THEMED CALLS

Unidentified Funny Objects Anthology
This anthology will open for submissions soon, for a brief period. “We’re looking for speculative stories with a strong humor element. Think Resnick and Sheckley, Fredric Brown and Douglas Adams.  We welcome quality flash fiction and non-traditional narratives. Take chances, try something new, just make sure that your story is funny. Puns and stories that are little more than vehicles for delivering a punch line at the end are unlikely to win us over.” Also see guidelines for the kind of stories they do not want. The Kickstarter for this project has funded.
Reading period: 5^th to 12^th December 2025
Length: 500 to 8,000 words
Pay: $0.12/word
Details here.

Whytaker Lyon Press: Virginia Fantastic Anthology
“VIRGINIA FANTASTIC invites you to weave strange and wondrous speculative fiction that reimagines the Commonwealth of Virginia as a land of mystery, magic, and the unexpected. From the misty peaks of the Blue Ridge to the haunted shores of the Chesapeake Bay, we seek flash stories that infuse Virginia’s iconic landscapes, history, and culture with the supernatural. …. We crave tales that blend the eerie with Virginia’s natural beauty, historic depth, and quirky charm. Whether it’s a chilling encounter on the Appalachian Trail, a magical uprising in Richmond’s Fan District, or a futuristic twist on Norfolk’s naval legacy, your story should make readers see the Commonwealth in a haunting new light. We welcome speculative fiction of all stripes: fantasy, horror, sci-fi, or magical realism, that transforms Virginia’s landmarks, legends, and hidden corners into realms of wonder and unease.” And, “Stories must contain a speculative element (Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Slipstream, Magical Realism) and take place in Virginia. Feel free to mash genres and include Mystery, Romance, Western, etc.” No erotica. While stories must take place in Virginia, writers from anywhere in the world are welcome.
Deadline: 15 December 2025
Length: 700-1,000 words
Pay: $5
Details here.

a thousand flowers books: Nightfall Poetry Anthology
“Nighttime is different from daytime, but our culture often fails to capture that simple feeling. Night falls, and we switch on the lights, going about our business.
Sometimes, it’s not until we switch off the lights that night enters us.
It has its own magic. Its own demons. It can be spooky or comforting. You can wrap the cloak around your shoulders and feel a sense of ease or fear, or both.
We are seeking poems that explore what nighttime means to you.”
Deadline: 15 December 2025
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $50
Details here and here.  

Plott Hound 
This is a magazine of speculative fiction and poetry starring animals. They will soon open submissions for their Winter issue. Regarding the kind of stories they want: “Stories with anthropomorphized animals as viewpoint characters and protagonists
-Animal-centric speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror)
-Underrepresented voices (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent) that engage with animal myths, tales, and futures
-Stories with uncommonly written about animals as protagonists
-Stories that dig deep into the senses and experience of animals
-Stories that explore the cultures and societies of animals, not just cultures and societies with animals. Think of rabbit language and warren infrastructure in Watership Down, or the clans and warrior code of feral cats in Warriors.” They also welcome translations. They publish one essay per issue, as well. Their submission portal will open during the reading period.
Deadline: 15 December 2025
Length: 1,000-5,000 words (prefer 3,000-4,000 words) for fiction, up to 5 poems, 1,000-2,500 words for essay
Pay: $0.08/word for stories, $50 for poetry, $100 for essay
Details here and here.

Fourteen Poems: Home on the Range – Poems of the Queer Pastoral
They want work from queer poets only for this anthology about queerness and nature. “The book will celebrate and complicate a poetics of queer nature, from redefining the boundaries between the urban, the rural, and the wilderness, to rendering the ways in which queer people make their homes in the pastoral traditions which have so often excluded them. 
Send us your strangest, sexiest, thirstiest, poems that, broadly speaking, fit with or interrogate the theme of queer pastoral. Published examples of the genre include Richard Scott’s poem, ‘Pastoral’, from his excellent collection Soho, Mícheál McCann’s ‘Late Blight’ from Devotion, or Seán Hewitt’s ‘Dryad’from Tongues of Fire, but many other possibilities abound. We welcome poems that celebrate queerness in nature; poems that queer the idea of nature; poems that bring the natural world into urban or queer spaces or situations; poems that complicate and/or interrogate these ideas.”
Deadline: 15 December 2025
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: £30/poem
Details here and here.

Neon Hemlock Press: Baffling Magazine
Baffling Magazine publishes “speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent”. They want unthemed submissions, as well as submissions on the timefuckery theme for their December submission period.
Deadline: 15 December 2025
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

(Neon Hemlock Press is also open for  We’re Here – The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2025, a reprint anthology for queer speculative fiction published in 2025, up to 17,500 words. The deadline is 31 December 2025. Details here, and here – scroll down,  and here.)

State of Matter
State of Matter usually publishes speculative fiction, poetry, and translations “which may broadly inform South Asian experiences.” For their 20^th issue, titled “Folk Tales” / “Faux Trails” / “Fox Tails”; they will accept “three faux-tales: one science fiction, one fantasy, one horror. These folk-tails might emerge from any culture, any history, any landscape, but they should inform South Asian experiences. They should give us pause as readers from the subcontinent, as fox tales often do, and make us think about our specific place within the cosmos. … These tales should have: 1. A faux mythology, 2. An element (a folkus) of ‘faith’, loosely defined, 3. An innovative form (like fox trails usually have)”.
Deadline: 15 December 2025
Length: 1,000-15,000 words
Pay: CAD150
Details here and here.

Speck Magazine
This is a new magazine, and they’re reading for their first issue.
Please note, they can only publish work from writers in the US. Their tagline is, ‘Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature’. They want submissions on the Craft theme. “Be it witchcraft, spacecrafts, or something else you interpret…submit
your fiction, poetry, or visual art”. Submission is via a form on their website.
Deadline: 21 December 2025
Length: Up to 2,500 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $5/page (up to $50)
Details here.

Blue Cubicle Press: Workers Write! Tales from the Concourse
“Issue 22 of Workers Write! will be Tales from the Concourse and contain stories and poems from airport and airline workers’ points of view.
We’re looking for fiction and poetry about the people who work in airports and for airlines, such as passenger service agents, ramp agents, TSA agents, airport engineers, baggage handlers, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, pilots, and so on.”
Deadline: 31 December 2025, or until filled
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $10-50
Details here.

(Blue Cubicle Press also publishes The First Line Journal, The Last Line Journal – which have announced their themes and deadlines for 2026 – as well as the Overtime series, and more.)

B Cubed Press: More Alternative Liberties
“Our sequal to the Alternative Liberties volume. We will be  buying stories, poems, and esssays about the potential consequences of the 2024 Presidential election told in current, near future or even similar situations where such a leader is in power. 
This anthology is our vision what these next years will look like.  Not just in the White House, but in the day-to-day world on our planet. Under such conditions people will adapt, people will suffer, people will prosper, people will axtively and passively resist, people will live, people will die.
We want stories of people who fight the change, endure the change, or embrace the change.  But key word is people.  We want the stories to be about the People (an maybe the animal liberation front in Springfield or a couch salesmen in Ohio who knows things.”
Deadline: 20 December 2025
Length: 1,500-3,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.10/word + royalties
Details here and here.

Kilter & Rammel Publishing: Fun in the Dark Anthology Series – Transformations
This is a print fiction anthology. “Your story can be in any genre – horror, science fiction, fantasy, crime etc – as long as it clearly fits within both the theme of the individual anthology and within the overall tone of the series – fun yet dark!

When it comes to the specific theme of ‘transformations’, we’re open to your interpretation. You might want to write about the monstrous transformations of werewolves (or other ‘were’ creatures). Or perhaps grotesque physical transformations brought on by things like parasites, aliens, experiments gone wrong or rituals being enacted. Maybe it’s subtle psychological transformations that intrigue you, or even worldwide societal transformations. Or anything in between or outside of these suggestions”. They do not want extreme violence or horror. They will choose 5 stories from this call for the anthology.
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: £20
Details here.

Iron Faerie Publishing: Hawthorn & Ash Anthology
They want fantasy, speculative fiction, and horror stories for their Hawthorn & Ash anthology. (Past volumes are: Hawthorn & Ash 2019, Rowan & Oak 2020, Alder & Ebony 2021, Ivy & Sage 2022, Willow & Rose 2023, Holly and Broom 2024).
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 100 and 500 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.

Oddity Prodigy Productions: Tales of Steel and Sorcery
“Do you have a story of epic adventure that you wish to share?  Are there tales of knights, dragons, villains, and magics you can bring to bear?  If so, you may be just the bard we are looking for! … We are looking for stories from across the vast genre, from the classic myth creation stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula L. Le Guin, or Terry Brooks, to the pulp majesty of Robert E. Howard’s Conan. The vast worldbuilding of Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, or N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance books, all the way to the grim visions of George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie. If your muse is more like the swashbuckling stories of Scott Lynch, or Brandon Sanderson’s detailed magic systems, or the thoughtful characters of K.S. Villoso, then we’re definitely interested. Fantasy is a deep and expansive genre, and we’d like to read what your imagination conjures!”
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: At least $10 (see guidelines)
Details here.

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker – Van Helsing
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about the magazine here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on Van Helsing. “The one you’ve all been waiting for.
Doctor. Professor. Lawyer. Monster hunter.
Abraham Van Helsing has become a legend—but how did he get there?
What shaped the man who would face Dracula? What monsters, mysteries, or miracles did he encounter before the novel—and what haunted him after? We want your tales of the world’s most famous vampire hunter: his triumphs, his obsessions, his failures, and his legacy.”
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

Black Beacon Book of Horror (Volume 2)
They want horror fiction for this print anthology. They also accept reprints. Also, please note, “Stories are chosen on merit and suitability for the anthology. However, when it comes to choosing between equally worthy submissions, social media presence and engagement may be taken into account.”
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 3,000 – 9,000 words
Pay: $30
Details here.

The New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column of the New York Times. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, March through June, and September through December. Writers are paid. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US.
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 1,500-1,700 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.

Utopia Science Fiction: Weird Science Fiction
They publish utopian science fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art. They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully. Their upcoming theme is Weird Science Fiction – “Send us your strange, outlandish, outside-the-box stories and poems!”
Deadline: 1 January 2026
Length: 100-4,000 words preferred for fiction, up to 6,000 words for nonfiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $30 for nonfiction, $30 per poem
Details here.

Butch Bait Anthology
They want art, poetry, fiction, erotica, and photography for this anthology. “Though there’s no formal prompt beyond “butch4butch”, we are going for a historical lesbian zine feel that captures the working-class grit and radical celebration of gnc lesbians seen in the 70s-early aughts publications. Think Set In Stone: Butch on Butch Erotica (2001), Persistent Desire (1994), Dagger On Butch Women (1994), The Little Butch Book (1998),etc.” And, “Subgenre doesn’t matter. Erotica, pulp horror, dead dove, taboo, romance, western, speculative—as long as it features butch4butch, GET CREATIVE!” The call is open to all writers, and “those who identify, align, or find themselves drawn to the prompt ‘butch4butch’…genderqueer, transmasc, transfem, nonbinary, etc: you are wanted and welcome here.” 
Deadline: 1 January 2026
Length: 1,000-4,000 words for fiction
Pay: $10
Details here.

(Submissions are also open for Your Body is a Fever Dream anthology from Tenebrous Press, a fiction and narrative poetry anthology. “A cosmic body horror anthology from trans and GNC voices, a companion volume to YOUR BODY IS NOT YOUR BODY, and a charity drive all rolled into one.” And, “Only accepting submissions from creators who are: Trans, NB, agender, intersex, GNC, and generallyany gender identity other than binary cisgender.” They pay $0.03/word for stories up to 4,000 words; they also accept reprints and art; deadline 10^th January 2026; details here and here.) 

Book Worms Zine: Apocalyptic Horror
“We’re kicking off 2026 with all the optimism of a Threads viewing—yes, the 1984 nuclear war drama, not the app. … For our 10th issue of Book Worms Horror Zine, we’re chasing that same level of end-of-the-world dread. If our current political climate gives you the creeps, channel it. Or take us somewhere entirely different—your own futuristic nightmare is fair game, as long as the vision is dark.
We’re looking for stories and poetry that dive into nuclear winters, climate catastrophes, algorithmic uprisings, techno-anarchy, or whatever fresh brand of apocalypse your twisted imagination can conjure.” Please note, submissions have to be mailed.
Deadline: 10 January 2026 (must be received by the deadline, so mail early)
Length: Up to 1,500 words for fiction, up to 20 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $25 for poetry
Details here.

River Glass Books: Writes of Nature
They are reading chapbook manuscripts (20-30 pages) till mid-January, in any genre or form. “We are interested in un-themed manuscripts as well as socio-environmental work for our new Writes of Nature series.” And, “Each manuscript will be considered for publication as a limited-edition chapbook in 2026 or 2027. Additionally, individual pieces may be selected for publication in a forthcoming anthology.
We are also reading shorter manuscripts (3-5 pages of any genre / form) for potential publication in a forthcoming anthology.”
Deadline: 15 January 2026
Length: See above
Pay: $75 for chapbooks; anthology copy for shorter works
Details here.

Eye to the Telescope: Immortality
Eye to the Telescope is the journal of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. They want poems on the Immortality theme. They have detailed guidelines, including, “What does it mean to be immortal? How could such a thing even be possible – and what costs might it require? What are the benefits, and the downsides? As an immortal, what truths or lies about our lives might you come to understand? 
As science develops at a breakneck pace, we watch people grasp for shreds of immortality in the real world. … Every day, we innovate new ways to extend our lifespans and fight back against the inevitable tide of death. In the world of fantasy and pop culture, immortality takes on even more flavors. Many supernatural beings – ghosts, vampires, zombies, fae – are described as having unnaturally long lifespans, or being impervious or immune to the effects of time. Sometimes, such a state exacts a price: the drinking of blood, the murder of innocents, the sacrifice of a soul. Sometimes, it allows for incredible things: knowledge and happiness and hope that extends across a blissful eternity. Immortality can be a gift, or it can be a curse. It can grant the bearer(s) wisdom, or foolishness – or both. 
Immortality, as a concept, doesn’t have a clear-cut definition. This ambiguity is a gift, and I encourage you to play with it.” They also accept translations (see guidelines). Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 15 January 2026
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.05/word (up to $25)
Details here.

Hollow Oak Press: Cozy Fantasy Anthology
They are accepting submissions for their 2026 cozy fantasy anthology. “We’re open to any definition of fantasy—second-world, urban, historical, paranormal, you name it—as long as it has cozy themes. We want whimsical, slice-of-life, optimistic stories and worlds that feel like a freshly laundered, warm blanket on a cool morning. We do still want something to happen in your story, though—this just isn’t the call for stories that center war, trauma, brutality, or world-ending plots. We will judge all stories by their own merits though, so if you think you have something that fits, we want to read it.
Some tips: We’re looking for character-driven stories that evoke themes of friendship, healing, and/or community. Think Practical Magic, Legends and Lattes, or The Hobbit. We prefer clean prose that makes every single word count.”
Deadline: 31 January 2026
Length: 3,000-8,000 words
Pay: $30
Details here.

(– Also see Hollow Oak Press’s Acorns series, their home for unthemed flash speculative fiction; pay is $5 for stories of 1,000-1,500 words.) 

— Submissions are also scheduled to open on or after 1^st December for Dreamforge; “we are always looking for positive science fiction and fantasy, including but not limited to hopepunk and solarpunk. We look for stories of “endurance, hope, and the triumph of the human spirit.” Stories that offer constructive alternatives to dystopian realities.For this call we will be especially but NOT exclusively looking for tales that fit our current year theme: Open Channel: The Art of Connection.” In a world divided by algorithms and “us versus them” narratives, we want to explore connection as the ultimate form of resistance. Rather than fighting division with more division, the stories focus on opening hearts and minds through unexpected forms of communication.” They also want speculative poetry. They pay $0.08/word for stories of 200-7,000 words, and will stay open until they hit submission caps or 31^st December 2025, whichever is earlier, details here and here.)

Parsec Ink: 23^rd Triangulation Anthology — Bad Romance
This is a speculative fiction and poetry anthology. “You know that friend who keeps falling for terrible people? That couple that not only fights all the time but makes each other a worse person, and they keep getting back together? Send us them.
We want stories or poetry about trashfire, toxic relationships, with a speculative element.” All stories must “contain a failed romance. Your protagonists may succeed at everything but love” and contain a speculative (science fiction or fantasy) element. They do not want stories with graphic trauma or abuse. They also accept reprints of both fiction and poetry
Deadline: 31 January 2026
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 60 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.03/word for original fiction, 25 cents per line for original poetry
Details here.

Ruadán Books: Summer in the City Anthology
Ruadán Books is an independent publisher of dark thrillers and speculative fiction. They are open for their Summer in the City fiction anthology from 1^st December to 31^st January 2026. They want “dark speculative fiction stories set in summertime cities that are as much characters in your narratives as the people are. These cities should exist (or have existed) in our world”. Also, “How do you determine if a city has been spoken for? We don’t. We tried that with WITC and it became a logistical nightmare. Understand that we are looking for cities world-wide and that your story should make a reader feel like they have been there. Rich descriptions and even a sentient setting will be looked at favorably. Understand that if we receive 19 stories about “New York” your chance of acceptance is markedly lower than if you send us a story about San Paulo, Lahore or Kinshasa.” The submission category for this anthology will appear on their Moksha portal during the reading period.
Submission period: 1^st December 2025 to 31^st January 2026
Length: 3,000-7,500 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

THEMED CONTESTS
(There are some unthemed contests open too, including:

— RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers: This is for Canadian writers who have published work in literary magazines, but not in book form (a chapbook will not disqualify you). For this cycle, writers should submit up to 10 pages of either unpublished short fiction, creative nonfiction, or 5-10 pages of poetry. The prizes are CAD10,000 for winners in each category; CAD2,500 for finalists, deadline 2 December 2025; details here (overview), and here (Submittable).

— Eggtooth Editions Chapbook Contest: Their tagline is, ‘Home of the Any Genre Chapbook Contest’. They want a chapbook in any genre, of 15-50 pages. The prize accepts submissions from “anyone writing in the English language who has not previously published a full-length book (defined as a solely authored work of more than 50 pages, self-publishing included) .”  Please note, they will only accept up to 100 fee-free submissions, so presumably those may close earlier than the deadline. Apart from a cash prize of $250, winner also gets 20 copies of the chapbook. The deadline is 15 December 2025, or until filled; details here. 

— table//FEAST Literary Magazine: The Blossom Contest: This contest is fee-free and only open to BIPOC writers. There will be one winner for poetry or prose. Send up to 5 poems or one piece of fiction or creative nonfiction of up to 3,000 words. The prize is  $250, and the deadline is 1 January 2026; details here. They have other contests too, for women and for writers over 50 years, which have submission fees.

— The Welkin Writing Prize: This is for a piece of microfiction, up to 100 words. “The competition is open to all forms of narrative prose (fiction and non-fiction), be that flash fiction, short-short, vignette, haibun, hermit crab, prose poem or work that sits outside such labels.” The prizes are £75, £40, £25, and £10, and the deadline is 2 January 2026 (15:00 GMT); details here.

— San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program: This awards writers of any age and background a fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Fellowships are offered in Creative Writing (including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography and excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies. The emphasis is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University’s creative writing program. Award recipients will be required to reside within the counties of the San Francisco Bay Area or adjacent counties of the California central coast or central valley during most of the fellowship period. Up to 6 fellowships of $15,000 each will be awarded. The deadline is 4 January 2026; details here and here.)

J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards 
These awards are given for non-fiction works in progress which deal with a topic of American political or social concern, to aid their completion. Writers must already have a contract with a US-based publisher. One of the application requirements is 50-75 pages from the work in progress. Also, “The judges will make their decision on the basis of achieving maximum impact on a promising book project. Therefore, their selection criteria will represent a blend of the merit of the book and the financial need of the author. For this reason, the judges will need to know the amount of the author’s advance, as well as any other financial support for the book, such as a grant.”
There is no fee for the work-in-progress award. The prizes are run by Columbia Journalism School – they also have other awards, which charge entry fees.  
Value: $25,000 
Deadline: 4 December 2025 
Open for: Unspecified 
Details here and here.

Intrepid Times Travel Writing Competition
Their website says, “Write a true travel story about a moment of human connection. Focus on a specific incident, a meeting with a person from another culture, perhaps, or a time when you broke free of the tourist trail and gained genuine appreciation for the heart of a strange land.
Write 1500 – 1800 words, and win up to $300 USD.One winner and up to four runners-up will be published right here on Intrepid Times. We highly recommend writers take a moment to read some of our recent stories and past competition winners to get a sense of what we publish at Intrepid Times.”
Value: $300
Deadline: 10 December 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Your Paper Quest Writing Competition
Your Paper Quest is “A US based book of the month subscription box exclusively featuring books from self-published authors.” They are open now for their third short fiction contest: the prompt is, ‘The Great Outdoors and the strange things that live there.’ They want stories between 500 to 1,000 words. Details for the contest are on their social media, and submission (for contest as well as non-contest entries – see guidelines) is via a form on their website.
Value: $100, $25 for runners-up
Deadline: 10 December 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here (contest guidelines), here (contest guidelines), here (their website/Linktree), and here (submission form).

Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition
This is an international contest for crime novel manuscripts, for writers who have never been the author of any published novel in any genre and are uncontracted. The writing should be no less than approximately 60,000 words. Authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work. Minotaur is an imprint of Macmillan. 
Value: $10,000 advance against royalties 
Deadline: 14 December 2025 
Open for: Unpublished writers (see guidelines) 
Details here.

The sine qua non prizes for prose and poetry
The sine qua non is sponsoring two creative writing competitions, for creative prose (send up to 15 pages) and poetry (send up to 3 poems); for this issue of the magazine, they want works that exemplify traits of New Romanticism – they have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully. They have a submission quota, so may close earlier than the deadline. Submission is via Submittable. They’re also accepting works outside of this theme. For non-prize-winning entries they publish, including theory and craft submissions, they’ll pay $30.
Value: $500 each for poetry and prose winners, and $250 for runners-up
Deadline: 15 December 2025, or until filled
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.

The Caribbean Writer Prizes
Their website says, “The Caribbean Writer (TCW) has issued a call for submissions for Volume 40 under the 2026 theme: 40 years of The Caribbean Writer: A Spectrum of Representation. … Using the TCW journal as a reference point, authors are invited to explore the themes, subjects, motifs, and topics over the 40 years of The Caribbean Writer” and present an analysis in one of the following contexts given on their website – including Building Regional Community, Connections and Transformations; Calypso and Conflict: Music and Politics in the Literature; Voices of the Diaspora: Migration and Belonging; Negotiating Nuances of Legacy, Ethnicity, Hybridity, Identity; and more. See guidelines for the detailed list of themes.
Apart from the usual call for creative works, they’ve also issued a call for papers focused on the diverse themes explored in The Caribbean Writer over the years; while the deadline for proposals/abstracts for the paper has passed (30^th November), the submission deadline is mid-December. 
And the literary submissions are also eligible for various prizes (there is no separate application process)
– The Daily News Prizeof $600 awarded to a resident of the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands.
— The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prizeof $500 awarded to a new or emerging writer.
— The Vincent Cooper Literary Prizeof $300 awarded to a Caribbean author for exemplary writing in Caribbean Nation Language.
— The Anacaona Prize of $500 is awarded to anyone published in the respective volume for their interpretation of the theme, level of technical skill, and originality. 
Please note, the prizes are subject to change.
Value: $300-600
Deadline: Submissions due 16 December 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (also click on ‘show prizes) and here.

Poetry Society of America: The Four Quartets Prize  
This is for a unified and complete sequence of poems published in the US in a print or online journal, chapbook, or book in 2025. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were published in 2025 and that brought together, they form a complete sequence. The minimum requirement is 14 pages of published poems unified by subject, form, and style. Entire books composed of a unified sequence, however long, are also welcome.Submissions will have to be mailed. Self-published work is not eligible. They have other awards also, though these have an entry fee, or do not have an application process.  
Value: $1,000 for three finalists, an additional $20,000 for the winner 
Deadline: 31 December 2025 (postmark date)
Open for: Unspecified 
Details here (download the entry form). 

Lilith Magazine Fiction Contest 
This magazine publishes work of interest to Jewish women. They like work with both feminist and Jewish content. Submit fiction up to 3,000 words.   
Value: $300 
Deadline: 31 December 2025  
Open for: All writers 
Details here. 

Meridians: The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award
Meridians is a literary magazine affiliated with Smith College. This award is for short works – poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and play scripts. “The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award celebrates an author whose work embodies the lyrically powerful and historically engaged nature of Dr. Alexander’s writing. We aim for this award to highlight different forms of knowledge production that emerge from the artistic, political, and cultural advocacy undertaken by women of color nationally, transnationally, and globally. Works engaging with feminism, race, and transnationalism will be prioritized. Translated works and manuscripts in languages other than English are encouraged as well.” And, according to their submission form, “Each year we award two winners: one in Poetry and one in Prose. Each winner will have the opportunity to spend a week-long residency at Meridians at Smith College the following Fall or Spring.”
Value: $500 each for poetry and prose, Residency
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here

The Lyric Magazine: College Poetry Contest 
This is a contest open to undergraduates enrolled full time in an American or Canadian college or university. Poems must be original and unpublished, 39 lines or less, written in English in traditional forms, preferably with regular scansion and rhyme. Students can send up to three poems.  
Value: $500, $200, $100 
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Open for: Undergraduates in an American or Canadian college or university 
Details here.

Defenestration.net Lengthy Poem Contest
They are reading entries for a lengthy poem, of at least 120 lines and up to chapbook-length (see guidelines). It is best to divide it into parts or sections, though this is not a strict requirement. Poem cycles will be considered. Please note, the shortlisted poems will be posted on the website, which will be followed by fan voting.
Value: $300
Deadline: 1 January 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here.

On the Premises: The Return Of…
They want a story based on a prompt on their website. For this cycle, the prompt is, “The Return Of…”. “For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which someone or something has returned after a significant absence. Does this return make people happy, unhappy, or somewhere in-between? That’s up to you. Also: Was this return a surprise, or was it expected? That’s also up to you.“ They do not want children’s fiction, exploitative sex, over-the-top grossout horror, or stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors.
Value: $250, $200, $150, $75
Deadline: 2 January 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here (general guidelines) and here (theme details).

Shepton Snowdrops: In the Garden
Their website says, “The Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Project is a not for profit Community Interest Company run entirely by volunteers. We run and support the annual Snowdrop Festival each February and plant snowdrop bulbs each autumn across the town.” They’re also open for an international poetry contest. There is an entry fee for over-18s, and poets under 18 years can send one poem of up to 30 lines, on the theme, ‘In the Garden’, for free. There are two categories for under-18s: 11 and under (prize £50) and 12-17 years (prize £100). Entry is via a form on their website. 
Value: £50-100 for under-18s
Deadline: 4 January 2026
Open for: Free for under-18s
Details here.

The Leon Levy Centre for Biography: Biography Fellowships  
These are four resident fellowships at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, to nonfiction writers working on biographies. preference in the award of fellowships is given to those who have not yet published a biography or received fellowships for the writing of a biography. They also welcome applications from published and accomplished writers who are undertaking their first biography. The Leon Levy Center for Biography does not award fellowships for memoirs, essays, plays, films, or fiction. One of the application requirements is a sample of the proposed biography, a maximum of 2,500 words. (Also see the Sloan Fellowship, given annually to a writer working on a biography of a figure in the field of science or technology.) 
Value: $72,000, residency 
Deadline: 4 January 2026 
Open for: Writers working on biographies 
Details here and here.

(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:

— Jack Hazard Fellowship: This is an opportunity for US writers. “Jack Hazard Fellows are fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and memoir writers who teach full time in an accredited high school in the United States. We provide a $5,000 award that enables these creative writers who teach to focus on their writing for a summer.” The deadline is 9 January 2026. Details here and here

— Discoveries 2026: It is for UK- and Ireland-based unpublished and unrepresented women writers, for a novel-in-progress (adult fiction) – send the first 10,000 words and a synopsis. This prize is run by The Women’s Prize Trust, Audible, Curtis Brown Literary Agency, and Curtis Brown Creative writing school. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets literary representation. There are also non-cash prizes for shortlisted and longlisted writers. The prize is £5,000, and the deadline is 12 January 2026. Details here and here.

— Lunch Ticket: Diana Woods Award in Creative Nonfiction: This award is for a creative non-fiction piece of up to 3,500 words on any subject. The contest is open in February and August. The submission period will be 1^st to 28^th February 2026, and the prize is $250. It is open to all writers. Details here.

— Lunch Ticket: The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts: Translators and authors of multilingual texts are encouraged to submit their work for The Gabo Prize. Writers should indicate whether the translation falls under poetry or prose, and include the original work along with your translation. Original, bilingual work qualifies for the Gabo Prize. The contest is open in February and August. The submission period will be 1^st to 28^th February 2026, and the prize is $200. It is open to all translators. Details here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

THEMED CALLS

Murderous Ink Press: Crimeucopia — Objection! Overruled!
They are reading crime fiction. Currently, they want submissions on the ‘Objection! Overruled!’ theme – they want courtroom based pieces. Scroll down the page for theme details – “we are going to open the parameters wider, to include Legal Process based (think Rumpole/Perry Mason/Law&Order/The Coroner (UK) in character STYLE – but no fanfic/pastiches etc) – it could be a lawyer turned detective, or a Coroner … or a kangaroo court come to that.”
Deadline: 8 November 2025
Length: 2,000 – 10,000 words (query first for longer)
Pay: £4 per 1,000 words
Details here and here.

Flame Tree: Five Anthologies
Flame Tree is reading fiction submissions for two anthologies in their Myths, Gods, & Immortals series (Gilgamesh and Helen of Troy), two romantic fantasy anthologies (Of Blood & Petals and The Tarot of Love), and a horror anthology (Ghost Lights).
 
— Gilgamesh: “The ancient hero from Mesopotamian mythology and possible historical king of Sumer, Gilgamesh is a hugely influential figure, not least on Homer’s famous tales, the Iliad and the Odyssey, but also on modern culture. His stories, and later Babylonian interwoven narrative, have it all: quests to the underworld, epic journeys, ghosts, giants and beasts, a great flood, love and death. Together with the goddess Inanna (aka Ishtar) and his beloved companion Enkidu, Gilgamesh experiences adventure and self-discovery as gripping as any Hellenistic hero.
So as ever, we are seeking stories that really interrogate this character and all his flaws, traits and relationships. Whether as evidenced in the ancient tablets or extrapolated in your imagination, whether set 2000 years BCE or 2150 CE – your tales will be fresh with insight and inventiveness.”  They want stories of 3,000-4,000 words, and also accept reprints, deadline 9^th November 2025.

— Helen of Troy: “Renowned as the face that launched a thousand ships, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world – sorry, the most beautiful of the mortal women, lest we incur Aphrodite’s wrath – and a crucial figure in the epic Trojan War, that most important of Greek mythology’s events. Though the cause of the war rests with another pesky goddess – Eris, the goddess of discord – rather than Helen herself, without Helen’s bewitching beauty, Paris would not have felt the need to abduct (entice?) her, incite Menelaus’s fury and instigate a conflict that was to rage for ten long years. 
Now it is your chance to delve deeper into the character and backstory of Helen, to shine a light on more than her immediate link to the Trojan War. Whether you explore her beauty as a heavy burden (she was fought over by numerous suitors before Paris stole her from Menelaus), or the multiple viewpoints of her motivations and moral character as offered by the contradictory classical sources, or develop a whole new history, path to tread or time to inhabit, we look forward to seeing some original stories!” They want stories of 3,000-4,000 words, and also accept reprints, deadline 9^th November 2025.

— Of Blood & Petals: “Where passion blooms, so too can peril… We’re seeking tales of forbidden love, of hearts pricked by the thorns of sacrifice, of beauty veiled by darkness, and a love that demands it all. Will a rose be a gesture of forever? Or will its petals drip in crimson and longing? The setting could be an enchanted garden or a fantastical castle; perhaps you’ll be inspired to explore a kingdom ruled by roses and ruin. We want tales where love and loss are inseparable, where petals fall like vows, fragile, fleeting, unforgettable.” They want 2,000-4,000 words, also accept reprints, deadline 10 November 2025.

— The Tarot of Love: “The Lovers Tarot card can signify attraction, love, and commitment, but reversed, it may represent failure and foolishness. Which fate will it be? Since ancient times, divination has been a tool for seeking answers through mediums such as readings, tangible objects, or tapping into other realms and spirit worlds to gain guidance. A new addition to Flame Tree’s enchanting new series of Romantic Fantasy titles, The Tarot of Love will feature tales of seers, soothsayers, and diviners. We seek answers to pave our pathway to harmony, happiness, and a fruitful love; we hope… whether it be in a relationship or within ourselves. However, perhaps when faced with a choice, we want something outside of our own power to determine our fate, in turn, protecting our own hearts. No matter the kind of love: the greatest love of all time, fearing temptation, or a love lost, we strive to have order in something as messy as love. But in these tales of romance, will lovers meet their fated end, and will the prophecy be fulfilled?” They want stories of 2,000-4,000 words, also accept reprints, deadline 10 November 2025.

— Ghost Lights: “Next year’s entry in the acclaimed ‘ABC of Horror’ series will be called Ghost Lights, and as ever, I’m looking for stories that are as disturbing, strange, and original as you can make them. I’m not averse to humour, and neither am I averse to horror tropes like zombies, vampires, and serial killers. But if you are going to write stories with such familiar, tried-and-trusted elements, then you need to find a new and unique way of presenting them. I want to be surprised and scared by your stories, and I want them to be populated by characters who are both believable and identifiable (even the evil ones). Your stories can be anything from 2,000-8,000 words, though the sweet spot is around the 4,000-5,000 word mark.” They do not want reprints for this anthology, deadline 14 November 2025.
Deadlines: See above
Length: See above
Pay: $0.08/word for originals, $0.06/word for reprints
Details here (all Flame Tree fiction calls are announced on this blog; see the links above for individual calls).

Usawa Literary Review: Witness
This India-based literary journal is dedicated to feminist literature and writings by and about underrepresented communities. They want submissions on the Witness theme for their Winter 2026 issue. “Someone is always watching. Is it you, or someone else? Sometimes it’s the eyes of a streetlamp, a neighbour at the window, or the phone you forgot was switched on. To witness is to know something you cannot unknow. It is not just seeing. It is also remembering, archiving, and re-remembering. What do you intend to do with that knowledge? Sometimes we surrender to it — in helplessness, in rupture, in solidarity. To witness is to be human.
History depends on witnesses. So does the present. What do you see, and what does your account leave out? Do your words belong to those who did not survive? Did you weep at an act of kindness? Which stories are being quietly culled into a deafening silence? And what does it mean to witness your own surveillance? Who is watching you, and why?
Mahasweta Devi’s dispossessed, Saadat Hasan Manto’s Partition, Agha Shahid Ali’s homesickness, Bessie Head’s exile, and Han Kang’s tenderness refuse erasure, reject silence. In their works, witness is not spectacle, but living— the slow, exacting work of attention.
For our Winter 2026 issue, we invite fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, visual narratives, book reviews, and interviews that bear witness. … And if you want to go further, speculate. Let the strange, the impossible, the satirical, the darkly comic slip in. This is the first time we are asking for speculative writing”. Submission is via a form on the website.
Deadline: 15 November 2025
Length: 4-6 poems, 2,000-5,000 words for fiction, up to 5,000 words for creative nonfiction
Pay: INR1,000/$12
Details here.

The Fiddlehead: Disability – The Revolution
This well-regarded Canadian magazine is reading for a themed call, Disability: The Revolution. For this call, they want submissions from disabled writers only. “Revolution: from the old French revolution, originally referring to the motion of the stars. Later versions of the word in the 15th century played on this sense of cyclical revolving — in the changing of the seasons, but also — crucially — the revolving of the wheel.
What does revolution look like from a disability standpoint? How do we remember that disabled writers just taking up space is revolutionary? How do we, as disabled writers, consider that question of the wheel and its many manifestations — literal, temporal, and symbolic? How do we celebrate it, remake, and open ourselves to the revolution, ongoing and future, that must usher in a more accessible world?  
For our Summer 2026 issue, The Fiddlehead seeks work from disabled writers on the theme of revolution. You can interpret the theme as broadly as you like.” They want submissions of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and pitches for reviews for the Disability call.
Their Submittable is open for several categories, please be sure to submit to the correct one.
Deadline: 20 November 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words for prose, up to 6 poems
Pay: CAD65/page
Details here and here, submit here.

Channel Magazine
This Ireland-based magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. “We love work that speaks directly of a writer’s bond with and fear for our planet, and work that takes a local landscape, or a local flower, as its subject; equally, though, we love work that draws on an aspect of nature as setting, image or metaphor. We believe that all writing relies to some extent on historical engagement with nature, in that all human language has been shaped by our embeddedness in our shared environments.” Fiction and poetry are read during submission periods. Non-fiction (considered for both print and online) is accepted on an ongoing bases. They accept submissions in English and Irish.
Deadline: 20 November 2025 for fiction and poetry, ongoing for non-fiction
Length: Varies
Pay: €35 per printed page, up to €250 per piece and with a minimum fee of €60 for single-page works; and €35 per 400 words, up to a maximum of €250 per piece and with a minimum fee of €60 for work published online
Details here.

B Cubed Press: More Alternative Liberties
“Our sequal to the Alternative Liberties volume. We will be  buying stories, poems, and esssays about the potential consequences of the 2024 Presidential election told in current, near future or even similar situations where such a leader is in power. 
This anthology is our vision what these next years will look like.  Not just in the White House, but in the day-to-day world on our planet. Under such conditions people will adapt, people will suffer, people will prosper, people will axtively and passively resist, people will live, people will die.
We want stories of people who fight the change, endure the change, or embrace the change.  But key word is people.  We want the stories to be about the People (an maybe the animal liberation front in Springfield or a couch salesmen in Ohio who knows things.”
Deadline: 20 December 2025
Length: 1,500-3,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.10/word + royalties
Details here and here.

Eldredge Books: Fashionably Late 2 Anthology
They are accepting nonfiction submissions for the second volume of Fashionably Late, a nonfiction anthology featuring LQBTQIA+ people who came out later in life. “We want to hear about the challenges and joys you faced as part of your journey.” Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): Coming out during the pandemic; Breaking free of gender norms; Finding your place in the LGBTQIA+ community; Coming out in a conservative environment; Redefining relationships with your family; and more. Submissions are open to all LGBTQIA+ writers who came out later in life (generally defined as after the age of thirty).
Deadline: 28 November 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

APEP Press: Feline Frights – Whiskers Between Worlds
They want cat-themed horror stories. “”Feline Frights: Whiskers Between Worlds” is the first of a planned series of cat-themed horror anthologies. In this inaugural volume of Feline Frights, we delve into cosmic horror through the eyes of our feline companions. We seek stories exploring cats as witnesses, harbingers, and agents of incomprehensible cosmic forces. From cats that stare into dimensional voids to felines that serve as vessels for ancient entities, show us how these creatures exist at the intersection of our reality and the unfathomable beyond.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: $20 for originals, $10 for reprints
Details here.

BRB Books: Tales from the Little Library Anthology
This is a speculative fiction anthology, set in the libraries of your childhood. “Many of us are lucky enough to have memories of a special childhood library. Perhaps we remember a librarian who went out of their way to introduce us to books that stuck with us for the rest of our lives, or one who would waive overdue fees as a quiet kindness to an underprivileged family. We’re looking for stories that start from these real situations and tip over into the fantastic. What if your favorite librarian was a vampire? Or a time traveler? What if the teenage-you discovered that the library’s local history collection was haunted? What if animals from other planets were available to check out, right next to the DVDs? What if the childhood library has a collection of books famous children’s authors never wrote? What if the library used an interplanetary or alternate dimension delivery service to get your materials? There are so many possibilities.”
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Length: 3,000-5,000 words
Pay: $15
Details here.

Griffith Review: Lost and Found
Griffith Review is an Australian literary magazine and they want fiction and nonfiction submissions for issue 92; the theme is Lost and Found. “’Loss,’ wrote Marcus Aurelius, ‘is nothing else but change’. We lose face, lose time, lose heart, lose touch, lose ground, lose our keys (often); we can lose the things that hold us back or weigh us down, just as we can lose the people and places we love most. Loss, whether it offers us pain or reward, is fundamental to the experience of being human. What might we lose or gain as technology continues its rapid advance? How do we halt the loss of our natural world? What’s lost by growing up between cultures? Are we losing our sense of a shared reality? And what are the benefits to being a loser?”
Do not send poetry. They mostly accept work from writers in Australia, and some work from overseas writers.
Deadline: 30 November 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 4,000 words for prose (for print)
Pay: AUD0.75/word
Details here and here.
(And, Zoetic Press’sNonbinary Review is scheduled to open for the Carnival theme during November; they want speculative fiction, nonfiction and poetry. They pay. Their submission portal had yet to open, at the time of writing. Details here.) 

Silver Sun Books: Bandits & Botany Anthology
“Every quarter, we accept a selection of short fiction pieces that we feel fit our themes and readership well. We enjoy fantasy stories with clever hooks, strong characters, and interesting takes on our issue’s themes.” They want fantasy fiction on the theme, Bandits & Botany for their upcoming issue.
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: £5
Details here and here.
(Silver Sun is also open for submissions on the Ruins & Rituals theme; the deadline for that is in February 2026.)

khōréō: Revolutions
This magazine only accepts speculative fiction submissions from immigrants or members of the diaspora. For this reading cycle, they want stories on the Revolutions theme. “Some aspects we are especially interested in:

• Cycles of revolution and counter-revolution
• Revolution as the starting point instead of the endpoint
• Quiet revolutions and alternative sites of resistance
• Disability, class and revolution”

They also accept flash fiction and translations.
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words (prefers up to 3,500 words)
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here, here, and here.

Stygian Zine: Love Lies Dying
They want poems, short stories, personal musings, visual art, and comics on the Love Lies Dying theme. Submission is via a form on the website.
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Length: Up to 2,500 words
Pay: CAD20
Details here (scroll down).

