025
Welcome to Flash Takes Flight! We are excited to announce our second annual flash fiction and flash creative nonfiction contest for the chance to win cash prizes as well as publication in the Santa Clara Review! The first prize winner will be awarded $200, the first runner-up will be awarded $100, and the second runner-up will be awarded $50. The contest winner will be published in the 2026 fall issue of the Santa Clara Review. All other work will be considered for publication. We look forward to reading your submissions! Visit website.
Cow Creek Poetry Chapbook Prize
Deadline: May 15, 2026
Submissions are now open for the 2026 Cow Creek Chapbook Prize, a national poetry chapbook contest hosted by Pittsburg State University. We welcome poetry in all styles and on all subjects. If your poems challenge and capture the imagination, we want to read them. The winning poet receives a $1,000 prize and 25 author copies of their published chapbook. Submit 15-30 pages of poetry with a $15 entry fee. Simultaneous and multiple submissions are welcome (each manuscript must be submitted separately). Individual poems may have been previously published, but the chapbook must be an original manuscript. Deadline: May 15. For full guidelines and to submit, visit our website.
🔔 $2,000 Prize + Publication
Deadline: May 18, 2026
New Letters invites you to submit a short story, essay, or poems to the New Letters Literary Awards. Winners in each genre receive $2,000 and publication in New Letters. All entries are considered for publication and must be unpublished. Winners will be announced mid-September 2026. Essay and fiction entries may not exceed 8,000 words; poetry entries may contain one to six poems. Multiple entries are welcome. For complete guidelines, visit our website.
Read ALOCASIA: A Journal of Queer Planty Writing!
Deadline: Rolling
ALOCASIA is an online literary journal of queer creative writing about plants, nature, and horticulture. Based in the United States, we publish writing from both established and emerging writers around the world in all genres. We publish traditional work, as well as the weird, erotic, explicit, and anti-colonial. Our writers are celebratory, fierce, wounded, loving, and rebellious. Come visit our garden on the web. Also, we would love to read your work, click here for submission information.
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.
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❧ Give Yourself Permission
Writing and life can feel a lot like crafting a loaf of sourdough. It’s messy, smelly, and sometimes downright unpleasant—bitter or sour in ways you’d rather avoid. But often it’s just a matter of hanging in there, trying again, and trusting that one day everything will click and the chemistry will rise like magic. Remember to breathe deeply and let those anxieties settle.
As always, keep writing words that matter.
— The NewPages Crew
