February is the month of love, so don’t forget to show your favorite literary magazines, presses, and indie bookstores love and support this month by subscribing, buying from them direct, and shopping local. Also, if you like what we're doing at NewPages, we always appreciate donations that help support our work.
Happy February. Looking for writing and book contests? Build up your submissions calendar with the help of NewPages. Our Big List of Writing Contests features contests from literary magazines, indie and university presses, creative writing programs, literary events, and more. Contests are arranged by deadline. Plus, don’t forget about the calls for submissions and contests featured in this very newsletter below!
NewPages Blog
Stay caught up at our blog. There you can take in short reviews, contest & book award winners, book & literary magazine news, and cultural & political news.
Don’t forget to let NewPages know what you’ve been reading in a short review for publication at our blog, too. Check out our guidelines here, and recent reviews here.
Calls, Contests, & More
Check out the latest and featured calls for submissions, writing and book contests, and more in the NewPages classifieds.
Calls for Submissions
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.
Paying Small Press, Driftwood Press Seeks Submissions
Driftwood Press is a paying small press specializing in fiction, poetry, visual arts, and comics. Whether you have short stories, novellas, single poems, poetry chapbooks, or comic collections, we can't wait to take a look. We also offer our poetry submitters a premium option to receive an acceptance or rejection letter within one week of submission. We use submission fees to pay our writers, offering $400 for novellas; we offer year-round contests with medium to large awards, and our In-House fiction contest has a shorter response time than most press' contests. Please see our site for more details!
Mistake House Magazine Seeks Submissions from Graduate & Undergraduate Writers
Deadline: March 15, 2022
Mistake House Magazine publishes fiction and poetry by students in graduate or undergraduate programs worldwide. We seek inventive work that speaks to the heart in a complex global context, including work expressive of documentary poetics. Submission window: October 15, 2021 to March 15, 2022. Submission fee $5. Guidelines at our website.
Call for Submissions: Storm Cellar
Deadline: Rolling
Storm Cellar seeks new and amazing writing and art for its spring issue! We are a journal of safety and danger, in many senses, in print and ebook formats since 2011. Send secrets, codes, adventures, mad experiments, and wild things. Black, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent, fat, border-straddling, poor, and other marginalized authors encouraged, bonus points for a Midwest connection. Now paying; limited no-fee submissions available each month. Full guidelines and F.A.Q. at our website.
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! See website for full guidelines.
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.
Consequence Translations Feature: A Focus on North and South Korea
Deadline: April 15, 2022
This project aims to highlight the ongoing experiences of North and South Koreans as their countries remain inexorably entwined in war. We are looking for translated prose, poetry, and graphic/visual arts that engage with these experiences. Original works do not necessarily have to be in Korean but should address issues resulting from (or directly related to) what we in the US call the Korean War (a.k.a. the 625 War, a.k.a The Fatherland Liberation War). If you have questions about whether your submission is right for this project, please email Matthew. Thank you. Visit website.
Palooka Seeks Chapbooks, Prose, Poetry, Artwork, Photography
Palooka is an international literary magazine. For over a decade we've featured new, up-and-coming, and established writers, artists, and photographers from around the world. We're open to diverse forms and styles and are always seeking unique chapbooks, fiction, poetry, nonfiction, artwork, photography, graphic narratives, and comic strips. Submissions open year-round. Visit website.
Short Story Open Call - No Fee, Any Genre
Deadline: Rolling
Stories up to 10,000 words. Author Payout = $100 + 50% of subscription revenue. No Fee to Apply. Keep reprint and other media rights. Readers get one quality story a month and support artists with their contributions. Everyone wins. The next winner will receive over $270 and the prize money only goes up each month! shortstory.substack.com
Plus more calls for submissions at our website:
Feels Blind Literary is Open for Submissions for Issue #7
Awakenings Review Seeks Poetry, Fiction, & Nonfiction
The New Verse News Seeks Current Events Poetry
Submit to the Santa Clara Review
UReCA Seeking Creative and Science Works
Words & Whispers Seeks Submissions for Issue 7
Nzuri Call For Submissions: Fiction, Essays, Photography, Art, Poetry, Digital Storytelling
New Issues
Read Volume 1, Issue 1 for Free!