Bold Strokes Books: Gender Ever After – Gender-Affirming Sapphic Romance Stories
This is a fiction anthology. “Gender Ever After is a sapphic romance (and erotic-romance) anthology celebrating the full, beautiful spectrum of gender expression and identity. I’m looking for stories that are both gender-positive and sex-positive, offering space for all women—including transgender, nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, two-spirit, agender, demigender, gender non-conforming, and more.
All romantic and erotic pairings (or more) are welcome, exploring love in its many forms, provided the romantic arc remains central and culminates in a satisfying, affirming HEA (or HFN). I’d love to see a mix of couples getting to know one another, those in long-term relationships, those opening up their relationship, or those finding new love after a relationship.
While the anthology is not intended to be political or reactionary, stories that acknowledge real-world challenges—such as transphobia, gender dysphoria, homophobia/biphobia, and social bias—are welcome, so long as those themes are overcome or transformed by the joy of loving connections. I’m looking for stories about hope and love . . . about characters being seen, loved, and celebrated as they are.” … “I’m mostly looking for contemporary tales, but historical or futuristic settings are welcome as well, as are fantasy-based stories.”
Deadline: 1 December 2025 “(earlier submissions welcome and will stand the best chance of acceptance)”
Length: 2,500-4,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

Eternal Haunted Summer: Winter Solstice 2025 – The Good Neighbors
Their tagline is ‘Pagan songs & tales’, and they publish work on Gods and Goddesses and heroes of the world’s many Pagan/polytheist traditions – fiction (any genre), nonfiction, reviews, and poetry. For their upcoming issue, the theme is The Good Neighbors. “The fae. The fair folk. The hidden ones. Send us your best poems, short stories, and essays about the fae as seen from a Pagan/polytheistic, witchy, and mythological point of view. Send us poems about the peri of ancient Persia, Marie de France writing her famous lais, the favorite trees of the Good Neighbors, or Nicnevin of Scottish lore. Send us short stories about the armored fairies of the Orkney Islands, an urban fantasy about a lawyer who specializes in negotiating with fairies, a retelling of a classic fairy tale (with Fairy Godparent), or a story about a father trying to cure his child of elfshot. Send us essays about the impact of Lucy Allen Paton’s research on later scholars, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Theosophical view of fairies, fairies as fallen angels, or the collection and composition of the Childe Ballads.”
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Length: Up to 3,000 words for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $5
Details here.

Rooted Literary Magazine: Home
They want poems, fiction (including flash), nonfiction (including reviews), visual art, audio, and video on the Home theme. “Home is where the heart is; it’s where people get their first pets, cry themselves to sleep, eat their favorite meals, and experience loneliness. It’s where we unwind after a long day, and the place we avoid when we get off work. It’s drenched in silence and raucous laughter. It’s where we can be ourselves and where we have to hide ourselves. Some of us never leave, while others hate to stay. 
Home means a lot of things, whether it’s a physical place, a person, a hobby, or a sense of being we’ve all felt at home. And a home can provide comfort just as easily as it can cause pain. For November, we are seeking pieces that offer a glimpse into home. … We are especially drawn to speculative fiction and pieces that challenge conventions or reimagine reality.”
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Length: Up to 3 poems, up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 2,000 words for nonfiction
Pay: $10
Details here and here.

Eldritch Cat Press: The Lantern Keepers 
This is a fiction anthology. “We’re looking for tales that include characters who serve as guides, guardians, or messengers between the threshold of the living and the dead, lost or otherworldly. We want stories with haunting, dreadful, eerie, creeping or even sorrowful vibes”. And, “Your story must feature a light, a path and a guide of some kind (the more prevalent and central to the plot these three things are the better, but be creative with them!)”. The genres they want are: Horror, gothic, dark fantasy, paranormal, magical realism, mystery, crime…pretty much anything goes, even sci-fi, high fantasy, post-apoc and various time periods.
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Length: 1,500-4,500 words
Pay: $10
Details here.

IHRAM Press Magazine: Voices of the Unhoused
This is the literary magazine of the International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM). For their upcoming issue, they say, “Centering on homelessness and the unhoused, this issue explores the human stories behind stereotypes, societal failures, and the fight for basic rights like shelter and healthcare. Reflections on homelessness during COVID-19 and personal journeys to stability provide a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle for dignity and safety. 
We are committed to publishing personal experiences of those who have been unhoused, factual retellings of stories about homelessness in the author’s life, reflections of the author’s personal experiences, and feelings of optimism and faith.”
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Length: Up to 2,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: $50 for written work, $25 for art
Details here  (click on ‘Our publishing concerns for 2025’)

Book XI: A Journal of Literary Philosophy – What We Talk About When We Talk About…
“Book XI is a journal dedicated to publishing personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry with philosophical themes. … Book XI is housed at Hamilton College’s Arthur Levitt Center for Public Affairs.” They have opened a submission period – all submissions must include “What We Talk About When We Talk About” as part of the title for this reading period. Submissions opened on 15^th October and will close mid-December or when their submission cap is met, whichever is earlier.
Deadline: 15 December 2025, or until filled
Length: 1,000-5,000 words for prose, or up to 5 poems
Pay: $200 for prose, $50/poem
Details here and here.

Oddity Prodigy Productions: Tales of Steel and Sorcery
“Do you have a story of epic adventure that you wish to share?  Are there tales of knights, dragons, villains, and magics you can bring to bear?  If so, you may be just the bard we are looking for! … We are looking for stories from across the vast genre, from the classic myth creation stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula L. Le Guin, or Terry Brooks, to the pulp majesty of Robert E. Howard’s Conan. The vast worldbuilding of Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, or N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance books, all the way to the grim visions of George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie. If your muse is more like the swashbuckling stories of Scott Lynch, or Brandon Sanderson’s detailed magic systems, or the thoughtful characters of K.S. Villoso, then we’re definitely interested. Fantasy is a deep and expansive genre, and we’d like to read what your imagination conjures!”
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: At least $10 (see guidelines)
Details here.

Dreamforge: Open Channel – The Art of Connection
They are open for speculative fiction submissions. They also accept poetry. They will read until the submission deadline, or until they meet their submission quota, whichever is earlier. Their theme for this year is, ‘Open Channel: The Art of Connection’ (see their submission system for details on the theme). “DreamForge Magazine celebrates connecting with the other. It shows how understanding can solve problems that seem impossible, and how communication and empathy—even in surprising ways—can help us through hard times.
Of course, core theme stories are always welcome too. Stories of “endurance, hope, and the triumph of the human spirit.” Stories that actively resist despair and offer constructive alternatives to dystopian futures, focusing on what builds rather than what destroys.”
Deadline: 31 December 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 7,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker – Van Helsing
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about the magazine here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on Van Helsing. “The one you’ve all been waiting for.
Doctor. Professor. Lawyer. Monster hunter.
Abraham Van Helsing has become a legend—but how did he get there?
What shaped the man who would face Dracula? What monsters, mysteries, or miracles did he encounter before the novel—and what haunted him after? We want your tales of the world’s most famous vampire hunter: his triumphs, his obsessions, his failures, and his legacy.”
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

THEMED CONTESTS

(There are some unthemed contests open now, as well, including:
— Polar Expressions: Student Contests for Short Story and Poetry: These are short story and poetry contests for Canadian students who are citizens and residents, from kindergarten to grade 12. Poems should be up to 32 lines and stories up to 450 words, on any topic; first prizes of CAD60-100 for students of various grades, as well as second and third prizes; additional cash prizes for schools; deadlines: 21 November 2025 for both, short stories and for poetry; details here.

— PEN/Robert J Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers: For 12 emerging fiction writers for their debut short story published during a given calendar year in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website; submitted stories must be published in the calendar year prior to the corresponding awards ceremony; prizes $2,000 each, deadline: 25 November 2025, details here and here.

— ServiceScape Short Story Award: Submit a work of short fiction or nonfiction, 5,000 words or fewer; award $1,000, deadline: 30 November 2025, details here.

— The Hudson Review Short Fiction Contest: For a short story of up to 10,000 words; writers who have never published in The Hudson Review are eligible to submit; awards $1,000; and $500 each for second and third places; deadline: 30 November 2025; details here.

— The African Poetry Book Fund: Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry: For poets born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African, and who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published, for a poetry manuscript; awards $1,000, deadline: 1 December 2025, details here and here.)

Defenestrationism: 2025 Flash Suite Contest
This is a contest for at least three flash fiction pieces (up to 1,000 words each) that co-relate in some way. The theme for this cycle is ‘Community’. A single piece of the suite may have been published before, otherwise, no previously published material. Finalists will be published daily on the site, followed by at least two weeks of Fan Voting – winners will be selected by a judging panel, with Fan Voting counting as an additional judge vote.    
Value: $75, $60
Deadline: 10 November 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival: Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize
This prize will be awarded to a Brooklyn- focused non-fiction essay which is set in Brooklyn and is about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. “We are seeking compelling Brooklyn stories from writers with a broad range of backgrounds and ages (minimum age 18 years old) who can render Brooklyn’s rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer’s actual experiences in Brooklyn.” Essays have to be 4-10 pages (up to 2,500 words). Value: $500
Deadline: 15 November 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (click on ‘Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize’.)

The Academy of American Poets: Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize
This is an opportunity for US poets. The Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize for “exceptional poems that help make real for readers the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment at present.” Poems could also be submitted in Spanish but must be accompanied by an English translation. Entries must be uploaded to Submittable as .doc, .docx, or .pdf files; and for entries by Performance or Spoken Word poets, most audio formats are accepted. Send one poem.
Value: $1,000; $750; $500
Deadline: 15 November 2025
Open for: US poets
Details here , here, and here (click on the relevant category)
(The Academy of American Poets also has other prizes, including the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award, a $1,000 award recognizing a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the previous calendar year, deadline 15 February 2026, details here; the Academy also runs the Raiziss/de Palchi Fellowship of $25,000 and a residency in Rometo be awarded in 2026for the translation into English of a significant work of modern Italian poetry by a US poet, deadline 15 February 2026, details here; see all the Academy of American Poets’ prizes here.)

Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize
This prize is for young UK-based writers. They want fiction or non-fiction of 1,000-1,500 words on the relevance of Benjamin Franklin’s relevance in our time. The quote for this year’s competition is “A republic, if you can keep it.” —Benjamin Franklin’s response to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” – Monday, September 17, 1787.
Writers are asked to interpret this quote for its significance today. Winning entries will be published online.
Value: £750, £500
Deadline: 19 November 2025
Open for: UK writers aged 18-25
Details here.
(And, The Emerging Writer Award is open to “unpublished prose writers (fiction) living in the UK with a collection of short stories or novel in development. Writers can be writing for any age group (including children and young adults) and may have had excerpts or articles published in the past, but have not yet published any major body of work. We would particularly encourage applications from those who experience barriers to the writing process.” Winner gets a tailor-made package including tuition via open courses, retreat time and/or mentoring at Moniack Mhor. The deadline is 30^th November 2025. Details here.)  

C Magazine: Indigenous Art Writing Award
C Magazine is Canada-based and publishes work on art. This prize is open to Indigenous writers all over the world, for art writing. “We’re excited to launch the 4th annual Indigenous Art Writing Award, an initiative created to support, compensate, and platform three standout individuals who are advancing critical and creative thought about Indigenous contemporary art.
Indigenous writers are invited to submit a single non-fiction text about an artist, project, exhibition, performance, event, initiative, theme, or other art-adjacent subject. Suggested length for submissions is between 1,000-2,000 words.
The winner will receive $1,500 CAD; editorial support to prepare their article for publication in a future issue of C Magazine and to be shared across ICCA’s platforms; and a two-year C subscription. Two runners-up will receive $1,000 CAD; an open invitation to develop a pitch for a different text to be published in C Magazine; and a two-year subscription. All participants can request feedback on their submitted work, and will receive a one-year subscription.
Applicants must identify as an Indigenous person. Given the resonances of Indigenous sovereignty and colonial realities across the globe, there are no geographical restrictions, though for the context of where we are located, we strongly encourage those based in Canada to apply. Submissions should primarily be in English, but may include non-English words or phrases. For submissions entirely in another language, we kindly ask for translations.”
Value: CAD1,500; CAD1,000 for two runners-up
Deadline: 24 November 2025
Open for: Indigenous writers
Details here.
(See all of C Magazine’s calls and guidelines here.)

Speculative Literature Foundation’s Gulliver Travel Grant
This grant is to help writers of speculative literature (in fiction, poetry, drama, or creative non-fiction) in their non-academic research. It is to be used to cover airfare, lodging, and/or other travel expenses. Writing samples (speculative literature) are part of the application requirement (see guidelines). This grant is awarded on the basis of interest and merit. Applicants need not have prior publishing credits to apply. The application portal for this grant will open during the submission period. They also have other grant submission periods coming up.  
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here (Gulliver Travel Grant) and here (schedule for all grants).

Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition
This is an international contest for novel manuscripts in the malice domestic genre, for writers who have never been the author of any published mystery novel. “Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story. Whatever violence is necessarily involved should be neither excessive nor gratuitously detailed, nor is there to be explicit sex. The suspects and the victims should know each other. There are a limited number of suspects, each of whom has a credible motive and reasonable opportunity to have committed the crime. The person who solves the crime is the central character. The “detective” is an amateur, or, if a professional (private investigator, police officer) is not hardboiled and is as fully developed as the other characters. The detective may find him or herself in serious peril, but he or she does not get beaten up to any serious extent. All of the cast represent themselves as individuals, rather than large impersonal institutions like a national government, the mafia, the CIA, etc.” The work must be at least 65,000 words. Minotaur is an imprint of Macmillan.
Value: $10,000 advance
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Details here.
(Minotaur is also running a First Crime Novel Competition, the deadline for that is 14^th December 2025.)

Dappled Things: The J. F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction
Dappled Things is a space for emerging writers to engage the literary world from a Catholic perspective. For this contest, they want stories of up to 8,000 words “with vivid characters who encounter grace in everyday settings—we want to see who, in the age we live in, might have one foot in this world and one in the next.” Please note, honorable mentions will also get publication and a subscription to the magazine. 
Value: $700, $300
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.

One Teen Story Contest
This is a short fiction contest for writers ages 13-19, run by One Story Magazine; there are three categories divided age-wise for this contest – ages 13-15, 16-17, and 18-19. “One Teen Story is looking for great short stories written by teens about the teen experience. Some examples of stories we look out for are ones that deal with issues of identity, friendship, family, and coming-of-age. Gratuitous profanity, sex, and drug use are best avoided. We’re open to all genres of well-written young adult fiction between 2,000 and 4,500 words.”
Value: $500
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: Writers ages 13-19
Details here and here.

(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:

— Minotaur, an imprint of McMillan, is running a First Crime Novel Competition, the prize is an advance of $10,000, and the deadline for that is 14^th December 2025; details here.
— Defenestration.net Lengthy Poem Contest: They are reading entries for a lengthy poem, of at least 120 lines and up to chapbook-length (see guidelines). It is best to divide it into parts or sections, though this is not a strict requirement. Poem cycles will be considered. Please note, the shortlisted poems will be posted on the website, which will be followed by fan voting. The prize is $300, and the deadline is 1 January 2026. Details here.

— On the Premises: The Return Of… : They want a story based on a prompt on their website. For this cycle, the prompt is, “The Return Of…”. “For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which someone or something has returned after a significant absence. Does this return make people happy, unhappy, or somewhere in-between? That’s up to you. Also: Was this return a surprise, or was it expected? That’s also up to you.“ They do not want children’s fiction, exploitative sex, over-the-top grossout horror, or stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors. Prizes are $250, $200, $150, $75, and the deadline is 2 January 2026; details here (general guidelines) and here (theme details).

— San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program: This awards writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. The creative writing fellowship does not require that there be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck’s. The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University’s creative writing program. Award recipients will be required to reside within the counties of the San Francisco Bay Area or adjacent counties of the California central coast or central valley during most of the fellowship period. There are up to 6 fellowships of $15,000 each, and the deadline is 4 January 2026. Details here and here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

West Branch
West Branch is affiliated with Bucknell University, and they recently reopened for submissions. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translations. Send up to 30 pages of prose, or up to 6 poems. Pay is $100 for poetry and $0.10/word for prose, up to $200. The deadline is 1 April 2026. Details here.

(And, The Cincinnati Review will open for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, as well as fiction translations and poetry translations, and queries for drama, on 1^st September, and will stay open until their submission cap is reached, for the print magazine. They pay $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry in the print journal and $25 for online miCRo posts or special features. Details here.)

Two Thirds North
This magazine is affiliated with Stockholm University. They accept submissions of poetry, short stories, essays, artwork, interviews, reviews, and other types of features. Regarding translations, they say, “Send us up to 5 poems or prose up to 3,000 words. Author’s permissions must be secured.” The deadline is 30^th September 2025. Details here.

Lunch Ticket
Lunch Ticket is affiliated with Antioch University Los Angeles. They publish creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, writing for young people, translations, and visual art. Send prose of 3,500 words, or up to 5 poems. All submissions to the translation category will be considered for the Gabo Prize for Translation & Multilingual Texts, and all works submitted for  creative nonfiction will be considered for the Diana Woods Memorial Prize in Creative Nonfiction. The deadline is 31 August for most genres and 30^th September 2025 for their Amuse Bouche feature. Submissions will close on the deadline or when the submission cap is met, whichever is earlier. Submissions of translations, art, and young adult (writing for young people 13+) are open on an ongoing basis, but will be read only during specific periods (see guidelines). Details here and here.

Samovar
This magazine is published by Strange Horizons, and they publish speculative fiction and poetry in translation. “If it is not a translation, it’s not for us.” Samovar accepts original translated stories (up to 5,000 words), as well as reprints; they also accept poetry translations, as well as interviews and reviews. Pay is $0.08/word up to 3,750 words each, to the author and translator, for original translated fiction; $100 each for reprint translated fiction; $40 each for poetry (see guidelines); and $40 for nonfiction. Details here and here.

BONUS: Hopscotch Translation
While this magazine does not publish translations, it is “an online revue dedicated to celebrating and discussing the complexity and diversity of literary translation.” You can read more about them here.
They are “dedicated to promoting dialogue on the practical, theoretical, and critical aspects of literary translation.” Ideas for possible topics include short or long reviews of translations, critical examinations of works on translation, interviews (with literary translators, translator/author pairings, theorists, publishers) biographical pieces, collaborative pieces, and a feature called Orphaned Translator’s Notes (theoretical or autobiographical essays supplementing your recent work in translation). They’re now accepting submissions for Fall 2025. Details here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

THEMED CALLS

Vellum Mortis: The Hollow Court
Vellum Mortis is a monthly ezine from Crystal Lake Publishing. They publish dark flash fiction on monthly themes. For August, the theme is The Hollow Court. “Fae horror, winter courts, changelings, and courtly decay.”
Deadline: 10 August 2025
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $5
Details here (scroll down) and here. 

The Fairy Tale Magazine: Trolls
They’ll soon open for a brief submission period. They want fairy tales inspired by the Trolls theme. “Tell us what compels trolls to guard bridges. Are bridge trolls keepers of wisdom, curses, or safe passage? Or perhaps you have a troll song to share, the story of a fiddling troll, or maybe a new tune for escaping the Hall of the Mountain King.
Or tell us the tale of the troll who tends the hearth, the garden, brews a soup that keeps the forests in balance. How do trolls live among us today? (Not internet trolls, but beings of stone, moss, and magic trying to survive in the world today.) Give us the story of someone who has troll ancestry; tell us about their sense of self, their magic, their place in the world.” They have detailed guidelines, including, “Keep in mind that all fairy tale related fiction and poetry needs an element of the supernatural—as well as transformation. Mashups welcomed. The essence of classic fairy tales should be maintained in stories and poems submitted here. You can take a lot of license with the work, but there must be a clear connection to the theme.” They do not want children’s stories. They want PG content. Submissions will be via a form. Payment is unspecified.
Reading period: 15 to 21 August 2025
Length: 900-2,000 words for fiction, up to 500 words for poetry
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.

Air and Nothingness Press: Mmeory Anthology
This is a speculative fiction anthology. They want stories of memory manipulation; “Examples include magic spells, cyborg memory edits, very unreliable narrators, time travel gone horribly wrong.
We are open to all genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Alternate History, Steampunk, Hopepunk, Solarpunk, and beyond….”
Deadline: 15 August 2025
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Beaches and Trails Publishing: Unseen Agreements Anthology
This is a fiction anthology. “We are seeking speculative short stories … that explore hidden bargains, mysterious contracts, and eerie agreements. Think cursed pacts, veiled deals, ancestral oaths, and otherworldly negotiations. Stories may be fantasy, horror, supernatural, sci-fi, folkloric, or genre-bending, but must center on the idea of an agreement with consequences.” Stories have to be PG-13. Submission is via a form. Please note, while the anthology is open to international writers, priority will be given to Canadians.
Deadline: 15 August 2025
Length: 3,000–5,000 words
Pay: CAD50
Details here.
(Submissions are also open for Crimson Quill Quarterly. “We’ll be
accepting tales in the usual trio of fantasy subgenres, Sword & Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, and Grimdark”. They have detailed guidelines, including the kind of stories they do not want. They pay $35 for stories up to 10,000 words / $25 per issue for serialized stories up to 30,000 words. The deadline is 15^th August 2025. Details here.)

Common Bonds 2 Anthology
They want speculative fiction and poetry. “At the heart of this collection are the bonds that impact our lives from beginning to end: platonic relationships. Whether with family, mentors, friends, colleagues, or found family, these links pepper our lives and their importance is often overlooked. We seek to explore the powerful impact of these bonds on aromantic people through the lens of science-fiction and fantasy.
We dream of sisters on a roadtrip through space, of queerplatonic partners hunting dragons, of an alchemy teacher changing the course of their student’s life, of neighbours supporting each other through the apocalypse.” All stories should be in the fantasy or science fiction genre, have a clear aromantic MC (including of all the aromantic spectrum), and center a non-romantic relationship. The Kickstarter for this project has been funded.
Deadline: 15 August 2025
Length: up to 7,500 words for fiction, up to 100 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $60 for poems
Details here.
(Submissions are also open for speculative fiction, Other: the 2025 fantasy short story anthology (Book 2 of the Other Anthology series) from Bannister Press. “We are seeking short stories that are visually evocative (or character/narrative focused) and that leave the reader thinking about the story long after closing the book. We don’t want a lesson, we want an experience that makes us come alive. To get a better idea of what we’re looking for, read Other: the 2024 speculative fiction anthology” Pay is CAD0.08/word for stories of 2,500 – 3,500 words, and the deadline is 31 August 2025. Details here.)

The Deadlands
This speculative fiction magazine. They are accepting poetry submissions only, during the first three weeks of August. “The Deadlands is a prism refracting innumerable paths and practices, and we are seeking speculative poetry in all its diverse permutations. We are as interested in the dead as we are in grief, hauntings, and history. The sublime is as much a part of The Deadlands as the uncanny. We welcome both formal and experimental poetry.
We are particularly interested in works by poets from historically marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds, particularly BIPOC poets, and poets from the global south. Bilingual or multilingual work is welcome.” All other genres are closed.
Deadline: See above
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $50/poem
Details here and here.  

Griffith Review: On the Money
Griffith Review is an Australian literary magazine and they want fiction and nonfiction submissions for their 91^st issue; the theme is On the Money. “Money talks – but it doesn’t always speak the truth. It’s also far more than a medium of exchange and a store of value: money is a status symbol, a friendship destroyer, an opportunity creator, a psychological blocker, an obsession, a dream, a curse, an albatross and an elephant in the room.
And if money makes the world go round, it’s spinning us faster than ever these days. Do we stand any chance of bridging the wealth gap? How does money influence our behaviour? What part does it play in the erosion of democracy and institutional trust? Should financial literacy be taught in schools? And does anyone actually understand crypto?
This edition of Griffith Review follows the money to tally the past, present and future of our filthy lucre.” Do not send poetry (there will be a separate call-out for poetry in September). They mostly accept work from writers in Australia, and some work from overseas writers.
Deadline: 24 August 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 4,000 words for prose (for print)
Pay: AUD0.75/word
Details here and here.

Flame Tree Anthologies
They are reading fiction for some themed anthologies with deadlines in August: two romantic fantasy anthologies, and for two anthologies that are part of their Myths, Gods, and Monsters series. They also accept reprints for all of these anthologies.
 
— Romantic Fantasy Series: Dreams Divine: Enigmatic escapes from reality and gateways into unknown worlds, dreams arrive in different forms, a distant whispering, prophesying a message. They are unbound. An illogical succession of events, freed from the constricts of time, understanding and place. Our fantasies may be revealed in our dreams, they find us, suspended in the twilight zone of reality and a dream-like state, blurring what is real and what isn’t, balancing on the known and unknown. Lost loves or new loves materialise from the mists in this amorphous world – will they solidify into reality or vanish from whence they came? Still, we yearn to dream, craving to see a face again from a distant place, but where there is light, the cracks can be filled with darkness, where dreams can look like nightmares, a veil that is pulled across our eyelids.” Stories of 2,000-4,000 words, deadline 24^th August 2025.

— Romantic Fantasy Series: Of Swords & Roses: They want “tales of chivalry and court intrigue; quests of passion and honour; wars waged for the sake of a beloved’s hand; and great sacrifices made in the name of love. Such endeavours may play out as open clashes on the battlefield, or as guileful strategy woven into court rivalries. With a flavour of the fantastical, tales are twined with magic or abound with whimsical creatures, spanning kingdoms or bridging worlds. A chivalric hero may clash with their enemy to win another’s affections; or perhaps that enemy proves to have been The One all along?”Stories of 2,000-4,000 words, deadline 24^th August 2025.

— Myths, Gods, and Monsters Series: The Valkyries: “The Valkyries – fierce daughters of battle, riders of storm and shadow. They choose the slain and carry souls to glory, moving between mortal and divine. For this call, we seek stories that tell their own back stories, and echo their power: tales of fate, war, sacrifice and the mythic eternal. Awe-inspiring and magical, when we think of the Valkyries, we conjure a vision of fierce but angelic warrior goddesses racing across the sky. They come to select half of those who have died in battle and escort them to Odin’s hall of heroes: Valhalla. There they receive the heroes with horns of mead. But there is so much more to these heavily symbolic beings. … This submission theme offers an exciting opportunity to explore and expand on existing stories associated with Valkyries (not simply retell classic tales) or imagine completely new names and narratives for those who have never seen the limelight.” (Stories of 3,000-4,000 words, deadline 24^th August 2025.)

— Myths, Gods, and Monsters Series: Odysseus: “Odysseus – the cunning wanderer from the fall of Troy, breaker of oaths and teller of tales. … For this call, we seek stories that echo his trials: voyages of wit, endurance, longing, and the winding path home. Perhaps not as strong as Heracles, nor as skilled as Achilles, Odysseus is the craftiest and quick-witted of the Greek heroes of myth, famed for his fateful devising of the Trojan Horse and his eventful and epic journey home to Ithaca. … But do we see him as the ancients did? Is he truly a hero when we know that – like many male heroes of myth – he was a killer, an adulterer, a liar and an all-round deceiver? This submissions theme offers the chance to reassess the reassessments; to present the fully formed, rounded and complex figure that is Odysseus, from his point of view and as others see him, as he faces the challenges of living up to the expectations put upon him. Rather than retelling the classic tales, we’re looking for stories with original angles, interesting perspectives, new visions.” (Stories of 3,000-4,000 words, deadline 24^th August 2025.)
Deadline: 24 August 2025 for all the above anthologies
Length: See above
Pay: $0.08/word for original fiction
Details here (links to all the submission calls).(Flame Tree is also open for an Africanfuturism anthology from Black African, African-diaspora, African–descent writers only (2,000-4,000 words, deadline 2^nd November 2025)

WolfSinger Publications: Search for the Any Key
This is a fiction anthology; the theme is, Search for the Any Key. “This will be mostly action/adventure, but can be placed in any time period, on other planets or any type of setting. All genres accepted and may contain humor, drama, romance, etc. Diverse characters welcome, human or otherwise. The catch – no traditional keys accepted. If the characters don’t find the key, that’s okay.
Example – on a certain TV show, characters were searching for forgiveness and the key to enter was tears of regret. Another film had a key as part of a puzzle box which opened several artifacts.
Please think outside the box when writing these stories. The Why of the search is the most important point.”
Deadline: 29 August 2025
Length: 1,000 – 7,000 words
Pay: $15 + royalty share
Details here.

Thalia Press: Time After Time Anthology
This is “is a short story anthology targeted toward lovers of mysteries set in specific historical eras. We are seeking short stories of no more than 7,500 words that have a strong crime or mystery element and that take place in a time period other than the present. Both cozy and dark stories are welcome. … If you choose to submit a story set in the future, please be aware that, again, it must be primarily mystery- or crime-related and not just science fiction. Bonus points for creating an authentic historical setting that engrosses readers.” Please read their terms carefully.
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $25
Details here.
(Thalia Press is also reading fiction for a mystery/crime fiction anthology featuring one or more cats as an integral part of the plot; pays $25, deadline 30 September, details here – scroll down.)

White City Press: Sex and Synthesizers –  An Erotic Crime Anthology
This is a fiction anthology, the second in a series. “In this second volume, synthesizers can be used as an instrumental enhancement, as a weapon, or as a concept. Synthesizers are made to trick the audience into believing something is there – but it’s not. Example: it can make you believe there’s a piano playing when there is no piano on stage. This can give a nice twist to a story. The key is to have something appear to be one thing when it’s actually another.” And, “We do expect stories to be anywhere from Rated R to Rated XXX. The anthology is sold age-restricted to 18 and older.” All stories must be set in the 1980s. LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC characters (and authors) are welcome and encouraged.
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Length: 3,500 – 5,000 words
Pay: $25 or two paperback copies
Details here.

Zoetic Press: Non-Binary Review – Erased from History
They want speculative work – poetry, fiction, essays, translations, and art. They’re reading on the Erased from History theme. All submissions must have a clear relationship to the theme. “History, as the old saying goes, is written by the winners. This means that in most histories, the stories are about discovery and conquest rather than plunder and genocide. It also means that some of those losers of history have been forgotten – erased by the cultures that overran them. Historical erasure isn’t limited to countries or cultures. Underrepresented societal groups – those denigrated by the dominant culture – are often left out of histories, their contributions to society, including their arts, inventions, and scientific discoveries, are either attributed to others, or left out entirely.
We are looking for stories of people or things that have been erased from history, the mechanism by which that erasure is effected, or the consequence of erasure. We want the story of the lizard people that originally colonized earth, leading to the widespread theory that many world leaders are lizard people. The reason why Atlantis was erased from history and relegated to myth. The fact that gravity was invented by an illiterate Burmese restaurant owner in 1146CE.
We are NOT looking for dry factual histories (no term papers, please), personal screeds or jeremiads, or the life and personal stories of individuals from an erased group”.
Please note, they have changed their reading periods; they will now read submissions in February, May, August, and November. They are in the process of changing their submission system to Duosuma.
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry
Pay: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry
Details here and here.
(They’ve also given the reading periods for other themes on their website.)

Cast of Wonders: Young Author Showcase
Cast of Wonders is Escape Artists’ speculative young adult (YA) online and audio magazine. “All stories should contain a clear speculative element and be appropriate for a YA audience. We particularly encourage submissions from authors whose backgrounds are under-represented in publishing, and also love #ownvoices submissions.” They have detailed guidelines on what counts as young adult, please read them carefully. For this submission window, they want submissions by young authors only, under 20 years of age. They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here (guidelines), here (schedule), and here (submission portal + details of Young Author Showcase 2025).
(And, Cast of Wonders will open for YA fiction submissions by all authors from 1^st to 14^th September – see their schedule.)

Thinking Ink Press
They open during August and February for literary postcards, Instant Books, and other publications in non-traditional formats.  “For postcards: (a 4 x 6″ flat card that can be sent through the mail) poems or flash stories you wish someone would send you in the mail. Story length is about 100 to 300 words. Poetry length is 30 lines or fewer.
For Instant Books: (a mini book folded from a single sheet of paper) standalone stories around 500-1,300 words in length with strong narrative arcs.
For a 4-page flexagon: (A flexagon is a flat paper object that you can fold and twist to reveal hidden surfaces.) Stories or poems that can be divided into four pages and read as a loop, with no enforced beginning or end. Word limit is about 130 words per page, or about 16 lines of poetry per page.” Please read the guidelines for the editor’s preferences.
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Length: One story or up to 5 poems (see guidelines)
Pay: $20
Details here.

Fourteen Poems
They publish LGBTQ+ poets only, for their thrice-yearly anthologies. They are reading submissions for their 18^th issue.
Deadline: 1 September 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 5 poems
Pay: £30/poem
Details here.
(Submissions will also open briefly for Trans Survivors Zine and the theme will be IPV/DV/Interpersonal harm: They pay $25, and will accept submissions from August 18^th to September 8^th 2025. Details here. Trans Survivor Zine is a project of FORGE, an organization for trans / nonbinary individuals.)

Phi Kappa Phi Forum: Travel by Plane
They want “submissions of original, previously unpublished poetry that fits the theme … Poems will be selected to appear in the print version of the magazine, though others may appear online. Submissions must be under 40 lines, and poets can submit 1-3 poems as a single submission.” They’re reading submissions for their Winter 2025 issue and the theme is, Travel by Plane.
Deadline: 2 September 2025
Length: See above
Pay: $4/line of poetry
Details here and here.  

Tyche Books: Fascination Anthology
This is a fiction and poetry anthology from Tyche Books. “Imagine a tall figure in black robes wearing a mask that looks like a deer skull, antlers backlit by moonlight. Or perhaps it is not a mask and the shape beneath the robes something much more than human.
Imagine a thatch-roofed fairy tale cottage deep in a forest, with a lake of black water for a front lawn. Imagine what creatures the cottage’s occupant keeps trapped beneath the water, waiting to be called forth to do their bidding.
Imagine a table set with a faded red and white gingham tablecloth, an overflowing fruit bowl and a milk bottle filled with daisies. Imagine, also, an ancient human skull perched atop the fruit and a lazy viper crawling out from one of its empty eye sockets.
Imagine fluffy white bunnies hopping through walls of brambles with ease, moonlit clearings where women in flower crowns summon ancient evils into their world. Trees whose green leaves part to reveal hundreds of twisted faces within their bark, or rose bushes whose perfume brings the plague. Circles of salt, twisted krisses, bat-winged raccoons, moss-laden trees and half-melted candles.
These are the sorts of images I want to fill the pages of this anthology with. I want nature-fueled magic, witches and dark fae. Creepy cottages, haunted homesteads and bespelled woods.
Submit them to me that I might find myself enchanted and unsettled by them in equal measure”.
Deadline: 3 September 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: CAD50 for stories, CAD20 for poetry; more if Kickstarter funding permits (see guidelines)
Details here and here.

Reckoning X: Communication
They publish work on environmental justice, and for their 10^th issue, they’re reading submissions broadly around the Communication theme. “What brought us to this? How do those of us who grasp the direness of our situation—as a species, as a global community—convey or fail to convey that to others? These are dauntingly complex questions, and it’s clear the familiar solutions fall catastrophically short. Show us new answers, new framings. Reach for the weird tools, the neglected ones. Show us how journalism should work. Tell us stories about stories. Illuminate the economic structures behind our educational institutions and the walls against understanding that dog our international borders. Interpret the data for us, then interpret the interpreters. Let’s crack open the ways knowledge is produced and spread amid late-stage capitalism.
We’re seeking art, poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction … in particular from Indigenous, Black, Brown, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent and/or otherwise marginalized writers and artists from everywhere.” 
Deadline: 22 September 2025
Length: Up to 15,000 words for prose, up to 10 pages for poetry
Pay: $0.10/word for prose, $50/poem
Details here and here.

THEMED CONTESTS
(There are also some unthemed contests open now, including:

— Yale Drama Series: David Charles Horn Prize, for a full-length play  by emerging playwrights; prize $10,000, manuscript publication, staged reading; deadline 15 August 2025, details here.

— Lunch Ticket: Diana Woods Award in Creative Nonfiction and Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts: For short creative non-fiction ($250) and translation ($200) respectively; deadline 31 August 2025; details here and here.

— Amazon: Kindle Storyteller Award: For those publishing through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. For books available in both digital and print versions through KDP between 1^st May 2025 and 31^st August 2025; readers play a significant role in winner selection; prize £20,000, deadline: 31 August 2025; details here.

— Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen Scholarship: For professionals, including literature and art. Awards €1,500/month (less rental and operational cost), residency at Schöppingen, Germany; up to €3,000 for collectives; deadline 31 August 2025; details here and here.

— The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award: For two short story collections; both winning manuscripts get publication. For writers who have not published a volume of prose fiction; deadline: 31 August 2025; details here.

— Surel’s Place: An Artist in Residence Program: For various professional artists, including writers. Please read their terms carefully, including commission on all sales emanating from your residency. Award is month-long residency at Boise, $100/week + $300 travel stipend; deadline: 1 September 2025; details here.

— Royal Society of Literature: Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction: For UK/Ireland-based writers of non-fiction, to buy them time for completing their first commissioned work; only works to be published in the UK or Republic of Ireland, or by UK/Ireland-based publishers, are eligible. Award is £10,000, £5,000, £2,500; deadline: 1 September 2025; details here and here.)

OnlyPoems: Poem of the Month – Rain
OnlyPoems publishes poetry in many formats, some of which are free to submit (or they have fee-free submission periods). They have one new theme or form each month for Poem of the Month, and poets are invited to respond to it in the first week. “Every month, we feature a Poem of the Month. This month, we want to read poems around this theme/keyword: Rain 
Interpret it however you wish.
The “Poem of the Month” is accompanied by both a contributor’s and an editor’s note and a custom piece of artwork”. There will be one winner.
Value: $33
Deadline: 7 August 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here and here (see the relevant category on Submittable).

Royal Society of Literature: Literature Matters Awards
These awards, by the Royal Society of Literature, are for UK residents. “An RSL Literature Matters Award must result in new, original writing or other literary activity of an excellent artistic standard, which will reach a substantial readership or audience. It may be a piece or pieces of writing, a publication, an event or a production on any subject and in any form, including (but not limited to) prose fiction, short stories, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, graphic fiction, biography or travel-writing. “ Priority is given to proposals which will help connect with audiences or topics outside the usual reach of literature, and/or will help generate public discussion about why literature matters. The person applying should be a writer or other literary creator with a successful track record to indicate the proposal is likely to succeed. They also accept applications from small groups or collaborations/collectives of writers.
Value: £20,000 corpus, split between various projects
Deadline: 8 August 2025
Open for: UK residents
Details here and here.

The Forum Essay Prize: Anniversaries
This is an essay prize from Oxford Academic / Oxford University Press and is open to all researchers, whether early-career or established, on the theme of Anniversaries. They have detailed guidelines, including, “To mark the 60th anniversary of Forum for Modern Language Studies, we are looking for … essays that use academic research to pursue innovative questions. … The topic may be addressed from the perspective of any of the literatures and cultures (including literary linguistics, translation and comparative approaches) normally covered by the journal: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Please note that material of a predominantly social science or sociological nature falls outside our scope. We are seeking submissions that focus on literature, film, art or other cultural outputs that relate to the subject of anniversaries, be that through engaging with the theme more broadly, or with regard to specific anniversaries as they relate to the discipline(s) covered by Forum for Modern Language Studies.” The winning essay will also get published in an issue of Forum for Modern Language Studies.
Value: £500
Deadline: 15 August 2025
Open for: All researchers, whether early-career or established
Details here.

Pen & Quill: Afterlight / Afterglow
Pen & Quill is a magazine for and by young writers. They are open for a summer contest, and only writers between ages 12 and 21 years can enter. The theme is Afterlight / Afterglow. ““There’s a moment after the sun has dipped beneath the horizon, but before the sky goes dark. Gold softens the edges of the world. Everything seems to glow. This period is referred to as “afterlight” or “afterglow.”
This year, our theme is one of transition, memory, and becoming: the cusp of adolescence, the end of childhood, the beginning of something new. We’re looking for writing that captures the glow before darkness. The beauty of what flickers—briefly, beautifully—before it’s gone.” The categories are poetry, prose (fiction), and other (which do not fit poetry or fiction, like playwriting, screenwriting, autobiography/memoir, etc). Submit works of up to 1,500 words. Submission is via a form on their website.
Value: $200, $100, $50; $20 for a middle school standout
Deadline: 21 August 2025
Open for: Writers ages 12-21
Details here.

Fondation Jan Michalski Residencies for Writers
These are residencies at the foot of the Jura mountains in Montricher, Switzerland, and they are open to all types of writers engaged in literary creation. While they give priority to writers and translators, they are also open to any other discipline as long as writing is at the heart of the project. “A percentage of the residencies are dedicated to nature writing, a form of fiction or creative non-fiction that raises awareness of nature, prepares for a sustainable future, and helps to better understand socio-environmental interconnections and the impact of human actions on nature.” There are no age or nationality restrictions. Writers working on a project with a collaborator can apply in pairs. Applications can be in English or French. Excerpts from your writing, both current and previous, can be in any language, not necessarily English or French.
Value: Round-trip travel, CHF400 per week
Deadline: 27 August 2025 (17:00 CET time)
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.

Poetry Archive Now! Wordview 2025
This is a contest for video poems. “Each recording should be a video of yourself reading your single poem with a maximum length of 2 minutes viewing and reading time. We welcome video entries in British Sign Language. We would like you to tell us your name, the name of the poem and followed by the poem recital. … We appreciate that some entrants may not want to be seen on screen reading their poem. We are happy to accept voice only submissions. Simply supply a static image as a background to your video or get creative and think of other ways. The online entry process also asks you to include a copy of the text of the poem which will be displayed with your video. Poems must be written during, and in response to, 2025. They can be on any theme, subject and in any style”. Shortlisted and other poems will be featured on their website; there will be no monetary payment for these.
Value: £1,000
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here, here and here.

The Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing: Secrets
This year, they want stories on the ‘Secrets’ theme; they “want to uncover the hidden truths, untold histories, private thoughts, and concealed moments that shape lives. Whether it’s a shocking revelation, a personal confession, a historical cover-up, or a truth no one dares to speak — we’re looking for stories that show the emotional weight and human impact of secrets. Writers are free to interpret the theme in any way they choose, in any genre, as long as the idea of a secret is central to the story.” Regarding genre, they say, “Any (except poetry or brutality/graphic/violent content)”. Please see their detailed guidelines. They want works of up to 1,500 words. The competition is open to anyone over 16 years of age.
Value: £100
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Preservation Foundation Contest: Biographical non-fiction
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (those who have never published extensively in any form and have never earned over $250.00 by their writing skills in any single year – see guidelines). Their upcoming deadline is for the biographical non-fictioncategory: “A biographical entry must be a true story of an individual(s) known to the author personally–not a fictional or historical character.  Autobiography, of course, must be a true story about the author’s life, the whole or an episode. Biographical stories, especially those from older people, or about them by children and grandchildren, are especially appropriate for our mission–to “preserve the extraordinary stories of  ‘ordinary’ people.” ”
Entries should be 1,000-5,000 words. They want all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, to be on their website as long as the Foundation exists (see guidelines).
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Open for: Unpublished writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
(They’re also open for the Travel Nonfiction contest for unpublished writers, deadline end-October.)

