Stanzas, Submissions, and Stacks
NewPages Newsletter #188: Fuel for Writers, Readers, and Literary Dreamers
Salutations!
We hope you had a fun and safe Fourth of July—hydrated, firework-injury-free, and (unlike our Managing Editor) free of surprise roof leaks after those torrential downpours and thunderstorms.
If your spirits need lifting, NewPages has plenty of great lit to brighten your day—and a fun writing prompt to help shake off that summer writing malaise.
📩 If this email gets cut off, click ‘View Entire Message’ at the bottom or head to Substack to read the full newsletter!
🌟Sponsored Read
Fragments of Cerulean by Neal H. Paris
A surreal, genre-blurring short story collection exploring identity, memory, and myth. Through eerie, cinematic tales of haunted motels and cryptic machines, Neal H. Paris crafts emotionally resonant narratives that unsettle and provoke. A haunting, introspective journey perfect for fans of dark, atmospheric, and symbolic fiction.
Check the NewPages Blog later this week for features on Feller and Borderlines: An Astral Experience in Poems.
📚 In Magazine News
Not sure what tantalizing morsel to read next? Swing by the Magazine Stand to discover new issues of great literary magazines to devour.
Zone 3 - Issue 39.1
From Austin Peay State University, this issue features Editor Prize Winners and new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by acclaimed and emerging voices.
The Shore - Issue 26
This issue embraces summer’s extremes with bold new poetry from Richard Siken, Natalie Padilla Young, Yishak Yohannes Yebio, and more. Featuring vivid, storm-charged art by Derek Ellis, it pulses with heat, rain, and raw emotion.
Southern Humanities Review - Issue 58.2
Curated by Guest Poetry Editor Gabrielle Bates, this summer issue features poetry by Sean Cho A., Rhony Bhopla, and others, plus fiction and nonfiction by standout voices. Cover art by Jaye Bartell adds a nostalgic visual touch.
Blink-Ink - Issue #60
Exploring the theme “Seeds,” this issue delivers powerful microfiction—each story around 50 words. From hope to hidden potential, these tiny tales by writers like Maddie W. White, S.A. Greene, and Rosaleen Lynch bloom with meaning.
🔍 In Review
Lost in your local library’s bookshelves, uncertain of which title to choose? Our reviewers have you covered!
Confessions by Catherine Airey (review by Kevin Brown)
A debut novel tracing three generations of Irish women navigating identity, art, and activism from the 1970s to 2020s. Through layered perspectives and hidden truths, it explores love, loss, and resilience across time and culture.
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (review by Kevin Brown)
A haunting character study of a Palestinian woman adrift in New York. Through fragmented relationships and obsessive rituals, Zaher explores trauma, displacement, and identity in a novel rich in metaphor and emotional depth.
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson (review by Kevin Brown)
Four half-siblings embark on a cross-country road trip to find the father who abandoned them all. Wilson’s latest novel explores family, identity, and forgiveness with warmth, wit, and emotional resonance.
Coming soon to the Blog: reviews of Walking the Burn by Rachel Kellum and Songs for the Land-Bound by Violeta Garcia-Mendoza.
🏬 Bookstore Updates
Traveling this summer? Don’t forget to show some love to indie bookstores along the way! Our Guide to Indie Bookstores can help you find used and new general and specialty stores across the U.S. and Canada.
📍 WordHaven BookHouse – Sheboygan, Wisconsin
A queer-owned safe space for words where people can gather and grow.
📍 The Dusted Shelf Bookstore – Montgomery, Texas
A woman-owned indie focused on community, book events, crafts, and tabletop gaming.
Know a store we should include? Let us know!
✍️Inspiration Prompt: Scintillating Story of Sister “S”
Shall we diverge from our usual prompts and harken back to the ABCs? Let’s spotlight a single letter—S, that serpentine sidewinder that slithers into a startling number of words.
What can you create with “S”? Try one of these creative challenges to find out!
