Staying Cool with Good Lit
NewPages Newsletter #239: Beat the heat with new journals, books, indie bookstores, and opportunities for writers.
Happy Monday!
Another scorching week is headed our way, with triple-digit temperatures in the forecast. If you’re also dealing with a stretch of hot, dry weather, we hope you’re finding ways to stay cool, rest when you can, and keep that water bottle close at hand.
Fortunately, if the outdoors feels a bit too much like an oven right now, there’s no shortage of ways to stay productive indoors. We’ve gathered plenty of opportunities, resources, and inspiration to keep your creative gears turning.
And can you believe July is already half over? Wednesday marks the midpoint of the month, which means our newest eLitPak will soon be landing in inboxes. Look for a fresh collection of submission opportunities, book releases, master classes, and other resources designed to help you make the most of the weeks ahead.
📩 If this email gets cut off, click ‘View Entire Message’ at the bottom or head to Substack to read the full newsletter!
📰 Recommended Reading: “Overgrowth” by Cate W. Tam
Apocalyptic literature is nothing new. Fiction has seen the world destroyed by war, famine, earthquakes, massive weather shifts, aliens, disease...you name it. Cate W. Tam’s “Overgrowth” adds a breath of fresh air, or rather, a floral breath, to the end of the world, imagining nuclear bombs that give rise to mutated plants capable of taking root inside any living thing that breathes.
We follow Gabby and her younger brother Charlie as they leave their home behind on a journey with no real destination beyond survival. As they travel through an increasingly empty and dangerous landscape, they encounter strangers clinging to hope in different ways, from the automated “Pay ‘n Pray” booths still accepting coins to Valor, a pill that suppresses fear long enough to make impossible choices seem possible. Yet beneath every mile of their journey lingers Gabby’s greatest regret: never finding the courage to tell her best friend, Jun, how she truly felt.
While the circumstances are extraordinary, Gabby’s journey, her reactions, and the people she meets all feel remarkably familiar and deeply human. Tam explores grief, guilt, fear, and faith without ever losing sight of the people at the center of the story. Even small moments, like the eerie persistence of the “Pay ‘n Pray” booths or Gabby’s anger toward a woman whose religious assurances offer only frustration instead of comfort, reveal how differently people search for meaning when the world is falling apart.
By the story’s end, Gabby cannot bring herself to leave behind either the overgrowth that claimed her little brother or the memory of the girl she never kissed. “Overgrowth” is ultimately less about the end of the world than about the weight of love and loss, and the quiet, stubborn hope that keeps us moving forward even when there is nowhere left to go.
Read the story in Fusion Fragment #27.
🗞️ Magazine News
June was a busy month for our Guide to Literary Magazines! We’ve added several new journals to the database, and we’re delighted to welcome our newest sponsors. Whether you’re searching for your next publication credit, scouting markets for future projects, or looking for your next read, these journals are well worth a look.
Bloodroot Poetry Journal
This online lit mag publishes an intimate blend of poetry and professional photography, showcasing diverse voices from around the world. Dedicated to the belief that "words matter," the journal welcomes well-crafted poems in all styles, with a special appreciation for work that responds to art, literature, history, social issues, or the world beyond the self. Rather than introspective writing alone, Bloodroot seeks poetry in conversation with paintings, films, current events, and cultural experiences. Reading periods are open January through February and July through August for online submissions. Learn more here.
Cygnus Magazine
This triannual digital literary magazine based in Ahmedabad, India, is dedicated to showcasing new and emerging writers alongside distinctive poetic voices. Publishing poetry, short fiction, and flash fiction in all styles and genres, Cygnus values originality, encouraging bold, imaginative work while excluding AI-generated, political, and religious content. The editors strive to create a welcoming, supportive experience for contributors. Open to submissions year-round, Cygnus pays its writers, accepts simultaneous submissions, and proudly nominates outstanding poets for the Pushcart Prize. Learn more here.
Peach
Peach is the new annual literary journal of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Georgia College & State University, publishing fresh, distinctive poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and cross-genre work. The editorial team reads submissions collaboratively, seeking writing that is original in vision, voice, and artistic discovery while ensuring every piece receives thoughtful consideration. Peach welcomes writers from every background and offers fair compensation to contributors. Simultaneous submissions are not accepted, allowing editors to give each submission focused attention. The first issue of the journal will launch in 2027. Learn more here.