The Hinternet Essay Prize
This is their inaugural essay prize. The question is: “How might new and emerging technologies best be mobilized to secure perpetual peace?” And, “The contest invites bold, independent, and engaging ideas from specialists and non-specialists alike. While acknowledging the historical connection between technological progress and warfare, the contest seeks proposals that explore how such advancements might instead contribute to lasting peace without excessive compromises to human freedom.” Essays must be of 2,000-10,000 words, and can be written in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Polish, or Turkish. They have detailed guidelines/editorial preferences, please read them carefully.
Value: $10,000
Deadline: 1 September 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
(Also see The Hinterland’s general prose submission guidelines here – scroll down. Please read their published works first to see if yours will be a good fit.)

The SETI Institute: Cosmic Chronicles Literary Prize
The SETI Institute is a non-profit research organization; their mission is “to lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe and share that knowledge with the world.” You can read about them here. Their contest is for those who have not published a full-length book (chapbooks are fine). “The Cosmic Chronicles Literary Prize is a new initiative from the SETI Institute’s Artist in Residence (AIR) program. Cosmic Chronicles is a contest for emerging writers of all ages whose work explores questions of life, intelligence and consciousness in the universe.
Cosmic Chronicles invites writers and poets working in literature, speculative fiction/sci-fi, experimental poetry, and philosophy to submit original, unpublished creative work that reflects and expands on the SETI Institute’s “Intelligence and Consciousness” research area, exploring the questions:
— What is the nature of consciousness?
— What is the nature and evolution of intelligence?
We suggest that writers and poets familiarize themselves with the SETI Institute’s research. The jury will pay attention to a strong connection to the SETI Institute’s scientific work as well as innovation in creative expression.” Poetry submissions can be up to 80 lines; prose, up to 2,000 words; and visual poetry, up to 8 pages.
Value: $1,000; three prizes of $100 each
Deadline: 1 September 2025
Open for: Emerging writers (see guidelines)
Details here.

(A few contests with later deadlines are:

— Princeton Arts Fellowship: This international fellowship is for artists in many disciplines, including literary, whose achievements have been recognized as demonstrating extraordinary promise in any area of artistic practice and teaching. This is a two-year program and there is a teaching duty attached. Writers do not have to be US citizens to apply. You can apply for this fellowship twice in a lifetime. The award is $93,000 per year ($186,000 for the two-year fellowship), additional $7,000 per year for research and classroom expenses, residency at Princeton; deadline 9 September 2025; details here.

— Princeton: Hodder Fellowship: Potential Hodder Fellows are composers, choreographers, performance artists, visual artists, writers, translators or other kinds of artists or humanists who have “much more than ordinary intellectual and literary gifts”; they are selected more “for promise than for performance.”  Most writers have had their first book published. The Hodder is designed to provide Fellows with the “studious leisure” to undertake significant new work. There are no formal teaching duties attached. Fellows have access to shared spaces on campus at Princeton, for the duration of their fellowship. One does not have to be a US citizen to apply for this fellowship. A Hodder Fellow must be based in the U.S. during the Fellowship, and  Fellows have access to shared spaces on campus for the duration of their fellowship (see FAQ, scroll down to Hodder Fellowship). The award is $93,000, additional $5,000 for research expenses, deadline 9 September 2025; details here.

— Harvard University: Radcliffe Institute Fellowships: These are for published writers and journalists. They are open for various disciplines, including creative arts – which include, but are not limited to, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, as well as journalism, and playwriting. Their guidelines also say, “Applicants may apply as individuals or in a group of two to three people working on the same project. We seek diversity along many dimensions, including discipline, career stage, race and ethnicity, country of origin, gender and sexual orientation, and ideological perspective. Although our fellows come from many different backgrounds, they are united by their demonstrated excellence, collegiality, and creativity.” The fellowship pays $78,000, and an additional $5,000 for project expenses; fellows also get an office at Harvard University, additional funds for moving expenses, childcare and housing, etc. The deadline for some disciplines, including creative arts, is in September. The award is $78,000; additional funds for project expenses, and other things; deadline: 11 September 2025; details here, here, here, and  here.
— Gulf Coast: The Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing:
This prize is for critical art writing, of up to 1,500 words. Their guidelines say, “The Prize invites submissions of expository writing, scholarly essays, and exhibition reviews that have been written–or published–within the last year.” The prize is $3,000, and there are two prizes of $1,000 each; the deadline is 14 September 2025. Details here and here (see the relevant category in Submittable).

— American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Awards:
The American-Scandinavian Foundation annually awards translation prizes for outstanding translations of poetry, fiction, drama, or literary prose written by a twentieth or twenty-first-century Nordic author. The Leif and Inger Sjöberg Award is for those whose translations from a Nordic language have not been previously published. There is also the Nadia Christensen Prize, the Wigeland Prize (this is for the best translation by a Norwegian), and the Inger and Jens Bruun Translation Prize, which recognizes the best Danish translation. The application includes 25-50 pages of prose or 15-25 pages of poetry. The awards are $2,500 (Nadia Christensen Prize); $2,000 (Leif and Inger Sjöberg Award); $2,000 (Wigeland Prize), $2,000 (The Inger and Jens Bruun Translation Prize). The deadline is 15 September 2025. Details here and here.

— Academy of American Poets: Ambroggio Prize: This is an opportunity for US poets. They want a book-length poetry manuscript originally written in Spanish and with an English translation. Poets may translate their own work or collaborate with a translator who may or may not be a poet; the poet and translator must share the prize. The original manuscript in Spanish must be between 48 and 100 pages. Their website also says, established in 2017, the Ambroggio Prize is the only annual award of its kind in the United States that honors American poets whose first language is Spanish. The prize is $1,000 and publication; the deadline is 15 September 2025. Details here and here. The Academy of American Poets has other awards as well, both fee-free and fee-based – see their Submittable for all open calls.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

(And, NonBinary Review from Zoetic Press is also accepting speculative fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art on the Solarpunk theme till 31 July 2025. They pay up to $30 for writing. They are changing their submission periods to one month – longer for newsletter subscribers – and submission portal to Duosuma. Details here.) 

The Orange & Bee
This Australian Substack-based magazine “publishes original and contemporary short stories, poems, and essays that explore, expand on, and subvert the rich traditions of international folklore, with a strong focus on fairy tales (though we also sometimes dabble in other forms of folklore, such as fables, myths, and legends).” They do not want work for children.
Deadline: 14 July 2025 (midnight AET)
Length: Up to 4,000 words for fiction and non-fiction, up to 50 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.08/word for prose, $50 for poetry
Details here and here. 

The Last Girls Club: Monkey’s Paw/Answered Prayers
This is a feminist horror magazine. For the Monkey’s Paw/Answered Prayers theme, they say, “You’ve got everything you ever wanted and it’s awful. More tears have been shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones. Show us the folly of wishes. Terrify us with consequences. Keep us up at night dreading a knock on the door or an envelope in the mail.” They accept fiction and poetry submissions, and nonfiction pitches.
Deadline: 15 July 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 2,500 words for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.015/word for fiction, $10 for poetry
Details here and here.

Fairy Tale Review: Food
They want fairy tale informed work. They accept prose fiction, verse fiction, nonfiction, creative scholarship, and poetry. They’re accepting work on the food theme. They also accept translations.
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Length: Up to 30 pages
Pay: $50
Details here and here.

Cleis Press: Best Women’s Erotica of the Year – Erotic Adventures
They want previously unpublished stories on the theme, erotic adventures. “Writers who have been previously published are preferred, but it is not a requirement.” And, “Cleis Press likes stories that are inclusive and diverse, so characters on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, those that have disabilities, or represent a minority are always appreciated.” Please read their guidelines carefully, including the tropes / themes they do not want.
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Length: 2,500-5,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.

Altitude Press Flash Fiction Anthology: Gen X
They’re reading flash fiction on the Gen X theme for an anthology; the call is open to all writers. The audience for this anthology is young adult (YA) to adult. Regarding genres/categories accepted, “Literary, Romance, Sci-Fi & Spec Fic, Mystery, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Historical Fiction, Humor/Satire, Paranormal, Magical Realism, and others.”
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Length: 1,500-2,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grandmothers
“A Chicken Soup for the Soul story is an inspirational, true story about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences.” They publish true stories and poetry. Their upcoming theme is Grandmothers. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Everyone has a great story about the unconditional love between grandmothers and their grandchildren. We are looking for heartwarming, insightful, and humorous stories celebrating grandmothers.”
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $250
Details here (general guidelines; also see the ‘How to submit’ tabs on the page) and here (themes)
(They have other themes too, with later deadlines; see all the themes here.)

Flame Tree Anthologies
Flame Tree is launching romantic fantasy anthologies. Submissions are open for the first two, titled A Breath of Time and Of Love & Dragons.
— A Breath of Time: “Lost loves, love discovered, love unreachable unless Time itself is conquered, these and many other time-bending, time traveling, time feasting themes can spark your imagination for stories of alternate history, of ancient forests returning to haunt the present and great adventures through dreams and timeless mountain tops, all with hearts beating to the rhythm of romance.”
— Of Love & Dragons: “Dragons may be fierce but they are symbols of great power, and the bond between human and dragon, once forged can never be broken. Or can it? Can romance deal a deathly trail of vows abandoned, or forgotten, can realms beyond our time conjure tales of Dragon Lords and warrior princesses, of great rivalries and oceans yearning with desire and determination, can you tempt the ancient ways into new meanings, and new stories.”
And, “Please specify in the body of the email which anthology theme (A Breath of Time, or Of Love & Dragons) your story is for.” They also accept reprints for their anthologies.
Deadlines: 20 July 2025
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here.(Flame Tree is also open for The Valkyries and Odysseus anthologies; both of these are part of their Myths, Gods, and Monsters series, story length is 3,000-4,000 words, pay $0.08/word for originals, and the deadline for both is 24^th August 2025. They usually announce their anthology themes here.)

Tractor Beam
They publish soilpunk stories, pieces that present an optimistic view of the earth. They are reading submissions for Issue 3: “For our upcoming issues, we’re specifically seeking stories celebrating decay and rot, ice and snow (the frozen earth), the ocean and soil under water, fashion and style, soil as tech, soil as the origin of life and anti-apocalyptic futures. Literal or abstract, near term or on distant horizons: worlds can take inspiration from innovations or alternative practices in earth and material science, regenerative agriculture, food, microbiology, and more.” They want stories up to 6,000 words, graphic novellas at 16 panels, or multimedia. Submission is via a form on the website.
Deadline: 21^st July 2025
Length: See above
Pay: $1,000
Details here.

Flash Frog: Ghost Stories
They publish flash fiction. They are accepting only ghost stories through July, and will resume for unthemed submissions from August onwards.
Deadline: 31 July 2025 (for ghost stories)
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

Death’s Head Press: Deep Anthology
Death’s Head Press is an imprint of Dead Sky Publishing. They are open for a fiction anthology. “Death’s Head Press continues its exploration of dark horizons. This time we seek the abyss.
We’re putting together an anthology for lovers of the unexplored depths of our planet and the universe. We are looking for stories between 2,500 and 10,000 words that dive into the dark.” The title of the anthology is to be decided. They’ve posted this open call on Instagram.
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: 2,500-10,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

Parlor Ghost Press: Spook Hollow – Tales of Ozark Horror
Parlor Ghost Press is an imprint of Watertower Hill Publishing, and they want fiction for an anthology. “What we are looking for: horror stories set in the Ozark mountains–either your own take on a story from Ozark folklore or an original tale featuring Ozark locations/atmosphere/beliefs/etc. We want all the spooks, haints, hags, and boogers. Give us the mist rising out of the hollers and the mysterious sounds from the woods, the strange lights in the sky and the distant cackle of Old Granny in her hidden shack.
We want horror, but we want it PG—no extreme horror or erotic horror, please. Just a good modern take on the venerable myths, magic, and monsters unique to the Ozark area.”
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: 3,000-6,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

Black Hare Press: Dark Moments – Ghost Ships
Black Hare Press publishes horror and dark speculative fiction; they run a themed monthly drabble challenge, titled Dark Moments, each month. For July, the theme is Ghost Ships: “we invite you to board the haunted decks of ghost ships lost to time and storm. Picture spectral vessels adrift in swirling ocean mist, crewed by the damned and desperate to lure the living into their eternal voyage. Give us your best 100-word tales—microfiction dripping with maritime dread, haunted crews, cursed treasures, or phantom calls echoing across midnight waves. Whether your ship is a tattered wreck or a vanished luxury liner, let your imagination drift into the unknown. All genres welcome, as long as your story captures the chilling spirit of the theme.” Submissions have to be exactly 100 words. They will publish 12 stories in August, from this open call.
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: 100 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.04/word
Details here. 

Undertaker Books: Horror on the Range
They want horror stories of all subgenres that take place in the old West. “From gunfights on Main Street to train robbers and cattle rustlers, we want your horrific tales from the old West!”
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

(And, Shacklebound Books is also looking for stories up to 1,000 words for a Weird West anthology, pays $0.02/word, deadline 31 July; they’re also looking for dark fairy tale drabbles of exactly 100 words, no cash payment, details of both calls are here;
— Also, Burial Books, which publishes Western and crime fiction, wants short Western short stories, no fantasy, and prefers 19^th C. setting, pays $10 for stories of 2,000-8000 words, deadline 1 August; they also have other ongoing projects; details here;
— Saddlebag Dispatches also publishes short stories,  poetry, and nonfiction articles about the West, deadline 1 August 2025, no payment mentioned, details here.)

The Reclamation Era: Redacted – What Divorced Women Aren’t Telling You
 The Reclamation Era is a Substack-based project, and they’re open for submissions for personal essays by divorced women – they want works on any topic related to your personal experience with divorce. They have detailed guidelines, including, “The Redacted weekly Substack column will feature anonymous personal essays about the author’s experience with divorce as well as shorter form stories. A selection of longer form anonymous stories will be published as a print and digital anthology in 2026.” They want writing in various lengths/formats. There is payment for successful anthology submissions, and optional payment for Substack essays, and no payment for shorter formats – see guidelines.
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: Varies
Pay: $125 for essays in the anthology
Details here and here.  

Flash Fiction Online: Regret
This magazine publishes literary and speculative flash fiction. They are currently open for regret-themed submissions. “You can’t get stuck in the past forever, but too often we don’t make space for moments of reflection about what could have been. How could we do better? Be better? Will knowing conclusions change our decisions? Regrets, both small and large, are what drive our self-improvement, especially at the beginning of a new year. And sometimes, it’s the lack of regrets that results in the greatest of consequences, throwing us down vicious cycles where nothing is ever learned or realized. (Some key words for inspiration: Melancholy, Reflection, Reconciliation, Realization, Reminiscence, Rememory, Vicious cycles, Guilt, Acceptance)”.
Deadline: 31 July 2025 for themed submissions
Length: 500-1,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.

Brink: Obsession
They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid works, translations, as well as video essays and cinepoetry. They want submissions on theobsession theme. Their general submission guidelines say, “We accept a variety of creative work from every genre and work that resists any genre. We are most interested in work that presses creative boundaries, uses more than one medium to tell a story, and both looks and feels different on the page. Additionally, we look for submissions that engage the theme of each issue alongside the idea of being on the brink.” Regarding the obsession theme, “At first glance, obsession indicates preoccupation. It gestures toward desire. Obsessions command our attention, motivate our actions, and are always top of mind. But the etymology of obsession hints at a different story. The root of the word indicates the action of besieging, or, as we might say in today’s language, sitting. When you obsess, you place yourself before something—an object, a person, an idea, a task. This posture is not passive; it is active. Your presence is an investment. Your presence indicates your desire to absorb, encompass, and command. To learn. Please note, we are not interested in stories of harassment, stalking, or unequal displays of power or abuse.”
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: Varies
Pay: $25-100
Details here and here.

Mysterion: Christian speculative fiction
They want science fiction, fantasy and horror stories that engage meaningfully with Christian themes, characters or cosmology. The stories need not teach a moral, or be close to an approved theological position, or be pro-Christian. They are especially interested in stories that show Christians from cultures beyond those of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. They also accept translations and reprints. They have two annual reading periods for fiction, January and July. Art is accepted through the year.
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: Up to 9,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here and here.

Temporal Lobe Literary: The Hippocampus Anthology – Personal Histories
Their guidelines say, “Write, capture, or draw a memoir, a flashback, a feeling. Maybe interview someone close to you; sit them down and let them speak. Tell us or show us how yours or someone else’s existence, stories, and moments have been history—something that deserves to be preserved, written down, and remembered.
How has yours or another’s story been part of something larger in a lifetime? Beyond a lifetime? In the course of many lifetimes? How has this particular piece of the past crept into the present?” They accept nonfiction, creative nonfiction, creative nonfiction poetry, and art on this theme.
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: Up to 15 pages for prose, up to 100 lines for poetry
Pay: $15
Details here.

The First Line Journal
They want fiction (any genre) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For nonfiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, the first line for the Fall issue is:
‘Her truck took the sharp turns of the mountain road with ease.’
Deadline: 1 August 2025
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international contributors – see guidelines)
Details here.

Slashic Horror Press:  Fearmoji – Queer Emoji Horror Anthology
This is a fiction anthology. “This theme is very open, but must feature emojis as the primary driving force of the narrative. Give me sentient emojis, cursed emojis, a secret combination of emojis that unlocks a demon, a serial killer whose signature is the love heart reaction, disaffected youths whose use of the shrug emoji comes back to haunt them, a coder with an emoji axe to grind… The potential here is limitless.” The editor wants “Adult queer horror body horror. I will also accept horrormance, splatterpunk, and extreme. As long as your story revolves around emojis (any emoji, I don’t care), has the body horror element, and is queer, I am in.”
Deadline: 1 August 2025
Length: 4,000–7,500 words
Pay: $25
Details here (scroll down)
(Slashic is also open for a themed novella call with a later deadline; see here.)

Starship Blunder Anthology
This is a shared-world anthology, the second one in this universe. They have detailed guidelines, including, “As soon as the Starship Wonder goes on her inaugural mission, it becomes clear to her crew that there’s nothing wonderful about the new starship. They immediately start referring to their new ship as Starship Blunder as they wonder, did the Conglomeracy commission a new starship because the fleet needed another vessel, or because they just wanted somewhere to stuff the misfit crew away from the more elite spacecraft?” About the theme, they say, “This is a shared universe anthology. Stories should be set in the Starship Blunder universe. Embrace humor, delve into deeper themes, or spin a romantic tale under the stars. Include some diverse characters and a mix of genres.”
Deadline: 1 August 2025
Length: 2,000-8,000 words
Pay: $35
Details here and here.

 Dark Waters Anthology
Dark Waters is a dark fiction literary podcast, and they are looking for stories for their third anthology. “Prompt: Whatever “dark waters” means to you – stories of trepidation, the unknown, the dangerous, the creepy, the suspenseful. Crime, horror, and noir genres preferred. All stories are welcome, but we are not particularly interested in high fantasy, cosmic horror, romance without crime/horror/noir serving as the main element, or historical pre-1940s (or thereabouts).” They are not looking for “Just a body in the water story, unless you think you have a really cool concept. Water can be incorporated, but we encourage you to think more metaphorically, rather than literal water.”
Deadline: 1 August 2025
Length: Up to 7,000 words
Pay: “up to $25, depending on length/option for contributor copy”
Details here.

Lucky Jefferson: Awake – Homecoming
Awake is a zine by Lucky Jefferson for Black writers and artists only. They want poetry, prose, and art submissions on the Homecoming theme. “”Home” is elusive for many folks in the Black diaspora. We seek to find home in our communities, in our culture, in our bodies, and in each other. Homecoming invites Black writers to reflect lovingly on the spaces, places, and people that have made them feel at home—like they belong. Whether it’s a barber shop in your neighborhood, your auntie’s kitchen table, or your favorite sweater, share a poem expressing your love and devotion. Your work does not need to follow any specific structure, but should celebrate and pay homage to your subject.” This will be a print issue.
Deadline: 1 August 2025
Length: Varies
Pay: $15-50
Details here and here (see the relevant category in Submittable).
(Lucky Jefferson has a few calls for writers open now, see their Submittable page for details.)

Splinter: First Nations Issue
Splinter is an Australia-based journal and they want submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from First Nations people for this issue.“Whether you’re Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Māori, Sámi or belong to another first peoples community, we want to hear your voice. For the First Nations issue, we are looking for writing that speaks to the weight and wonder of living as First Nations people — where past, present and future aren’t separate but walk together. … We’re interested in the fractures and the fight, the moments of stillness, the ridiculous. What does it mean to carry culture, to carry knowledge in a world that wants us to forget? What does survival feel like today — and what does joy look like in the cracks?” They publish profiles, essays, memoir, criticism, fiction, poetry, writing about writing, as well as experimental work. And, “For profiles, essays, writing about writing, and criticism, we are looking for pitches of ideas (rather than completed works). For memoir, poetry, and fiction we are looking for submission of completed works.”
Deadline: 3 August 2025
Length: Varies (see guidelines)
Pay: AUD250-900
Details here (scroll down) and here.

THEMED CONTESTS
(There are also some unthemed contests open now, including

— The Stony Brook Short Fiction Prize: For short fiction of up to 7,500 words, open to undergraduates enrolled full time in US and Canadian universities and colleges. Prize $1,000, deadline: 14 July 2025; details here.

— The FSG Writer’s Fellowship: This fellowship, from Farrar, Straus and Giroux, is a yearlong program designed to give an emerging writer from an underrepresented community additional resources to build a life around writing: funding, editorial guidance, and advice on how to forge a writing career. It is a remote opportunity for unpublished U.S. writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The prize is $15,000, deadline: 18 July 2025, details here and here.

— Faber Children’s: FAB Prize: For undiscovered BAME writers and illustrators; you can read the prize announcement for 2025 here. Entrants must be of black, Asian or minority ethnic background and UK- or Ireland-based. Entries must be text or artwork for children. Offers a worldwide publishing contract for a writer; second place £500; and other non-cash prizes for both winners, deadline: 25 July 2025, details here

— Briefly Write Poetry Prize: Open to all writers, “celebrates and rewards bold, succinct writing. We want well-crafted poems up to 10 lines. We want innovative language, strong imagery and a subtle, focused composition.” Send one poem. Submission is via a form on their website; prizes £40, £25, £15, deadline: 31 July 2025, details here.

— Granum Foundation Prizes: They’re open for the Granum Foundation Prize and the Granum Foundation Translation Prize, for works in progress, to help US-based writers complete substantive literary projects, including novels, memoirs, books of poetry, short story collections, and translations. The prize is $5,000, with up to three finalist prizes of with $500 or more each; and the Translation Prize is $1,500 or more; deadline 1 August 2025; details here. )


The H G Wells Short Story Competition
This is an international short story contest; they want short fiction of 1,500-5,000 words on this year’s theme, The Middle Ground (see FAQ). There is no fee for The Margaret and Reg Turnill Competition for young writers, i.e. for those under 21 years, and the prize for that is £1,000.
Value: £1,000
Deadline: 8 July 2025
Fee-free for: Writers under 21
Details here and here.

The Burlington Contemporary Art Writing Prize
This is a prize for an art exhibit review. “To enter the prize, entrants should submit one unpublished review of a contemporary art exhibition by the specified deadline. ‘Contemporary’ is defined as art produced since 2000. The exhibition under review can be staged anywhere in the world, but it should be current or have closed within the last six months at the date of submission.” Regarding eligibility, they say, “Entrants must have published no more than six pieces of writing in print or online, in any language or country, prior to their submission. This does not include personal blogs and websites.” Before entering, applicants are encouraged to read reviews recently published on Burlington Contemporary.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 14 July 2025
Open for: Emerging writers
Details here.

Reach Your Apex: Weird West Quick Draw
This is a Weird West flash fiction contest; they want stories of up to 1,000 words. Please see their detailed guidelines, including, “Weird western is a literary genre that fuses the gritty, sometimes brutal reality of life on the American frontier with elements of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. It’s often also called gothic western, historic fantasy or fantasy western.” Apart from the cash prize, the first place winner will have their story published in Apex Magazine, and the other two winners will have their stories published on the Reach Your Apex website.
Value: $100, $50, $25
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.

The Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest
For this contest, they have two categories: a traditional sonnet, which can be Shakespearean or Petrarchan, and a modern sonnet. Poets can enter work in one or both categories (see guidelines).
Value: $50, $30, $20
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here.

“Canne al Vento” International Literary Prize
“The Municipality of Galtellì, in collaboration with Jane Austen’s book Club Association, promotes the 2025 edition of the Galtellì “Reeds in the Wind” International Literary Prize, competition dedicated to Grazia Deledda, Nobel Prize for Literature.” They have detailed guidelines, including, “Submissions, never previously published in any form, must explore themes dear to Grazia Deledda—all found in her novel Canne al vento:
from religious sentiment to the characteristics of social classes, from the description of anthropological-cultural and environmental dimensions to the defense of identity, etc. Stories must be between 5,000 and 7,000 characters, including spaces (excluding the title).” Submissions can be in English, Italian, or Sardinian.
Value: EUR500
Deadline: 20 July 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.

Strive Publishing & Free Spirit Publishing – Black Voices in Children’s Literature 
This is a contest for US-based Black writers, and Free Spirit Publishing is an imprint of Teacher Created Materials (TCM). They want children’s stories by and about Black people. “Eligible entries will include original children’s books for ages 0–4 (50–125 words) or for ages 4–8 (300–800 words) featuring authentic, realistic Black characters and culture and focusing on one or more of the following topics: character development, self-esteem, identity, diversity, getting along with others, engaging with family and community, or other topics related to positive childhood development. Religious and fantasy themes will not be considered.”
Value: $1,000, $500, $250
Deadline: 22 July 2024
Open for: Black writers in the US
Details here and here.
(Their Submittable page also has details of their other calls currently open. Also see TCM’s Manuscript Submissions and Writing Contests tab; Free Spirit and Con Todo Press will open for a Latino Voices in Children’s Literature contest in September.)

Speculative Literature Foundation Grants
These are grants for writers of speculative literature, and they have various grants in through the year. The upcoming ones are The Diverse Writers Grant, for writers from an underrepresented and underprivileged backgrounds, pays $500, open 1-31 July; The Diverse Worlds Grant, for work that best represents diversity, regardless of the writer’s background, pays $500 also open 1-31 July. The grants have various eligibility and submission guidelines, please read them carefully before applying. Please send submissions only during the specific grant application periods.
Value: $500-1,000
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Open for: Writers of speculative literature
Details here.

Broad Ripple Review
They want literary fiction (including flash) and creative nonfiction (including memoir, lyric essay, and narrative nonfiction), up to 4,000 words. “We are drawn to voices that are confident without being showy, inventive without losing clarity, and emotionally complex without sentimentality. Whether traditional or experimental, each piece should reflect serious attention to craft and leave a lasting emotional or intellectual impression.” And, “we are not the home for genre fiction, speculative work, or horror unless those elements are secondary to the language and interior concerns of the piece.” They are reading submissions for their first issue, to be launched in Fall 2025. They will award $200 each to one piece of fiction and one of nonfiction, and all submissions to the magazine will be considered for this prize.
Value: $200 each for fiction and nonfiction
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here and here. 

Sisters in Crime: Pride Award for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers
This is a grant for an emerging writer in the LGBTQIA+ community. It is for an unpublished work of crime fiction, aimed at readers from children’s chapter books through adults. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress of 2,500 to 5,000 words. An unpublished writer is preferred, but writers with publication of not more than 10 pieces of short fiction and/or up to 2 self-published or traditionally published books are also eligible. Also, winners and any runners-ups who wish to maintain their anonymity, may do so, or they may choose to select a pen name for announcements. Please note, you have to register/log in to access the submission portal.
Value: $2,000
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Open for: Unpublished/emerging LGBTQIA+ writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
(See all of Sisters in Crime grants/awards here.)
 

(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:

— The Forum Essay Prize: Anniversaries: This is an essay prize from Oxford Academic / Oxford University Press and is open to all researchers, whether early-career or established, on the theme of Anniversaries. They have detailed guidelines, including, “To mark the 60th anniversary of Forum for Modern Language Studies, we are looking for … essays that use academic research to pursue innovative questions. … The topic may be addressed from the perspective of any of the literatures and cultures (including literary linguistics, translation and comparative approaches) normally covered by the journal: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Please note that material of a predominantly social science or sociological nature falls outside our scope. We are seeking submissions that focus on literature, film, art or other cultural outputs that relate to the subject of anniversaries, be that through engaging with the theme more broadly, or with regard to specific anniversaries as they relate to the discipline(s) covered by Forum for Modern Language Studies.” The winning essay will also get published in an issue of Forum for Modern Language Studies. The prize is £500, and the deadline is 15 August 2025. Details here.

— Lucky Jefferson Poetry & Prose Contest: Anyone over the age of 10 is free to submit; poetry up to 14 lines or prose up to 1,500 words. There will be two winners, one for poetry and one for prose, and the prizes are $100 each. Please note, apart from the winners’ work, other writers’ work will also be published by them digitally in The 365 Collection, and there will be no compensation. The deadline is 17 August 2025. Details here and here – see the relevant category in Submittable.

— Amazon: Kindle Storyteller Award: This is an international award for those who publish their work through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing in English in any genre. Entrants must make the book available for sale in both digital and print versions through KDP between 1^st May 2025 and 31^st August 2025. The book must be at least 24 pages long, and can have a maximum of 2 co-authors. Please note, the books must be published through their KDP Select program (be only available on Amazon), and readers play a significant role in winner selection (see Terms & Conditions – which also lists ineligible countries/nationalities – and General Competition Questions / FAQ). The book can have up to two co-authors. The prize is £20,000, and the deadline is 31 August 2025. Details here.

— The Academy for Teachers – Stories Out of School Flash Fiction Contest: They want honest, unsentimental stories, of 6-499 words, about teachers and schools. The contest is open to all writers, whether or not they are a teacher. The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher. Sentimentality is discouraged and education jargon is forbidden. The prize is $1,000, and publication in A Public Space. The deadline is 7 September 2025. Details here and here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

Mslexia: Blue
They accept submissions from women-identified authors only (see Eligibility here), of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, pitches, and fun projects. For fiction and poetry, they want work on their showcase themes: the upcoming theme is Blue. They also have interesting sections in each genre, Some of their submission sections are for subscribers only, and a few are occasionally closed, but many of them are open to all writers. Their deadlines vary, please check the guidelines for details.
Deadline: 9 June 2025 for the Blue theme
Length: Varies (see guidelines)
Pay: Start at £30 (see here, under Payment)
Details here (scroll down and click on various sections/genres).

Vellum Mortis: Gods of the Gutter
Vellum Mortis is a project of Crystal Lake Publishing. They publish a prompt each month and invite readers to send a flash fiction submission as response. For June, the theme is Gods of the Gutter. They want “Grungy takes on mythology, saints, or fallen angels.”
Deadline: 10 June 2025
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $5
Details here.

Thread Litmag: Numerical
Thread is an alternative magazine from ChillSubs – it is hosted entirely on social media, and they publish micro fiction and poetry. They’re reading submissions on the ‘Numerical’ theme – see the theme details here. They accept submissions of 500 characters (not words) or fewer; send them an Instagram direct message, or reply to their submissions call on Threads.
Deadline: 13 June 2025
Length: Up to 500 characters
Pay: $85
Details here and here.

Baffling Magazine: mecha vs kaiju
Their tagline is, ‘speculative flash fiction with a queer bent’. Their general guidelines say, “We are looking for speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want aro/ace stories. We want indefinable stories. We welcome weird, slipstream, and interstitial writing.” They’re accepting submissions on the mecha vs kaiju theme, as well as unthemed submissions. Baffling Magazine is a project of Neon Hemlock Press. 
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.

(Neon Hemlock, which publishes queer speculative fiction, will open for their novella series submissions from June 15 to 30 2025 for trans women and writers of color only, and then October 15-30 2025 from all writers; see the announcement here.)

The Quarter(ly): What We Do With the Ashes
They want fiction, poetry, art, graphic stories, as well as analysis/interviews/reviews. Their upcoming theme is, What We Do With the Ashes. Please note, they pay $5 for contributions but in some instances, for shorter works, payment is a digital contributor copy only (see guidelines).
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: No length guidelines for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: See above
Details here

Eye to the Telescope: Birds
They’re reading speculative poetry on the birds theme. “The endless diversity of birds is one of the great marvels of our world. Migration patterns, flight mechanics, song, life cycle, and more—it’s a diverse pool to draw from, with deeper potential with the addition of speculative layers.
Guest Editor Maria Schrater has been fascinated by birds since she was a child, learning to imitate their calls and identify local species just by a flash of color. She has rescued baby birds, carefully viewed delicate nests, and watched majestic waterfowl take flight. … Schrater adores out-of-the-box forms. You could even send a poem shaped as a bird. If you pick a traditional form, please name the form in the cover letter so it can be evaluated with that in mind. A generous interpretation will be applied to the definition of bird, but this call is not intended to include dinosaurs unless modern birds are also discussed.” They also accept translations. Submission is via a form. Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.04/word (up to $25)
Details here.

100-Foot Crow: Train
They want speculative fiction drabbles, of exactly 100 words, on the Train theme. “We will allow one themed and one un-themed submission per writer. The current theme is TRAIN. All definitions of “train” work. Train your zebra, crash the train, step on her train, etc.” Submission is via a form. See the kind of stories they do not want, and they also list their hard sells.
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: 100 words
Pay: $8
Details here.

Plott Hound Magazine
This is “An e-zine for speculative fiction starring animals”. They also accept speculative poetry and essays on these themes. They want
“-Stories with anthropomorphized animals as protagonists
-Animal-centric speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror)
-Underrepresented voices (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent) that engage with animal myths, tales, and futures
-Stories with uncommonly written about animals as protagonists-Stories that dig deep into the senses and experience of animals
-Stories that explore the cultures and societies of animals, not just cultures and societies with animals. Think of rabbit language and warren infrastructure in Watership Down, or the clans and warrior code of feral cats in Warriors.” They also accept translations. They are open once a quarter / season.
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction (prefer 3,000-4,000 words), up to 5 poems, 1,000-2,500 words for nonfiction
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $50 for poems, $100 for nonfiction
Details here and here.

Underland Press: Kozy Krampus – The Cosmic Horror of the Holiday Sweater
This is a cosmic horror fiction and poetry anthology; they will “explore the cosmic horror inherent in the holiday season with Kozy Krampus, a collection of stories merry and monstrous, cozy and cosmic. The gothic nightmares and horrific haunts of our forebears persist in our fever-fueled dreams. Some monsters are never vanquished; they merely find new shapes. Slip into the dark shadows behind the million flickering holiday lights. Stare down the prehistoric fruit log in which lurks something truly eldritch and batrachian. Hark to the songs sung after midnight by carolers with extra-long tongues and extra-sharp teeth. This is the holiday season with the masks ripped off. Remember: not all gifts are good, and if you open it, you have to keep it . . .” They will soon open for submissions.
Reading period: 15^th t0 30^th June 2025
Length: A few lines for poetry, up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.

IHRAM Publishes: Two themes
They’re open for two anthologies with upcoming deadlines: Today’s Pressured Youth (will amplify youth voices; submissions open to writers of all ages, deadline extended to 21^st June 2025), and America’s Slide Toward Authoritarianism, deadline 1^st July 2025. Please see the guidelines for details on the themes. They accept fiction, essays, poetry, and visual art.
Deadlines: See above
Length: Up to 2,500 words for prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: $50
Details here.

(And, Memezine is open for a Kakistocracy-themed call until 21^st June. They will pay approximately $20 – see guidelines. Details here.)

Reckoning: It Was Paradise
Reckoning is an annual magazine that publishes speculative works on environmental justice. Apart from their regular submissions (with a later deadline and a different theme), they’re also accepting works for a special theme, It Was Paradise. For this theme, they say, “In a world devastated by catastrophes, we need stories that confront these horrors. This is all out war on the planet, on life itself. War and conflict as viewed through the lens of environmental justice, are the themes for this volume of Reckoning. Probe into the heart of extinction, genocide, and climate crisis. Expose the exploitation of the earth. Show us how the world could be on the other side. Send us your stories of violence, imperialism, fascism, and resistance, of destruction, survival, and of triumph. Send us your creative writing about war and environmental justice. It Was Paradise is open for submissions now through the summer solstice, June 22, 2025, with tentative release scheduled for October. … As always, we’re seeking submissions from Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent, imprisoned, impoverished, and otherwise marginalized human beings from everywhere, but in particular for this issue, we will be prioritizing work by people with lived experience of war and conflict.”
Deadline: 22 June 2025
Length: Varies
Pay: $0.15/word for prose, $75/page for poetry and art
Details here (theme) and here.
(Apart from the above issue, Reckoning is also accepting regular submissions for their 10^th issue themed around communication, deadline 22nd September 2025.)

Griffith Review: Best Dressed
This magazine accepts work mostly from Australian writers, and also some international submissions. They are open for poetry on the Best Dressed theme for their next print issue – do not send work in other genres. “No matter how much or how little you care about what you wear, your sartorial choices are inextricably stitched into your social, cultural and personal identities. Clothing not only dictates how we define ourselves and relate to others – throughout history, it’s also been a mode of expression, resistance, revolution and disruption. Put on your Sunday best for this edition of Griffith Review, which goes behind the seams to unpick the many paradoxes of fashion.”
Deadline: 22 June 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 4 poems
Pay: AUD200/poem
Details here and here.

Shooter Literary Magazine: Sweet Hereafter
They want submissions on the ‘Sweet Hereafter’ theme. “We’re looking for stories, essays, memoir and poetry to do with afterlives: life after death, life after work, life after having a baby, life after divorce… Anything to do with what follows a major change in life, when someone or something ends and significant adjustment occurs. Pieces that treat heavy subject matter – grief, heartbreak, loss, bereavement, ageing, death – with a light or humorous touch would be especially welcome. A positive (or wild, or bizarre, or comic) spin on what comes after a difficult ending or change would be in keeping with both parts of the theme.”
Deadline: 22 June 2025
Length: 2,000-6,000 words for short prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: £25 for short prose, and £5 for flash prose and poetry
Details here.

Sliced Up Press: Saturday Mourning Television
This is a fiction and poetry anthology. They want “horror fiction inspired by early morning kids TV for our next anthology, Saturday Mourning Television. Tune us in to something scary based on any decade you like: the educational/bizarre 1960’s & 70’s, the advert-packed 80’s, the radical 90’s, the wayward & wacky 2000’s or anything beyond. Even web-based entertainment is fair game. And don’t limit yourself to tales involving kids, what about parents, or performers & hosts, workers behind the scenes, even animated creations.” All submissions must be in the horror genre. Bizarro, splatterpunk and extreme horror are welcome. Preference will be given to submissions from LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC authors.Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 1,000-4,000 words for prose, no length guidelines for poetry
Pay: $35
Details here.

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker – Mina Harker
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about the magazine here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on Mina Harker. “Mina is teacher, a wife, and the heart and the hero of the novel. Her spirit and intelligence keep her resilient even when darkness closes in. But who is Mina beneath the surface? Did her experiences leave her haunted? How did her connection to Dracula affect her view of the world or her family? Whether it’s before, during, or after the events of the novel, let’s explore her strength, her struggles, and her secrets.” They also say, “We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines – unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting.”
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

Inked in Gray: Stellar Parallax – Human Hope In Grimdark Worlds
This is a fiction anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Let’s not sugarcoat it — things are rough, and we don’t know what the next year or even month will bring. This is why we need stories in which hope shines through the darkness. Give us your grimdark in space, in a near-future dystopia, in a far-future galaxy, or in a sci-fi version of the present day. This anthology will feature gritty sci-fi in which the personal message is hopeful while the external world is dark. … STELLAR PARALLAX will sit at the place where seemingly impossible circumstances meet the inventiveness of human agency”. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 2,000-7,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

Infernal Museum: Galactic Mindsea Empire – Bioids
This is a shared-world anthology. Infernal Museum only publishes work set in the Galactic Mindsea Empire (get an overview about the Empire here). They want submissions on the Bioids theme for the current anthology. “The Empire has already suffered one war over the status of bioids, but will the matter ever truly be settled? Bioids mimic living beings so perfectly that, if their warning marks are removed, no one except a mindsea can spot one without sophisticated scientific testing. Bioids are designed to be without self-will, but a mutation or a shifty bioid-maker could change that…”
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: Up to 10,000 words
Pay: $0.04/word
Details here.

The New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column of the New York Times. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, March through June, and September through December. Writers are paid. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 1,500-1,700 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
(Also see their Tiny Love Stories column; these are also personal essays similar in theme to Modern Love, but much shorter, of 100 words.) 

Zombies Need Brains: Skull x Bones Anthology
This is a speculative fiction anthology. “Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It’s time to plunder! Pirates have enchanted and haunted readers for generations, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to the ill-fated Firefly. Whether it’s Blackbeard, Mal, or Han Solo, we love our swashbucklers, our One-Eyed Willies, and our scruffy-looking nerfherders. In SKULL X BONES, we want writers to give us their best science fiction or fantasy pirates, whether they be on the sailing ships of the deep wide ocean or the spaceships of the black void!” Please note, the Kickstarter for this project has been funded.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.

Thema: I Wish I’d Said That
They publish three themed issues a year. They accept short stories, essays, poetry, and art. Their upcoming theme is ‘I Wish I’d Said That, and the deadline is 1 July 2025; they have other themes too, with other deadlines. They also accept reprints. Only writers outside of the US can submit by email, US-based writers have to post their submissions.
Deadline: 1 July 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 20 pages for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $10-25
Details here.

Sally Port Magazine: Not (quite) of this world…
They accept fantasy fiction only – for a general, as well as mid-grade and YA audiences. You can read about them here. Their upcoming theme is ‘Not (quite) of this world…’ for publishing in October 2025. Though there is no deadline given, they do say decisions for this issue will be made in early June 2025.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Varies (see Fabulous Fantasy Fiction section here.)
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here, here, here, and here.

The Winged Moon: Biophilia
Their general guidelines say, “we love daring and experimental writing that seeks to explore the intersections of the human experience, ecology, metaphysics, spirituality and folklore. We embrace work which is transcendent in quality, which pays tribute to our origins and heritage, whilst also having a meaningful stake in contemporary world concerns. We hope to showcase work which speaks from a place of embodiment – surreal writing and artworks which reimagine our complex relationships with the world, pushing against conventional boundaries of knowledge and philosophy. We also seek to publish work with a strong sense of place, that surveys the landscapes of belonging and displacement.” Regarding genre, they’re reading poetry and prose poetry submissions for their Biophilia theme, according to their submission form. You can read their extensive guidelines on the theme here.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 30 lines for poetry, up to 300 words for prose poetry
Pay: €20 (see here)
Details here, here, and here.

Room Magazine: Science
This Canadian magazine accepts work by persons of marginalized genders only, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender),  transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They want submissions on the Science theme. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Science is both a lexicon for what we know and a field of exploration for what we don’t know yet. In Room Magazine’s Science, as in science, we will savour curiosity, question orthodoxy, dig into hidden histories and understudied areas, and titrate, examine, hypothesize, collaborate, queer, and dream our way to wilder futures. How do we come about and decide what is knowledge? What knowledge is accessible, credible/sanctioned, or forbidden? What pseudo-sciences shaped society in the past, and are doing so now? What does it mean to have nonhuman teachers during the Anthropocene?” They have separate submission categories for Canadian and international writers. They are open now, and will close by category as they reach their submission quota.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 3,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: CAD50-200 for writing
Details here and here.