A poem where every line starts with “S”
A story in which each sentence (or paragraph) begins with “S”
A doodle composed only of items starting with “S”
A collage devoted to all forms of “S”—lowercase, uppercase, cursive, serif, sans-serif
An ode to the curves of the letter itself
An essay exploring “S”—its history, phonetics, and popularity
Feeling bold? Try the Super S Challenge:
Every single word in a sentence or line must start with “S.”
(Silly? Sure. Stimulating? Surprisingly so.)
Scintillating alliteration, scandalously outrageous, stupendously difficult—but sometimes creativity comes from stretching the muscles, doesn’t it?
Straw-grasping or not, what does pushing yourself to follow such a constraint do for your creative process?
Does it reinvigorate it? Help you pay more attention to rhythm and flow?
Or does it feel synonymous with a different kind of roadblock?
Calls, Contests, & More
Below is a small preview of this week’s 49 writing contests, calls for submissions, and literary and writing events.
EXTENDED DEADLINE JULY 15: New American Fiction Prize
Extended Deadline: July 15, 2025
2025 New American Fiction Prize Extended Deadline: July 15, 2025. Winner receives $1500, publication, 25 copies, and promotional support. Send full-length fiction manuscripts of 100+ pages in any form—novels, novellas, story collections, flash fiction, and hybrids. Submit via our online submission manager. Omit identifying details from the manuscript file; editors read blind. Entry fee: $25. Simultaneous submissions encouraged—please notify us if accepted elsewhere. Final judge: Clancy Martin, author of How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind. More at our website.
Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize
Deadline: July 16, 2025 5PM ET
The Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize is awarded for an outstanding opening page of an unpublished novel. First prize is $1,000; 2nd is $500; and 3rd is $250. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers (fiction only). Winners will be announced August 22, 2025. Learn more here.
Submissions Open for Housatonic Book Awards
Deadline: July 18, 2025
The Housatonic Book Awards are now accepting submissions of all books published in 2024. Authors or agents are welcome to submit poetry, fiction, and nonfiction manuscripts for consideration in the HBAs. All manuscripts will be reviewed by a committee and the winners will be notified in October 2025. Each award carries a $1,000 honorarium and $500 travel stipend in exchange for the author appearing at either WCSU's fall or summer writing residency. Entering a title implies the author’s willingness to attend the WCSU MFA residency to host a 2-hour workshop. We look forward to considering your work! Learn more here.
2026 Press 53 Award for Poetry
Deadline: July 31, 2025
Publication, $1,000 advance, and 53 copies will be awarded to an outstanding, unpublished poetry manuscript. If Runner-Up is also selected, publication, $500 advance, and 25 copies. Press 53 Poetry Series Editor Tom Lombardo is the only reader and judge. Prizes awarded upon publication. Deadline July 31. Winner and finalists announced by November 1. Reading fee $30. Complete information at our website.
RED WHEELBARROW POETRY PRIZE 2025: $1,000 and letterpress broadside
Deadline: July 31, 2025
RED WHEELBARROW POETRY PRIZE 2025: $1,000 for first place and a letterpress broadside, $500 for second, $250 for third. Top five published in Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine. Final judge is Stephen Kuusisto. Submit up to 3 original unpublished poems. $15 entry fee. Deadline: July 31. For complete guidelines, see our submissisons manager.
The Coniston Prize
Deadline: August 1, 2025
Radar Poetry is now open to submissions for the 12th annual Coniston Prize, judged by Diane Seuss! The Coniston Prize recognizes an exceptional group of poems by a woman writing in English. Any poet who identifies as a woman is eligible. The winner will receive $1,000, and up to 10 finalists will be awarded $175. The winner and finalists’ poems will also be published in the prize issue. Submit 3-5 poems via Submittable with no identifying information. Entry fee $20. Deadline: August 1. Submit now.