Rawhead
This online journal of literature and the arts publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual art, comics, photography, audio, video, interviews, translations, and cross-genre work. Inspired by folklore's monsters as symbols of truth and resilience, Rawhead seeks work that resists complacency through emotional depth, exceptional craft, and striking clarity. While not a horror publication, it welcomes pieces that unsettle in meaningful ways. The journal offers payment to contributors, accepts simultaneous submissions, and features three annual issues, including a Halloween Special. General reading periods are January to March and mid-June to mid-August, with additional themed opportunities throughout the year. Learn more here.
🌱Introducing Rosetta Literary
Founded by high school writers Jenny Chu and Audrey Han, Rosetta Literary is an international online magazine dedicated to diverse voices, cultural exchange, and inclusive storytelling. The magazine welcomes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art, with a special focus on creators ages 14–25 and those from first-generation or low-income backgrounds.
Free to submit to, Rosetta offers personalized feedback to some young contributors and publishes two to three issues annually. Looking ahead, the editors hope to expand youth accessibility programs, host more contests, and publish digital chapbooks—all while encouraging writers to stay resilient and trust their voices.
Read the full New Lit on the Block post here.
📖New Books
Whether you’re lounging by the water, relaxing in the shade, or hiding from the heat indoors, these new releases are ready to transport you somewhere else entirely. Dive into a great book and let the summer melt away.
Dancing in Their Dead Mother’s Dresses by Doug Ramspeck
Doug Ramspeck’s Dancing in Their Dead Mother’s Dresses is a story collection rooted in the landscapes and emotional realities of the Midwest. Through lyrical prose and vivid imagery, the stories explore grief, family loss, absent parents, illness, and the ways imagination helps people navigate trauma. Set among rivers, lakes, and small-town communities, these character-driven tales examine how individuals make sense of unsettling realities and carry on after life-altering events. The book will be published by Wolfson Press in August 2026.
Speak Softly Among the Icebergs by R. P. Singletary
R. P. Singletary’s Speak Softly Among Icebergs is an unconventional, voice-driven novel that blends love, grief, memory, and longing into a work designed to be read aloud. Set against a future timeline that reaches the year 2121, the book rejects traditional narrative structures in favor of multiple perspectives and intimate reflections on connection, loss, and what it means to endure through turbulent times. Published by Parlyaree Press in April 2026, this ambitious 440-page novel invites readers to slow down, listen closely, and consider what their future selves might have to say.
🏬Bookstore Updates
Looking for a cool retreat this summer? Independent bookstores offer more than just books—they’re destinations in their own right, with cozy cafés, carefully curated shelves, unique gifts, rare finds, and inviting spaces to linger. Whether you’re searching for your next great read, exploring a specialty genre, or simply looking for a new adventure during your travels, our Guide to Independent Bookstores can help. From general-interest shops to romance, mystery, children’s, and antiquarian bookstores, there’s an indie waiting to be discovered. Find a local favorite or add a few literary stops to your summer itinerary like the stores below, recently added to our Guide.
📍 Atticus Books & Music — Fountain Hills, Arizona
This independent bookstore and record shop offers a curated mix of new and used books, vinyl records, gifts, and community events including author signings, book clubs, readings, and storytime.
📍 Daisy Chain Book Co. — Jacksonville, Florida
Opening this fall, Daisy Chain Book Co. combines curated books, cozy reading spaces, a coffee bar, and a wine bar to create a welcoming community hub with book clubs, author signings, readings, and other events that bring readers together through books, conversation, and connection.
📍 Stacks Book Club Broadway — Tucson, Arizona
This husband-and-wife-owned independent bookstore and craft coffee bar offers a welcoming all-ages book-buying experience, a full-service café, and a packed calendar of author events, book clubs, readings, and storytime programs.
📍 Typo’s Bookstore — Parkville, Missouri
This store, named after founder Lisa McCormick’s first rescue dog, offers a hand-curated selection of children’s books, bestselling adult titles, literary gifts, and dog-themed merchandise.
👉 newpages.com/independent-bookstores
🖋️ Inspiration Prompt: Idiomatic
Every language has them: idioms. These colorful expressions say one thing but mean another. We use them so often that we rarely stop to picture the words themselves. It’s raining cats and dogs. Hit the hay. The cat has your tongue. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Not my circus, not my monkeys. Even monkeys fall from trees. To slide in on a shrimp sandwich.
But what happens when you slow down and look at an idiom with fresh eyes?
Choose an expression from your own language or another and use it as the seed for something new.
Perhaps you take the words literally. What if cats and dogs really did fall from the sky? What happens to someone who truly wakes up on the wrong side of the bed? Why is there a wolf dressed as a sheep, or what does it look like to slide into success on a shrimp sandwich?