Amazing Stories: Tales of Galactic Pest Control
This is a speculative fiction anthology from Amazing Stories magazine. “We’re seeking original short stories that explore the theme of pest control in creative, unexpected, and engaging ways. However, don’t be misled by the title—this is not a shared-universe project, nor does your story have to be set in space or on an alien world. Your tale can take place anywhere—on a starship, in a medieval village, deep in the jungle, or even within the microcosm of a single human body. The crucial element is the struggle against some form of infestation, nuisance, or destructive force.
Your protagonist might be a seasoned exterminator, a desperate homeowner battling an alien infestation, or even the pest itself, trying to survive against overwhelming odds. We welcome a wide range of tones, from serious and thought-provoking explorations of ethical dilemmas to lighthearted, comedic takes on interstellar vermin problems. Whether your story leans toward hard science fiction, space opera, fantasy, horror, or slipstream, as long as it aligns with the pest control theme, we want to see it!”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Unspecified
Pay: A minimum of $100
Details here.
(Amazing Stories also publishes unthemed science fiction stories and poetry weekly online, and pays $10-20 for these – details here. The print magazine is currently on hiatus.)

THEMED CONTESTS
(There are also some non-themed contests open now, including:

— BBC World Service’s International Audio Drama Competition for writers from outside the UK to use audio drama to tell stories for an international audience; there are two categories: English as a First Language and English as a Second Language. Winners will receive £2,500, and be invited to attend an award ceremony in the UK in 2026; deadline 4 June 2025, details here, here, and here.

— Associates of the Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence for US writers, for an emerging children’s/YA writer in many formats/genres (see guidelines); the year-long fellowship also entails working at the library; prize $70,000, can request an additional $2,500 for training or hiring a professional (see guidelines); use of a private office (see guidelines), deadline 6 June 2025, details here and here.

— Anne Brown Essay Prize, an essay prize for Scottish writers, prize £1,500, deadline: 6 June 2025, details here.

— The Norton Writer’s Prize, a nonfiction prize for undergraduates in the US, who are enrolled in an accredited 2- or 4-year college or university (see guidelines), three prizes of $1,000 each, deadline: 15 June 2025, details here (you can download rules).

–– Raleigh Review Flash Fiction Prize for those in the US, for stories up to 1,000 words, fee-free option available through 30 June 2025, prize $300 and runners-up receive $15, details here and here.

— Drue Heinz Literature Prize, for previously published writers, for a short story collection, or two or more novellas. Translations eligible if done by the author. Prize $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press under its standard contract, deadline: 30 June 2025, details here, here, and  here.

— PEN America: US Writers Aid Initiative for US writers and journalists, to help with an emergency situation, deadline 1 July 2025, details here.

— The International Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation: Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award, for non-American TV scriptwriters under age 30, for a half-hour to one-hour TV drama script; entries from Russia are ineligible this year. Winner gets $2,500 and invited to take part in the Emmy Awards gala in New York, deadline: 1 July 2025, details here.

— The Orchards Poetry Journal’s Grantchester Award. In each issue, two poems will be eligible for The Grantchester Award. They don’t have a deadline listed, but they do say, “We are now OPEN for submissions for the Summer 2025 issue. The journal is released biannually (usually in July and December), in print and online.” Prizes $50, $30; details here.)

Fraser Institute Student Essay Contest
This is for Canadian students. For this year’s essay contest, the theme is, “What would the Essential Scholars say about Canadian economic prosperity today?” (See their guidelines for details). Essays should be 1,000-1,500 words. The contest is open for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students studying in Canada and Canadian students studying abroad.
Value: Prizes ranging from CAD1,500 to CAD250 each in high school, undergraduate, and graduate categories
Deadline: 5 June 2025
Open for: Canadian students
Details here (download rules and FAQ) and here.

Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest
This is for junior and senior division (11-14 and 15-18) students worldwide. The theme for this ocean awareness contest is Connections to Nature: Looking Inside, Going Outside (see guidelines). There are various categories: Visual Art (handcrafted and digital); Poetry & Spoken Word; Creative Writing; Film; Performing Arts: Music & Dance; and Interactive & Multimedia. Please also see their various special awards, including  (but not limited to) the We All Rise Prize – five prizes of $500 each, in each category – for young underrepresented writers in the US.
Value: Awards ranging from $1,000 to $100 in each category; various special prizes (see here)
Deadline: 9 June 2025
Open for: All students ages 11-18
Details here.
(They also have a True Blue Fellowship – where they provide funding and mentorship for emerging youth creative leaders worldwide, ages 13-24, to utilize creative arts as the primary method for awareness and/or action; the awards are $2,500 each, deadline is 1 September, details here and here.) 

Preservation Foundation Contest: General nonfiction
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). Their upcoming deadline is for the general nonfictioncategory: “Any appropriate nonfiction topic is eligible. Stories must be true, not semi-fictional accounts. So-called “creative nonfiction” will not be considered.” Entries should be 1,000-5,000 words. Please note, they want all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, to be on their website for as long as the foundation exists (see guidelines). Also see contests in other genres, which have deadlines later in the year. 
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here (scroll down).

The Writers College: My Writing Journey Competition
This is an international contest, open to all writers. They want a 600-word essay on the theme, The worst writing mistake I’ve ever made.
Value: NZ$200 (R2000 or £100)
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.

The Writers College: Short Story Competition
This is a short fiction contest for emerging writers (open to unpublished writers or those with fewer than four publications in any genre, fiction or non-fiction, from any country), and the theme is All the things we didn’t learn. Send a story of up to 2,000 words. Writers are free to interpret the theme as they like; the exact phrase “All the things we didn’t learn” must appear somewhere in the story; and writers must create their own title. They have an early bird deadline at end-June, for which there is no entry fee; if submitting later, there is an entry fee attached.
Value: NZ1,000, NZ500, NZ250
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: Unpublished / emerging writers
Details here.

Last Stanza Poetry Journal
They want poetry on the Conversations theme. “Conversations, painful or joyful discussions, debates, gossip, pillow talks, or conversations you’ve always wished you could have had.” And, a single $100 award will be given for an outstanding poem. Poems can be any style; they prefer non-rhyming. Send up to 3 poems.
Value: $100
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here. 

Lee & Low Books: New Voices Award  
This award is for writers of color and Native nations who are residents of the US, and have not previously had a children’s picture book published. The work should address the needs of children of color and Native nations, aged 5-12, by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to non-traditional family structures, gender identity, or disabilities may also be included. Manuscripts can be fiction, narrative non-fiction or poetry. Only stories with human protagonists will be considered. “New Voices Award winners receive a standard publication contract, including Lee & Low Books’s basic royalties and an advance in the amount of $5,000. Winners are also given close publishing mentorship as they work to develop their first book for publication.”  
Value: $5,000 advance, mentorship
Deadline: 30 June 2025 
Open for: US writers of color and Native nations 
Details here (also click on the Rules and FAQ tabs) and submit here.

The BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest for Caribbean Writers
This is a short story contest for Caribbean-descended writers, by Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF). For 2025, they say, “This year’s BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest seeks new fiction that speaks to the urgent need for grounding and healing. Whether it is a tale of migration and return, an act of quiet rebellion, an ancestral recipe passed through generations, a rewilding of grief, or the reclaiming of forbidden memory, we are calling for stories that prescribe survival, illuminate resilience, and offer prayers for what endures.” There are two categories, with different eligibility requirements:
— The BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize is open to unpublished writers of Caribbean heritage. Self-published writers may apply. This prize seeks to unearth hidden storytellers in the United States and Canada; Details here and here; and
— BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean is open exclusively to Caribbean writers of all levels who reside and work in the Caribbean or are on temporary assignment overseas.
Writers should send short stories of up to 3,000 words. Details here and here.
Prizes: $1,750 each
Deadline: 1 July 2025
Open for: See above
Details here.

Richard J. Margolis Award
The award is for non-fiction writers of social justice journalism. It is for a promising new journalist or essayist whose work combines warmth, humour, wisdom and concern with social justice. Applications should include 2-3 non-fiction writing samples, up to 30 pages. At least one sample should be non-memoir material. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets residency at Blue Mountain Centre artists’ colony.
Value: $5,000, residency; $1,000 for runners-up
Deadline: 1 July 2025
Open for: Non-fiction writers of social justice journalism
Details here and here.

Hubert Butler Essay Prize
This is a themed essay contest, of up to 3,000 words, for writers who are UK or European Union citizens. “The Hubert Butler Essay Prize is intended to encourage the art of essay-writing with a European dimension and to expand interest in Butler’s work. … The subject for the 2025 essay prize is: ‘‘Men must endure / Their going hence, even as their coming hither’ – King Lear.  Have we no more active rights over life, birth and death?’“
Value: €1,500; two second prizes of €500 each
Deadline: 4 July 2025
Open for: UK or EU citizens
Details here – also download the entry form.

(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:– The H G Wells Short Story Competition: This is an international short story contest; they want short fiction of 1,500-5,000 words on this year’s theme, The Middle Ground (see FAQ). There is no fee for The Margaret and Reg Turnill Competition for young writers, i.e. for those under 21 years, and the prize for that is £1,000. The deadline is 8 July 2025. Details here and here.

–Yale Drama Series – David Charles Horn Prize: This international contest is for an full-length play in English, of at least 65 pages, and is meant for emerging playwrights. Translations, musicals, adaptations, and children’s plays are not accepted. Apart from a cash prize, there will be publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event. The prize is $10,000, and the submission period opens on 15^th June and closes 8^th September 2025. Details here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here

They accept other genres also, like fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translations. Some of the magazines pay writers. Many, but not all, of them are open for submissions now.

Harpy Hybrid Review
Their guidelines say, “Harpy Hybrid Review (HHR) exists to celebrate and showcase hybrid works in all their varied forms: poetry, songs, translations, multilingual/bilingual work, flash/micro fiction, creative nonfiction, videos, collaborations, erasures/found poetry, ekphrastic work and visual arts including comics and broadsides.” They also accept reprints. Details here.  

Procrastinating Writers United
“Join us for our 2025 mini-digital-publication THE YELLING CONTINUES, a cacophonous collection of creativity in a small package! … Theme: NOISE. Submitted work titles will be styled in ALL CAPS. (NOISE is open to interpretation; let us know how your work fits the theme!)” They want “Artwork 300 dpi (illustration/comics/something else?!)
Poetry up to 5 formatted pages (rhyming/nonrhyming/weird format/etc.)
Prose up to 8,000 words (fiction/nonfiction/creative nonfiction/lists/almost anything!)
Other up to 5 formatted pages (in case you have something hybrid to share)”. The deadline is 30 June 2025. Details here.
 

Whiptail
They used to publish only single-line poetry. However, “Beginning in 2025, we will be moving to a mixed-genre format to include single-line poems, concrete poems, sequences, multi-ku, text hybrids (haibun, tanka prose, and other mixed genres), visual hybrids (haiga, shahai, vispo, etc.), and visual art.” Their next submission period is October 21^st to 27^th 2025. Do not send work outside the reading period. Details here.

The Cincinnati Review
Submissions for their miCRo series are usually open on an ongoing basis, with some exceptions. This is their weekly online flash feature; fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid. And, submissions for the print magazine usually open thrice yearly, for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry – in May, September, and December. Submissions open at the beginning of these months, and close when the submission cap is reached. See the editor preferences here. Rates are $25 for miCRo, and $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry for the print magazine. Details here and here. 

The Orange & Bee
This is an Australian Substack-based magazine, and they accept work related to fairy tales. They want fiction, poetry, and hybrid works “that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales. We are interested in works that stretch, expand, test, subvert, and challenge the fairy-tale tradition.
We are interested in works that are entertaining, but also in works that matter: that is, in works that are both pleasurable to read and thought-provoking.
We are interested in works in which the relationship between your writing and the fairy-tale tradition is complex and thoughtful. Works that—ideally, though this is a Big Ask—open up our hearts and minds, offering us a new way to think or feel about the fairy-tale tradition as well as broader themes and issues.” They are especially interested in diverse perspectives. Send up to 1,000 words for flash fiction, up to 4,000 words for short fiction/non-fiction, up to 50 lines for poetry. They pay $80 for flash fiction, $0.08/word for short fiction, $50 for poetry. Their next reading period is 1^st to 14^th July 2025. Details here and here.

Bending Genres
“We like blending genres, hybrid writing, blurred lines.” They publish fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and like work in all categories that blends genres. Send up to 1,000 words for fiction, up to 1,500 words for nonfiction, or up to 3 poems. Details here.

Backwards Trajectory
The magazine publishes “bite sized artifacts.” “Send us a drawing, a photograph, a piece of flash, a poem, a receipt, a list, a matchbook, an outline for a five paragraph essay on photosynthesis, whatever you  have lying around, send us your dusty masterpieces you’ve been neglecting for donkeys years.” They publish prose, poetry, visual arts, and found objects. They want works up to 200 words. Details here.

Club Plum
For hybrid submissions, they say, “Send genre-bending and language-bending works up to 3,000 words. We like strange things.” They also accept creative nonfiction (“Send flash, segmented, braided, hermit crab, hybrid and beautiful essays. Send micro-nonfiction. Send hard-to-classify short pieces.”), prose poetry, flash fiction, and art. Details here.

SmokeLong Quarterly
They accept submissions for flash narratives – fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid, between fiction and nonfiction of up to 1,000 words. Please see guidelines for the kind of work they like. They also accept reviews of flash collections, essays on craft, and articles on teaching flash for their blog, though there’s no payment for these. Pay is $100 per narrative/$150 with audio. Details here and here.
(SmokeLong is also open for a special call – dark fantasy and psychological thriller stories in literary prose, and the deadline for that is mid-August).

elsewhere
They want unlineated work, less than 1,000 words. “elsewhere cares only about the line / no line. We want short prose works (flash fiction, prose poetry, nonfiction) that cross, blur, and/or mutilate genre.” They accept fee-free as well as tip-jar submissions. Details here.

Harbor Editions
The press offers fee-free submissions to BIPOC writers and previous finalists for their Harbor Editions – 2025 Hybrid Chapbook Reading Period – “We define hybrid as a collection that combines genres or defies classification.  We will consider books that incorporate art.  Chapbooks should be around 20-50 pages.”; the deadline for this call is 31 May; they’re also accepting fee-free submissions from BIPOC authors and previous finalists for a micro chapbook poetry contest, prize $200, and the deadline for the contest is 31 July 2025; see the relevant categories in Submittable for details. Submissions in other categories have a submission fee attached.

Pine Hills Review
They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. Hybrid and experimental works are especially encouraged. They’re currently reading submissions for a Mall-themed special feature, deadline 31 May 2025, details here; see their general guidelines here.

Brink
They are “dedicated to publishing hybrid, cross-genre work of both emerging and established creatives who often reside outside traditional artistic disciplines. … Hybrid writing often includes multiple mediums such as visual and written elements that together accomplish a result impossible to achieve alone. Text-based hybrid writing harnesses form and content in singular ways to create dynamic work primed to offer new perspectives, voices, and ideas that prioritize the combination of multiple literary and artistic elements to produce a readable, engaging piece of work.” And, “we accept a variety of creative work … But our hearts beat strongest for hybrid work. We are interested in work that presses boundaries by using more than one medium to tell a story; work that looks and feels different on the page. Additionally, we look for submissions that engage the issue’s theme and the notion of being on the brink.” They will next open in July, and will read on the Obsession theme. Their Submittable will open during the reading period. They pay $25-100. Details here and here. 

Chestnut Review
They have fee-free submissions of poetry, flash, and art, and also offer fee-free submissions of longer prose to Black and Indigenous writers. Also, “If you have work that doesn’t fit neatly into the below categories, that doesn’t mean we won’t want to see it. Choose the most appropriate and include a note—we’ll figure it out.” Contributors are paid $120. They read throughout the year, with cut-off dates for issues. Deadline for the Autumn issue is 30^th June 2025. Details here.

Mslexia
They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, articles, and fun stuff by women. They ask for some hybrid submissions too, including Bear necessities in the fun section – “Tell us about an object, ritual or creature that helps with your writing: e.g. teddy, terrier or tea in your lucky mug. Send a colour photo of your ‘necessity’, plus up to 50 words of explanation.” Some sections are only open to subscribers, but not all. A few calls are themed, and deadlines vary. Fees start at £30 for most pieces, and some pieces are unpaid (see here). Details here.

Taco Bell Quarterly
This magazine publishes many genres and sub-genres including hybrid autofiction, and hard-to-define pieces. “Taco Bell Quarterly seeks literary/creative essays, short stories, fiction/prose, poems, comics, art, one act plays, fever dreams, multimedia, stupid status updates, criticisms, manifestos, recipes and anything else that explore any and all elements of Taco Bell. Or not. Shoehorn a chalupa in your short story. Maybe we’ll love it. An elegy for the discontinued menu items? Fine. An experimental essay about marine biology and the XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito? Awesome. … We lean towards pieces that are queer and center their pain/joy in a Taco Bell.” They will stay open till end-July, or until their submission cap is met, whichever is earlier; their Submittable portal will remain open during the reading period. Send 500-2,500 words for prose; they pay $150. Details here and here.

The Poet Heroic
“We believe poetry can be words, photography collections, tarot decks, paintings, podcasts, secret envelopes, books hiding within books, crystal grids, drag queens, classical music, cookbooks and recipes, and quiet affirmations whispered into the dark.
Submissions are always open and previously published pieces are welcome.” They accept submissions for Seashore & Folklore Magazine, the Poet Heroic Poem of the Week, and The Poet Heroic Podcast. Details here and here.

Foglifter
They want work from LGBTQ+ writers only – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, hybrid works, drama, and art. “Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart.” They accept up to 7,500 words for prose, 3-5 poems, up to 20 pages of drama or hybrid works, as well as art and media. They pay $50. Also see their ‘Writers In Need’ funds for and by contributors, on their guidelines page. They’ll reopen for written submissions on 1^st September; at the time of writing, they were open for visual art and media. Details here and here.

Mulberry Literary
They publish art, prose, poetry, and everything in-between. All works accepted for publication during their general reading period will also automatically be entered for their Fresh Voices Award, with a cash award of $20 in each category; “The award is open to submissions of art, prose, poetry, and everything in-between. … there will be one winner in each of our three categories: prose, poetry, and art. (Hybrid work, visual work, audio, and everything in-between will be considered for each category.)”. Please note, you have to fill out a form on the website as well as email the submission during the reading period for general submissions (1^st June to 14^th July 2025). Details here.

Diode
They welcome all types of poetry including narrative experimental, visual, found and erasure poetry. Send 3-5 poems. They also accept poetry in translation, and collaborative poems, as well as book reviews, interviews, and essays on poetics. Details here.

Exist Otherwise
This journal is interested in work about identity, gender, trauma & recovery, as well as intuition & dreams. They’re currently accepting work on the theme, Soldier Without a Name. They accept “any kind of written work: poetry, prose, essays, fiction, creative nonfiction, scripts, hybrid, experimental writing, whatever.” They pay $15 for works up to 1,000 words. The deadline is 31 May 2025 (see their editorial calendar here). Details here (general guidelines), here (theme), here (editorial calendar), here (submission form).

Lilomul
This is a new journal, and they’re reading for their first issue. Their tagline is, Art. Memory. Resistance. “We accept poetry, hybrid works, personal essays, fragments, diary entries, short fiction, experimental prose, or visual pieces (photography, digital art, scanned analogue work, collage, handwritten work).” And, they’re drawn to work that is “- Rooted in identity, memory, body, and struggle
– Voiced from the margins– emotionally, politically, structurally
– Tender and unflinching– we like soft rage, raw mourning, quiet revolution
– Non-traditional in format or feeling– format-bending, margin scribbled, unlabeled, unusual”. Send up to 3 poems or 2 short pieces (max 1,500 words each), or visual submissions. The theme for their first issue is She and I, Together We Shall; see the issue theme here. They also say in their general guidelines, “This is a rolling journal– so if we love your work but it does not fit this theme, we may hold it for a future issue.” The deadline is 1^st July 2025. Their detailed general guidelines are here.

Ruby
They publish “short-form food narratives that strive for voice, artistry, and character.” Send creative nonfiction, fiction, or hybrid forms, of up to 1,000 words. “Like language, food is interpretable and symbolic; it serves to make meaning as narrative. When we describe what we eat—how we prepare and experience it, where we obtain it, how we nourish ourselves and others, the spaces in which we eat, and how we share food—or don’t—we reveal who we and our characters are.” Watch for their next submission period. Details here and here.

ST((O))NE[D]!
“With the Dadaist (1919) and Surrealist (1924) Manifestoes published about 100 years ago, we want to celebrate the history and art with a magazine (read: collaborative evolving manifesto) of our own. Because these once radical experimentations in literature have been folded into the curriculum of academia we wonder where is the new, subversive revolution of the mind? Where is the nonconformist art and writing? What depths of the subconscious have we yet to explore?  … Please send us up to three (3) pages of writing. Up to ten (10) images of artwork/photography. Send us your strange, grotesque, avant-garde, heavily experimental. Send us your manifestoes, dirge, commentary, roasts and prophecies. Send us chattering, ramblings, your hybrid, your we-don’t-even-know-what-the-fuck-to-call-this, send us your revolution.” Details here.

Aôthen Magazine
They only accept works related to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome – fiction (up to 1,000 words), poetry, essays (opinion or otherwise), photography, art, classical translation extracts, and hybrid works. They pay $10. Columns are always open, other submissions were closed at the time of writing. Details here.

LIT Magazine
This magazine is published by The New School MFA in Creative Writing program. They publish hybrid prose (up to 10 pages). “Hybrid prose works generally experiment with non-traditional stylistic forms. This category is not just for works that defy casual interpretation, but also works that include elements generally reserved for non-prose writing. …we are interested in hybrid prose that is aware of the tension between fiction and non-fiction, and wants to exploit, reify, and expand those terms, but not be contained by them. If it’s too prose-y to be a poem, but not clearly a short story or an essay, it might belong here.” They also accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, book reviews, and art. The deadline is 22 June 2025. Details here. 

Vernacular
This quarterly journal “enthusiastically welcomes submissions on anything and everything that falls under the theme of vernacular.” And, “Vernacular is anything that reveals a sense of place. Vernacular is the local and the vulgar – food, music, buildings, speech, flora, fauna, etc. Something regional that serves as a means of reaffirming or establishing identity. Familiar forms in an informal city.” They want “non-fiction, fiction, art, photography, music, poetry, comics, interviews, dream interpretation, a playlist, a menu for a nonexistent restaurant, etc. The weirder the better.” Send pieces of 1,500-2,000 words; they encourage you to send photos with written pieces. The deadline for their Summer edition is 20 July 2025. Details here.

The Gravity of the Thing
They publish genre-bending works, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, including prose poems and multimedia works, and work for Baring the Device column (about defamiliarized writing). They will reopen for submissions in June. Details here.

Heartwood
This is a biannual publication “celebrating imagination and curiosity”. It is a new journal, and they’re reading submissions for their first issue. “It’s a collaboration between some polymaths, poets, permaculture kids, and goofy unschooled artists. Given that, this isn’t the place for graphic, mature pieces. We want to publish your one act play in which a shark, duck, and kid have to figure out the menu for their co-hosted pizza party. We want to read about your video game adventures as relayed by the jumping spider that secretly spectates your hero (or villain) arc from a spot on your bookshelf. We want your meditation on mortality inspired by trying to eat an ice cream cone while playing soccer, and your reflections on learning not to give up so quickly through several seasons of work in a neighbor’s garden. Send us your interview with your grandmother, with your baby sibling, or with the person who is always at your favorite corner deli. Share with us your essay on why mantis shrimp are fascinating. Tell us all about deciding at 5 you wanted to be an astronaut, and what happened after that.” The deadline is 31^st July 2025. Details here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

Archive of the Odd
This is a speculative fiction magazine of found fiction. This is “a home for the strange, the uncanny, and the odd.” And, “Archive of the Odd is a biannual magazine of found fiction—stories told in the style of found footage, also known epistolary, neo-epistolary, found file, or found document fiction. Essentially, stories told in the form of other documents. All submissions must be found fiction.” Please see the website for details/examples of the work they’ve published before. Apart from short fiction they accept microfiction also, though this is harder for them to place. They’re reading short fiction submissions for issue 7, and submission is via a form on their website. Query for serializing, audio/video, and finished chapbooks/booklets.
Deadline: 15 May 2025 for short fiction
Length: 500-8,000
Pay: 1.5c/word
Details here.
(Archive of the Odd is also accepting long fiction, for which they pay royalties.)

Graveside Press: Monster Anthology
They want stories of “Monsters! Specifically…people who love monsters.
Like…a lot.
Give us your spicy monster stories, but keep in mind this is still horror; we aren’t looking for sweet urban fantasy tales. Your submission should still have a heavy horror factor.” Stories must contain some kind of monster, creature, or cryptid from folklore, mythology, or your imagination, and also contain some level of spice (all heat ranges accepted). Graveside Press is also looking for submissions for a Middle Grade & YA horror anthology; see their Duosuma page for details.
Deadline: 15 May 2025 (extended)
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here and here (scroll down).

(And, Manawaker Studios has a monthly 100 word project with a different prompt each month; for May, the theme is Troll. Send stories of 100 words. They pay $1, and the deadline is 31^st May 2025. Details here.)

Conquest Publishing: Monstrous Angels – An Anthology of Religious Horror
This is a fiction anthology; they also accept microfiction and flash fiction. “Monstrous Angels is an anthology that will explore one of the most enduring questions of religious horror–why are angels so compelling as anti-heroes and/or villains? We’ve seen it time and time again: Angelfall, Constantine, Legion, Angelology, the list goes on. We love our dark angels.
We want stories of the morally gray. Of angels and humans trying their best and failing. We want to explore all corners of this topic so feel free to be broad. Angel-like beings from other cultures are welcomed and encouraged. Our definition of angel is loose. We want winged divine creatures trying to navigate moral quandaries, being consumed by righteous anger, and experiencing the consequences of being too close to humans.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 25 May 2025
Length: Up to 8,000 words
Pay: $20
Details here.

Cast of Wonders: Banned Books Week – Joy that Sustains
Cast of Wonders is a YA speculative fiction podcast and magazine; they’ll soon open for submissions. For their annual Banned Books Week call, the theme is Joy that Sustains. They have detailed guidelines, including, “It’s all too easy to doom-scroll these days. The world is facing a climate emergency amidst a global rise in fascism and prejudice. For Banned Books Week 2025, we want to see stories of irrepressible joy. Show us the sparks that cannot be extinguished, the many facets of humanity in all its splendour. We are looking for stories that showcase the hopefulness and power of diverse voices, stories of music in dark times, stories that are unapologetic and inspiring.” They prefer stories of up to 5,000 words, though can accept works up to 6,000 words. They also accept reprints. Their Moksha submission portal will open during the reading period. Cast of Wonders is part of the Escape Artists suite of magazines.
Reading period: 15-31 May 2025 (see schedule)
Length: See above
Pay: $0.08/word for originals, $20-100 for reprints
Details here (theme details) and here (general submission guidelines).

Killer Verse: Nostalgic Halloween
Killer Verse is a project of the Canada-based Delta Literary Arts Society (DALS). “Killer Verse is DLAS’s Halloween-themed show of dramatized narrations produced every October at the North Delta Centre for the Arts.” They want short stories or other works that can be read and performed live on stage, with a run time of no more than five minutes (2-3 pages), and which fit the theme of Nostalgic Halloween. “What gave you nightmares as a child? As you trick or treated through crisp falls leaves, what sent a chill up your spine? Did you tell ghost stories at a sleepover? Step into a time machine and travel back to the Halloween of your nightmarish memories. Classic characters like Dracula, The Mummy, witches or carnival clowns should rule your stories. Maybe your tale is based in the 40’s or 50‘s, or flows with vintage vibes from the 70‘s.” And, “We love plot twists, creepy details and shocking moments that excite an audience.” 
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Length: Up to 1,800 words
Pay: CAD50 for stories, CAD50 for poems
Details here and here.

The Stinging Fly: Climate Crisis
This Ireland-based magazine is now open for fiction, including graphic fiction and novel excerpts, and poetry. For this Winter 2025-26 issue (to be published November), they will only read submissions on the climate crisis theme – see theme details here. Do not send nonfiction during this window. They also accept translations. They also have a submission FAQ page.
Deadline: 15^th May 2025 for fiction and poetry (see guidelines)
Length: One fiction piece; up to three poems
Pay: Fiction: €45 per magazine page, with a minimum/maximum payment of €325/€1200; flash fiction (1 – 2 pages): €150; Poetry: €45 per magazine page, but with a minimum payment of €70 per poem; Featured poet: €425
Details here and here.

(And, ARC Poetry Magazine is accepting poetry submissions and essay pitches for The New Material Ecopoetics issue, deadline 15^th March 2025, as well as for general submissions, deadline end July. Please note, writers from the US have to pay a submission fee, see guidelines. They pay $50/page.)

Griffith Review: Best Dressed
Griffith Review is an Australian literary magazine and they want fiction and nonfiction submissions for their Best Dressed theme. This will be their 90^th issue. “No matter how much or how little you care about what you wear, your sartorial choices are inextricably stitched into your social, cultural and personal identities. Clothing not only dictates how we define ourselves and relate to others – throughout history, it’s also been a mode of expression, resistance, revolution and disruption. Put on your Sunday best for this edition of Griffith Review, which goes behind the seams to unpick the many paradoxes of fashion.” Do not send poetry (there will be a separate call-out for poetry in June). They mostly accept work from writers in Australia, and some work from overseas writers.
Deadline: 18 May 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 4,000 words for prose (for print)
Pay: AUD0.75/word
Details here and here.

Book Worms Horror Zine: Cryptid Horror
This US-based magazine accepts mailed submissions only; submissions must be received by the deadline. They are accepting submissions on the Cryptid Horror theme for their 8^th issue. “Whether it’s beasts from local legend or psychological horrors born from the depths of your own personal wilderness, we want your weirdest, wildest, and most chilling creations.”
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Length: Up to 1,500 words for prose
Pay: $0.08/word for stories and essays, $25-50 for poetry
Details here.

Heartlines Spec
This is a Canadian magazine of speculative fiction and poetry, focused on long-term relationships; they will publish at least 50% work from Canadian writers for each issue. “We’re looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don’t want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years.
Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that’s ok.
We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules.”
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Length: 1,000-3,500 words for fiction; up to 5 poems
Pay: CAD0.08/word for fiction; CAD60/poem
Details here (guidelines) and here (submission portal)

Bag of Bones Press: Patterns
“We’re looking for dark stories (2-4k words) on the theme of patterns. Please interpret this theme however you like. Write us a quiet mood piece or an action-packed powerful, character-driven story.  Make it humorous or as dark as the night.” They want speculative, horror, dark fantasy or dark sci-fi stories. “Some ideas: the pattern could be in the narrative technique (fragmentation, mirror writing, foreshadowing, meta-fictional repetition), the thematic composition (think cycles of death and birth, family curses, sin and retribution) for example. Or how about incorporating chants, supernatural rituals, or echoes in your prose? A story with temporal patterns in it might float our boat (although be careful, we don’t want our inbox flooded with time loops and cyclical stories, unless done exceptionally well or with a novel twist). Seasonal patterns, recurring times, patterns in nature, patterns in objects which feature in your tale, geographical patterns, repetitive architecture, patterns in weather, behavioural ticks, recurring nightmares, obsessions…”
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here and here.

Blue Planet Press: Far Futures Book Four – Titan
This is a speculative fiction anthology about Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn. “Far Futures Book Four will explore the colonial possibilities of Titan. What would settling on Titan entail?
How would humanity adjust to long-term effects of a gravitational pull even less than Earth’s own moon?
What would be the socio-economic impacts of such a colony?
What about the political dynamics? The military implications? The scientific potentials?
Submissions will involve space travel in some form to Titan, exploration and/or colonization of Titan, or long-term habitation of Titan. Military sci-fi is welcome.”
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Length: 6,000-10,000 words
Pay: ½ cent/word up to $50
Details here.

Bona Books: Wrath Month Anthology
This is a fiction anthology. “We’re seeking fantasy, science-fiction, and horror short stories that embrace punk and queer rage.
There’s a glass ceiling in SFF representation, and we want you to throw a brick through it. Bring us the coven that burned Salem and your roaring bear-serkers. We want gangs of acid-wash werewolves, furious bipyromancers, flesh-eating femmes, and vengeant celestial bois—a cast of the downtrodden who make ruins of their oppressors.
Wrath lies at the heart of queer liberation—it can be a spur to action and the only righteous response to a world that would prefer we didn’t exist. So crash mainframes, collapse empires, and break normativity. Pride month is over. It’s time for — Wrath Month”.
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.

Exist Otherwise: Soldier Without a Name
This journal is interested in work about identity, gender, trauma & recovery, as well as intuition & dreams. They’re currently accepting work on the theme, Soldier Without a Name. They accept “any kind of written work: poetry, prose, essays, fiction, creative nonfiction, scripts, hybrid, experimental writing, whatever.”
Deadline: 31 May 2025 (see their editorial calendar here)
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $15
Details here (general guidelines), here (theme), here (editorial calendar), here (submission form).

Eternal Haunted Summer: Summer Solstice 2025 – Music
Their tagline is ‘Pagan songs & tales’, and they publish work on Gods and Goddesses and heroes of the world’s many Pagan/polytheist traditions – fiction (any genre), nonfiction, reviews, and poetry. For their upcoming issue, the theme is Music. “Jazz and blues. Rock and opera. Ballads and filk songs. Music has been an integral element of human creativity and culture since we first learned to carve holes into bones. Send us your best poems, short stories, and essays about music — in all its forms — from a Pagan/polytheist, witchy, and mythological point of view. Send us poems about the duel between Apollo and Marsyas, Bragi wooing Idun, and Pan stalking a poacher with madness-inducing pipe music. Send us short stories about a desperate musician making a crossroads deal with Dionysus, a composer praying to Hymen for inspiration, an archaeologist uncovering a temple and sacred instruments of Kothar-wa-Khasis. Send us essays about Väinämöinen as archetypal musician, Mozart’s opera Apollo et Hyacinthus, and the rise of the modern Pagan music scene.”
Deadline: 1 June 2025
Length: Up to 3,000 words for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $5
Details here.

The Other Stories Podcast: Eldritch
This is a horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast from Hawk & Cleaver. They accept themed fiction submissions of up to 2,000 words. Their upcoming theme is Eldritch (“Peel back the curtain of reality and reveal the ultimate indifference and the horror of the infinite beyond.”).
Deadline: 1 June 2025
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: £15
Details here, here, and here.

IHRAM Press Publishes: Invisible Chains: Contemporary Slavery and Forced Migration
This is a call from the literary magazine of the International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM). They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. For the second quarter, their theme is Invisible Chains: Contemporary Slavery and Forced Migration. “A poignant reflection on contemporary slavery and forced migration, this issue delves into exploitative labor practices, human trafficking, and the loss of human rights. It examines the economic and personal challenges faced by migrants, including discrimination, culture shock, and the lingering mental health effects.
We are dedicated to publishing firsthand experiences of forced migration, factual retellings on contemporary slavery, reflections of the author’s personal experiences with the economic challenges or discrimination, and feelings of hope and perseverance. We encourage submissions from all over the world, regardless of gender or identity.”
Deadline: 1 June 2025
Length: Prose up to 2,500 words, unspecified for poetry
Pay: $50 for written work
Details here.

SUSPECT: Of the Sea
SUSPECT is the project of NYC-based Singapore Unbound, and they accept work from people of Asian heritage. They are now reading submissions for their special fiction (including flash) and poetry folio, and the theme is ‘Of the Sea’. “This August, SUSPECT will publish a special portfolio dedicated to indigenous perspectives on the region designated as maritime Southeast Asia. We invite the submission of fiction and poetry that explore the manifold effects of the sea on individuals and communities. We are particularly interested in indigenous voices but we welcome non-indigenous authors who have engaged in a significant and sustained manner with maritime Southeast Asian communities.”
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words for fiction, 3-5 poems
Pay: $100
Details here.
(See all of their calls here.)

THEMED CONTESTS
(There are also some unthemed contests with approaching deadlines, including:
— The Cave Canem Prize for Black poets submitting their debut poetry manuscripts; Black authors of chapbooks and self-published books with a maximum print run of 500 copies are also eligible to apply; award $10,000, deadline: 8 May 2025, details here and here.
— RBC PEN Canada 2025 New Voices Award for new Canadian writers, ages 17 and over for unpublished writers, for short stories, creative nonfiction, journalism, and poetry, awards CAD3,000, deadline: 12 May 2025, details here.
— Academy of American Poets: James Laughlin Award for a second full-length poetry manuscript by a US poet, contracted by a publisher, awards $5,000 and residency, deadline 15 May 2025, details here and here.
— The Africa Institute: Global Africa Translation Fellowship
for applications from across the Global South for a grant to complete translations of works from the African continent and its diaspora, into English or Arabic; projects may be retranslations of old, classic texts, previously untranslated works, poetry, prose, or critical theory collections; grants $1,000-5,000; deadline: 15 May 2025; details here.
— RTÉ Short Story Competition, a fiction contest from RTÉ Radio 1, for those who live in Ireland, or have an Irish passport; awards €5,000, €4,000 and €3,000; the other shortlisted authors will each receive €300, deadline: 23 May 2025, details here, here, here, and here.
— The Bard Fiction Prize, an annual fiction prize for young US-based writers; for emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application; award is $30,000 and residency for a published book, deadline: 1 June 2025, details here.
— BBC World Service: The International Audio Drama Competition for writers from outside the UK, in two categories: English as a First Language and English as a Second Language; awards £2,500, deadline 4 June 2025, details here, here, and here.
— Anne Brown Essay Prize, an essay prize for Scottish writers; awards £1,500, deadline: 6 June 2025, details here.)

Singapore Unbound: Singapore Poetry Contest
This is an international poetry contest. They are looking for poems that use the word “fable” in imaginative ways.
Value: $300, $200, $100
Deadline: 15 May 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here.
(See all their contests and submission calls, fee-free and fee-based, here.)

Creative Future Writers’ Award
This is an award for underrepresented writers in the UK, for fiction, creative non-fiction (prose up to 2,000 words) and poetry (up to 50 lines). Writers can submit one piece of writing. The theme for this year is ‘Wild’; they also say, “The theme is a creative prompt, not a requirement.” Apart from cash prizes, winners also get various non-cash prizes, like mentorship, agent meeting, and manuscript assessment.
Value: £75, £50, £25 (more about the prizes here.)
Deadline: 18 May 2025 (postal submissions must be received by 19^th May.)
Open for: Underrepresented writers in the UK
Details here.

Defenestration.net Short Story Contest
This contest will soon open for entries. They want a short story which should include an incident of defenestration – the art or –ism of throwing people out of windows. This need not be literal. Their team defines such an incident as follows – “a sudden, immediate, even violent shift, change, or seismical event between the beginning and the end.” For this cycle, they also say, “Might be a good year to get political with it. And angry.” There will voting by the judges for this contest, with fan voting counting as an additional judge vote.
Value: $75, two runner-up prizes of $30 each
Deadline: 25 May 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here. 

Livingston Press Changing Light Prize for a Novel-in-Verse
This is an annual prize run by Livingston Press, affiliated with the University of Alabama. It is for a novel-in-verse; the recommended length is 90-160 pages.
Value: $500, standard contract, 20 copies
Deadline: 30 May 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here. 

The Irene Adler Prize
The competition is now open to women worldwide, commencing or continuing to pursue a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution in 2025-26. Applications include a 500-word essay on one of these five topics on the website:
— Who – in any field of endeavor – inspires you with their combination of talent and hard work?
— What is the biggest life lesson you have personally learned from the 2020’s so far?
— Write about an event from your life and show why it means a lot to you.
— What brings you happiness, peace, or a sense of focus and direction in our turbulent world?
— Write a fictional short story that is gripping, memorable, or surprising – or all three at once.
The prize is intended to be applied to educational expenses such as tuition fees – please see the rules.
Value: $1,000; up to two prizes of $250 each
Deadline: 30 May 2025
Open for: Women writers worldwide – see above
Details here (download 2025 submission guidelines and rules).

The Future Bookshelf: Mo Siewcharran Prize
“The initiative … aims to nurture talent from under-represented backgrounds writing in English. Run as part of Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf scheme, the prize was launched in 2019.” The prize is hosted by different divisions of the publisher each year. “For 2025, the prize will be hosted by Trapeze, an imprint of Orion Books, and we are looking for non-fiction writing under the theme Reclaiming History.” And, “We would like to see non-fiction proposals of no more than 10,000 words that explore history and the past in a compelling and unique way….The book must explore historical events; however, it may also include personal narrative, memoir, mythology, legend or polemic writing. The proposal must be aimed at adults.” Apart from the cash prizes, there are various non-cash prizes, including a meeting with literary agents. “The winner’s entry will also be taken forward to a Hodder & Stoughton’s acquisitions meeting and considered for full publication with a competitive advance against royalties. Hodder & Stoughton does not guarantee that the winner will be offered a publishing contract.”
Value: £2,500, £1,500
Deadline: 30 May 2025
Open for: BAME writers in the UK
Details here, here, and here.

The Black Orchid Novella Award
This is an international contest for novellas (15,000-20,000 words) that confirm to the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series (see guidelines). They should focus on the deductive skills of the sleuth. They are not looking for derivatives of the Nero Wolfe series, or the milieu. Apart from a cash prize, winner also gets publication in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Submission is via a form.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here (also download the flyer from here).

Humane Education Network: A Voice for Animals
This is an international essay contest for students in two categories: for 14-15-year-olds, and for 16-18-year-olds. “For 2025, there is a special topic category, “Protecting Marine Life from Human Impact”, which may be applied across all eligible age groups and submission types. This is option is in addition to the standard categories: Companion Animals, Farm Animals, Wildlife on Land, Wildlife in the Oceans.”Participants must currently be attending middle or high school, or be home-schooled, and less than 19 years of age (see guidelines). Entries can be essays, essays with photos, or videos. They have extensive guidelines. Also, “We reserve the right to adjust the number of prizes and the amounts of the prizes based on the entries received.”
Value: Total prize purse up to $5,900
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Open for: All 14 to 18 year old students
Details here.

Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
This is an international fiction contest. While the story should appeal to the audience of this magazine, all themes will be considered. Their readers have interests in music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America. Ideally, stories should not exceed 3,000 words, but those up to 4,000 words will be considered.
Value: $150
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Speculative Literature Foundation: Older Writers Grant
They offer grants for writers of speculative literature, spread out across the year; during May, they’ll be open for The Older Writers Grant for writers who are at least 50 years old at the time of grant application, and is intended to assist such writers who are just starting to work at a professional level. The writing application sample could be of fiction, poetry, drama, or creative nonfiction, of speculative literature. A writing sample (see guidelines) is part of the application. They are scheduled to open soon for submissions.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 31 May 2025
Open for: Writers of speculative literature who are at least 50 years old
Details here and here.