Syncopation Literary Journal amalgamates the realms of literature and music. Volume 1, Issue 1 is now available to read on the website for FREE! The first issue contains book excerpts, poetry, creative nonfiction, short stories, and flash fiction penned by writers and musicians from around the world. Titles of pieces in issue include: "The First Time I Heard Leonard Cohen," "Memphis, Tennessee," and "I've Got the Blues." To read Volume 1, Issue 1, visit our website.
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 New American Poetry Prize Extended Deadline February 14
Extended Deadline: February 14, 2022
Submissions are now open for the 2022 New American Poetry Prize. Extended deadline: February 14, 2022. The winning author will receive a publication contract including $1,500, 25 copies, and promotional support. All forms and styles of poetry are welcome. Final judge this year is Eduardo C. Corral, author of Slow Lightning (2012), winner of the Yale Younger Poets Prize, and Guillotine (2020). Please use Submittable to send your work.
"I Matter" Poetry and Art Contest for Youth
Deadline: July 23, 2022
Would you like to win $500 and become a published poet? We are pleased to announce the 2022 “I Matter” poetry and art competition on why Black Lives Matter. Students from all over the world, in grades K-12, are invited to submit poetry and art on the theme of social justice. Ten finalists will win $100 and the top poet wins $500. All winners will have their work included in the 2022 “I Matter” book. The judges are Rob Covington of the NBA, Malcolm Jenkins of the NFL, Little League superstar Mo’ne Davis and “I Matter” Founder Isabella Hanson. For more information, please visit our website.
BreakBread Magazine Presents the Villena-Aldama Art & Writing Contest
Deadline: March 31, 2022
BreakBread Magazine announces the first annual Villena-Aldama Art & Writing Contest in Spring 2022, thanks to the Villena-Aldama Foundation. This contest is open to artists under 25. Judges will award $250 for nonfiction, art/hybrid forms, short fiction, and poetry. All general submissions received between January 1, 2022 - March 31, 2022 will be considered for the contest. All submissions must adhere to BreakBread Magazine’s submission guidelines. Winners will be announced in June 2022, with their work appearing in the Spring 2023 issue of BreakBread Magazine. There is no submission fee. Go to BreakBread Project's website for more information.
2022 Able Muse Contests Now Open for Submissions
Deadlines: March 15, 2022; March 31, 2022
2022 Able Muse Contests :: Submit now! Write Prize (poetry & fiction): $500 each + publication. Final Judges: Aaron Poochigian (poetry), Dennis Must (fiction); $15 entry; deadline: March 15, 2022. 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.
Brilliant Flash Fiction's Welcome 2022 Writing Contest with Pamela Painter
Deadline: April 15, 2022
No prompt or theme. No Entry Fee. Word limit: 500 words, excluding title. Submit entries via email. Prizes: $200 first prize, $100 second prize, $50 third prize. Shortlisted stories receive $20 and publication. Judge: Pamela Painter. Contest Rules: One entry per author. Send your entry pasted into the body of an email and also as a Word attachment with the story title in the subject line. Double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman. No name on entries. Submit an author bio in a separate attachment. Results announced June 30, 2022. View full guidelines here.
First Pages Prize - Submissions Open March 1, 2022
Deadline: April 10 (April 24 Extended)
Open to un-agented writers worldwide, the FIRST PAGES PRIZE invites you to enter your First Five Pages (1,250 words) of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. Five winners receive cash awards, a tailored edit and an agent consultation. Our 2022 prize judge is author Justin Torres. Entry fee is $20 ($35 Extended). Visit our website for more information.
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
Deadline: March 15, 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. Deadline: March 15. 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.
Submit to the 2022 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction
Deadline: June 24, 2022
Willow Springs Books is accepting submissions for the 2022 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. All authors are eligible regardless of publication history. Manuscripts must have a minimum of three (3) stories of fiction totaling at least 98 pages. The collection as a whole must be previously unpublished. Deadline: June 24, 20222. Prize: $2,000 plus publication. More information: trib.al/KH2gaFa.
Syncopation Short Story Contest
Writer Advice Seeks Flash Memoirs