Or perhaps you become curious about the expression itself. Where did it come from? What event, person, culture, or legend inspired it? Whether you research its true origins or invent your own, let the phrase become the beginning of a story rather than simply a figure of speech.
Your response can be humorous, whimsical, surreal, heartbreaking, mysterious, or terrifying. Write a poem, story, essay, comic, or create a piece of visual art. Let an everyday expression reveal something extraordinary.
Need a few ideas?
Spill the beans
Bite the bullet
Burn your bridges
Walking on thin ice
Let sleeping dogs lie
Cost an arm and a leg
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Not my circus, not my monkeys (Polish)
Even monkeys fall from trees (Japanese)
To slide in on a shrimp sandwich (Swedish)
Challenge: Resist explaining the idiom. Instead, let the phrase unfold naturally through your work, whether by making it real or imagining how it came to be.
If one of these idioms immediately reminds you of a favorite book, movie, TV show, game, or song, don't be afraid to let that spark your imagination. (Yes, "cost an arm and a leg" made us think of Fullmetal Alchemist, too.)
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 144 opportunities waiting for you this week.
Below is just a sampling of what paying subscribers receive—explore submission calls, contests, fellowships, and events curated to keep you writing, submitting, and connecting.
SUBMIT NOW TO ABLE MUSE (Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Art & More)
Deadline: July 15, 2026
Able Muse is now accepting submissions for our forthcoming issue, winter 2026/2027. 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.
2027 Press 53 Award for Poetry
Deadline: July 31, 2026
First Prize $1,000, publication, and 53 copies will be awarded to an outstanding, unpublished poetry manuscript. 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 the Press 53 website.
RED WHEELBARROW POETRY PRIZE 2026: $1,000 and letterpress broadside
Deadline: July 31, 2026
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026: $1,000 for first place and a letterpress broadside, $500 for second, $250 for third. Top five published in Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine. Submit up to 3 original unpublished poems. $15 entry fee. Deadline: July 31. For complete guidelines, visit Submittable.
StoryBottle Fiction Chapbook Contest
Deadline: August 15, 2026
StoryBottle Co.’s Fiction Chapbook Contest is now open! We’re looking for the same great, weird fiction we love publishing—just with a little more room to breathe. Submit up to 60 pages of fiction, including flash fiction, short stories, linked stories, story cycles, novelettes, or manuscripts that don’t quite fit anywhere else. The winner receives $1,000, publication as a perfect-bound chapbook, and 25 author copies. All entries will also be considered for publication in StoryBottle. Entry fee: $17. Deadline: August 15, 2026. Send us your fiction object: www.storybottleco.org/contests.
🔔Write a Story About Life on Earth when the Moon Was Forming
Deadline: August 27, 2026 at 11:59pm UTC+8
Project Infinity BP is hosting its fourteenth (14th) Mastermind creative writing competition season! This writing competition is free and open to anyone. No applications are required and you can submit at any time before August 27, 2026 at 11:59pm UTC+8! Resubmissions are allowed every 24 hours! Topic: A Short Story on What Life on Earth Looks Like When the Moon Was Forming. Join our Fluxer Community Server for more frequent updates and communications with your competitors! All good-faith participants get guaranteed comprehensive and specific feedback. The winner has the option to have their work posted on our website’s Exemplar page. Learn more here.
The Headlight Review Seeks Flash Fiction and Prose Poems of 400 Words
Deadline: August 31
The Headlight Review seeks flash fiction and prose poems of 400 words or fewer for our second volume of “Mighty Micros.” Read the first volume here. We will review submissions until August 31. We are open as to what a story or poem looks and feels like to each writer. We love to be surprised. Submit up to 3 pieces in a single document. We aim to expedite review in two weeks or less. For this reason, we will not be offering fee waivers for this project. Pieces will be published on a rolling basis. Submission fee $5. Learn more at our website.
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.
Paid subscribers receive full access to 100+ literary submission opportunities and upcoming events every week. Thank you for supporting independent literary publishing!
❧ Give Yourself Permission
To find a shady spot, pour a tall glass of something cold, and simply be for a little while.
Not every day has to be productive. Not every moment has to be filled. Sometimes the heat slows us down, and sometimes life does too. Rest is not a failure of discipline or ambition—it’s part of the creative process.
So take the break. Read a few pages. Watch the clouds drift by. Let your mind wander where it needs to go.
And when you’re ready, come back to the page.
As always, keep writing words and making art that matters.
— The NewPages Crew