The Heron’s Nest: Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards
This poetry contest is run by The Heron’s Nest, a quarterly online journal of haiku. Submit up to 2 haiku for this contest.
Value: $200, $100, $50
Deadline: 1 June 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here.

PEN/Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History
These grants are for literary works of nonfiction that use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement. They are to help maintain or complete ongoing projects. Oral history must be a significant portion of the work and its research. Writers have to send in writing samples and transcripts as part of the application.   
Value: Two grants of $15,000 each
Deadline: 1 June 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
(PEN is also open for other grants now, the deadline for all is 1^st June: — PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants for translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or drama into English; the award is $2,000-4,000, open for all writers, details here and here;
— PEN/Bare Life Review Grants recognize literary works by immigrant and refugee writers. Foreign-born writers based in the U.S., and writers living abroad who hold refugee/asylum seeker status, are eligible to apply, the project must be a work of a literary nature: fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry, and translated works (in case of translated works, the grant will be conferred to the original author); grants are $5,000 each, details here and here;
— PEN/Phyllis Naylor Grant for Children’s and Young Adult Novelists for a published author of children’s or young-adult fiction to complete a book-length fiction work-in-progress; the writer’s previously published book(s) must be published by a U.S. trade publisher; the award is $5,000, details here and here.)

The Dream Foundry Emerging Writers Contest
This is a contest for emerging writers of speculative fiction (it is for writers who are relatively new to paid or incoming-earning publication of speculative short fiction in English; please check detailed eligibility rules on their website). Send a speculative fiction story of up to 10,000 words. They want short speculative fiction only (science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction, etc.); do not send stories that have no speculative element. Submission is via a form on their website.
Value: $1,500, $750, $400
Deadline: 2 June 2025
Open for: Emerging writers of speculative fiction
Details here.

(A couple of contests with later deadlines:
— The Norton Writer’s Prize: This is a non-fiction prize for undergraduates in the US, who are enrolled in an accredited 2- or 4-year college or university, enrolled during the 2024-25 year, and aged 18 and above. They will accept literacy narratives, literary and other textual analyses, reports, profiles, evaluations, arguments, memoirs, proposals, multimodal pieces, and other forms of original non-fiction pieces of 1,000-3,000 words. Entries require nomination by an instructor. There are three prizes of $1,000 each, and the deadline is 15 June 2025; details here (you can download rules).

— Richard J. Margolis Award: The award is for non-fiction writers of social justice journalism. It is for a promising new journalist or essayist whose work combines warmth, humour, wisdom and concern with social justice. Applications should include 2-3 non-fiction writing samples, up to 30 pages. At least one sample should be non-memoir material. The prize is $5,000 and residency at Blue Mountain Centre artists’ colony; $1,000 for runners-up. The deadline is 1 July 2025; details here and here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

(Submissions are also open for Skull x Bones Anthology by Zombies Need Brains. They want pirate-themed speculative fiction, and the call is open for all writers; pays $0.08/word for stories up to 7,500 words; deadline 30 June 2025; details here and here.)

Graveside Press: Witchcraft Anthology
Graveside Press is a new imprint focused on horror. They want submissions for a fiction anthology; stories with “Witches! Obviously. Whether you’re going with modern-day witchcraft practices or the fairy-tale evil witch, we’re ready for you.” The central focus of the story has to be witchcraft of some sort. (Graveside Press is also looking for submissions for a Middle Grade & YA horror anthology, as well as a Monster anthology – see their Duosuma page for details.)
Deadline: 15 April 2025
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here and here.

Translunar Travelers Lounge
They want fun speculative fiction; stories must have elements of science fiction or fantasy. “A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.
Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.” 
Deadline: 15 April 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here and here.

Consequence Magazine
They publish work “that addresses the human experiences, realities, and consequences of war and geopolitical violence through literature and art.” They accept fiction (including flash and excerpts), nonfiction (interviews, essays, and narrative non-fiction), poetry, translations, and art. All works will be considered for online and print.
Deadline: 15 April 2025
Length: Varies
Pay: $30-50 for prose, $20/poem for print poetry, $30-50 for online poetry
Details here and here.

Ghost to Ghost to Ghost Anthology
They want ghost stories from Canadian authors only – flash to short fiction. Stories have to be “Set in Canada, written by Canadian authors. (any author residing in Canada)”.
Deadline: 15 April 2025
Length: 500-1,500 words
Pay: CAD15
Details here and here.

Trans Survivors: Healing in Action zine
This is a call for trans/nonbinary creators. “It’s more important than ever to highlight trans and nonbinary art, to uplift trans joy, and to share stories of healing and connection. Help us share hope through art and writing! We invite you to contribute to a new Trans Survivors Zine titled “Trans Survivors: Healing in Action.” 
We welcome content that focuses on trans voices, survivorship and healing from harm/trauma/violence, creative expressions of all kinds. We welcome your full range of emotions and expressions. We encourage content focused on race and anti-racism; bodies and disabilities; class, housing, survival realities; and content that focuses or encompasses our complex, intersectional lives. 
We welcome a variety of artforms, including visual art, poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction”. This is a project of FORGE, an organization for trans/non-binary survivors; you can read about them here.
Deadline: 15 April 2025
Length: Up to 1,000 words for prose
Pay: $25
Details here and here.

(And, fifth wheel press which only accepts submissions from individuals who belong to the queer, trans, and/or gender variant communities, wants submissions on two themes; the tragic-romantic theme for their blog; there’s no pay for blogs, and the deadline is 15^th April; details here. fifth wheel is also open for an anthology on the brainrot theme; pay is $5 and the deadline is 30 April 2025 for this call, details here.

Rattle
Rattle accepts various kinds of fee-free poetry, including for print and online issues; the next theme for their print issue is Tributes to Late Bloomers (“Our Fall 2025 issue will be dedicated to poems written by “late bloomers”—those who only started publishing poetry regularly after the age of 50. Much ado is made in the literary world of younger poets making waves, but it’s never too late to develop and share your voice, and for many poets, their best work comes at an older age. We hope this issue will be an inspiration to those just starting out, and a counter to age-related biases. Include a contributor’s note about when you starting publishing poetry significantly, and how that prior life experience affects you as a poet. We don’t publish essays, but always include a contributor notes section, which functions as a series of micro-essays about the topic. You may submit up to four previously uncurated poems (or pages of short poems) at the same time”; deadline 15^th April 2025). They also accept Rattlecast Prompt Poems; Poets Respond, where poets respond to a news story or an event that happened the previous week; general poems – send up to 4, and a monthly ekphrastic challenge. Currently, they’re also open for a fee-based contest. For their next print edition, with a later deadline, the theme is Tribute to Rebels; see the relevant section on this page.
Deadline: Varies (see website)
Length: Varies
Pay: $100 for poems published online, and $200 for poems published in print
Details here.

Taco Bell Quarterly
They plan to open soon for submissions. “Taco Bell Quarterly seeks literary/creative essays, short stories, fiction/prose, poems, comics, art, one act plays, fever dreams, multimedia, stupid status updates, criticisms, manifestos, recipes and anything else that explore any and all elements of Taco Bell. Or not. Shoehorn a chalupa in your short story. Maybe we’ll love it. An elegy for the discontinued menu items? Fine. An experimental essay about marine biology and the XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito? Awesome. Review the new Beefy Fritos Burrito and how it reminds you of the time your grandma died? We want it. … We lean towards pieces that are queer and center their pain/joy in a Taco Bell.” They will open for submissions on 20^th April 2025 – see announcement on BlueSky and on their website; their Submittable portal will open during the reading period. Opens on: 20 April 2025
Length: 500-2,500 words for prose, up to 4 poems
Pay: $150
Details here and here.

Astrolabe
They want “work about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection. Into the woods. Across a line. Beneath the ocean. Along a seam. Into the branches of an alternate present or the crevasse of an alternate future. Across the rifts between one another. And then, once we find one other, the myths we make. We’re excited to see as many interpretations of this broad theme as there are stars in the night sky. We’re open to work of all genres, with a particular fondness for anything that moves beyond realism in form or content or spirit.” And, “We’ll happily consider fiction and CNF in all prose forms—prose poetry, micro, flash, and beyond”. Do not send lineated poetry. Please note, they’ll close submissions of their fee-free reading period earlier than the deadline, if they hit their submission cap.
Deadline: 20 April 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose
Pay: $50
Details here.

Usawa Literary Review: Memories of the Future
Their website says, “The Usawa Literary Review is a bi-annual English language literary magazine dedicated to feminist literature and writings by and about underrepresented communities.” Their submission call says, “Time flows linearly. We move forward and then memories sneak up and take us back or rather, bring to the present what once was. And in dreams instead of falling downwards, the sand in our hourglass may start moving up. 
All memory is imagination. All dreams are…well dreams. 
Imagining, dreaming, and remembering by their very nature resist censor. Are they acts of resistance then? Then writing in their language must be too. 
When we mine your dreams tomorrow what would we find? 
For its Summer 2025 Issue, Usawa Literary Review invites contributions in genres of poetry, short fiction, reviews, interviews, essays, and creative non-fiction, based around the theme,  ‘Memories of the Future ’.” Submission is via a form on their website.
Deadline: 25 April 2025
Length: 2,000-5,000 words for fiction, up to 5,000 words for creative nonfiction, up to 4 poems
Pay: INR1,000/$12
Details here.

Zoetic Press: Non-Binary Review – Epiphany
They want speculative work – poetry, fiction, essays, translations, and art. They’re reading on the Epiphany theme. They accept submissions until a cap is reached, or the deadline, whichever comes first. All submissions must have a clear relationship to the theme. Apart from the theme, they are also accepting submissions for Dear Horace Greely section. On the Epiphanytheme, they say, “It’s a flash of inspiration. It’s a slow realization of something that was in front of you the whole time. It’s seeing something familiar from an entirely unexpected angle. We have these sudden flashes of inspiration all the time – some as subtle as discovering you like tea with honey, others as momentous as realizing that your idea for a new invention could change the world. 
We’re looking for speculative takes on epiphany, from the realization that television is all real and true, to the discovery that the life you live in your dreams is your real life, and this one is the dream. We want to be just as surprised as your narrators by the things they discover and where those discoveries lead them. 
We’re NOT looking for “I realized I hated my spouse so I left and my life got better” stories, sexual coming of age stories, or anything else that doesn’t fit the speculative genre.”
Deadline: 30 April 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry
Pay: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry
Details here and here.
(Non-Binary Review is also accepting submissions for the Solarpunk theme with a later deadline – see their Submittable for details.)

Oddity Prodigy Productions: Where Legends Walk
This is an anthology of superhero stories. “We are looking for your best stories featuring heroic feats of derring-do in the face of immeasurable evil. So channel your inner hero, lace up your boots, and join us in the fight for justice.
If you need direction or inspiration, we recommend delving into the world of comics of all genres. We will be looking at the full range of stories, from Golden Age of mystery men such as the Justice Society of America, Silver Age of heroes like the Fantastic Four, the Bronze Age wonders like the New Gods, the grime and grit of the Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, all the way through to the Modern Age.” Do not send fan fiction.
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: $10 (or more, depending on the success of their Kickstarter campaign – see guidelines)
Details here.  

Shenandoah Valley Fantastic Anthology
While they want speculative fiction that takes place within Shenandoah Valley (see guidelines), this anthology is open to submissions from writers anywhere in the world. “Shenandoah Valley Fantastic seeks strange and wondrous speculative fiction that transforms our beloved region into a realm of mystery, magic, and the unexpected. From witches haunting Winchester’s historic alleys to spectral happenings on the Field of Lost Shoes, we invite you to re-imagine the Valley’s rich landscapes and legends.
Envision Shenandoah National Park as a forbidden, fey-infused forest, where wayward travelers encounter creatures older than the hills. What if Duke Dog Alley were a portal to another world? Suppose Cooter’s become a crossroad for supernatural beings—a place where ghosts and wanderers alike grab a bite before moving on to unknown realms. Picture the storied halls of Washington & Lee as a secret training ground for the next generation of spellcasters, with campus traditions hiding dark rites and hidden powers.” Please see the updates on their guidelines page about the kind of stories they’ve already received, and the kind of work they’re looking for.
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: 1,800-5,500 (with 3,500 being the sweet spot)
Pay: $20
Details here and here.

Graveside Press: Monster Anthology
They want stories of “Monsters! Specifically…people who love monsters.
Like…a lot.
Give us your spicy monster stories, but keep in mind this is still horror; we aren’t looking for sweet urban fantasy tales. Your submission should still have a heavy horror factor.” Stories must contain some kind of monster, creature, or cryptid from folklore, mythology, or your imagination, and also contain some level of spice (all heat ranges accepted). Graveside Press is also looking for submissions for a Middle Grade & YA horror anthology, as well as a Witchcraft anthology – see their Duosuma page for details.
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here and here (scroll down).

(And, Little Ghost Press wants NSFW fiction for Wet Screams: A Monsterfucker Anthology; they want “2-6k word submissions of monstrous romance with high spice. Reprint stories will be considered”. And, “We encourage folks to explore the boundaries of creature feature intimacy! … This anthology is intended to be risqué and fun. HEAs are not required, or can be redefined”. Pay is CAD0.10/word and the deadline is 14 April 2025. Details here.)

Inky Bones Press: Creature Feature Anthology
This is a horror fiction anthology. “Situations where something is being sought out by a person/group. They could be grave robbers, treasure hunters, archaeologists, cryptozoologists, entomologists, biologists, hide-and-seek fanatics, anything you choose—as long as their plans go awry. Get weird and creative!” All stories must include “Bones: you can mention the word itself or be more specific. Ex: spine, skull, vertebrae, ribs, skeleton
A creature of your choice: tiny, monstrous, an alien—just make sure it’s scary!” They want Horror | Science Fiction | Fantasy, and applicable horror sub-genres of these. “Action/Adventure Horror, Creature Horror, Dark Fantasy, Dark Fiction, Dystopian, Gothic, Historical, Paranormal, Science Fiction Horror, Paranormal, Supernatural, Vampire, Zombie, etc.”
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: 1,500-3,500 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here. 

(Submissions are also open for Strange Legacy: 2025 (Creature Feature), which is “actually a continuation of the Strange Aeon anthology series. We are going in a slightly different direction this year thematically with a bit of a break from purely cosmic horror and focusing instead on the creatures, both traditional and original. … The theme of this year’s anthology is the “classic” monster story—from old favorites like vampires and werewolves to Lovecraftian creatures … to the byproducts of insane science experiments.” Pay is $20 for stories of 5,000-10,000 words, and the deadline is end-April, or until filled; details here.)

Purple Toga Publications: Feast or Famine?
This is a fiction anthology. “Food and meals are central to all cultures. … we are looking for stories where food is a central or pivotal element to the plot. Is it the Last Supper? Court intrigue using poison? This means that all of the stories must have a meal or dish as part of their central theme, and as usual we prefer stories that fall under the speculative fiction umbrella.
Think of how food has been a big part of literature. Where would Snow White be without the apple (or Adam and Eve)? In movies like Thor: The Dark World you have Dr. Strange offered tea and Thor responded he doesn’t drink it and got a big (self-refilling) mug of beer. Where would Star Trek: The Next Generation be without “Earl Grey, hot”? Think of all the meals in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, or how Rincewind fantasizes about potatoes. How much Turkish Delight was a factor in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. These are the kinds of food connections that we are looking for. A recipe for the key element (or one of the dishes if it is a meal – failing that the full menu) would be appreciated.” Please note, you have to send a story synopsis via a form on the website; they will ask for the complete story only if they are interested.
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: 5,000-12,000 words
Pay: $5-10
Details here.

Terrain.org
This magazine focuses on place, climate, and justice. They publish fiction, poetry, essays, articles, artwork, videos, and other contributions, as well as translations. They particularly seek underrepresented voices (see guidelines). Poetry submissions are closed; but general fiction and nonfiction will close end April; submissions for ARTerrain and Letter to America have no deadlines listed.
Deadline: 30 April 2025 for prose
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose
Pay: $50
Details here and here.
(Terrain.org also has an annual Editor’s Prize of $500 per genre for underrepresented writers for which there is no submission fee, and another prize, for all writers, for which there is a submission fee – see guidelines).

Brigids Gate Press: Women of the Weird West
This is a speculative fiction anthology, and they want submissions from writers of marginalized genders only. “Traditionally, women authors have been vastly underrepresented in westerns and weird westerns, so this anthology will highlight authors of marginalized genders and their speculative western short stories. We are looking for original Weird West stories. These should be generally set in what approximates the “Old West” location and timeframe (North America circa late 1800s) and should have a strong speculative element, such as horror, fantasy and/or sci-fi. … We strongly encourage all marginalized genders to submit regardless of writing experience.”
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

(And, The Last Girls’ Club, a feminist horror magazine, wants submissions on the theme, For Your Own Good. They are open until 15^th April, or when they reach their submission quota, whichever comes first. They pay $10 for poetry and $0.015/word up to $37.50. Details here and here.)

Belanger Books: Sherlock Holmes – A Year of Mystery 1889 & 1890
This is a call for fiction for a Sherlock Holmes themed anthology. “When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years ’82 and ’90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave.” – Dr. Watson

Synopsis: The year 1889 was a particularly busy one for Holmes with a number of cases including The Hound (Sept. 25-Oct. 20); “The Beryl Coronet” (Feb. 19-20); “The Man with the Twisted Lip” (June 18-19);  …  But what other cases did our heroes encounter in these years? Find out in  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1889 &  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1890. … The stories must be Canonical in nature and fit with the timeline. Holmes and Watson should act like they do in the original stories. As you can see above, a number of the original cases from this period are specifically dated, so please bear that in mind when you are writing your story.” And, “Authors interested in participating should first send a synopsis of their adventure and the month of the year they wish it to take place. If your story does not need a specific month (i.e. it takes place in autumn and could be in September, October, or November) please let us know that as well. Once your synopsis has been accepted, you should begin drafting the story.” Submission deadline for proposals is 30^th April 2025. Submission deadline for stories is 30^th June 2025.
Deadline: See above
Length: 5,000 – 10,0000 words
Pay: $125
Details here.
(Belanger Books is also open for two other anthologies, with later deadlines – The Necronomicon of Sherlock Holmes; and Solar Pons: A Year of Mystery 1919; see the guidelines page for details.)

The First Line Journal
They want fiction (any genre) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For non-fiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, the first line for the Summer issue is:
‘No one really knows why restoration stopped on the abandoned St. Julian hotel, where commoners and kings once came to relax in luxury.’
Deadline: 1 May 2025 for the Summer issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for non-fiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international contributors – see guidelines)
Details here.

Small Harbor Publishing: Harbor Review – (Sub)liminal
This is a magazine of poetry and art; they want submissions on the (Sub)liminal theme. “This issue will explore the hidden layers of thought and emotion that shape our perceptions and experiences. Subliminal messaging, often unnoticed and unacknowledged, influences our beliefs, desires, and interactions in profound ways. Poets are invited to uncover the nuances of what lies beneath the surface of consciousness, examining how unspoken truths and subconscious impulses can manifest in our lives.
The liminal can represent those fleeting moments of change, such as the twilight between day and night, or the emotional space between joy and sorrow. These transitional phases often evoke feelings of uncertainty and possibility, mirroring the subtle nudges of subliminal messaging that guide us without our full awareness.” Please note, “All honorarium payments to contributors and prize winners will be paid through PayPal. Sorry, no exceptions.”
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $10/poem
Details here and here.

(And, the press also offers fee-free submissions to BIPOC writers and previous finalists for their Harbor Editions – 2025 Hybrid Chapbook Reading Period; the deadline is end-May; see the relevant category in Submittable for details.)

The Other Stories Podcast: World Horror; Eldritch
This is a horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast from Hawk & Cleaver. They accept themed fiction submissions of up to 2,000 words. Two of their upcoming themes are:
— World Horror (“We want to cast a shadow over the entire globe. Bring us tales of the Shakchunni from Bangladesh, the Djinn from the Middle East, the Yokai from Japan. There’s a whole world of horror and fantasy out there and we want to showcase it all.”), deadline 1 May 2025; and
— Eldritch (“Peel back the curtain of reality and reveal the ultimate indifference and the horror of the infinite beyond.”), deadline 1 June 2025.
Deadlines: See above
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: £15
Details here, here, and here.

Flash Fiction Online: Wilderness Horror
They’re open now for unthemed flash fiction (in various genres, including speculative and literary) and also for a wilderness themed horror stories – they have detailed guidelines, including, “The forest can be a magical place. Full of beauty, wonder, fresh air, and escape from the daily grind. However, when the sun sets, the woods take on a different demeanor. That same beautiful wonder from before transforms into a place of uncertainty. A place where one might find themselves lost. A place where you might be alone… or perhaps you’re not. … Wilderness horror tickles that primal part of our brain. Beckoning us to a time without luxuries or modern amenities. Often playing with the theme of isolation, wilderness horror claws through our hubris, showing us in savage fashion just how powerful Mother Nature can be.” Please note, they want horror stories; dark fantasy and fairy tale will be a hard sell, for this call.
Both calls are in separate categories on their Submittable, and will close when their submission quota is filled.
Deadline: Until filled
Length: 500-1,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.

(And, Fraidy Cat Quarterly wants horror stories and art on the Growth theme. The deadline for general submissions from all writers is 7^th April, and they have an extended submission window for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and Palestinian writers till 14 April 2025; they pay $10-20 for fiction of 400-8,000 words; details here.) 

THEMED CONTESTS

(There are also some unthemed contests open now, including:

— The Alfred Bradley Bursary Award for writers based in the North of England new to writing for audio; “Submit an original and complete Drama or Comedy/Drama script written for radio, TV, stage or film with a minimum length of 30 pages … scripts will be assessed on their suitability for Audio Drama. Pure narrative comedy or sitcoms are not eligible.” Prize £5,000 bursary, a chance of a Radio 4 drama commission, deadline: 21 April 2025, details here.
— Whiting Foundation’s Creative Nonfiction Grants, for writers of creative nonfiction books. Projects that are under contract with a publisher  in the US, UK, or Canada are eligible; grants of $40,000 each, deadline: 23 April 2025, details here and here.

— League of Canadian Poets: Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize, a poetry prize for Canadian youth in two categories, the Junior (grades 7-9) and Senior (grades 10-12), with three prizes in each category. Submit one poem, up to one page long. Homeschooled students are welcome to submit; prizes CAD450, CAD400, CAD350 (see submission form), deadline: 30 April 2025, details here and here (This page also has details of all the League of Canadian Poets’ prizes.)

— EastOver Press is open for a prize for a debut short story collection, open to writers in the US; the prize is $2,000 and publication; they’ll close submissions on 1 May 2025, or when they reach their submission quota; see here.

— CINTAS Foundation: Fellowship in Creative Writing, a creative writing fellowship for writers having Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (having a Cuban parent or grandparent); applications can be in English or Spanish; fellows who are not U.S. citizens and who are living abroad must provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment; prize $25,000, deadline: 1 May 2025, details here (scroll down), here, here.)

O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants
The O’Shaughnessy fellowships are for people in various disciplines worldwide, including creative ones; this includes writers and journalists. It is a one-year program. “The Fellowships and Grants empower individuals of the highest caliber whose work positively impacts the world, from scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations to enduring artistic and cultural contributions.” They look for personal agency, exemplary proof-of-work, and resourcefulness in all applicants. “Fellows receive $100,000 to work on any project they choose with and support from OSV’s network of founders, investors, and experts.” They also have a sister grants program, which awards $10,000 each. There is no separate application process for the grants program; winners will be selected on the basis of their fellowship application form. The next steps, for shortlisted individuals, will be group discussions and individual interviews (see guidelines). You can learn more about past fellows and their projects here. They plan to award 10 fellowships and 20 grants each year.
Value: $100,000 each for the fellowships; $10,000 each for the grants
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Open for: Writers and journalists worldwide, as well as people in other disciplines
Details here.

The Baen Fantasy Adventure Award
They want stories in all fantasy genres up to 8,000 words. “It must be a work of fantasy, though all fantasy genres are open, e.g. epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, contemporary fantasy, etc.”
Value: “industry-standard rates for professional story submittals” + non-cash prizes
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (click on contest rules).

Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation: Author of Tomorrow Award
This international contest is designed to find the adventure writers of the future. Writers must enter a piece of short fiction. The work must fall within what can be defined as adventure writing (see guidelines).  There are three categories: for writers ages 16-21, 12-15, and under 11.
Value: £1,000 in the 16-21 group, £250 in the 12-15 group, £100 in the under-11 group
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Open for: All writers ages 21 and under
Details here and here.

Preservation Foundation Contest: Non-fictional Animal Stories
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). Their upcoming deadline is for the non-fiction animal stories category: “Stories should be factual and true accounts of an encounter or encounters by the author with a wild animal or animals. These include, but are not limited to, birds, fish, butterflies, snails, lions, bears, turtles, wombats, etc., as long as it is not a pet.” Entries should be 1,000-5,000 words. They want all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, to be on their website as long as the Foundation exists (see guidelines). Also see contests in other genres, which will have deadlines later in the year. 
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here.

New England Crime Bake: Al Blanchard Award
This is a short story award. Their guidelines say it must be a crime story, of up to 5,000 words, by a New England author or have a New England setting if the author is not from New England (the New England states are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island). The story may include the following genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror. Apart from the cash award, the winner also gets published in an anthology, and admission to the Crime Bake Conference (conference attendance is not a requirement).
Value: $100
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.

CNO Naval History Essay Contest – Professional Historian
This contest is supported by the US Naval Institute. Their website says, “The CNO invites entrants to submit essays that apply lessons from throughout naval history to solving today’s Navy challenges.” See guidelines for details on the theme. Essays have to be up to 3,500 words. This contest is open to: professional historians (including history museum curators, archivists, history teachers/professors, persons with history-related doctoral degrees; authors of books on naval history (not including self-published works); civilians who have published articles in an established historical or naval journal or magazine.
Value: $5,000, $2,500
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Open for: See above
Details here and here.
(They invite essays for various other prizes as well – see here.)

Waterston Desert Writing Prize
This prize is for a proposed book of literary non-fiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy – with the desert both as subject and setting. “It is recommended the writing sample submitted is part of the proposed project or closely represents it in content and style.” Apart from the cash award, there is also a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon.
Value: $3,000
Deadline: 1 May 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.

ABA Journal / Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction
This is a fiction contest for US writers (see guidelines). The ABA Journal is the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association. Send a story of up to 5,000 words that illuminates the role of the law and/or lawyers in modern society.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 1 May 2025
Open for: US writers
Details here.

(A couple of contests with later deadlines:

— Drue Heinz Literature Prize: This is for previously published writers of short fiction (see guidelines), and the submission period is 1 May-30 June 2025. The prize is for a short story collection, or for two or more novellas, and the award is $15,000. Details here, here, and  here (Submittable – the link for this prize will open on 1 May).

— RBC PEN Canada 2025 New Voices Award, a prize for new Canadian writers, ages 17 and over; unpublished writers (see guidelines) are encouraged to submit short stories, creative nonfiction, journalism, and poetry. Winner gets CAD3,000 and mentorship. Deadline: 12 May 2025. Details here.

— Academy of American Poets: James Laughlin Award: This is for a second full-length poetry manuscript by a US poet, contracted by a publisher. Manuscripts have to be 48-100 pages long. Translations and new editions of previously published books are not eligible. Apart from a cash prize of $5,000, the poet also receives an all-expenses-paid weeklong residency at The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. The deadline is 15 May 2025. Details here and here.

— BBC World Service: The International Audio Drama Competition: “Writers from around the world are invited to submit their scripts for the 29th International Audio Drama Competition (previously the International Playwriting Competition) which is now open for entries. The global competition, hosted by BBC World Service and the British Council, offers the unique opportunity for writers from outside the UK to use the medium of audio drama to tell stories for an international audience. Writers can enter in one of two categories: English as a First Language and English as a Second Language. Winners will receive a cash prize, be invited to attend an award ceremony in the UK in 2026, and to participate in the recording of their dramas for a world premiere on BBC World Service platforms. Flight and accommodation expenses are covered by the BBC.” The award is £2,500, and the deadline is 4 June 2025. Details here, here, and here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

(And, Air and Nothingness Press wants science fiction – see guidelines – submissions for Our Dust Earth, a shared-world anthology. Stories will be based upon the RPG – Our Dust Earth, which is a “Dying Earth” era game. They pay $0.08/word for stories of 1,000-3,000 words, and the deadline is 31 December 2024.)

Eye to the Telescope: (Non)Binaries
They want speculative poetry on the (Non)Binaries theme. “Binary systems—be they of astronomical bodies, numerical values, or sociological categories like gender—exist to simplify the expression of complex ideas and existences. While sociological binary pairings like man and woman, human and animal, artificial and natural, forcibly categorize beings into absolute and unchanging opposites, binary pairings among astrological bodies mark the relationship between two bodies without insisting on their utter difference. …How do these systems of categorization limit us? How does their rigid structure lead to new forms of expression and being
For this issue, we seek speculative poems that utilize, interrogate, re-enchant, and abandon binary systems of all kinds. What cannot be binaried? What can be non-binaried? How can a binary representational system speak? How can binaries in science and beyond speak to our human experiences of existence?”
They accept translations, too. Deadline: 15 December 2024
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.04/word (up to $25)
Details here.

Book Worms Zine: Space and Science Fiction Horror
They want short stories, essays, and poems for their Winter 2025 issue; the theme is Space and Science Fiction Horror(must have horror elements, not just sci-fi.) “We generally enjoy “fun”, “80s style” horror reminiscent of the zine’s old-school vibe, but we’ve also been blown away by fresh voices that take the genre in a new direction.” Submissions have to be mailed.
Deadline: 15 December 2024
Length: Up to 1,500 words for prose
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction and essays (up to 1,500 words), $25 for short poems (up to 10 lines), $50 for longer poems
Details here.

Flame Tree: Latin American Shared Stories
This is an anthology for their Beyond & Within series, “which will be a selection of speculative stories highlighting the many voices, mythologies, folklore and storytelling prowess of authors from Latin American countries or writing in the traditions of the Latin American diaspora.”
Deadline: 15 December 2024
Length: 2,000-4,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
(Flame Tree usually posts submission calls on their blog.)

The Brothers Uber: Once Upon a Moonless Night – Tales of Betrayal, Revenge, and Redemption
Their guidelines say, “It’s the fear—not of the dark—but rather what lurks in the dark. The terror that the mind can feel, but cannot see. The whisper on the wind, heard but not understood. … You know that you shouldn’t go out in the night, shouldn’t heed its seductive call. Night after night the darkness beckons. You know that one day soon you’ll lose your resolve, give in, and become the darkness. There’ll be no going back once you do.
These are the tales whispered in dark corners. Of good people pushed too far. Stories of revenge and redemption for past wrongdoings. Stories that excite the mind where what seems to be true isn’t always the case. Dark, foreboding, full of suspense, can you weave the story of what happens during the moonless night?” They want stories in all genres.
Deadline: 15 December 2024
Length: 250-15,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word, capped at $400
Details here.
(And, Impulsive Walrus Books wants work for a speculative fiction anthology, Glen Must Die! – they’ll pay $0.03-0.08/word for stories of 2,000-5,000 words, the deadline is 1 January 2025, and the anthology is contingent on their Kickstarter being funded.)

Neon Hemlock Press: Three calls
Neon Hemlock is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. They are open for three projects:
— Baffling Magazine: Strange Forms, Baffling Magazine is a project of Neon Hemlock Press, they publish speculative fiction with the Queer bent; they’re open 1^st to 15^th December 2024 for stories on the Strange Forms theme, as well as unthemed speculative fiction. They accept stories up to 1,200 words, and pay $0.08/word.
— We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction, a reprint anthology; they want speculative stories published in 2024 under 17,500 words that implicitly or explicitly explores queerness and/or transness. The project is open to all writers. Deadline 31 December 2024.
— Shatter the Sun: Queer Tales of Untold Adventure, “Stories of queer heroes forged and tempered in the fire, fighting dark stars and bright suns, and overthrowing tyranny in all its forms. Sword and sorcery, sweat and sandals, souls and stars. … We are looking primarily for fantasy stories on the gritty, un-epic side of things. We expect there will be a seam of the occult and cosmic horror running through the book. We’ll also probably include a couple sword and planet stories, but that won’t be the focus. … We’re probably not looking for stories set on Earth. We’re probably not looking for Indiana Jones-type stories either (though maybe a secondary-world decolonial approach would be cool?)” They’ll also accept translations. Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 6,000 words, deadline 15 January 2025.
Deadlines: See above
Length: See above
Pay: Varies
Details here.

(Submissions are also open for two of fourteen poems’ anthologies – one called eff-able featuring Queer disabled poets, deadline 17 December 2024; and the other for LGBTQ+ poets, deadline 10 January 2025, which pays £25/poem; details here.) 

Roses & Wildflowers: Anarchy and Harmony
They publish mythopoeic fiction, poetry, and art. For the Anarchy and Harmony theme, “This is what we hope is a very fun challenge. We are exploring how societies can be arranged differently. Inspired equally by archeological evidence of very different civilizations in the ancient Celtic sites and the new evidence recently discovered in Amazonia of thriving civilizations ordered on a very different approach to living together than the one we know currently and by UK LeGuin’s work in “The Telling” and “The Dispossessed” which explore different approaches to non-hierarchical societies. We challenge writers and poets to explore Anarchy and Harmony with a playlist to be inspired by.” They invite writers and poets to listen to a playlist on their website and tell them which song the story or poem was inspired by.
Deadline: 17 December 2024
Length: 1,000-7,500 words for fiction, up to 40 lines for poetry
Pay: $20 for fiction, $10 for poetry
Details here, here, and here.

Midnight & Indigo: Music
They publish works by Black women writers only – speculative and literary fiction, and essays. “Are you a Black woman writer with a passion for speculative fiction and horror? We want to hear from you! We’re looking for previously unpublished, character-driven narratives that transport readers to worlds beyond their wildest imagination.” They’re reading unthemed work, and are also reading works for a special Music issue: “We’re looking for original, previously unpublished short stories and essays that use music as a prompt. Your piece can be inspired by anything from a lyric from your favorite song to a song title, or even a personal memory.” 
Deadline: 30 December 2024
Length: 1,200-7,000 words for fiction for the music issue
Pay: $0.07/word for fiction, $150 for essays
Details here (Music issue guidelines and submission), here (general guidelines and submission links)

Brigids Gate Press: Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane – Nostalgic Terrors
They want horror fiction, nonfiction/essays, and poetry for this anthology. “The genre stirs a sense of nostalgia for us all, through vintage television hits like Tales from the Crypt and Elvira’s Movie Macabre, to famed comics such as Adventures into Terror and Weird Tales. Give us your nightmares, your childhood frights, your sleepaway camp mysteries. … Where does your mind go as you conjure unimaginable apparitions just beyond your reach? We want to know… when did Horror take root for you?
Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane: Nostalgic Terrors is a collection of original fiction, poems, and essays where new and seasoned horror writers recount their first experiences with the genre. A mix of terror, inspiration, comfort, and reassurance, this
anthology offers a powerful experience for those who seek to create and consume stories that transcend the page.” They will open around mid-month for submissions, and may close earlier than the deadline if their submission cap is met.
Reading period: 14^th – 31^st December 2024/until filled
Length: Up to 32 lines for poetry, 100 words for drabbles, 500-1,000 words for flash fiction, up to 1,000 words for nonfiction
Pay: $0.08/word for prose, $50 for drabbles and poems
Details here.

Workers Write! Tales from the Cleaners
This is a fiction and poetry anthology; they want stories and poems from the cleaner’s point of view. “We’re looking for fiction and poetry about the people who clean up after everyone, such as maids, janitors, custodians, waste management workers, crime scene cleaners, and even laundromat owners.”
Deadline: 31 December 2024, or until filled
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $5-50
Details here.
(Workers Write! also publishes chapbooks called the Overtime series, stories of 5,000-10,000 words – details here.)

Written Backwards: Silent Nightmares  — Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year
This horror fiction anthology will be published in hardback and other formats. “Silent Nightmares will be open for submissions the month of December, 2024. This anthology of dark holiday horrors will be co-edited by Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey, who will be eagerly sifting the slush for Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year. … For collaborative works, payment will be split equally between collaborators.”
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $500
Details here.

Channel Magazine
This Ireland-based magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. “We love work that speaks directly of a writer’s bond with and fear for our planet, and work that takes a local landscape, or a local flower, as its subject; equally, though, we love work that draws on an aspect of nature as setting, image or metaphor. We believe that all writing relies to some extent on historical engagement with nature, in that all human language has been shaped by our embeddedness in our shared environments.” They reopened for fiction and poetry on 15^th November, and the deadline for these genres is 31 December 2024. Non-fiction (considered for both print and online) is accepted on an ongoing bases. They accept submissions in English and Irish.
Deadline: 31 December 2024 for fiction and poetry, ongoing for nonfiction
Length: Varies
Pay: €35 per printed page, up to €250 per piece and with a minimum fee of €50 for single-page works; €35 per 400 words, up to a maximum of €250 per piece and with a minimum fee of €50 for work published online
Details here.

Collective Tales Publishing: Collective Madness – Schisms of the Soul
This is a fiction anthology. “We are publishing a dark fantasy anthology of short stories in the theme of “schisms of the soul.” Examples of this could include: Going insane, complicated ethical dilemmas, dimensional rifts, puppet masters, transformations (people becoming monsters or animals), hive minds, etc.” 
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Pay: $15
Details here and here.
(Collective Tales Publishing is also open for a dark drabbles anthology, which is open until filled – details here.)

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker: Jonathan Harker
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about the magazine here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on Jonathan Harker. “What happened on the way from the castle to the hospital in Buda-Pesth? What happens after the story ends? What is his relationship with his son? Jonathan is often perceived and portrayed as impish and weak, but he might just be one of the bravest characters in the book.”
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

The New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column of the New York Times. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Also, “Love may be universal, but individual experiences can differ immensely and be informed by factors including race, socio-economic status, gender, disability status, nationality, sexuality, age, religion and culture.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, March through June, and September through December. Writers are paid. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US.
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Length: 1,500-1,700
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
(Also see their Tiny Love Stories column; these are also personal essays similar in theme to Modern Love, but much shorter, of 100 words.) 

OwlCrate Press: Future States of Stars
This is a fiction anthology for upper YA (18+), new adult, and adult audiences. “We are specifically seeking stories in the dystopian sci-fi genre with a Black Mirror or Twilight Zone vibe. Authors are encouraged to explore themes of the near-to-far future of states, whether set here on Earth,in space, or in other dimensions.
Consider exploring dystopian themes such as authoritarian regimes, environmental collapse, surveillance societies, loss of individual freedoms, or the impact of advanced technology on humanity.”
Deadline: 31 December 2024 (extended)
Length: 6,000-8,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

Rosarium Publishing: Planet Black Joy
They want work by women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage only. This is a speculative fiction anthology, they want stories exploring and celebrating Black joy and pleasure. “We want to showcase stories of Black joy in the fantastical and the mundane in the present, past, and the future. We’d like a variety of Black joy from catharsis to irreverence to clawing resilience out of the darkness. From Black Twitter after the Alabama Brawl to the kind of joy that has been constructed in the face of white supremacy and patriarchy. We want to know what Black joy means to you.” They also accept translations and reprints.
Deadline: 1 January 2025
Length: 3,000-7,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals, $0.02/word for reprints
Details here.

(— And, FIYAH is also open; they only accept speculative fiction and poetry from Black writers of the African Diaspora. They’re reading submissions for an unthemed issue, pay $0.08/word for fiction of 2,000-15,000 words and $50 for poetry, deadline 31 December 2024.

— Also,  EastOver Press Anthology of Rural Stories is open, they want submissions of previously published fiction from BIPOC writers in the rural US only, whose short stories feature characters living and/or working in rural or semi-rural spaces/from BIPOC writers who’ve spent a significant amount of time in rural or semi-rural locales and whose work might reflect those spaces. Pays $100-300 for stories up to 7,500 words, deadline is 31 December 2024.)

The Other Stories Podcast: Weird; The Workplace
This is a horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast from Hawk & Cleaver. They accept themed fiction submissions of up to 2,000 words. Their upcoming theme is Weird,(“Bring us the bizarre, the unexplainable, the surreally beautiful. Old weird. New weird. Bizarro. Whatever. Bear in mind — we still want good stories with satisfying endings.”) deadline 1 January 2025; another theme is The Workplace(“Give us stories of the slow death — office politics, chaos from the cubicle, stories from the ant farm, the workshop, the assembly line, the burnout, the boss from hell.”), deadline 1 February 2025. They have listed other themes too, with later deadlines.
Deadlines: See above
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: £15
Details here, here, and here.

The Fantastic Other: Storm
Their general guidelines say, “We are interested in all things fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, surrealist, fabulist, and magical realist. Show off your weird!” They’re accepting submissions on the Storm theme: “In our changing climate, storms are here to stay. They batter us from within and without. Whether writing about a literal tempest or a figurative deluge, we want to read your torrential landscapes. Send us fiction, flash fiction, poetry, or art that strikes lightning in our hearts.”
Deadline: 5 January 2025
Length: Up to 3,500 words for fiction, up to 4 poems (see guidelines)
Pay: $5
Details here.

Rainy Weather Days
Their guidelines say, “We are shifting focus to works OF DEFIANCE—we are looking for works of and by voices of protest that challenge our current status quo. We are looking for resistance literature. This can be fictional prose of any genre, poetry, or nonfiction essays. … To be clear, the ideology of the work should oppose right-wing ideology, Nazism, Authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, white supremacy, etc. or uplift voices of dissent or marginalized voices.” They’re also looking for cover art.
Deadline: 6 January 2025
Length: 1,500-15,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $10/poem, $25 for prose
Details here and here.

The First Line Journal
They want fiction (any genre) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. They also accept 4-part stories (or 5-part, if also ending with the last-line prompt from The Last Line Journal – ‘I called back a week later and told them we were good to go.’ – see guidelines) from writers who want to use all the 4 (or 5) prompts, but all of these must be submitted by the 1 February 2025 deadline. For nonfiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, the first lines are:
Spring: ‘Jayce recognized the man right away but couldn’t remember his name.’ Due date: February 1, 2025
Summer: ‘No one really knows why restoration stopped on the abandoned St. Julian hotel, where commoners and kings once came to relax in luxury.’ Due date: May 1, 2025
Fall: ‘Her truck took the sharp turns of the mountain road with ease.’ Due date: August 1, 2025
Winter: ‘When anyone in town needed help, they contacted Rocky Germain.’ Due date: November 1, 2025
Deadlines: 1 February 2025 for the Spring issue, and for 4-part (or 5-part) stories; later for other issues (see above)
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international contributors – see guidelines)
Details here.