NOMAD Review Seeks Your Work on the Theme of "Fragility"
Deadline: August 1, 2025
The NOMAD Review (formerly NOMADartx Review) curates fresh voices in creative arts and literatures. We especially love to support emerging/underrepresented creators, and to see how different forms of creation intersect in potentially unexpected ways. June 1-August 1 of 2025, we will read submissions on any theme, but our current contest seeks submissions on the theme of "fragility." One winner in each of these six categories will be selected for a $75 prize: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, visual arts, industry specials, and criticism/reviews/interviews. Please see our website for more detail about these categories and how to submit.
Inverted Syntax's Poetry Book Contests
Deadline: August 15, 2025
Inverted Syntax [est. 2018] is a press where the margins take center stage. We're now accepting submissions to our annual poetry book contests: the Sublingua Prize for Poetry (1st Book Award) for exceptional debut collections by female-identifying writers, and the Aggrey & Tabbikha Prize for Poetry for writers with first or second collections who identify as Black and/or part of the S.W.A.N.A diaspora. We welcome intersectional, hybrid, experimental, and speculative poetry—including visual work and multilingual text, as long as the manuscript is primarily in English. Winning entries receive $500, publication and more. We're also open to submissions in all genres for Fissured Tongue Series Vol. VII. Learn more here.
The Headlight Review presents the Anthony Grooms Prize in Fiction
Deadline: August 31, 2025
First prize of $750 is awarded to the winning writer, along with 20 copies of the winning chapbook, published by The Headlight Review Press. The chapbook will be perfect-bound and feature a four-color cover. Submissions will run through August 31. Manuscripts are not to exceed 12,500 words. The content may include a single story, multiple stories, multiple flash stories, or a stand-alone novel excerpt. Finalists will be revealed by October 15 and will be judged by the esteemed author James Cherry. Visit site to learn more.
The Branches Fall 2025 Call for Submissions - VOICE
Deadline: September 13, 2025
The Branches is seeking submissions of previously unpublished written and visual work for our fall 2025 theme VOICE. We are especially interested in cultural criticism, personal essays, and book/movie discussions and also publish poetry, short fiction, art, and photography on the theme of VOICE. We recommend reading some of our previous issues (click issues on our website) to get a feel for what we publish. Give us your big ideas and small thoughts, the ways you’re interacting with and understanding the world. We love Joan Didion, C. S. Lewis, Ada Limón, Susan Sontag, Flannery O’Connor, Patti Smith, and (hopefully) you! Off-theme submissions welcome. Visit website.
Fiction on the Web Critique Service
Looking for detailed, personalized feedback on your short story? Fiction on the Web now offers a critique service led by our editorial team. Whether you're revising or preparing to submit, we’re here to help strong ideas become stronger on the page. Each critique includes strengths and areas for improvement, sentence-level notes, and a scorecard evaluating major craft elements. Our editors are experienced in the litmag scene and know what makes a story stand out. Learn more or request a critique at our website.
Plant-Human Quarterly Seeks Poems and Essays for Upcoming Issues
Deadline: Year-round
Plant-Human Quarterly reads year-round. We seek unpublished or published poetry and essays that explore the myriad ways writers manifest their relationship to the botanical world—whether through heavily researched pieces, keen observation, or more intuitive ways of knowing—that attempt to communicate across boundaries and approach a plant’s-eye-view of the world. Send no more than 5 poems or an essay of no more than 1500 words (flash essay or essay excerpt) in a single word document. Past contributors include Ellen Bass, Forrest Gander, Kimiko Hahn, Brenda Hillman, Jane Hirshfield, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Pattiann Rogers, Scott Russell Sanders, Arthur Sze. View submission guidelines at our website.
Want even more opportunities? Upgrade to a paid subscription for exclusive early access to submission calls and events!
☕ Until Next Time…
Here’s wishing you a smooth return to the groove after the long weekend. May your coffee be strong, your inbox merciful, and your writing typo-free. Stay hydrated, stay hopeful, and keep reading and writing!
— The NewPages Team
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to NewPages Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.