THEMED CONTEST CALLS
(There are also some unthemed contest calls open now, including:

— Eggtooth Editions Chapbook Contest: For a chapbook in any genre (see their post here), of 15-50 pages; it is open to writers who have not previously published a full-length book, and there can be joint authors (see guidelines). They will only accept up to 100 fee-free submissions, so presumably may close earlier than the deadline. The winner also gets $250 and 20 copies of the chapbook, deadline 15 December 2024, or until filled, details here. 

— Lit Fox Award: A new award for full-length poetry manuscripts of at least 48 pages by Lit Fox Books; the award is publication and $1,500, deadline 15 December 2024, details here and here.

— RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers: This is for Canadian writers who have published work in literary magazines, but not in book form. Submit up to 10 pages of either unpublished short fiction, creative nonfiction, or 5-10 pages of poetry. A self-published book or chapbook will not disqualify you. The prize is CAD10,000 for winners in each category; CAD2,500 for finalists, deadline 16 December 2024, details here (overview), here (poetry), here (short fiction), and here (creative nonfiction).

— Porter House Review 2024-2025 Editor’s Prize: Porter House Review  is an online literary journal produced in conjunction with Texas State University’s MFA program in Creative Writing. They have announced their 2024 – 2025 Editor’s Prizes in Poetry (submit up to 5 poems), Nonfiction (up to 6,000 words), and Fiction (up to 8,000 words). They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully. Also, “All submitted works will be considered for publication. Porter House Review is dedicated to paying all of our featured writers a competitive rate for accepted works.” While there is a $10 submission fee for the prize, during the week of December 22nd through December 28th, this fee will be waived. Prizes are $750 each for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, details here and here.

— And, A Public Space has writing and editorial fellowships, both of which will be announced in December – see here.

— table//FEAST Literary Magazine: The Fifty & Up Writer Awards: This contest is fee-free and only open to writers aged fifty and up. There will be one winner for poetry (send up to 2 pages), fiction, and creative nonfiction (prose of 500-2,000 words). Each winner will receive $50 plus a dollar per year if beyond the fifty years mark, deadline 1 January 2025, details here. They have other contests too, which have submission fees.

— The Welkin Mini: An international contest, “The Welkin Mini is a competition to celebrate micro fiction and creative non-fiction up to 100 words. Like the main Welkin Prize, it is free to enter and aims to be a welcoming space for all writers,” first prize £50 – please see guidelines, deadline 2 January 2025, details here.

— San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program: This is a fellowship to finish a significant writing project, in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. There does not need to be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck’s. It is for writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support. Fellows are expected to give one public reading and will be required to reside within the counties of the San Francisco Bay Area, adjacent counties of the California central coast or central valley during most of the academic year. There will be up to 6 fellowships of $15,000 each, deadline 5 January 2025, details here and here.)
J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards 
These awards are given for nonfiction works in progress which deal with a topic of American political or social concern, to aid their completion. Writers must already have a contract with a US-based publisher. One of the application requirements is 50-75 pages from the work in progress. There is no fee for the work-in-progress award. The prizes are run by Columbia Journalism School – they also have other awards, which charge entry fees.  
Value: $25,000 
Deadline: 5 December 2024 
Open for: Unspecified 
Details here and here.

The sine qua non prizes for prose and poetry
For their inaugural issue, the sine qua non is sponsoring two creative writing competitions: for creative prose (send up to 15 pages) and poetry (send up to 5 poems / 10 pages). “We are interested in prose and poetry that addresses any topic in a way that exhibits your unique perspective. We want to read about characters and places humming with life and situations that challenge our conceptions of the world or deepen our investment in it. We want to read pieces whose forms guide and enliven their content or upend our understandings of what forms can do. How you write affects what you write and vice versa. Surprise, unsettle, and amaze us. If you aren’t sure what to write about, remember that this is an inaugural issue, so consider some of the following suggestions: beginnings, newness, fresh starts.” They have a submission quota, so may close earlier than the deadline. Submission is via a form on their website.
Value: $500 each for poetry and prose, and $250 for runners-up
Deadline: 15 December 2024, or until filled
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

King’s English Society Poetry Competition: Paper
This is a poetry contest by the King’s English Society (formerly the Queen’s English Society), and the theme is ‘Paper’. “Poems sent by post should each be typed on a separate sheet with contact details on the reverse. Each emailed poem must be sent separately with contact details well separated from the poem.” The poem can be up to 20 lines, in the author’s choice of form.
Value: £100
Deadline: 15 December 2024
Length: Up to 20 lines
Details here.

Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition
This is an international contest for crime novel manuscripts, for writers who have never been the author of any published novel in any genre and are uncontracted. The writing should be no less than approximately 60,000 words. Authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work. Minotaur is an imprint of Macmillan. 
Value: $10,000 advance against royalties 
Deadline: 15 December 2024 
Open for: Unpublished writers (see guidelines) 
Details here.

The London Society – Dreams for London
This is an international themed contest about London. “Tell us why you love this city. Write a Love Letter to London…. Entries are to be around the theme of “Dreams for London”. What are your passions, hopes and dreams for this incredible city? Just let your imagination run wild. It can be reportage, an historical essay, a ‘think piece’, a spot of futurology, a work of fiction, a poem. We are open to all forms and styles.” Entries can be up to 500 words, and poems can be up to 40 lines. There are 4 categories: Aged 11 and under; 12-18 year olds; Open – all other entrants; and Poetry. They also accept certain previously published works (see guidelines).
Value: £500, £250, and £100 each for Open and Poetry categories; £500, and 4 runners up prizes of £150 each for 11 and under, and 12-18 categories
Deadline: 20 December 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Poetry Society of America: The Four Quartets Prize  
This is for a unified and complete sequence of poems published in the US in a print or online journal, chapbook, or book in 2024. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were published in 2024 and that brought together, they form a complete sequence. The minimum requirement is 14 pages of published poems unified by subject, form, and style. Entire books composed of a unified sequence, however long, are also welcome.Submissions will have to be mailed. Self-published work is not eligible. They have other awards also, though these have an entry fee, or do not have an application process.  
Value: $1,000 for three finalists, an additional $20,000 for the winner 
Deadline: 31 December 2024 (postmark date)
Open for: Unspecified 
Details here (download the entry form). 

Lilith Magazine Fiction Contest 
This magazine publishes work of interest to Jewish women. They like work with both feminist and Jewish content. Submit fiction up to 3,000 words.   
Value: $300 
Deadline: 31 December 2024  
Open for: All writers 
Details here. 

The Caribbean Writer Prizes
Their website says, “The Caribbean Writer (TCW) has issued a call for submissions for Volume 39 under the 2025 theme: Possibilities: Beyond Tradition, Inside of Courage.
Contributors may submit works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays or one act plays which explore the ideas resonating within the region and its diaspora. The Caribbean should be central to the work, or the work should reflect a Caribbean heritage, experience or perspective.” Submissions are also eligible for various prizes (there is no separate application process): The Canute A. Brodhurst Prize of $600 for best short fiction; The Daily News Prize of $500 awarded to a resident of the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands; The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize of $500 for a new or emerging writer; The Cecile deJongh Literary Prize of $500 for a Caribbean author whose work best expresses the spirit of the Caribbean; The Vincent Cooper Literary Prize of $300 awarded to a Caribbean author for exemplary writing in Caribbean Nation Language.
Value: $300-600
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.

The Writers College: My Writing Journey Competition
This is an international contest, open to all writers. They want a 600-word essay on the theme, The best writing tip I’ve ever received.
Value: NZ$200 (R2000 or £100)
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Meridians: The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award
Meridians is a literary magazine affiliated with Smiths College. This award is for short works – poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and play scripts. “The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award celebrates an author whose work embodies the lyrically powerful and historically engaged nature of Dr. Alexander’s writing. We aim for this award to highlight different forms of knowledge production that emerge from the artistic, political, and cultural advocacy undertaken by women of color nationally, transnationally, and globally. Works engaging with feminism, race, and transnationalism will be prioritized. Translated works and manuscripts in languages other than English are encouraged as well.” Apart from a cash prize, the award also offers a reading and retreat at Smith College, and publication in Meridians.
Value: $500
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

The Lyric Magazine: College Poetry Contest 
This is a contest open to undergraduates enrolled full time in an American or Canadian college or university. Poems must be original and unpublished, 39 lines or less, written in English in traditional forms, preferably with regular scansion and rhyme. Students can send up to three poems.  
Value: $500, $200, $100 
Deadline: 31 December 2024
Open for: Undergraduates in an American or Canadian college or university 
Details here.

Defenestration.net Lengthy Poem Contest
They are reading entries for a lengthy poem, of at least 120 lines and up to chapbook-length (see guidelines). It is best to divide it into parts or sections, though this is not a strict requirement. Poem cycles will be considered. Please note, the shortlisted poems will be posted on the website, which will be followed by fan voting.
Value: $300
Deadline: 1 January 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here

Shepton Snowdrops: Treasures of Nature
Their website says, “The Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Project is a not for profit Community Interest Company run entirely by volunteers. We run and support the annual Snowdrop Festival each February and plant snowdrop bulbs each autumn across the town.” They’re also open for a poetry contest. There is an entry fee for over-18s, and poets under 18 years can send one poem, on the ‘Treasures of Nature’ theme, of up to 30 lines, for free. Your entry should have a unique title and your initials in the filename.
Value: £50-100 for under-18s
Deadline: 6 January 2025
Open for: Free for under-18s
Details here.

The Leon Levy Centre for Biography: Biography Fellowships  
These are four resident fellowships at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, to nonfiction writers working on biographies. preference in the award of fellowships is given to those who have not yet published a biography or received fellowships for the writing of a biography. They also welcome applications from published and accomplished writers who are undertaking their first biography. The Leon Levy Center for Biography does not award fellowships for memoirs, essays, plays, films, or fiction. One of the application requirements is a sample of the proposed biography, a maximum of 2,500 words. (Also see the Sloan Fellowship, given annually to a writer working on a biography of a figure in the field of science or technology.) 
Value: $72,000, residency 
Deadline: 6 January 2025 
Open for: Writers working on biographies 
Details here and here.

The Joan Shorenstein Fellowship
This is a fellowship from Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. “The mission of the Joan Shorenstein Fellowship is to advance research in the field of media, politics and public policy; facilitate a dialogue among journalists, scholars, policymakers and students; provide an opportunity for reflection; … The primary focus for a Fellow is to research, write and publish a paper on a media/politics topic.” Also, “Past fellows include journalists from local, national and international TV, radio, print, and digital media; media and civic technology innovators; nonfiction authors; political advisors and policymakers; leading academic scholars in fields such as media research and political science; and policy analysts. Successful former fellows have come from a variety of backgrounds and career stages.” And, “Fellows work independently, with the support of center staff, on the project and/or research agenda agreed to between the fellow and the center. The exact nature of a fellow’s work varies depending on interests, goals, desired impact, and capacity. Fellows who are in-residence and doing significant research work are expected to make the fellowship their full-time commitment during their term. Shorter term fellowships or hybrid arrangements are possible, and may be proposed. “ Also, “Stipends and other financial and material assistance for fellows are dependent on need, and scope of a fellow’s work and contribution to the center. You may indicate in the application whether you would require financial assistance to do your proposed project or fellowship activities. Stipend funds are limited and not guaranteed.” Applicants must be a working journalist with a minimum of ten years of full-time experience (see guidelines), politician, scholar or policymaker currently or recently active in the field. They are now accepting fellowship applications for the Spring 2025 term, Fall 2025 term, and the full 2025-2026 academic year. Application is via a form on the website.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline: Open now
Open for: Non-fiction authors and journalists
Details here.

(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:

— The 2025 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting: This prize, for an hour-long play, is split across four categories with different eligibility requirements; one of the categories is open internationally, the rest for UK playwrights. Prizes range from £10,000 to £20,000, deadline 9 January 2024, details here and here.

— Discoveries 2025: It is for UK- and Ireland-based unpublished and unrepresented women writers, for a novel-in-progress (adult fiction) – send the first 10,000 words and a synopsis. This prize is run by The Women’s Prize Trust, Audible, Curtis Brown Literary Agency, and Curtis Brown Creative writing school. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets literary representation. There are also non-cash prizes for shortlisted and longlisted writers (see T&C). The prize is £5,000, and the deadline is 13 January 2025. Details here and here.
 
— Patrick Henry Fellowship: This fellowship is from the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. It is for those working on American history and/or legacy. The residential fellowship supports work on the subject by both scholars and non-academics in many genres. Applicants should have a significant project currently in progress — a book, film, oral history archive, podcast series, museum exhibition, or similar work. The project should address the history and/or legacy – broadly defined – of the U.S. founding era and/or the nation’s founding ideas. The fellowship pays $45,000, health benefits, book allowance, faculty privileges, and residency; the deadline is 15 January 2025. Details here.

— Harbor Editions Prizes: They are running two prizes – the Laureate Prize for Poetry, for which they accept fee-free submissions from BIPOC writers and previous finalists for poetry manuscripts, the prize is $500 and publication; they also have the Harbor Review Editor Prize, which is for a micro poetry chapbook manuscript, and for which, also, submissions for BIPOC writers and previous finalists are free, and prize is $200; entries for other poets have a submission fee; the deadline for both prizes is 31^st January 2025, details are in their Submittable; please be sure to submit in the correct category.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

THEMED CALLS

Sans. Press: The Garden Anthology
They want fiction. “In the brightness of snow or in the rich colours of an orchard, the world is blooming with tales to be told and life to be lived. There is deep pleasure, sensual wonder – but also horrors untold, and their roots might’ve grown tangled in the same patch of grass. For our eighth anthology, we want the stories that pick the fruit and take a daring bite; we want to watch the stains the juice leaves behind as it drips. We want to unpick the weaved tapestry of all that builds a garden – colours, taste, the senses, life, death, regrowth; the flowers and the bugs.
The Garden is an anthology for stories that engage with the living world in all its glory and messiness. From blossom to decay, stories can interpret the premise in any way; be as metaphorical or literal as you wish – just don’t be afraid to get a little dirt under your fingernails.” They want stories in any genre inspired by the title, The Garden, and the cover artwork (see their website). Please note, they will close submissions earlier than the deadline if they hit their submission cap.
Deadline: 2 July 2024, or until filled
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: €175
Details here.
(Apart from anthologies, Sans.Press also opens submissions periodically for their other project, The Archive, where they accept “fresh & weird” stories. Submissions for this project are currently closed.)

Seaside Gothic
This UK-based magazine publishes art, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that meet the criteria of seaside gothic literature (it is led by emotion, not reason, exploring the human experience mentally and spiritually as well as physically; It addresses duality—land and sea, love and hate, the beautiful and the grotesque; It connects to the edge, living on the seaside either literally or figuratively, and has one foot in the water and the other on solid ground).
Reading period: 8-14 July 2024
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: £0.01/word
Details here.

Calendar of Fools: Intergalactic Rejects
This is a fiction anthology. They want “speculative short stories (science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, cosmic horror, etc.) that have been rejected from multiple markets.” Please note, the story you submit should have been rejected at least three times.
Deadline: 12 July 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Spooky: Halloween
This cozy horror magazine is reading on the Halloween theme, as well as unthemed horror submissions. They have detailed guidelines about the kind of stories they want, including, “Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? … perhaps the easiest way to understand what we mean is to read stories by some of the old masters we love: Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Roald Dahl. Watch classic episodes of Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery. Read old horror comics. Listen to radio dramas like Suspense, Quiet, Please, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. … In short, we’re looking to provide a space for a type of storytelling that has largely gone out of style – dark and scary, but playful and approachable with an emphasis on plot.” They also want horror haiku.
Deadline: 13 July 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words (prefer 2,500-3,000 words) for fiction
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here and here.
(Submissions are also open for PseudoPod, an online and audio horror fiction magazine from the Escape Artists suite of magazines – they want reprints only, of horror stories that have been/will be published in 2024. They pay. The deadline is 31 July 2024. Details here, here, and here.)

Black Cat Publishing: Black Cat Tales
This is a fiction and poetry anthology. “A black cat approaches, do you eagerly cross its path, or run in the opposite direction? From the superstitious to the unlucky, from a witch’s familiar to a soul stealing grave robber, black cats have captured our imagination and remain solidly in the realm of the dark. Dazzle us with your best black cat story or poem. A black cat or a clowder of black cats must be featured predominantly in your story and not simply set decoration.” Regarding genre, they say, “horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, erotica, weird westerns, cyberpunk, steampunk…we’re open to all but prefer dark fiction.”
Deadline: 15 July 2024
Length: 500 – 3,500 words for story, max 25 lines for poetry
Pay: $50 for fiction, $25 for poetry
Details here.

Escape Artists: Cast of Wonders – Young Writers Issue
Cast of Wonders is a Young Adult podcast and online speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror) magazine, and they’ll open mid-month for submissions for their young writers issue, when they will only accept submissions from young writers. They also accept reprints and translations. Their submission portal will open for fiction during the reading period. They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully.
Reading period: 15-31 July 2024 (see their schedule here)
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for original fiction
Details here and here.

Essential Dreams Press: Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology
This fiction anthology will open around mid-month for submissions, and has two submission windows; one for underrepresented writers, and another for all writers. “STORYTELLER: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology is a celebration of Lee’s influence in speculative fiction. Not only did Tanith Lee write nearly 90 novels, but she also wrote hundreds of short stories in and across a wide range of genres including fairy tales, science fiction, horror, fantasy, erotica, gothic, historical fiction, and the weird. Her work has inspired generations of writers and has influenced some of the greatest authors working in speculative fiction today.” And, “STORYTELLER is seeking original, unpublished stories  under the umbrella of genre, including but not limited to science fiction, fantasy, horror, YA, romance, and any of their many subgenres. … As part of their submission, you will be required to provide two short statements: 1) how Tanith Lee inspired or influenced your own writing practice and 2) why you submitted this particular story for our Tanith Lee tribute anthology i.e., what makes it a perfect fit.” They have two reading periods; call #1, July 16-22, is open to underrepresented writers only; “We will only be accepting stories from underrepresented and historically marginalized voices including BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, disabled, and neurodiverse writers.”; and call #2, during July 23-29 2024, will be open to all writers.
Reading periods: See above
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

Dead Fish Books: Madame, Don’t Forget Your Sword
This is a fiction anthology. “This anthology is dedicated to all the minions, sidekicks, and henchpeople: the ones responsible for getting the takeout, picking up the kids, and making sure that the evil plan actually works. The ones dedicated to showing how the monster works before the hero comes to save the day! Give them their spotlight: What drama happens when you work HR for a mad scientist? What happens if the sidekicks unionize? What if the red shirts accidentally don’t die?”
Deadline: 30 July 2024
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $5 + royalties
Details here.

Obsidian Butterfly: Atlas of the Deep Ones
This is a fiction, nonfiction, and poetry anthology. “The stories we are looking for are all about Deep Ones–H.P. Lovecraft’s creations as seen in “Shadow Over Innsmouth.” … We want stories that are truly about Deep Ones: Deep One pirates willing to raid some truly unusual ships, beach bums sharing a smoke with a new friend. How do you handle the call to the sea when you live in Kansas? How did encounters with Romans, Vikings, and rum runners play out? Maybe they were the Sea People leading to the Bronze Age Collapse. Did they sink the White Ship that messed up English Royal succession? Or what or a more distant, perhaps primordial past? The “non-fiction” should be articles about aspects of Deep One culture, biology, history and everything in-between.
Nothing from New England (Innsmouth) or South Pacific seas unless you give us a time period we haven’t seen before. Dive deep and grasp the Weird.”
Deadline: 30 July 2024
Length: 500-6,000 words for fiction, 500-1,000 words for nonfiction, up to 2 pages for poetry
Pay: $25 for fiction, $15 for nonfiction and poetry
Details here.

Zoetic Press: Non-Binary Review – False Memories
They want poetry, fiction, essays, translations, and art. They’re reading on the False Memories theme. Please remember, they accept submissions until a cap is reached, or the deadline, whichever comes first. All submissions must have a clear relationship to the theme. Apart from the theme, they are also accepting submissions for Dear Horace Greely and Heartbeats: Visual Verse sections; they also offer feedback to 4 POC poets every month. On the False Memories theme, they say, “False memories first came to public consciousness in the 1980s when a group of pre-schoolers at a California preschool were coached by well-meaning social workers and police investigators into “remembering” Satanic abuse that never happened. The fallout from that episode wasn’t just the persecution of an innocent family, but a nationwide mass delusion now known as “the Satanic Panic,” where authorities were warning the public about supposed widespread satanic cults committing heinous acts of abuse. Not a single one of these warnings were founded in fact, and it is now known that a large number of them were propaganda. But false memories aren’t always bad. There is a common phenomenon wherein people hear stories of their early childhoods so often that those stories turn into “memories.” It is common in dreams to have “memories” of things that happened to the dream self, but not to the real self. Or a person might believe that they took their regular medication, brought in the garbage bins, or picked up the mail when they haven’t. We’re looking for weird and wonderful stories of not just the memories themselves, but of their production, their repercussions, their wider meanings. We’re looking for false memories that might have changed history, that led to remarkable discoveries, that impacted lives.” They do not want works on recovered memory. They would also like to avoid stories centering abuse, trauma, and violence.
Deadline: 31 July 2024, or until filled
Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry
Pay: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry
Details here and here.
(They’re also accepting submissions for the Ritual theme with a later deadline, and for other sections for which there is no deadline – see their Submittable for details.)

October Nights Press: GabaGhoul – A Mafia Horror Anthology
This is a fiction anthology. “This anthology will merge the thrills and chills of horror with the dark underworld and dealings of the mafia. A hitman haunted by past contracts? A boss who dabbles in the dark arts? A ghastly horror lurking in the shadows that chills the most hardened capo to the bone? There are so many themes to explore and organized crime groups from around the world. We are accepting stories from all horror sub-genres. Slow burn, splatter, erotica, extreme, etc are all welcomed so long as they marry horror with the mafia.” Stories should be at least 3,000 words, and payment is capped at 5,000 words. Please see their note about contributor copies to international writers. 
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: See above
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.

Bannister Press: Other – the 2024 fantasy short story anthology
Bannister Press specializes in supernatural and fantasy stories loved by adults and young adults. For this fiction anthology, they only want submissions from writers who identify as women. “We are seeking international short story submissions by writers who identify as women for an anthology with a focus on what it means to be on the outside looking in, or comfortably or uncomfortably out of step with the world(s) at large, and with a fantasy element (either subtle or writ large). The story can be visually focused, or character/narrative focused, as long as it leaves the reader thinking about the story long after closing the book. We don’t want a lesson, we want an experience that makes us come alive. Humour is fine as long as it’s not about the mic drop.”
Deadline: 31 July 2024 (extended)
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Black Beacon Books: The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery
This is a fiction anthology, the third in the series. “The idea of this anthology series is to make each volume more gripping, more memorable, and more mysterious than the last. We’re looking for short stories with an unforgettable protagonist and a clever puzzle to solve.” They will also accept reprints for this anthology.
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: 3,000-9,000 words
Pay: $25 for original stories
Details here (scroll down) and here.
(They’re also open for submissions on the Steampunk Sleuths theme; that anthology has a later deadline.)
WolfSinger Publications: Cowboy Up
This is a fiction anthology; they want stories around the Rodeo. “They can be in any genre as long as the sport of Rodeo is a key part of the story. Stories must revolve around the sport, the riders or the animal athletes involved in Rodeo and while being realistic to the sport must also portray it in a favorable light. We do hope to receive stories that cover all of the events in Rodeo: Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bull Riding, Tie-Down Roping, Steer Wresting, Team Roping, Steer Roping, Barrel Racing and Ladies Breakaway Roping. Stories can also feature Bull Fighters, Barrel Men, Pick Up Men, the medical teams (human and veterinarian) – or anyone involved in the sport. … Break the story-writing rules if you want. If you use a tried-and-true plotline, twist it in an original and interesting way. Original stories are preferred. Query for reprints.” And, 75% of all proceeds from this anthology will be donated to an organization that provides help to injured riders and their families.
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $20
Details here.

Mysterion: Christian speculative fiction
They want science fiction, fantasy and horror stories that engage meaningfully with Christian themes, characters or cosmology. The stories need not teach a moral, or be close to an approved theological position, or be pro-Christian. They are especially interested in stories that show Christians from cultures beyond those of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. They also accept translations and reprints. They have two annual reading periods for fiction, January and July.
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: Up to 9,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

FIYAH: Spacefaring Aunties
FIYAH is a speculative fiction magazine that only takes submissions from Black people of the African Diaspora. They want submissions on the ‘Spacefaring Aunties’ theme. “It’s time to explore the adventures of bold, fearless women who defy societal expectations and embark on daring space voyages. From thrilling space operas to quiet character studies, we want to see Aunties who are scientists,  engineers, pilots, and leaders guiding their crews through uncharted territory. What Kerine is looking for:
Women-led stories, not as sidekicks but fleshed-out protagonists.
SHOW how cool these Aunties are through their actions. Quiet moments on a spaceship are good, but make enough tension to highlight the bravery of these women.
A wide spectrum of women- queer, disabled, etc. – without feeding into the “Strong Black Woman ” tropes that often dehumanize and stifle characters.” They also want speculative poetry.
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: 2,000-7,000 words for short stories and novelettes up to 15,000 words; up to 1,000 words for poetry
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $50 for poetry
Details here.

New Myths: The Janus Gates
New Myths publishes speculative fiction of every kind, and they like each issue to have a balance of works: science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. They also publish reviews. They’re also reading submissions for ‘The Janus Gates’ anthology. “Besides looking back into the past and forward into the future, Janus was also the original gatekeeper, the first god to open the portal between gods and men, the god who guarded every new beginning and ending, every transformation, the god you prayed to every morning before you could speak to any other. A Roman peasant stepping through the Janus Gate in Rome in the spring was transformed into a soldier marching off to conquer the world. The Roman soldier stepping out of the Janus Gate in the fall became the peaceful farmer again.
Who better to inspire our next NewMyths anthology centering around portals, thresholds, transformations–the future and past worlds of our dreams and myths?” Their reading periods are January-February and June-July.
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: Up to 10,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here, here (scroll down to ‘Anthology News’), and here.

Flash Frog
They want flash fiction of up to 1,000 words that is “Small. Brightly Colored. Deadly to the Touch.” They accept general submissions year-round, with some exceptions. In July, they will accept ghost story submissions only.
Deadline: 31 July 2024 for ghost story submissions
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

Solarpunk Magazine
This is a magazine of solarpunk fiction. The magazine “publishes hopeful short stories and poetry that strive for a utopian ideal, that are set in futures where communities are optimistically struggling to solve or adapt to climate change, to create or maintain a world in which humanity, technology, and nature coexist in harmony rather than in conflict. We also publish solarpunk art as well as nonfiction that explores real world, contemporary topics and their intersection with the solarpunk movement for a better future.” Also, “Any genre of science fiction, interstitial fiction, magic realism, or fantasy has potential as a solarpunk forum—we welcome robots and elves with equal excitement.” The kind of work they want is described on their Moksha submission page, as well as the guidelines page. Also, “In 2024, we are particularly looking for stories between 1,500 and 3,000 words. While our word limit remains 7,500, stories that fall between 1,500 and 3,000 will have a better chance of being selected for at least the first few submission periods in 2024.” Nonfiction is open on an ongoing basis. All the 2024 fiction submission periods are listed on their website.
Deadline: 14 July 2024 for fiction
Length: See above
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction; $40/poem; $75/essay or article
Details here (guidelines) and here (Moksha submission portal).

The Last Girls Club: Demagogues
This is a feminist horror magazine. Their upcoming theme is ‘Demagogues’. “Demagogue is defined as a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using a rational argument. Some synonyms for a demagogue are fanatic, fomenter, hothead, incendiary, inciter, instigator, politician, rabble-rouser, radical, rebel, revolutionary, troublemaker. It’s an election year in the US. Things are promising to get weird and/or violent. The rest of the world looks like their having the same fight coming to their doors.” They accept fiction and poetry submissions, and nonfiction pitches.
Deadline: 1 August 2024, or until filled
Length: Up to 2,500 words for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.015/word for fiction, $10 for poetry
Details here and here.

DarkLit Press: In the Gallows Wake – A Pirate Horror Anthology
This is a fiction anthology of “piratical horror stories that are certain to plunge readers into the heart of darkness on the high seas, where cursed pirates and spectral ships reign with terror and betrayal, promising no soul safe passage through their nightmarish waters.” And, “Diverse voices in pirate stories transform the high seas into a vibrant canvas of human experience, weaving a rich tapestry that blends historical accuracy with untold narratives, ensuring every wave and whisper carries the weight of authenticity and boundless imagination. This approach not only breathes life into the sails of traditional tales but also charts a course toward a more inclusive and multifaceted exploration of freedom, identity, and adventure.”
They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Length: 4,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
The First Line Journal
They want fiction (all genres) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For nonfiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, for the Fall issue, the first line is:
“When she was eight, Alice Henderson briefly held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles.”
Deadline: 1 August 2024 for the Fall issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international writers – see guidelines)
Details here.

Zombies in the New Normal Anthology
This is a fiction anthology – they want real-world based zombie horror. They have detailed guidelines about the kind of stories they want, including, “At its heart, this anthology is about America and the sometimes blind resilience to carry on. These stories hint at that resilience and acceptance of this “New Normal.””
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Length: 3,000-12,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here (scroll down). 

The Other Stories Podcast
This is a horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast from Hawk & Cleaver. They accept themed fiction submissions of up to 2,000 words. Some upcoming themes are: The Tarot, deadline 1 August; Shakespeare, deadline 1 September; and Bleeding Hearts, deadline 1 November 2024.
Deadlines: See above
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: £15
Details here, here, and here.

Motherwell: Holidays as a Parent, and more
Motherwell is a general-interest magazine on parenting; they accept essays, and work in other formats, on parenting. They accept perspective pieces, personal essays, essays on the ‘parenting and food’ theme, and more. They’re currently also looking for completed essays on ‘Holidays as a Parent’ theme. “We’d love to invite submissions about what the holidays (e.g. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving) mean to you and your family. Or anything regarding how they make you feel about being a parent. We are open to a range of formats and lengths: personal essays, humor pieces, listicles, anecdotes, etc. These submissions will go through our regular paid/unpaid process (see dropdown menu). All formats welcome and please include a word count (we tend to cap at 1,200).” Please note, some submissions to this magazine (shorter pieces, alternative formats, and more) are unpaid.
Deadline: Unspecified
Length: Up to 1,200 words for essays
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
(Motherwell has more than one category listed on Submittable; please be sure to submit in the correct one.)

THEMED CONTESTS
(Apart from the themed contests below, submissions are also open for:
— Blessing the Boats Selections by BOA Editions – this isn’t a contest, but an open submission period for a poetry collection by women of color in the US; one selected poet gets $5,000, and a publishing contract, deadline 14 July 2024, details here;
— And PEN has a few grants for writers, including the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, which support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or drama in English; the grants are $2,000-4,000, and the deadline is 1 August 2024; details here and here; there’s one for Children’s and Young Adult Novelists, the grant is $5,000, and the deadline is 1 August 2024; details here and here; another is for Literary Oral History, for literary works of nonfiction that use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement; there are two grants of $15,000 each, the deadline is 1 August 2024, details here and here; there are also the PEN/Bare Life Review Grants which recognize literary works by immigrant and refugee writers; there are two grants of $5,000 each, deadline 1 August 2024, details here and here. Please check all the PEN grants for detailed eligibility, and other requirements.
— There are also the Granum Foundation Prizes – the Granum Foundation Prize and the Granum Foundation Translation Prize, for works in progress, to help US-based writers complete substantive literary projects, including novels, memoirs, books of poetry, short story collections, and works in translation. The Granum Foundation Prize is $5,000, with up to three finalist prizes of with $500 or more each; and the Translation Prize is $1,500 or more. The deadline is 1 August 2024; details here.)

The H. G. Wells Short Story Competition
This is an international short story contest; they want short fiction of 1,500-5,000 words on this year’s theme, The Fool. There is no fee for The Margaret and Reg Turnill Competition for young writers, i.e. for those under 21 years, and the prize for that is £1,000. Also see their FAQ.
Value: £1,000
Deadline: 8 July 2024
Open for: Fee-free for writers under 21 years
Details here and here.

Sine Theta Magazine Annual Writing Contest
Sine Theta Magazine accepts works from people of Sino descent only, regardless of nationality, and the same eligibility requirement applies to this contest. They are accepting works of prose and poetry for their next issue. They have published three prompts on their website, and writers should respond to those prompts directly or indirectly. Out of all the entries submitted for publication in the magazine, they will select one winner for poetry, and another winner for prose, who will receive cash prizes. (Also, “All authors published in sinθ receive a $10 USD honorarium. For the two contest winners, there is an additional $200 USD prize, amounting to a total of $210 USD.”)
Value: $150 each for poetry and prose
Deadline: 10 July 2024
Open for: People of Sino descent
Details here.

The Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest
For this contest, they have two categories: a traditional sonnet, which can be Shakespearean or Petrarchan, and a modern sonnet. Poets can enter work in one or both categories (see guidelines). 
Value: $50, $30, $20
Deadline: 15 July 2024
Open for: All poets
Details here.

The Burlington Contemporary Art Writing Prize
This is a prize for an art exhibit review. “To enter the prize, entrants should submit one unpublished review of a contemporary art exhibition by the specified deadline. ‘Contemporary’ is defined as art produced since 2000. The exhibition under review can be staged anywhere in the world, but it should be current or have closed within the last six months at the date of submission.” Regarding eligibility, they say, “Entrants must have published no more than six pieces of writing in print or online, in any language or country, prior to their submission. This does not include personal blogs and websites.” Before entering, applicants are encouraged to read reviews recently published on Burlington Contemporary.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 15 July 2024
Open for: Emerging writers
Details here.

Strive Publishing & Free Spirit Publishing: Black Voices in Children’s Literature 
This is a contest for US-based Black writers. They want children’s stories by and about Black people. “Eligible entries will include original children’s books for ages 0–4 (50–125 words) or for ages 4–8 (300–800 words) featuring authentic, realistic Black characters and culture and focusing on one or more of the following topics: character development, self-esteem, identity, diversity, getting along with others, engaging with family and community, or other topics related to positive childhood development. Religious and fantasy themes will not be considered.”
Value: $1,000, $500, $250
Deadline: 22 July 2024
Open for: Black writers in the US
Details here and here.
(Their Submittable page also has details of other calls.)

Four Palaces Publishing: Solastalgia
This is a creative nonfiction contest; the essays will be published in an anthology. “Is change a sparkling jewel of fate or an unnecessary diversion in what was already a good thing? We’re interested in creative nonfiction essays on change over time with an environmental lens, particularly dealing with the concept of solastalgia—”the homesickness you have when you are still at home.” How has the environment progressed around you, and how is it causing existential distress to your community? What’s happened to your hometown that you only visit twice a year? Have you noticed how your body reacts to the pollen in the spring, when you’ve never noticed it at all? We love to see a rainbow at the end of the storm, but we’re also perfectly fine watching the gray skies from our window. Let’s see how your places have changed.
As opposed to nostalgia—the melancholia or homesickness experienced by individuals when separated from a loved home—solastalgia is the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment.” And, “We prefer mainstream literature, though don’t be afraid to send in something experimental—Leslie Jamison’s “The Empathy Exams” is a great reference.” The winning essay gets $1,000 and mentorship in either craft or professional development, and other writers selected for the anthology get $100.
Value: $1,000; $100 for other selected essays
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Details here and here.

Speculative Literature Foundation: Two grants
They will be open for two grants in July; writers can apply for one or both grants.
— The Diverse Writers grant is to support new and emerging writers of speculative fiction from underrepresented groups, including writers of color, disabled, women or working-class writers.
— The Diverse Worlds grant is for work that best represents a diverse world, irrespective of the writer’s background.
Writers may apply for one or both grants. The project must be a proposed book-length work of speculative fiction (novels, short story collections). Non-fiction, poetry, picture books, and editorial projects are not eligible. See their schedule for other grants, with later submission periods.
Value: Two grants of $500 each
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Open for: Underrepresented writers for Diverse Writers; and writers whose work represents a diverse world for Diverse Worlds
Details here (grant details) and here (schedule for all their grants).

Sisters in Crime: Pride Award for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers
This is a grant for an emerging writer in the LGBTQIA+ community. It is for an unpublished work of crime fiction, aimed at readers from children’s chapter books through adults. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress of 2,500 to 5,000 words. An unpublished writer is preferred, but writers with publication of not more than 10 pieces of short fiction and/or up to 2 self-published or traditionally published books are also eligible. Also, winners and any runners-ups who wish to maintain their anonymity, may do so, or they may choose to select a pen name for announcements. Please note, you have to register/log in to access the submission portal.
Value: $2,000
Deadline: 31 July 2024 (see the submission dates on their Facebook page)
Open for: Unpublished/emerging LGBTQIA+ writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
(See all of Sisters in Crime grants/awards here.)
 
Singapore Unbound Awards: Singapore and Other Literatures
These awards are for the best undergraduate critical essays on Singapore and Other Literatures. “For the purpose of these awards, Singapore literature is defined as literature written in English from 1965 onwards by a Singaporean citizen, permanent resident, or anyone with a strong personal and literary association with Singapore. The author does not have to be residing in Singapore nor to have maintained their citizenship. The work(s) discussed may be in any of the literary genres, including but not limited to poetry, fiction, literary non-fiction, drama, and graphic novels.”
Value: S250 each for three essayists
Open for: Undergraduate writers
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Details here.
(See Singapore Unbound’s submission calls here.)

Hachette UK: The Future Bookshelf – The Robinson New Voices Award
This is an opportunity for unagented, unpublished, underrepresented writers in the UK, for a popular psychology book. “Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf is running the New Voices Award Prize for its second year to help discover unpublished psychology writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and multiple ethnic backgrounds, as well as those who are disabled, gender diverse, part of the LGBTQIA+ community or from cultural or religious minorities. … The winner will receive an offer to publish with Robinson including an advance against royalties of at least £5000”. And, judging will be on the originality of the thesis or concept, the logic and credibility of the argument, the rigour of the research, the clarity and accessibility of the writing, the relevance of the topic to general and/or non-academic readers, and the usefulness of the advice.
Value: £5,000 advance, feedback, mentoring, meeting with a literary agent, and more
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Open for: UK-based unpublished and underrepresented writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
(See all of The Future Bookshelf’s opportunities, including for LGBTQ+ writers, here.)

(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:

— The Academy for Teachers – Stories Out of School Flash Fiction Contest: They want honest, unsentimental stories, of 6-499 words, about teachers and schools. The contest is open to all writers, whether or not they are a teacher. The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher. Sentimentality is discouraged and education jargon is forbidden. The prize is $1,000, and publication in A Public Space. The deadline is 1 September 2024. Details here and here.

— The Writers College – Short Story Competition for Emerging Writers: This is an international fiction contest, open to writers ages 16 and over; send stories of up to 2,000 words. Regarding eligibility they say, “We aim to support beginner writers only. We accept stories from writers who have never been published, or who have been published fewer than four times in any genre.” (See guidelines). The contest theme is, ‘It didn’t have to be this way’. Also, “We accept stories in any genre (literary/horror/sci-fi/fantasy/spec fic). However, literary fiction tends to fare best with our judges.” The prizes are  NZ$1,000, NZ$500, and NZ$250. The deadline is 30 September 2024.
Details here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

THEMED CALLS

Cursed Morsels Press: Solidarity Forever
Cursed Morsels Press has issued a call for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for a special zine, ‘Solidarity Forever’. While the press specializes in Weird, queer, often splattery horror with an anti-capitalist and anti-fascist spirit (you can read about them here), for this call, the work need not be horror – they welcome all creative approaches on this theme. Also, from their FAQ: ‘Solidarity Forever’ “refers to the old union song of the same name. This song explores the workers’ struggles, triumphs, and collective power against oppressive capitalism when organized as a union. However, your submission does not have to be specifically about unions. It could be about all sorts of problems solved through collective resistance and people standing together.”
Submission period: 1-7 April 2024
Length: Up to 500 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

Flame Tree: Sun Rising
This is a science fiction, fantasy, folklore, and myth anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “This will be a feast of modern fiction, folklore and mythology, and ancient tales of the looming, life-giving, eye-burning solar entity that dominates our sky. The sun has inspired many stories – tales of its origins, in the myths and traditions of the ancient world, to modern storytellers who employ technology and deep space exploration to discover the many suns of the universe. … Submissions can … explore new interpretations and visions of sun-based mythology or interstellar, future and fantastical settings.” They will also accept reprints.
Deadline: 7 April 2024
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here.

Flame Tree: Moon Falling
This is a supernatural, fantasy, folklore, and myth anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “This collection will bring a potent mix of superstition and belief that reaches back to the gods of Babylon, Ancient Egypt and Greece. Khonsu, Innana, Artemis and Thoth are just a few of the deities who brought a mix of love, sensuality and war to the ancient perceptions of the world. … And of course the moon brings to mind curses, howling wolves, the wolf moon and the harvest moon, while offering a guiding light at night for the weary traveller. There are so many inspirations for the modern storyteller, whether ancient, gothic, fantastical or futuristic, to contribute to this intimate portrait of the seductive, powerful moon. Submissions can explore new interpretations and visions of moon-based fantasy, folklore or supernatural settings.”
They will also accept reprints.
Deadline: 7 April 2024
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here.

The Slab Press: Laughs in Space
This is an anthology of humorous science fiction. “I’m looking for great stories first and foremost, with relatable characters. They do not need to be riddled with dad jokes or puns. They do not need to be set in space! They do need to fit the broad remit of science fiction, but any kind of science fiction or humour is welcome, be it silly, generic parody*, grotesque, or black humour.” They will also accept reprints, though these will be a harder sell.
Deadline: 7 April 2024
Length: 2,000-9,000 words (will accept outside this range, but will be a harder sell)
Pay: £10 per 500 words, up to £55
Details here.

Terrain.org: Climate Stories in Action
This magazine focuses on place, climate, and justice. They publish fiction, poetry, essays, articles, artwork, videos, and other contributions, as well as translations. They particularly seek underrepresented voices (see guidelines). They have reading periods for general submissions; submissions for ARTerrain and Letter to America are open year-round.
Currently, they are reading submissions for a special call; they have detailed guidelines on the ‘Climate Stories in Action’ theme, including, “Narratives and art that center solutions (about climate action), introduce us to everyday climate heroes, and showcase the joy discovered through community engagement often lead to feelings of agency and possibility.
The “Climate Stories in Action” series will expand our vision of climate activism and help people imagine meaningful ways to be involved. We are inviting storytellers to submit poetry, nonfiction, fiction, art and multimedia pieces that showcase climate activism in professional, civic and community life. We are interested in stories that help shift our cultural mindset from despair to creative possibility and from isolation to collective purpose.” They will publish 12 pieces in this special series.
Deadline: 8 April 2024 for Climate Stories in Action
Length: Up to 6 poems; up to 5,000 words for prose
Pay: $200 for Climate Stories in Action series
Details here and here.

Solarpunk Magazine: Colorful Roots
This is a magazine of solarpunk fiction. During April, they will accept work for ‘Colorful Roots’, an all-BIPOC issue. The magazine “publishes hopeful short stories and poetry that strive for a utopian ideal, that are set in futures where communities are optimistically struggling to solve or adapt to climate change, to create or maintain a world in which humanity, technology, and nature coexist in harmony rather than in conflict. We also publish solarpunk art as well as nonfiction that explores real world, contemporary topics and their intersection with the solarpunk movement for a better future.” Also, “Any genre of science fiction, interstitial fiction, magic realism, or fantasy has potential as a solarpunk forum—we welcome robots and elves with equal excitement.” The kind of work they want is described on their Moksha submission page, as well as the guidelines page. Also, “In 2024, we are particularly looking for stories between 1,500 and 3,000 words. While our word limit remains 7,500, stories that fall between 1,500 and 3,000 will have a better chance of being selected for at least the first few submission periods in 2024.” Nonfiction is open on an ongoing basis. All the 2024 fiction submission periods are listed on their website.
Reading period: 1-14 April 2024 for fiction
Length: See above for fiction; up to 5 poems; 1000-2,000 words for non-fiction
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction; $40/poem; $75/essay or article
Details here (guidelines) and here (Moksha submission portal).

Seaside Gothic
Submissions will open briefly in April for this magazine; they want seaside gothic fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and art. Their website says, “There are three criteria that define seaside gothic literature.
It is led by emotion, not reason, exploring the human experience mentally and spiritually as well as physically… ; It addresses duality—land and sea, love and hate, the beautiful and the grotesque…; It connects to the edge, living on the seaside either literally or figuratively, and has one foot in the water and the other on solid ground…” They have listed all their open reading periods on the website.
Reading period: 8-14 April 2024
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: £0.01/word
Details here.

Griffith Review: Status Anxiety
They prioritize work by Australian writers, and also accept some international submissions. They want fiction and nonfiction on the ‘Status Anxiety’ theme for Issue 85. “Like the answer to a riddle, status is all around us, but it can’t always be seen or heard. The silent switchboard behind our professional and personal interactions, status dictates our place on the guest list, in the room, at the table; through its connections to class, race and gender, it affords some of us power and wealth and others empty promises. But why does status so often go unnoticed? How does it influence everything from social inequality to personal relationships? And what changing forces have come to bear on the high or low status we’ve ascribed ourselves and others over the centuries? This edition of Griffith Review grapples with the fallout of our status anxiety and explores what happens when we don’t measure up.”
Deadline: 14 April 2024
Length: Up to 4,000 words
Pay: AUD$0.75/word for fiction and nonfiction commissioned for the print edition
Details here (scroll down) and here.
(Griffith Review will also issue a poetry call on 22^nd April 2024 – see guidelines.)

Consequence Magazine: War and geopolitical violence
They publish work “that addresses the human experiences, realities, and consequences of war and geopolitical violence through literature and art.” They accept non-fiction of up to 4,000 words (interviews, essays, and narrative non-fiction – reviews are on hiatus until mid- to late-2024), fiction (including flash and excerpts), poetry, translations, and art. All works will be considered for online and print.
Deadline: 15 April 2024
Length: Varies
Pay: $30-50 for print prose, $40 for online prose, and $20-30 for poetry
Details here.

Bikes in Space Anthology series – Queer Halloween
They’re looking for stories for their 13^th anthology in their Bikes in Space series. “Please submit your original queer Halloween short fiction (in written or comics form) about bicycling from a feminist perspective. We’re looking for stories that give us a shiver or make us leave the hallway light on at night. Raise our hair and make our spines tingle. We’ll also consider Halloween-themed stories that aren’t as frightful, but they should still be infused with all things spooky season. Stories should be written by authors who consider yourself queer (in whatever way you identify), and should feature Halloween and/or otherworldly elements, and queer characters/themes, as well as feminism. All four elements should be intrinsic to the narrative:
Halloween (or stories sufficiently scary or thematic enough to be read around Halloween)
Queer
Feminism (it is sufficient to simply not include sexist themes or tropes)
Bicycles
The genre can be anything fantastical—ghost stories, horror, hard sci-fi, comedic fantasy, slipstream, or anything in that constellation—despite the series title, stories need not be set in space.”
Deadline: 15 April 2024
Length: 500-6,000 words
Pay: A minimum of $50 (see guidelines)
Details here.

Speculation Publications: Grimm Retold
This is a fiction and poetry anthology. “Fairy Tales can be frightening, and while many have been watered down over the years, their grim roots are steeped in black magic, forced marriage, abduction, murder, curses and cannibalism. … Grimm Retold is a horror and dark fantasy collection of Dark Grimm Fairy Tales, retold in new and horrific ways.” And, “Stories should be based on specific Grimm Fairy Tales and recognizable to their source material, even if they drastically diverge from them. We want voice-y weird and terrifying. We welcome blood, violence and gore, but be careful with gratuitous and exploitive sexual violence, and keep it away from children and animals. … We would particularly love to receive retellings from the perspective of other cultures or marginalized points of view.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 19 April 2024
Length: 2,000-8,000 words for fiction; up to 4 pages for poetry
Pay: $25-35 for fiction; $15 for poetry
Details here.

Flash Fiction Online: Weird Horror
They publish flash fiction in many genres, including speculative and literary. They are now open for a special call: Weird Horror. They have detailed guidelines on the theme, including, “Weird horror is all about stories that engage with the unexplained and the unexpected, often through an esoteric lens of mysticism and metaphysics. A lot of the time the genre features circular or disjointed narrations, and endings that make readers reconsider the beginning. The mundane becomes taboo or absurd through a manipulation of the readers’ perception.”
Deadline: 21 April 2024, or until filled
Length: 500-1,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.
(And Book Worms wants horror fiction and nonfiction on the Rock n Roll theme. Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 1,500 words, and the deadline is 30 April 2024. Submissions have to be mailed. Details here.)

Third Flatiron: Offshoots – Humanity Twigged (SF, fantasy, positive futures)
This is a speculative fiction anthology. “The dictionary defines “twig” as a shoot branching off a tree, the result or descendant of something, or a style of fashion. How will humanity cultivate the strongest branches from among myriad potential futures? Please give us your science fictional and fantasy speculations.
Possible subjects might include: bioengineering, space exploration, future societies, magical futurism, and extrapolation of trends (think Asimov’s Foundation or Loki’s Sacred Timeline). Stories about effects of AI and virtual reality are fine, but they must be written by people. Flash humor is welcome.” (Flash humor can be on any theme).
Reading period: 1-21 April 2024
Length: 1,500-3,000 words for fiction; 600-1,000 words for flash humor
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.

Latitude 46: Super Canucks – An anthology of small-town Canadian superheroes
This is a call for Canadian writers only. “We’re looking for stories from across Canada that push the usual superhero tropes while shining a spotlight on unique corners of Canada. We want stories set in and around the nation’s more often overlooked locales—isolated small towns, remote reservations, bedroom communities, and other underrepresented areas of Canada. Give us rural superheroes, backwater supervillains, and tales of characters/communities at a crossroads.”
Deadline: 21 April 2024
Length: 500-3,500 words
Pay: CAD200
Details here.

(Submissions are also open for I’m Here, a YA short fiction anthology by Canadian writers. Stories can be in any genre – realistic fiction, speculative fiction, historical fiction, etc., but created for contemporary teen readers and connected in some way to the theme of “identity”. Pay is CAD250 for stories up to 4,000 words, and the deadline is 30 April 2024. Details here.)

Cast of Wonders: Banned Books Week (Unwanted, Unheard: Challenging the Silence)
Cast of Wonders is a YA speculative fiction podcast from the Escape Artists suite of magazines. They will read submissions for their annual Banned Books Week call; for 2024, the theme is ‘Unwanted, Unheard: Challenging the Silence’. “In the last year, we’ve seen countless attempts to silence the voices of others. … For Banned Books Week 2024, we want to see stories that challenge collective silence, that show the risks and consequences of inattention and inaction. We want the voices of the silenced and unwanted to be centered, in stories that demand to be heard.
At Cast of Wonders, we welcome stories that portray the full spectrum of human experience. We don’t challenge stories; we want stories to challenge us! Cast of Wonders looks for stories that evoke a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without gratuitous or explicit sex, violence, or pervasive obscene language.
Preference for this submission window is under 5,000 words with an absolute limit of 6,000 words. Flash submissions under 1.5k are also very welcome!” They also accept reprints, and translations. Cast of Wonders also accepts submissions from writers under 18 – see their general submission guidelines. Their submission portal will open during the reading period.
Reading period: 15-30 April 2024 (see their schedule)
Length: See above
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here (theme details), here (general submission guidelines), and here (submission portal)

The Other Side of Hope: Journeys in Refugee and Immigrant Literature
They publish fiction (including stand-alone excerpts from unpublished novels), poetry, and art from refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants only; these are unthemed. They also consider poems from refugee/asylum seeker writing groups. Nonfiction, author interviews, and book reviews are open to all, and the theme for those is migration. Also, A.M. Heath Literary Agency will offer 1-2-1s to 6 of their contributors​​. From 2024, all issues will be published both in print and online.
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Lenth: 1,000-8,000 words for fiction; 1,000-5,000 words for nonfiction; up to 4 poems
Pay: £100 per published writer, and £300 for art; asylum seekers get gift cards.
Details here.

Book Slayer Press: Hentai Ectoplasm
This is a shared-world horror fiction anthology. “On the night of April 19, 2021, something happened in the suburban town of Brookhaven that changed the course of humanity. In the fancy Southtown gated community, The Sanctuary at Lemongrass Lake, a cosmic event occurs, destroying most of it in the impact. Over on the North end, middle-aged, overweight, cannabis grower, Pam Goodall, determined to save her holy holiday—4/20, bands with unlikely neighbors to not just survive the night, but save humankind. HENTAI ECTOPLASM is not your average anthology. Twelve – fifteen authors will tell a story of survival as their neighborhood is cut off by the destruction, each delivering the perspective of their respective home.” They want “cannabis positive stories written from the perspective of a residence stuck inside “The Danger Zone”.” They also have guidelines for all of their anthologies, including, “ALL horror subgenres and tropes are welcome, including comedy and splatter.  Genre-blending is highly encouraged. Queer retellings and gender swaps are our favorites. Writers should have a diverse representation of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, gender identities, disability, fat positivity, and neurodivergency.”
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Length: 3,000-6,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here (scroll down).
(Book Slayer Press is also open for Hemorrhaging Flowers: A Collection Of 100% Femme Rage. This is “a collection of speculative poetry showcasing the spectrum of femininity and the rage contained within.” It is open to anyone who “identifies (now or in the past) as femme in the most inclusive of definitions.” Poems can be up to 50 lines. Pay is $10. The deadline is 30 April 2024. Details here.)

Chicken Soup for the Soul
They’re reading nonfiction prose and nonfiction poetry for various themed anthologies, and two of the deadlines are in April: for their Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, New Year’s anthology (“How do you celebrate the holidays? Are your celebrations very traditional or are they very spontaneous and never the same? We want to hear how you celebrate your holidays. How do you gather with family and friends to share the special spirit of the season? How do you brighten those long winter days?”); and also for their Funny Stories anthology (“We are looking for stories about something that happened to you in your life – in your relationship with a partner or spouse, a parent or child, a family member or friend, at work or at home that made you and the people around you laugh out loud.”). Also see their FAQ.
Deadline: 30 April 2024 for both the above anthologies
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $250
Details here and here.

FIYAH: Disabilities
They accept submissions only by and about Black writers of the African diaspora. They are reading speculative fiction and poetry on the ‘Disabilities’ theme. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Show us life at the intersections of Blackness and disability. We’re not your magical negros, we’re not your inspiration porn. We do not want to be scorned or pitied. Life can be difficult in a racist world which too often denies access. We are worthy of being protagonists, just like anyone else.” They want “Variety: stories about visible disabilities, invisible ones, chronic illness, mental illness, and neurodivergence to name a few.
Tales centered on disability, and others where it’s part of the story but not the focus. Stories where magic and technology add accessibility, as well as SFFH settings adding unique barriers to access.”
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Length: Up to 1,000 words for poetry; 2,000-15,000 words for fiction
Pay: $50 for poetry; $0.08/word for fiction
Details here and here.

Cat Eye Press: Cursed Cooking – A Horror Community Cookbook and Food Horror Anthology
This is a fiction and recipe anthology. They have an open submission call period for all writers (till 30^th April), and an extended submission window exclusively for writers of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other underrepresented groups (1-10 May 2024). “Cursed Cooking is a horror community cookbook and food horror anthology, featuring both real-world recipes and food horror fiction. This hybrid publication aims to feed not only your body with frighteningly good food, but also your imagination with cleverly crafted horror stories. So, send us your tales of haunted hamburgers, killer chocolate chip cookies, monstrous manicotti, world-ending wontons, and everything in between. … But also, send us the recipes that you love, recipes that make your mouth water and have people screaming for seconds (and thirds and fourths). … (They want) horror stories and recipes for three categories of submissions: appetizers, entrées, and desserts. Appetizer recipes and drabbles (100-word stories) to introduce readers to Cursed Cooking in bite-sized portions.
Entrée recipes and short stories (1,501–4,000 words) will serve as the book’s main course
Dessert recipes and flash fiction (500–1,500 words) will round out the book—they’ll be short and oh so sweet. You can submit fiction, recipes, or both. Fiction should fall reasonably in the food horror subgenre. … As for the recipes, we want to make this publication special, so please, don’t send us recipes copied and pasted from the Food Network or conjured up by AI. Submit real recipes you would be proud to serve up to your friends and family. … Please note that recipes do not need to be connected to a work of fiction in order to be submitted, and there are no word limits for recipes.” They also accept reprint stories.   
Deadline: 30 April for general submissions; 1-10 May for submissions by underrepresented writers (see guidelines)
Length: See above
Pay: $0.05/word for original fiction; $5 for recipes
Details here.

Last Girls Club: Fire Season
Last Girls Club is a feminist horror magazine, and the theme for their summer issue is ‘Fire Season’. “The world is on fire, environmentally and politically. On the US West coast we have rains of ash in the fall from all the forest fires. The Canadian border was plagued with smoke pollution from raging fires. It’s a thing now. Your characters can be fleeing a fire, starting one, or surviving one. Take it where you want.”
Deadline: 1 May 2024, or until filled
Length: Up to 200 words for poetry, up to 2,500 words for fiction
Pay: $10 for poetry, $0.015/word for fiction
Details here and here.

The First Line Journal
They want fiction (all genres) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For nonfiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, for the Summer issue, the first line is:
‘“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today.”’ Deadline: 1 May 2024 for the Summer issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international writers – see guidelines)
Details here.

Vilas Avenue: Impermanence
They publish poetry. They want submissions for Issue 6, on the ‘Impermanence’ theme. “Impermanence is a fact of life that we all acknowledge in some form or fashion. It can be appreciated in a natural sense:  the transition from Spring to Summer, plants ripening & decaying, bird song throughout a given day, & so on. However, in the context of both Eastern & Western philosophies, impermanence can be examined from a deeper perspective, with change being thought of as the nature of conditioned phenomena existing in a constant state of process, construction, & interdependence. This includes us— our thoughts, emotions, & perspectives follow a similar pattern of connectedness & becoming, existing & vanishing from moment to moment. The actualization that nothing exists in a permanent or dualistic way makes the written word real. Vilas Avenue wishes impermanence to inspire a variety of interpretations of the theme, challenging the writer to attain a deeper understanding of the state of change— crafting work that lives, dies, lives again, & vanishes into momentariness.
With this issue we celebrate 10 years of recognizing work that involves movement, travel, & liminality that pulses in various ways, which is why impermanence seems a fitting motif for a publication that operates in reciprocity with the nature of change. In short, we are a constant process, just like you.”
Deadline: 1 May 2024
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $25
Details here.

(And Rattle wants poetry for their Tribute to Musicians issue. “The relationship between music and poetry is self-evident, and we want to explore how music in the air in forms poems on the page. The poems may be any style or subject, but must be written by those who have been professional musicians at some point in their lives.” Pay is $200 for print poetry, and $100 for online. The deadline for this theme is 15 April 2024. They have other poetry categories open, as well. Details here and here.)

Brilliant Flash Fiction: Tenacity
They want a piece of flash fiction on the ‘Tenacity’ theme. “Brilliant Flash Fiction celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2024 with an eBook and print anthology entitled TENacity. We are seeking flash fiction stories of 300 words or less on the subject of Tenacity. Writers do not have to use the word “tenacity” in their stories or titles; simply send us your best work expressing the concept of te·nac·i·ty”.
Deadline: 15 May 2024
Length: Up to 300 words, excluding headline
Pay: $20
Details here.

Caretaker Press: Back Into The Ground
This is a place-inspired horror fiction anthology; they are accepting submissions from writers all over the world. “For the purposes of Back Into The Ground we seek spooky stories inspired by place, specifically, our home, the Pacific Northwest. Towering trees and rough seas crashing under gray skies strike us as the ideal settings for a scary story. We define place-inspired horror loosely, so bring us your best work and we’ll talk about fit. … Do we like vampires, zombies, werewolves and other familiar creatures? Yes… just as long as they’re done right.”
Deadline: Until filled
Length: Up to 7,500 words (query for longer)
Pay: $40
Details here.

(– And, submissions are open for Devil’s Snare: Best New England Crime Stories by Crime Spell Books; submissions are only open to writers living in New England – the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. They want mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, historical, and horror stories, of 1,000-5,000 words. Pay is $25, and the deadline is 30 April 2024. Details here.
— Submissions are also open internationally for Whitaker Lyon’s Charlottesville Fantastic; they want fantasy stories that take place in the Greater Charlottesville Area. “Charlottesville’s a magical place, and we want to read all about it. We’re talking anything from vampires in the Rotunda to Cinderella set in Monticello, from a sentient Rivanna to sirens singing at a Rapunzel’s open mic.” Pay is $20 for stories of 1,800-5,500 words. The deadline is 30 April 2024. Please see their notes on the rights they want, and also on payment/contributor copies. Details here and here.)

Whisper House Press: Costs of Living
This is a horror fiction anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “These are some possible interpretations of this potentially broad theme: The Neighbors/HOA/City Council Really Are Trying to Kill Us
A Bad Element… is Already Here in the Neighborhood
Why do I feel like everyone is watching me in my new town’s grocery store?
“How can I be sure I am not dreaming?” without the “Oh, it was all a dream” cliché”. Also, please note, “Anticipated publication: Q2 of 2025 with a pre-sale effort on Kickstarter. Authors will be recruited to help promote this project, so please do not submit if you aren’t willing or able to promote the book to book friends and your own audience.”
Deadline: Until filled
Length: 500-4,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.


THEMED CONTESTS

The Hurston/Wright Crossover Award
This is a non-fiction award, and is open for Black writers only who have never published a book. It “honors probing, provocative, and original new voices in literary nonfiction. Named after the most common dribbling move in basketball, the Crossover Award, aims to highlight an unconventional winner who writes across genres and can effectively crossover between writing styles and techniques. The name also speaks to the potential of the award winner to transition from obscurity to the spotlight. This award will celebrate one writer who contributes a unique perspective to the literary nonfiction landscape.” Send up to 20 pages of literary non-fiction. Submissions may be stand-alone essays or excerpts from a book in progress.
Value: $2,000, other non-cash prizes
Deadline: 2 April 2024
Open for: Unpublished Black writers
Details here. (Their Submittable has other opportunities listed too, please be sure to submit to the correct category.)

Bacopa Literary Review Writing Contest
This is an international contest, and writers can submit to one category. Apart from prizes in fiction, creative nonfiction, and flash fiction, they have three poetry prizes: formal poetry, free verse poetry, and visual poetry. Please see the guidelines for submission requirements in the category you wish to submit. They also request for works on the Censorship theme, though they will accept works on any theme.
Value: $200, $100 in each of the six categories
Deadline: 4 April 2024
Details here and here.

Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships
These are fellowships for US poets laureate. They are for poets of literary merit appointed to serve in civic positions and to support them in creating new work, as well as to enable them to undertake projects that enrich the lives of their neighbors, including youth, through poetry activities. There are some eligibility requirements, including: appointed as an official poet laureate of a state, city, county, U.S. territory, or Tribal nation by a Governor, State Arts or Humanities Council, State Poet Laureate Commission, Tribe President, Mayor, City Council, City Poet Laureate Commission, City Arts Board, County Arts Board, or a city’s public library system; your service as poet laureate, carried out in good community standing, occurring sometime between January 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025; and published one or more full-length poetry collection(s) and/or chapbook(s) or substantial history of public spoken word performances. Some of the submission requirements are a poetry sample, and a description of your proposed civic project(s), including a timeline for the project(s) you would conduct, that engages youth and/or addresses important statewide or local issues.
Value: $50,000 (see guidelines)
Deadline: 8 April 2024
Open for: US poets laureate
Details here and here.
(Also see other awards by the Academy of American Poets on their Submittable here – they have both fee-based and fee-free awards.) 

The Baen Fantasy Adventure Award
They want stories in all fantasy genres and pay $0.08/word for work up to 8,000 words. “It must be a work of fantasy, though all fantasy genres are open, e.g. epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, contemporary fantasy, etc.”
Value: $0.08/word
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation: Author of Tomorrow Award
This international contest is designed to find the adventure writers of the future. Writers must enter a piece of short fiction. The work must fall within what can be defined as adventure writing (see guidelines).  There are three categories: for writers ages 16-21, 12-15, and under 11.
Value: £1,000 in the 16-21 group, £250 in the 12-15 group, £100 in the under-11 group
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for: All writers ages 21 and under
Details here.

Preservation Foundation Contest: Non-fictional Animal Stories
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). Their upcoming deadline is for the non-fiction animal stories category: “Stories should be factual and true accounts of an encounter or encounters by the author with a wild animal or animals. These include, but are not limited to, birds, fish, butterflies, snails, lions, bears, turtles, wombats, etc., as long as it is not a pet.” Entries should be 1,000-5,000 words. They want all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, to be on their website as long as the Foundation exists (see guidelines). Also see contests in other genres, which will have deadlines later in the year. 
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here.

New England Crime Bake: Al Blanchard Award
This is a short story award. Their guidelines say it must be a crime story, of up to 5,000 words, by a New England author or have a New England setting if the author is not from New England (the New England states are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island). The story may include the following genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror. (No torture/killing of children or animals.) Apart from the cash award, the winner also gets publication in Level Best Books’ Crime Fiction anthology, and admission to the Crime Bake Conference (conference attendance is not a requirement).
Value: $100
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.

CNO Naval History Essay Contest – Professional Historian
This is an international contest. Their website says, “The CNO invites entrants to submit essays that apply lessons from throughout naval history to solving today’s Navy challenges.” See guidelines for details on the theme. Essays have to be up to 3,500 words. This contest is open to: US and international professional historians (including history museum curators, archivists, history teachers/professors, persons with history-related doctoral degrees; authors of books on naval history (not including self-published works); civilians who have published articles in an established historical or naval journal or magazine.
Value: $5,000, $2,500
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for: See above
Details here and here.
(They invite essays for various other prizes as well – see this page for an overview, and this page links to all their contests.)

Sleeping Bear Press: Own Voices, Own Stories Award
This award is for children’s picture book manuscripts written by new authors from historically marginalized groups in the US. “Submitted children’s stories should speak to the authentic experiences and perspectives of BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ communities with the purpose of engaging readers in narratives that reflect underrepresented principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, those stories should both inspire and empower readers. Submissions should be for ages 4 through 10 and may be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Text must come in at under 1,300 words (not including backmatter or ancillary material). Only stories with human protagonists will be considered. … Only projects and authors who have not had a previously traditionally published children’s book will be considered.”
Value: $2,000, publishing contract
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for: US writers who are BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+
Details here.

Waterston Desert Writing Prize
This prize is for a proposed book of literary non-fiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy – with the desert both as subject and setting. Writing samples about deserts and natural settings are more likely to be reviewed favorably. Apart from the cash award, there is also a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake and a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon.
Value: $3,000, residency
Deadline: 1 May 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.

Casa Africa: Essay contest
They have two contests for those writing in English; a micro-story contest, with a deadline in April, and an essay contest, with a deadline in May. Their essay contest is on the theme of intra-African immigration; “The vast majority of African mobility takes place between the borders of the African continent itself. Although many people associate the term migrations with citizens of the neighbouring continent and an irregular, dramatic arrival in Europe, in precarious boats or by jumping the fences of Ceuta or Melilla, African citizens usually prefer to move within their own countries, normally in circular migration processes in the heat of labour and economic opportunities.” They invite submissions from academics and experts. Essays, of 15,000-20,000 words, can be in Spanish, English, French or Portuguese.
Value: €2,000
Deadline: 2^nd May 2024
Details here.
(See all of Casa Africa’s awards/contests here.) 

A couple of contests with later deadlines:

— ABA Journal / Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction: This is a fiction contest for US writers (see guidelines). The ABA Journal is the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association. Send a story of up to 5,000 words that illuminates the role of the law and/or lawyers in modern society. The prize is $5,000, and the deadline is 15 May 2024, details here.
— Drue Heinz Literature Prize: This is for previously published writers of short fiction (see guidelines), and the submission period is 1 May-30 June 2024. The prize is for a short story collection, or for two or more novellas, and the award is $15,000. Details here, here, and here (Submittable – the link for this prize will open on 1 May).

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

Escape Artists: CatsCast
 is part of the Escape Artists suite of podcasts/online magazines. They want speculative fiction stories about cats. “Cats” in this context are, well, cats — but since this is a speculative fiction podcast, they don’t have to be exactly the same species as the housecats we have here on Earth. The stories should have happy, or at least hopeful, endings for all featured cats. Fun, playfulness, and humor are strongly encouraged but not required…. Stories MUST NOT have graphic descriptions of cruelty to animals (brief references to acts that occur “off-camera” are okay). Romantic storylines are fine, but please, no graphic depictions of sex. We want our fun cat stories to be fun for everyone, so please avoid offensive stereotypes based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion, or body size. Feel free to dump on cat-haters, though.” They accept reprints, but not those that have appeared originally in other Escape Artists podcasts (see guidelines).
Deadline: 11 February 2024
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

(And Mslexia, which only accepts submissions from women authors, is accepting submissions in various genres, including on their showcase themes; the upcoming theme is Cats; “For Issue 102 we’re looking for stories about fesity felines, mercurial moggies and big wild cats.” They pay, and have different deadlines. For cat-themed fiction and poetry, the deadline is 11^th March 2024; for some inclusions in Issue 102, the deadline is 8^th April 2024. click on the tabs on their guidelines page for details.)

Escape Artists: Cast of Wonders — Halloween
Cast of Wonders (from the Escape Artists suite of magazines) is a Young Adult podcast and online speculative fiction magazine, and they’re reading submissions for the Halloween issue. They want stories “covering a range of genres and themes that would also appeal to the audiences of our sister publications.
So, that means…
Terrifying cats!
Kids battling tentacles!
Magic pumpkins!
Creepy space shenanigans!
…and almost anything else you can think of.  The key ingredient, as always, is speculative fiction that suits a teen+ audience.  We’d like all the stories to have a clear connection to Halloween, whether the festival itself, the traditions of tricks/treating, or just spooky genre tropes.” They also accept reprints, translations, as well as submissions from writers under 18 years of age.
Deadline: 14 February 2024 (see their schedule here)
Length: Up to 3,000 words for the Halloween issue
Pay: $0.08/word for original fiction
Details here (general Cast of Wonder guidelines), here and here (theme guidelines + submission portal).

khōréō
You can submit to this magazine if you identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms (see guidelines). They’re open for fiction, as well as fiction translation pitches and submissions (see their submission portal). They accept “fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it — as long as there’s a speculative element. We’re especially interested in writing and art that explores migration. Examples include themes of immigration, diaspora, and anti-colonialism, as well as more metaphorical interpretations of the term.”
Deadline: 15 February 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words for original fiction, up to 3,500 words for translations
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here and here.

Apex Magazine: Strange Locations
This is a call for speculative microfiction. They want stories “in the form of tourist brochures, travel blogs, and travel guides to the strangest, darkest places you can imagine.
Tell us a story while guiding the reader down hidden trails into eerie landscapes, weird biotech gardens, creepy scifi cities, surreal forests, or secret magical places. We’re looking for pieces that reveal intimate stories of loss, horror, or yearning in the voice of the fictional travel writer, or that use specific setting details to show whole new worlds between the lines.
We love dark fantasy, science fiction, horror, eco-horror, clifi, Weird fiction, folk horror, and body horror.”
Deadline: 15 February 2024
Length: Up to 250 words
Pay: $10
Details here.
(Apex Magazine also pays $0.08/word for unthemed speculative fiction up to 7,500 words – details here.)

Corvid Queen
They welcome “original feminist (fairy) tales, feminist retellings of traditional tales, and personal essays related to traditional tales. Although we started as a magazine of fairy tales, we’re now open to pieces based on or related to fairy tales, folklore, myths, legends, and pop culture. We accept fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and pieces that are in-between.” And, “Please note that you do not need to be female or femme to submit a piece; writers of any gender identity and expression are welcome.” Also see their guidelines for preferences, and the kind of stories they are less likely to accept. They have a general reading period for all writers, an extended submission period for BIPOC writers only, and a further extended submission period for their Patreon members.
Deadline: 22 February for general submissions; 23-29 February 2024 for BIPOC submissions only
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose
Pay: $5
Details here and here.

BSFA Anthology: Fission 4
The British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) will soon open for submissions for its fourth anthology of science fiction stories. Genre-bending stories are welcome. They will accept submissions from 13^th to 26^th February. You don’t need to be a BSFA member to submit. Please send your work only during the reading period.
Reading period: 13-26 February 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: £0.02/word
Details here.

Rough Cut Press: Still
They publish short prose from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose on the ‘Still’ theme.
Deadline: 27 February 2024
Length: Up to 650 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

(And Prismitica Press is accepting speculative fiction for Dudes Rock!, an anthology of queer masculinity. Pay is $15 for stories up to 6,000 words, and the deadline is 15 February 2024. Details here.)

NewMyths: The Janus Gates
This magazine publishes unthemed speculative fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are also reading submissions for the ‘The Janus Gates’ themed anthology. A note on their website dated December 2023 says, “Besides looking back into the past and forward into the future, Janus was also the original gatekeeper, the first god to open the portal between gods and men, the god who guarded every new beginning and ending, every transformation, the god you prayed to every morning before you could speak to any other. A Roman peasant stepping through the Janus Gate in Rome in the spring was transformed into a soldier marching off to conquer the world. The Roman soldier stepping out of the Janus Gate in the fall became the peaceful farmer again.
Who better to inspire our next NewMyths anthology centering around portals, thresholds, transformations–the future and past worlds of our dreams and myths?  Send in submissions to The Janus Gates during our two reading periods next year (January-February and June-July)”. They also accept nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, and art for the magazine. For general submissions, they say, “We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works.
Our readers are not fixated on a single style or tone or genre, but prefer a quality sample of the field. Think tapas or dim sum. … Please keep submissions PG or cleaner.”
Deadline: 28 February 2024
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction for general submissions
Pay: $0.03/word; $50 for book reviews
Details here (anthology theme details) and here (general guidelines)

Inked in Gray: Affection
They want submissions by women of color only; genres are Adult or YA Fantasy, and Science Fiction (low fantasy/sci-fi is okay), and the theme is Affection. “Affection, by definition, is “a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something, tender attachment, a fondness.” We’re looking for short stories by women of color that talk about the affection and show us a fresh, unique view on the topic.”
Deadline: 28 February 2024
Length: Up to 8,000 words
Pay: $45
Details here.

Apparition Lit: Mercurial
This is a quarterly speculative fiction and poetry magazine. They will be reading submissions on the Mercurial theme during the second half of February. As part of their equity initiative, they have a one-week extra reading period for writers who self-identify as BIPOC in their cover letters.   
Reading period: 15-28 February 2024 for general submissions; will extend by a week for BIPOC writers (see guidelines) 
Length: 1,000-5,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems 
Pay: $0.05/word for stories, $50/poem 
Details here.

Chicken Soup for the Soul
They publish true stories and poetry. Excerpts from two of their submission calls are below, with upcoming themes.
– Miracles, messages from heaven, angels: “Stories about miracles, angels, messages from heaven, premonitions, amazing coincidences and other unexplainable but good events!
We are looking for powerful, astounding, stories that will make people say “wow” or give them chills. This book is for everyone, whether religious or non-religious.”
— The power of thinking positive: “We know that using the power of thinking positive helps you to achieve your goals and lead a happy, purposeful, and productive life. Almost anything is possible if you think you can. You can dream big, overcome challenges, create the best life possible for yourself, and turn adversity into opportunity. What do you do to think positive and how did it change your life? Tell us your success story about using the power of thinking positive!”
Deadline: 28 February 2024 for Miracles and Thinking Positive calls
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $250
Details here (themes), here (general guidelines). Also see their FAQ about submissions. 
(Chicken Soup is accepting works for other calls too, with later deadlines: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, New Year’s; Funny stories; Cat Stories; and Dog Stories.)

Adi: Disobedience
Their tagline is, ‘rehumanizing policy’, and you can read about them here. They are reading fiction submissions for an upcoming issue. “We’re looking for short fiction about the past, present, and future of disobedience to orthodoxies of all kinds – from political doctrines to religious creeds to artistic or intellectual frameworks. We want stories of the rebellions, heresies, theoretical revolutions, and moments of civil disobedience that catalyze this world and alternative worlds.  
This should be interpreted expansively and imaginatively. Please familiarize yourself with the range and spirit of our archives; Adi tends toward creative, experimental approaches to political writing, measuring the effects of policy through the intimate lives and experiences of people with a particular focus on those on the margins and in the global south.
We do not want dreary political agitprop. We love work that bends genres, that embraces the absurd, that excavates interior lives alongside external conflicts. Send us work that satirizes, fabulizes, and fantasizes, that disturbs, beguiles, moves, challenges, surprises, and ignites.” They also accept translations (see guidelines). Please read their past stories (some links on their Submittable) to see if your work is a good fit. 
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $200 for flash fiction up to 1,000 words; $500 for longer stories, up to 5,000 words
Details here and here.

Shotgun Honey: At the Edge of Darkness
They want stories that are a mashup of crime and horror for this print anthology. It will be released in time for the Halloween season, and feature “stories on that dark, half-lit space where crime and horror simultaneously reside.” (This is a charity anthology, profits will go to a nonprofit assisting children entering the foster care system.)
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

Parsec Ink: Triangulation – Hospitium
This is a fiction and poetry anthology, part of an annual anthology series. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Hospitium is a Greco-Roman concept of hospitality, where both the guest and host have an obligation to treat the other with kindness and respect, regardless of external quarrels. We’re looking for outstanding fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror from both new and established writers.”
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words (prefer up to 3,000); up to 100 lines for poetry (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.03/word for fiction; $0.25/line for poetry
Details here and here.
(Parsec Ink is also open for a short story contest for non-professional writers on the A.I. Mythology theme, with an end-March deadline – see this page and their Submittable for details.)

Thema: Bookmarks
They publish three themed issues a year. They accept short stories, essays, poetry, and art. Their upcoming theme is ‘Bookmarks’, and the deadline is 1 March 2024; they have other themes too, with later deadlines. Only writers outside of the US can submit by email, US-based writers have to post their submissions.
Deadline: 1 March 2024 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 20 pages for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $10-25
Details here.

Solstitia: Pets in Space
Their website says, “Our theme is a loose through-line for the magazine and not strictly enforced. We accept all genres (yes, even literary fiction) and all submission types (fiction, non fiction, poetry, art).” Their upcoming theme is Pets in Space.
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Length: Up to 20,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

Intrepidus Ink
This is a fiction magazine. “We explore intrepid culture: our stories feature these four elements in every story: danger, struggle, emotion, and OVERCOMING. Our stories tell our tale–they are intrepid first and not subordinated to other themes.
We accept many genres and writing styles, including literary, speculative fiction (science fiction & fantasy, literary sf), action and adventure, romance, magic realism, historical fiction, and others. We love odd, quirky, experimental stories and humor.” All stories must have the Overcoming theme, together with any one of these three themes: Secret, Aspiring, or Unstoppable (see guidelines). 
Deadline: 3 March 2024
Length: 300-2,500 words
Pay: $0.02/word for stories of 300-1,000 words, and $30 for stories of 1,500-2,500 words
Details here (also click on Submission Guidelines and Submit Now).

(And Epic Echoes is “a digital magazine that reverberates with the pulse-pounding spirit of vintage pulp fiction while resonating with the modern sensibilities of today’s diverse readers” – they want stories in various genres – “Science fiction, fantasy, mystery, crime, adventure, horror, and everything in between. We love genre-bending stories and unique takes on classic tropes. Grounded, more realistic stories are also welcome.” They pay $10 for stories of 1,000-3,000 words, the deadline is 29 February 2024. You can read about them here and download the guidelines here.)  

Writers Victoria: The Victorian Writer – Golden
The Victorian Writer is the magazine of Writers Victoria, an Australia-based organization that supports writers. They accept work from members and non-members. The theme is ‘Golden’, and they accept fiction, poetry, as well as pitches or completed articles about the craft of writing or the writing life.
Deadline: 4 March 2024
Length: Varies
Pay: AUD70 for poems, AUD100-200 for other genres
Details here and here.
(Writers Victoria is also accepting applications for a literary travel fund for Australian writers, details on their Submittable.)

Kangas Kahn Publishing: Fear of Clowns – A Horror Anthology
This is a horror fiction anthology, and the theme is clowns. “As usual, we’re less concerned with theme than we are with entertaining stories. We’re not necessarily looking for a clown-murdering-people story–if that’s your story, it better bring something new to the table. Ask yourself, does this story belong in a book called Fear of Clowns? If the answer is yes, send it!”
Deadline: 1 April 2024
Length: 1,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

THEMED CONTESTS

(Apart from these themed contests, there are also some unthemed contests and fellowships this month, including:
— A Public Space Editorial Fellowship for aspiring editors who can reside in New York City for the duration of the fellowship, $5,000,
deadline: 15 February 2024, details here and here;
— Poetry Northwest: James Welch Prize for Indigenous Writers in the US, $1,000 each, deadline: 15 February 2024, details here, here, and here;
— The Jessie Kesson Fellowship, a Scotland-based residency for UK-based writers, £350 per week (up to 3 weeks), residency, deadline: 15 February 2024, details here;
— Academy of American Poets: Ambroggio Prize for US poets, for a poetry manuscript written in Spanish and with an English translation, $1,000, deadline 15 February 2024, details here and here;
— Andres Montoya Poetry Prize for a poetry manuscript by a Latinx poet in the US who have not published a full-length book of poetry, $1,000, deadline: 16 February 2024, details here;
— West Chester University: Five poetry contests for US undergraduate poets, with cash prizes, deadline 16 February 2024, details here;
— Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center: Writer in Residence, $1,000 and residency, deadline: 28 February 2024, details here;
— Lunch Ticket: Diana Woods Award in Creative Nonfiction, $250, deadline end-February 2024, details here;
— Lunch Ticket: The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts, $200, deadline end-February 2024, details here; 
— Words Without Borders: Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators, $3,000, deadline: 29 February 2024, details here and here;
— The Whiting Foundation’s Creative Nonfiction Grants are scheduled to open for applications in February 2024; last year, grants were $40,000 each for projects that were under contract with a publisher  in the US, UK, or Canada; details here.
— Poets & Writers: Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award for poetry and fiction for U.S. residents who are enrolled members of a Native American tribe in the US or Alaska, are new/emerging writers (see guidelines); $500, residency, a trip to New York City to meet with editors, agents, and more, deadline: 1 March 2024, details here.)

University of Pittsburgh: The CAAPP Book Prize
This is “a publishing partnership between the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics and Autumn House Press with the goal of publishing and promoting a writer of African descent. The prize is awarded annually to a first or second book by a writer of African descent and is open to the full range of writers embodying African American, African, or African diasporic experiences. The book can be of any genre that is, or intersects with, poetry, including poetry, hybrid work, speculative prose, and/or translation. The winning manuscript will be published by Autumn House Press and its author will be awarded $3,000.” Send a manuscript of 48-168 pages.
Value: $3,000
Deadline: 15 February 2024
Open for: A writer of African descent
Details here and here.

NYU Journalism: Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award
The Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award is “to provide the means for promising early-career, creative nonfiction writers to report on an untold story that uncovers truths about the human condition”. Writers can apply for one of the institute’s awards per year. (Their other award is The Reporting Award, for a significant work of journalism, in any medium, on an under-reported subject in the public interest.)
Deadline: 22 February 2024
Value: Up to $12,500
Open for: Unspecified
Details here, here and here.

International Thriller Writers Scholarships
They are awarding two separate scholarships for ThrillerFest: the Fresh Perspectives Scholarship for any underrepresented author, published or unpublished, and the Undiscovered New Voices Scholarship for any unpublished author who is writing a mystery/thriller novel (80-100k words). Each scholarship recipient will receive a cash stipend and a free pass to attend  ThrillerFest XIX, which takes place May 28 – June 1, 2024 in New York City. One of the application requirements is a writing sample. Application is via a form.
Value: $1,000 stipend, ThrillerFest pass
Deadline: 23 February 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

Christopher Tower Poetry Competition
This is for young poets studying in the UK, aged 16-18 years. Submit a poem of up to 48 lines on the theme of ‘Mirror’.
Value: £5,000, £3000, £1500; £500 for runners-up
Deadline: 23 February 2024
Open for: Young poets studying in the UK
Details here.

The Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction
This is a nonfiction contest. They accept “most forms of nonfiction including: Reviews (especially book reviews), memoir, journalism, interviews, essay (including personal essay), fictocriticism, creative nonfiction, travel, nature, opinion, and many other permutations. Most works which convey information about the real world are welcome: We are not seeking works such as cookbooks, textbooks, and reference books.” They want works up to 5,000 words.Three winners share equally from a prize pool of $1,000. The first entry is free, subsequent entries have a submission fee attached. Other contest categories are fee-based, as well.
Value: Prize pool of $1,000, shared between three winners
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
(They have other categories open as well, please be sure to submit in the correct one.)

Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest
This is a short fiction contest run by the Little Tokyo Historical Society in Los Angeles. Stories must take place in Little Tokyo, and can be set in the past, present, or future. Stories can be in Japanese (5,000 ji or fewer) or English (up to 2,500 words). There are three categories: Youth (under 18s), Japanese, and English. “The short story committee will be specifically looking for stories that capture the spirit and sense of Little Tokyo.” And, “A hybrid (in-person and virtual) award ceremony and dramatic readings of the winning stories are also being planned for 2024 at the Japanese American National Museum.”
Value: $500 in each category
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (download the guidelines and agreement form).

Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize 
Their website says, “A $20,000 advance and publication by Graywolf Press will be awarded to the most promising and innovative literary nonfiction project by a writer not yet established in the genre. The winning author will also receive a $2,000 stipend intended to support the completion of their project. (The prize) emphasizes innovation in form and content, and we want to see projects that push the boundaries of literary nonfiction. The Graywolf editors are particularly interested in new approaches to the personal essay, cultural and literary criticism, creative scholarship, and books exploring complex ideas from unexpected angles. … Please note that we are not interested in straightforward memoirs or journalistic reporting. … The prize will be awarded to a manuscript in progress.” One of the submission requirements is a long sample from the manuscript (see guidelines). The submission portal for this prize will open in February. Applicants for this prize must live in the United States; have published at least one piece of nonfiction in a literary journal or magazine – reviews, interviews, reportage, and other similar pieces do not qualify; have not yet authored a book of literary nonfiction – authorship of other kinds of nonfiction books is not disqualifying.
Value: $20,000 advance, publication + $2,000
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Open for: US-based nonfiction writers (see guidelines)
Details here.

The Kelpies Prize for Writing
This is for Scotland-based writers, for writers who want to start a career in children’s books. A couple of the submission requirements are the first five chapters of a book for children, either fiction or non-fiction, or a whole picture book story (see guidelines); as well as “A short piece of writing (1,000–3,000 words) for children that begins with: “Suddenly, there was an enormous bang. What on earth was that?”. They are looking for work for children ages 3 to 13. They do not want works for young adults.
Value: £500, mentorship
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Open for: Scotland-based writers
Details here (you can download the guidelines).
(They also have a prize for illustration, though that is not open currently.)

The Orwell Society Dystopian Fiction Prize
The Orwell Society is organising its annual short story competition for current students (both BA and MA) at British universities. They want dystopian narratives of up to 3,000 words. The judges will be looking for the narrative which best follows in the tradition set by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four and which Orwell is most likely to have admired.
Value: £750
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Open for: Current students (both BA and MA) at British universities, who are permanent UK citizens
Details here.

On the Premises Short Story Contest: Vehicle
Their website says, “write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which some kind of vehicle plays an important role. Merely using the vehicle as a simple plot device or to help characters get somewhere is not enough. For instance, “While flying home I made a bunch of new friends on the flight” isn’t good enough, because the same story–making new friends–could easily be told without the plane.”
Value: $250, $200, $150, $75 (see here)
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here, here, and here.

Chismosa Literary
This is a new literary magazine accepting poetry, prose, fiction, and creative nonfiction (see guidelines). Their website says, “Our debut issue is themed “CHISMOSA.” To celebrate the beginning of our magazine, we will be awarding $100 to the piece that best captures the spirit of chismosa that lives in all writers. We want work that explores the idea that to be a writer is to gossip; it is to people-watch and eavesdrop and turn the things we observe into protagonists and plot-devices. Give us a story brimming with gossip, or write a poem to tell us about the art of eavesdropping. Tell us what being a chismosa writer means to you.” And, “We accept all genres of writing, and we encourage work that is experimental. Pieces that are heavily inspired by real people and events are encouraged.”
Value: $100
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Baltimore Science Fiction Society Poetry Contest
For this contest, poets are required to submit poetry on science fiction/fantasy/horror/science themes. Up to 3 entries are allowed per person, of up to 60 lines each. Winners will receive a cash prize, convention membership and be invited to read their winning entries at Balticon. Attendance at Balticon is not required to win. Their submission form also says, entries received after 1 March will be automatically entered in next year’s contest.
Value: $100, $75, $50
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: All poets
Details here.

Deep Wild Graduate Student Prose Contest
This is an international contest from Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry magazine – they want students currently enrolled in graduate studies to submit work for their Graduate Student Contest and for this cycle, they are accepting prose (fiction or non-fiction) entries of up to 3,000 words. “We seek work that conjures the experiences, observations, and insights of backcountry journeys. By ‘backcountry,’ we mean away from roads, on journeys undertaken by foot, skis, snowshoes, kayak, canoe, horse, or any other non-motorized means of conveyance.”
Value: $300, $200, and $100
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: Students enrolled in graduate studies
Details here and here.
(Their Submittable is also open for other submissions; please be sure to submit in the correct category.)

Alpine Fellowship Prizes
They have a Poetry Prize, a Writing Prize, a Theatre Prize, as well as Music, Philosophy, Refugee Scholar, and Visual Arts prizes. Please read the guidelines for each genre carefully. The theme for this year is ‘Language’ and the work must address that theme; you can read more about the theme here. Winner receives a cash prize in each category, and a stipend to attend the symposium.
Value: Varies; cash awards of £3,000, £1,000, £500 for winners in creative writing categories (poetry, writing, theatre), £500 travel stipend to attend the symposium
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here (click on individual tabs for various genres).

Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships
These are fellowships for US poets laureate. They are for poets of literary merit appointed to serve in civic positions and to support them in creating new work, as well as to enable them to undertake projects that enrich the lives of their neighbors, including youth, through poetry activities. There are some eligibility requirements, including: appointed as an official poet laureate of a state, city, county, U.S. territory, or Tribal nation by a Governor, State Arts or Humanities Council, State Poet Laureate Commission, Tribe President, Mayor, City Council, City Poet Laureate Commission, City Arts Board, County Arts Board, or a city’s public library system; your service as poet laureate, carried out in good community standing, occurring sometime between January 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025; and published one or more full-length poetry collection(s) and/or chapbook(s) or substantial history of public spoken word performances. Some of the submission requirements are a poetry sample, and a description of your proposed civic project(s), including a timeline for the project(s) you would conduct, that engages youth and/or addresses important statewide or local issues.
Value: $50,000 (see guidelines)
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: US poets laureate
Details here and here.
(Also see other awards by the Academy of American Poets that are open now, including fee-free ones; see their Submittable here for details.) 

A few contests with later deadlines are:

— The Papatango New Writing Prize: This is for residents of the UK and Ireland. Send an original play script, which should have a running time of at least 60 minutes, or be at least 9,000 words, or be at least 40 pages. The winning play receives a cash prize and production.
The prize is £7,500, 8% box office royalties, production, publication, and the deadline is 11 March 2023; details here.
— National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Writing Fellowships for US writers – they are accepting applications for poetry this year, awards are up to $25,000, and the deadline is 13 March 2024, details here.
— Parsec Ink (which also publishes the annual Triangulation anthology series) is open for a short speculative fiction contest by non-professional writers (see guidelines); the theme is AI Mythology. Send stories of up to 3,500 words. The prizes are $200, $100, and $50 for adults, and $50 for the best youth story; the deadline is 31 March 2024. Details here and here.
— The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers – These three-month fellowships are to afford writers uninterrupted time to focus on their work at an apartment in Carson McCuller’s childhood home in Columbus, Georgia. A spouse or companion is welcome. The application includes a writing sample of up to 20 pages. The grant is $5,000, and the deadline is 1 April 2024. Details here (scroll down to Academic Opportunities and click on Fellowships).
— The Baen Fantasy Adventure Award – They want stories in all fantasy genres and pay $0.08/word for work up to 8,000 words; the deadline is 30 April 2024. Details here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

THEMED CALLS

Hawk and Cleaver: The Other Stories Podcast – The End
Hawk and Cleaver publishes horror, sci-fi, and thriller fiction on their podcast, The Other Stories. They want tales that terrify, scar and haunt. Their upcoming theme is ‘The End’.
Deadline: 9 December 2023
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: £15
Details here (click on submission form for length and payment details).

Red Cape Publishing wants submissions for their A to Z of Horror anthology series; the theme open for December is W is for Witchcraft; they want stories of 4,000-8,000 words, pay is £10 and the deadline is 31 December 2023, or until filled, details here – scroll down.

Kelp Journal: Surf Noir Anthology
They want short fiction for this anthology. It must take place in a beach locale. “We are looking for noir/neo-noir. Crime, capers, detective stories, and mysteries are all a good fit. Literary stories work as well provided it contain the requisite subject matter. We always appreciate a surfer or water-related person (life guards, sea captains, etc) as a character.” (Other opportunities are also listed on their Submittable, please be sure to submit in the correct one.)
Deadline: 15 December 2023
Length: 3,000-6,000 words preferred
Pay: $35
Details here and here (Submittable).

Eye to the Telescope: Death
“A quarterly online journal, began publishing science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative poetry in 2011, under the auspices of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association.” They are currently open for submissions on the ‘Death’ theme. They have detailed guidelines, including, “These pipe dreams, doors and canyons into which we dive, some willingly, some not, some with trepidation, some with relief, are less final than they appear”. See their past and future themes here.
Deadline: 15 December 2023
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.04/word up to $25
Details here.

The Deadlands, which publishes speculative fiction and poetry on death-related themes, wants fiction, fiction reprints, poetry, and nonfiction in December by BIPOC authors only. Pay is $0.10/word for original fiction up to 5,000 words, $100 per essay of 1,000-4,000 words, and $50 for poetry. Details here.

I Want That Twink OBLITERATED! Anthology
They want “pulp-inspired science fiction, fantasy and horror that explores or subverts classic genre tropes through queer protagonists and villains, particularly those who are non-traditionally masculine.” They have detailed guidelines, including, “IWTTO! is seeking classic pulp adventures centring non-traditionally masculine queer heroes and villains. … Whether fantasy, science-fiction or horror, we want to prove that hetero himbos don’t hold a monopoly on giant swords. We want out and proud thrill-rides starring queers who don’t give a fuck what society says. Smash systems, kiss boys, be gay do crime. … Bring us your femboy starship captains, bring us to trans berserkers fuelled by queer rage, bring us your literal demon twinks. Most of all, bring us stories that make you shriek…” And, “The editors are particularly interested in submissions from trans, non-binary, or intersex writers; aro or ace writers; disabled writers; neurodiverse writers; black, south asian, or east asian writers; or other writers of colour.”
Deadline: 17 December 2023
Length: Up to 6,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.

Funemployment Press: Strange Clocks & Different Calendars Anthology
This is a science fiction and fantasy anthology. “Think the schism between Gregorian & Julian calendars, the attempt of the French revolution to start their own, the Soviet days of the week, what a calendar would look like if the elves lived millennia, how time would be kept on a space station in the void, internal & external clocks, circadian rhythms, hourglasses filled with enchanted grains, secret societies with secret timepieces, the subjectivity of a second, punching in, clocking out, we can’t wait to see what you & ourselves come up with.”
Deadline: 18 December 2023
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: CAD20
Details here.

Moonstruck Books: Nightmare Diaries
Moonstruck Books is a publisher of “speculative fiction, science fiction, horror, fairy tales, gritty and gothic fiction, and experimental fiction.”  Currently, they are also open for an anthology of dark fiction titled Nightmare Diaries. They want short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas.
Deadline: 27 December 2023
Length: 500-10,000 words
Payment is $0.10 per word
Details here (scroll down).

Rough Cut Press: Still
They publish short prose from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose on the ‘Still’ theme.
Deadline: 27 December 2023
Length: Up to 650 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

Polymath Press: Arithmophobia – An Anthology of Mathematical Horror
This is a fiction anthology about math horror. They have detailed guidelines, including, “make sure the mathematical ideas are clearly featured in the story.  What kind of mathematical ideas do we want? That’s for you to decide.  Think outside the box and give us something interesting.  Show us weird geometries, cursed numbers, mathematicians going crazy, you name it.  Most importantly of all, remember that we want math AND horror, so make it as scary as you can.”
Deadline: 31 December 2023, or until filled
Length: 3,000-15,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.

Book XI: A Journal of Literary Philosophy – Color
Book XI publishes personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry with philosophical themes. They want submissions on the ‘Color’ theme. They want prose of 2,000 and 7,000 words, but will also consider shorter and longer works (see guidelines). They are affiliated with Hamilton College’s Arthur Levitt Center for Public Affairs.
Deadline: 31 December 2023, or until filled
Length: See above
Pay: $200 for prose and $50 for poems
Details here and here.

Channel Magazine
This Irish magazine accepts fiction, nonfiction, poetry; nonfiction is accepted through the year (for both print and online), and fiction and poetry have submission periods; submissions for the upcoming issue opened on 20^th November. “Channel’s aim is to provide a home for Irish and international writing that contributes to building rich, mutually sustaining relationships between human beings and the natural world. … This journal exists to provide a passage through which ideas about human relationships with our environment, expressed and embodied in creative work, can flow.” Submissions can be in English or Irish, and also works in translation. “Although based in Ireland, Channel welcomes international submissions. We also welcome submissions in Irish or English translation.”
Deadline: 31 December 2023 for fiction and poetry, ongoing for nonfiction
Length: prose up to 6,000 words, up to 4 poems
Pay: €35/page; minimum payment €50, maximum €250
Details here.

Air and Nothingness Press: We Are All Thieves of Somebody’s Future
They want fiction submissions. “We are seeking stories for an anthology to be titled We Are All Thieves of Somebody’s Future which will collect stories with the theme: Resource Scarcity – using up the last of a critical resource and dealing with the aftermath. While stories could be dystopic (ex. the last tree), authors could also explore hopepunk (losing a resource leads to something unforeseen and positive), solarpunk (a pollution laden resource leads to a better solution), fantasy (the last dragon). We are open to all genres.”
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
(Air and Nothingness Press will open submissions for another themed anthology in February 2024, see guidelines.)

The House of Gamut is currently accepting fiction for their Winter in the City anthology; they want dark urban stories. Pay is $0.10/word for stories of 3,000-7,500 words, deadline 31 March 2024, details here. This is a speculative fiction publisher, see guidelines for all their current calls – anthology, fiction reprints, poetry, and nonfiction – here.

Castaigne Publishing: In the Eyes of the Hungry
This is a fiction anthology. “One of the great American authors wrote a werewolf novel and sadly, we will likely never see it. But wouldn’t it be great to speculate on what such a book might look like? We invite you to do exactly that.
We are asking for short horror stories … in the style of Steinbeck, in his settings, and/or covering his themes. But we’re not going to limit you to werewolves. What fun would that be? We invite you to populate these stories with any of the classical monsters (think Universal), so if you can find a way to put the Creature from the Black Lagoon into a Steinbeck-style yarn, go for it!”
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 2,500-6,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

Zombies Needs Brains: Two Anthologies
They want submissions for two fiction anthologies.
— Familiars “is to feature science fiction, fantasy, or urban fantasy stories where the story revolves around some type of animal familiars (or human familiar). We would like a wide variety of genre settings for this anthology. In other words, we don’t want the entire anthology to be urban fantasy settings. As always, we are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.”
— Last-Ditch “is to feature military science fiction, fantasy, or urban fantasy stories revolving around spies, espionage, and last-ditch Hail Mary efforts to turn the tides of war. We would like a wide variety of genre settings for this anthology. In other words, we don’t want the entire anthology to be science fiction settings. As always, we are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.”
Deadline for both anthologies: 31 December 2023
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here, here, and here.

JayHenge Publishing wants submissions for three speculative fiction anthologies, including Sunshine Superhighway: Solar Sailings: “A new anthology in the spirit of looking forward with a positive outlook. Solarpunk, cyberpunk, other planets, alternate worlds that might be nearly lost through our own hubris; futuristic fantasy and speculative-fiction stories of all kinds that are hopeful and leave us with the idea that despite the doom and gloom in the universe, things can possibly work out if we use TECHNOLOGY to strive to make life better, even if in a small way.” The deadline for this anthology is 31 December 2023. They want stories up to 15,000 words, and pay is $5 per 1,000 words, details here and here.
JayHenge is also accepting submissions for two more anthologies now, The Kafka Protocol & the Burden of Compliance; and The Pelagic Zone: Uncharted Waters; both are open until filled, details here and here.

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker – The Brides of Dracula
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about them here. For this submission period, they want work on ‘The Brides of Dracula’. “We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines – unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting.”
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

Apex Book Company: The Map of Lost Places
This is a horror fiction anthology. They want “stories about places where weird things happen. Places that have strange histories, their own traditions and customs, their own dangers. These can be based off real folk tales or old wives tales – think the Mothman in Point Pleasant, WV – or ones that you come up with all on your own. But your story should tell of someone going to one of these places – either intentionally or they just stumble across it – and what happens when they encounter the frightening/strange thing that is in or occurs in that location.” Also, please note, “In order to avoid duplicates in the open submission call, locations already chosen by the featured authors are listed below. This list will be updated as the authors make their decisions, so be sure to check back!” The Kickstarter for this project has been funded.
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Grendel Press: Uncanny & Unearthly Tales (Vol 2) – The Midnight Labyrinth
This is a fiction anthology. The general submission guidelines for the press say they publish stories of dark fantasy, horror, and romance. For this anthology, “Each story should feature a tale delivered from a character who stepped through a door and found themselves someplace unexpected. On their journey, they will notice a book called Midnight Labyrinth. No requirement to read or interact with it; it just needs to appear. Genre-bending is welcome! Sci-fi, steampunk, horror, fantasy, etc. … This anthology is an exploration of PLACE and FANTASY, so the MC in the story needs to actually find themselves in a new world/city/place that they’ve either never been before or haven’t been for a long time.”
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 2,500-7,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here and here.

Neon Hemlock Press: We’re Here — The Best Queer Speculative Fiction
Neon Hemlock is currently open for an anthology of reprints of queer speculative fiction published in 2023.
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: Up to 17,500 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here (past and future calls), here, and here.

Neon Hemlock’s Baffling Magazine wants speculative fiction with a queer bent, either unthemed or on the ‘Sex’ theme. They pay $0.08/word for stories up to 1,200 words, and the deadline is 15 December 2023, details here and here.

Manawaker Studio: Rattus Futura
Rattus Futura is an anthology focused on stories about the future which feature rodents. This volume will contain stories, poetry, and visual art. “Submitted works should be of any genre, as long as the work depicts a world that is noticeably in the future. Hard and Soft Sci-fi, (Post-)apocalyptic, Solarpunk, Slipstream, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Alternate (future) History, Supernatural, Retro-futurism etc. are all fine names for genres that often take place in the future, but your story doesn’t have to fit into one of those. … All works must also prominently feature at least one rodent. It does not have to be a rodent of the genus Rattus. Other members of the rodent family, like mice and beavers, are also acceptable, as are non-biological minks, metaphorical hamsters, robots with the acronym S.Q.R.L., and so on.” This is a sequel to their earlier Felix Futura anthology.
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: No hard word limit for fiction, but novellas and above might be hard to find room for (see guidelines), up to 5 poems
Pay: $10/poem, $0.01/word for fiction
Details here.

Thinking Ink Press: Neurodiverse Anthology
They want submissions for a science fiction anthology – “stories, flash fiction, poetry, and art exploring encounters between neurodivergent people and neurodivergent aliens.” And, “The universe is filled with aliens—creatures with different histories, cultures, and even biologies—who may seem strange to us. But our world is filled with a diversity of people, many of whom find each other strange. One particular group finds the rest of humanity especially strange: neurodivergent people.⁠ Would neurodivergent folks find themselves at an advantage in dealing with aliens?⁠”
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: Fiction up to 6,000 words, poetry up to 100 lines
Pay: $50 for flash fiction and poetry, $100 for short fiction
Details here.

The Black Beacon Book of Pirate Tales
This is a fiction anthology, “we’re looking for pirate tales, preferably about pirates and buccaneers from the 16th to 18th centuries. Stories set in completely fictional/fantasy worlds will be considered but are likely to be a hard sell. That said, we’re interested in stories belonging to various genres just so long as the central characters and setting are pirates or centred on the theme of piracy, even if the story is set in the present. For example, a ghost story featuring a legendary pirate or a mystery about a lost treasure. We’re not looking for sci-fi or futuristic stories.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Preferred length: 3,000-9,000 words
Pay: $20
Details here and here.
(Also see the Black Beacon Books’ novel submission calls here.)

New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a non-fiction column. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Also, “Love may be universal, but individual experiences can differ immensely and be informed by factors including race, socio-economic status, gender, disability status, nationality, sexuality, age, religion and culture.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, September through December, and March through June. Writers are paid. Send submissions to modernlove (at) nytimes.com. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US.
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 1,500-1,700 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
(Also see their Tiny Love Stories column; these are also personal essays similar in theme to Modern Love, but much shorter, of 100 words.)

Workers Write!
Their website says, “Issue 20 of Workers Write! will be Further Tales from the Cubicle and will contain fiction and poems from the office worker’s point of view – we’re especially interested to see how the home office has taken on a new meaning because of Covid and what it’s been like for those of us who have returned to the annoying commutes and communal bathrooms.”
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $5-50
Details here.
(Also see their Overtime! Series of chapbooks for longer workplace-related fiction; writers can send submissions or queries for works of 5,000-10,000 words, pay is $40-60, details here.)

Underdog Press: Two anthologies
They are reading submissions for two fiction anthologies. “How you incorporate the quarterly theme in your story is up to you.  We do ask that you make sure the theme idea is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the story.  We want truly want stories depicting underdogs rising to the occasion when it seems all hope is lost. … If your story is nobledark, noblebright, grimdark, or grimbright or something in the middle of all of those that’s okay.”
— The Way of Worlds  “is an anthology focused on space exploration and colonization …  We want aliens, solar systems, spaceships, alternate universes, and to go somewhere beyond imagination.  The focus of this anthology is space but it doesn’t have to be hard science fiction.  Show us what is happening in the galaxy next door.” Deadline 31 December 2023.

— Nightmares Before Bed “is exactly what you think it is. This will be our first horror anthology and we want to be clear, no sexual violence, abuse of children, overly disturbing images and ideas, or gore will be published. We want horror, we want to be scared, but let’s do it in a way that is respectful. We’d love to see fantasy horror or sci-fi horror here.”  Deadline 31 January 2024.
Deadlines: See above
Length: 3,500-12,000 words for both Underdog Press anthologies
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.

Hiraeth Books: Here There be Dragons Anthology
Their guidelines say, “Dragons are icons of fantasy and legends about them abound. Found in novels, poetry, and art, they stir the imagination as helpers, heroes, villains, and symbols of love, fear, and wealth. We are looking for renderings of dragons in writing and art that capture the essence of these fascinating creatures.”
Deadline: 1 January 2024, or until filled
Length: 3,000-6,000 words for fiction; up to 5 poems
Pay: 8 cents/word for the first 3000 words and 3 cents/word thereafter for fiction; $1/line for poetry
Details here.

Hiraeth is also open for a drabble harvest contest, the theme is Alien Fetishes – they want stories of exactly 100 words, the first prize is $5, the deadline is 31 December 2023, details here.

Anterior Skies
This is an annual anthology of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They will publish “cosmic and weird stories, ranging from fantasy (preferably low fantasy, but high fantasy will be considered) to sci-fi to noir, as long as there’s a dab of horror somewhere in there.”
Deadline: 1 January 2024
Length: 100-6,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.01/word, up to $50
Details here.

Room Magazine: Bodies
They publish fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and art by folks of marginalized genders, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender),  transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They want submissions on the Bodies theme. “We’re seeking writing about touch and isolation, trans and queer embodiment, fat liberation, chronic illness and disability, brutality, sensuality, and other meditations on the bones and muscles you inhabit every day. What words live in the relationship between your body and other bodies? Between your body and the land beneath it? Explore what it means to feel empowered and grounded in your body—and what it means to feel betrayed by it. Have you ever lost your body to dissociation? Or perhaps to transcendence? The body is a site of self-love, self-hate, and body neutrality alike: accepting loving odes, body horror, and everything in between.”
Deadline: 5 January 2023
Length: Up to 3,500 words for fiction and creative non-fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: CAD50/page, up to CAD200 for print, and CAD75 for reviews and work accepted for online publication
Details here and here.

Ploughshares: Look2 essays
Apart from work for the literary magazine, Ploughshares is also accepting submissions for the Look2 essay series. “This series seeks to publish essays about underappreciated or overlooked writers. The Look2 essay should take stock of a writer’s entire oeuvre with the goal of bringing critical attention to the neglected writer and his or her relevance to a contemporary audience. … The writer can be living or dead and from anywhere in the world (if there are good English translations available). Essays should make note of biographical details that are pertinent to the writer’s work.” They accept only pitches/queries of 1-2 pages, not completed work, for this series. There is no submission fees for Look2 essays.
Pitch deadline: 15 January 2024
Length: Unspecified
Pay: $45/page, up to $450.
Details here.

Eastover Press: Mirrorball – How Taylor Swift Reflects the Loss, Hope & Love of Millions Around the World,
This is a prose and poetry anthology, “an anthology of writings from around the world inspired by Taylor Swift, her music and her call to fans globally to cry and laugh and dance and mourn and grow together. More than anything, the anthology mirrors the joy that has come from sharing our lives with one another the way Taylor’s lyrics of love and loss, of betrayal and of chosen family, have made all the Swifties around the globe feel less alone.
We are calling for contributions from all nations, all genders, all ages and all levels of fandom.”
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Length: Up to 3 poems, up to 3,500 words for prose
Pay: $100 for prose, $50 for poetry
Details here.

Eastover Press is open for another anthology – they want reprint fiction from US-based writers for their Eastover Anthology of Rural Stories, from BIPOC writers who live in or hail from, or have spent significant time in, rural or semi-rural locales in the United States – they have specific guidelines on the kind of stories they want, please read them carefully; pay is $100-300 for stories up to 7,500 words, and the deadline for that is 15 December 2023. Details here.

Terrain.org
They welcome submissions on place, climate, and justice – fiction (short story, flash fiction series, novel excerpt, radio play, or other fiction piece), nonfiction, and poetry. They also accept translations, and art. Payment is a minimum of $50. And, “All accepted submissions by writers of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, and/or other marginalized communities whose contributions explore place particularly in the context of social, environmental, or climate justice are considered for our annual Editor’s Prize of $500 per genre.” Certain sections, like Letter to America and ArTerrain, are open year-round, and other sections have submission periods, or are open periodically.
Deadline: 31 January for poetry; 31 March 2024 for fiction and nonfiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction and nonfiction, 2-6 poems
Pay: Minimum of $50
Details here and here.

THEMED CONTESTS

Apart from these, there are also some unthemed contests/grants open this month, including the Lilith Magazine Fiction Contest – Lilith publishes work of interest to Jewish women, and the contest is for short fiction up to 3,000 words, the prize is $300 and the deadline is 31 December 2023, details here; Jack Hazard Fellowship for fiction, creative nonfiction, and memoir writers who teach full time in an accredited high school in the United States; the award is $5,000, and the deadline is 4 January 2024, details here and here; San José State University’s  Steinbeck Fellows Program, which awards writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project, fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck studies; they offer 6 fellowships of $15,000 each, deadline 5 January 2024, details here and here; and Discoveries 2024 for UK- and Ireland-based women writers, for a novel-in-progress (adult fiction) – send the first 10,000 words and a synopsis; apart from a cash prize of £5,000, the winner also gets literary representation, deadline 8 January 2024, details here.

Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards

These awards are given for non-fiction works in progress which deal with a topic of American political or social concern, to aid their completion. Writers must already have a contract with a US-based publisher. One of the application requirements is 50-75 pages from the work in progress. There is no fee for the work-in-progress award. The prizes are run by Columbia Journalism School – they also have other awards, which charge entry fees.
Value: $25,000
Deadline: 7 December 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here

Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition
This is an international contest for crime novel manuscripts, for writers who have never been the author of any published novel in any genre and are uncontracted. The writing should be no less than approximately 65,000 words. Authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work. Minotaur is an imprint of Macmillan.
Value: $10,000 advance against royalties
Deadline: 15 December 2023
Open for: Unpublished writers (see guidelines)
Details here

International Women’s Media Foundation: Kim Wall Memorial Fund
This grant is for women or nonbinary journalists with one or more years of professional experience working in news media from anywhere in the world. “The IWMF’s Kim Wall Memorial Fund will provide $5,000 grants to journalists whose work embodies the spirit of Kim’s reporting. The grant will fund women or non-binary reporters covering subculture, broadly defined, and what Kim liked to call “the undercurrents of rebellion.”

Value: $5,000 each
Deadline: 17 December 2023
Open for: Women and nonbinary journalists
Details here.
(See more of IWMF’s programs/grants/awards here.)

The Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest
This contest is for registered undergraduate full-time Juniors or Seniors at accredited four-year colleges or universities in the US in the Fall 2023 Semester. Students are invited to write an essay about an ethical issue they have encountered, and analyze what it has taught them about ethics, and themselves. “What challenges awaken your conscience?
Is it the conflicts in American society?  An international crisis?
Maybe a difficult choice you currently face or a hard decision you had to make?”
Value: Unspecified
Deadline: 29 December 2023
Open for: US students (see guidelines)
Details here.

The Lyric Magazine: College Poetry Contest
This is a contest open to undergraduates enrolled full time in an American or Canadian college or university. Poems must be original and unpublished, 39 lines or less, written in English in traditional forms, preferably with regular scansion and rhyme. Students can send up to three poems.
Value: $500, $200, $100
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Open for: Undergraduates in an American or Canadian college or university
Details here

The AIIRA Writing Contest: How will AI change the landscape of your career within the next decade?
They want fiction or creative non-fiction (see guidelines), of up to 3,500 words, from US high schoolers. The theme is, “How will AI change the landscape of your career within the next decade?” Their website says, “Think of a career you’d like to have in the future. How might AI technology advance your field and help you perform your job within the next decade? What aspects or duties of your job may become irrelevant due to AI? Describe a day in the life of your job with AI as your new work partner.

Your submission can be either a creative nonfiction essay speculating on the changes your desired career may undergo or a fictional scene depicting what your desired job may look like in ten years.”
Value: $550, $400, $250
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Open for: US high schoolers
Details here and here.

The Writers College: My Writing Journey Competition
They want a 600-word piece on ‘The best writing tip I’ve ever received’. The contest is open to writers all over the world.
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Value: AUD200/£100
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Poetry Society of America: The Four Quartets Prize
This is for a unified and complete sequence of poems published in America in a print or online journal, chapbook, or book in 2023. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were published in 2023 and that brought together, they form a complete sequence. The minimum requirement is 14 pages of published poems unified by subject, form, and style. Entire books composed of a unified sequence, however long, are also welcome. Submissions will have to be mailed. Self-published work is not eligible. They have other upcoming awards also, though these have an entry fee, or do not have an application process.
Value: $1,000 for three finalists, an additional $20,000 for the winner
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here

The Caribbean Writer Prizes
Their website says, “The Caribbean Writer (TCW) has issued a call for submissions for Volume 38 under the 2024 theme: Legacies: Reckoning and Resolve. We inherit the legacies of our those who march before us, if not directly, some other way and so reckoning has become a way of life. Some suggests that what will save us is our resolve.

Contributors may submit works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays or one act plays which explore the ideas resonating within the region and its diaspora. The Caribbean should be central to the work, or the work should reflect a Caribbean heritage, experience or perspective.” Submissions are also eligible for various prizes (there is no separate application process): The Canute A. Brodhurst Prize of $600 for best short fiction; The Daily News Prize of $500 awarded to a resident of the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands; The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize of $500 for a new or emerging writer; The Cecile deJongh Literary Prize of $500 for a Caribbean author whose work best expresses the spirit of the Caribbean; The Vincent Cooper Literary Prize of $300 awarded to a Caribbean author for exemplary writing in Caribbean Nation Language.
Value: $300-600
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.

Kinsman Quarterly: Iridescence Award
This is an award for short stories and poetry by BIPOC authors. “Themes should include the supernatural, extraterrestrial, or the paranormal. Prizes include publication in the Iridescence anthology with cash awards up to $500. … Genres include, but are not limited to, fantasy, folk mythology, science fiction, and the paranormal.”
Value: $500, $250, $100; gift cards for finalists
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Open for: BIPOC writers
Details here.

Meridians: The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award
Meridians is a literary magazine affiliated with Smiths College. This award is for short works – poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and play scripts. “The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award celebrates an author whose work embodies the lyrically powerful and historically engaged nature of Dr. Alexander’s writing. We aim for this award to highlight different forms of knowledge production that emerge from the artistic, political, and cultural advocacy undertaken by women of color nationally, transnationally, and globally.”
Value: $500
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

International Young Theatre Playwriting Contest
This prize is for bold and powerful plays for young audiences (no plays for children or adult audiences, or musicals), written in any official European language. Performance time for Category A is 60-120 minutes; for Category B, 30-60 minutes; for Category C, 10-30 minutes. They accept plays co-authored by more than one writer. The play must be a new and original piece of work. Writers of any age or nationality can enter the contest.
Value: €2,400 for Category A, €1,000 for Category B, €400 for Category C, and other non-cash prizes
Deadline: 31 December 20243
Open for: All playwrights
Details here.

Defenestrationism.net Lengthy Poem Contest
They are reading entries for a lengthy poem, of at least 120 lines and up to chapbook-length (see guidelines). It is best to divide it into parts or sections, though this is not a strict requirement. Poem cycles will be considered. Please note, the shortlisted poems will be posted on the website, which will be followed by fan voting.
Value: $300
Deadline: 1 January 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.

The Leon Levy Centre for Biography: Biography Fellowships
These are four resident fellowships at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, to nonfiction writers working on biographies. preference in the award of fellowships is given to those who have not yet published a biography or received fellowships for the writing of a biography. They also welcome applications from published and accomplished writers who are undertaking their first biography. The Leon Levy Center for Biography does not award fellowships for memoirs, essays, plays, films, or fiction. One of the application requirements is a sample of the proposed biography, a maximum of 2,500 words. (Also see the Sloan Fellowship, given annually to a writer working on a biography of a figure in the field of science or technology.)
Value: $72,000, residency
Deadline: 4 January 2024
Open for: Writers working on biographies
Details here 

Quantum Shorts Flash Fiction Contest
This is for Quantum-inspired flash fiction. “The challenge for writers is this: craft a story no longer than 1000 words that takes inspiration from quantum physics. The story must also incorporate the phrase “nobody said this was going to be easy”.”
Value: $1,500, $1,000, a People’s Choice prize of $500; $100 for shortlisted stories
Deadline: 8 January 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.

She Does the City: New Voices Fund
This fund is open to women, non-binary, and transgender writers, who have less than 20 bylines to their name and are Canadian residents. “If you love to write about the arts and entertainment, or have a compelling personal story to share, you’ve come to the right place. Chosen writers will receive a $200 honorarium.” Some of the topics they are interested in are: Your personal experiences as an artist; Unique perspectives within Canada’s arts & entertainment industry; and Creative projects that inspire positive change.
They also have monthly themes, but writers can send submissions outside of these themes, as well. See the fund guidelines here and their general pitch guide for freelancers is here. You can read about the website here.
Value: CAD200
Deadline: Ongoing
Open for: Canadian writers (see guidelines)
Details here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

Deathcap & Hemlock: Winter Holidays
They want writing with speculative elements, fashioned in the style of a recipe. They want winter holiday stories. Their general submission guidelines are, “Send us your darkest goulash, your most violent sachertorte, your transformative aperitif.  Pass down your great-aunt’s potluck dish for a party that ended … poorly. We are a cookbook for a dreadful feast, in the style of a recipe blog.” And “Recipes that hint at a deeper narrative without violating the recipe structure will catch our eye. We are looking for short pieces, formatted like actual recipes (ingredients list, steps, measurements (metric, imperial; weight or volume—you decide!)).” Also, “We are not looking for stories about food or prose descriptions of how to make something. We are also not looking for anything that threatens actual people or real recipes for a poison that could be followed by readers. This is not a how-to site: we want speculative elements, we want recipes that ignite imagination (not felonies).” For the winter holidays theme, they say, ““Winter holiday” means any holiday celebrated in winter. Solstice, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Three King’s Day, Diwali, St. Lucia— give us snow-bitten feasts and frosty treats (or hot Christmas lights on the beach: if you feel good about calling it a winter holiday, send it on over). Have a look at the Cookbook to see what we featured last year. We’re unlikely to repeat similar ideas.”
Deadline: 7 November 2023
Length: Up to 1,000 words (prefer 200-400 words)
Pay: $10
Details here.

Prairie Fire: Burning Up / Burning Down
This Canadian literary magazine wants submissions on the ‘Burning Up / Burning Down’ theme, from writers all over the world. “This past summer, especially in Canada, we saw A LOT of fire. So much so that this year’s fire season saw the largest area burned in Canada’s history. Globally, the planet continues to heat up, and we saw a record number of heat related deaths, mostly in Europe. And, as temperatures rise, we’re seeing an increase in violence, war, crime and hate speech. In one way or another, we were all affected by fires. Some of us lived through evacuations, devastating losses, or knew and worried for those who had/have. There’s almost no one that wasn’t in some way affected by the smoke and air pollution. Our bodies, like the planet, can’t exist with too much heat, or too much cold. The underbelly of fire, is positive. …Fire brings, and holds us together. Fire helps us to cook and digest food, kills viruses and infection, forges metals, and heats our homes. …Yet, this year, seeing the fire element so out of balance, is disconcerting, frightening, and we wanted to do something in response. So, we are asking you to share your stories of fire, whether literal fires, metaphorical ones (lighting a fire under you, fanning the flames, acting in the heat of the moment), and spiritual ones (trial by fire, hearts aflame).”
Deadline: 10 November 2023
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose, up to 3 poems for the themed call
Pay: CAD0.10/word up to CAD250 for print prose, and CAD40/poem Details here, here, and here.

Book XI: A Journal of Literary Philosophy – Books, reading, and being read
Book XI publishes personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry with philosophical themes. They want submissions on the ‘Books, reading, and being read’ theme. They want prose of 2,000 and 7,000 words, but will also consider shorter and longer works (see guidelines). They are affiliated with Hamilton College’s Arthur Levitt Center for Public Affairs.
Deadline: 10 November 2023, or until filled
Length: See above
Pay: $200 for prose and $50 for poems
Details here and here.

Flame Tree: Elemental Forces Anthology
Flame Tree is accepting submissions for an unthemed horror anthology titled Elemental Forces. They want all sorts of horror content. They want only original stories, not reprints, for this anthology, which will be published in hardcover and paperback.
Deadline: 14 November 2023
Length: 3,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

(And Moonstruck Books will publish an anthology of dark fiction titled Nightmare Diaries in Fall 2024. They want short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas of 500-10,000 words. Payment is $0.10 per word and the deadline is 27 December 2023. Details here.)

Two for the Show Anthology
This is a fiction anthology; they want submissions from writers with a US mailing address only. For Two for the Show theme, they say, “Two times the trouble. Two times the love. Two locations. Dual POVs. Dual time lines. We’re expecting things to get a little complicated this year, but we still want stories that excite us. Our goal is to introduce our readers to stories that could be mind bending, but also clear and easy to read.
A short, sweet and simple story is good too!”
Deadline: 15 November 2023
Length: Up to 10,000 words
Pay: 1.5 cents/word
Details here.

(Another anthology wanting submissions from US-based writers is Eastover Anthology of Rural Stories – they want reprints. Their website says, “EastOver Press is accepting previously published short stories for a forthcoming anthology. The stories should have been published in 2021 or 2022. The anthology will focus on BIPOC writers who live in or hail from rural or semi-rural locales (in the United States) and whose short stories feature characters living and/or working in rural or semi-rural spaces. In addition, we’ll also accept work from BIPOC writers who’ve spent a significant amount of time in rural or semi-rural locales and whose work might reflect those spaces.” Pay is $100-300 for stories up to 7,500 words, and the deadline is 15 December 2023. Details here.)

Apparition Lit: Blight
Apparition Lit is a quarterly speculative fiction and poetry magazine. “Speculative fiction is weird, almost unclassifiable. It’s fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and literary.” They run themed issues. They usually have a two-week open submission period for all writers every quarter, which extends by a week for BIPOC writers; also see the note about their equity initiative in the guidelines here (scroll down) – “Our submission window will remain open for an additional week each quarter for writers who identify as BIPOC and self-identify in their cover letter.
We will also accept simultaneous submissions from writers who identify as BIPOC or LGBTQIA+. Please just note how you identify in your cover letter, that it is a simultaneous submission.” They will accept submissions on the ‘Blight’ theme during the second half of November.
Reading period: 15-30 November 2023
Length: 1,000-5,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.05/word for fiction, and $50/poem
Details here and here.
(They also publish flash fiction online on monthly prompts, during the first fortnight of every month.)

Empyrean Tree Literary Magazine: Home
Their website says, “Our main focus is genre fiction, prioritizing on character-focused stories. From high, regal (or gross depending on how wealthy you were) fantasy to seeing bits of magic spark in a familiar, urban light, to weird machinations of science and technology that stretches to the unknown limit of humanity, we hope to build a refuge and haven for these kind of stories. … The main key difference that will separate us from other genre fiction stories, is that we’re looking for stories that bring comfort.” They want submissions on the ‘Home’ theme for their first issue. “What does it mean to be at home? Does home exist within people? Within a place? Is it a location that is familiar? If so, how is it possible one can find immediate connection to an unfamiliar world that speaks and calls to them? Is home a place of joy that strikes our hearts with glee? Or is it simply reminders of where we came from, and the chains we used to carry. Our very first issue will focus on the meaning that comes from home.”
Deadline: 12 November 2023
Length: 1,000-15,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here and here.

Decapitate!
This magazine, from Third Estate Art, was formerly called Quaranzine. “Third Estate Art is an arts collective that seeks to create and promote connections between art and social justice. Everything we publish in Decapitate must be related to a social justice theme in some way. Think climate change, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA+ rights, feminism (intersectional or GTFO), disability rights, our descent into fascism, abolishing ICE, and so on. The possibilities are—unfortunately—endless.” And, “We’ll take submissions of stories, essays, Bandcamp links, visual art, artist talks, performances, instructional videos, comics, poems, and anything else that we can reasonably put into this format.” They’ll publish weekly.
Deadline: 14 November 2023
Length: One story; up to three poems
Pay: $25
Details here.

Cloaked Press: Spring into SciFi – Volume 6
This is an annual science fiction anthology. ““Spring Into SciFi” will contain stories of Space Exploration, Advanced Technology, AI, Cloning, Robotics and of course, Aliens.”
Deadline: 15 November 2023
Length: 2,500-9,000 words
Pay: $15
Details here.

Intrepidus Ink: Two themes
This is a fiction magazine. “We explore intrepid culture: our stories feature danger elements, struggle, emotion, and OVERCOMING. Our stories are intrepid first and not subordinated to other themes.
We accept many genres and writing styles, including literary, speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy), literary speculative fiction, action and adventure, romance, magic realism, historical fiction, and others. We love odd, quirky, experimental stories and humor.” They want submissions on Intrepidus–undaunted and Overcoming themes.
Deadline: 15 November 2023
Length: 300-1,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word for stories of 300-1,000 words, and $30 for stories of 1,500-2,500 words
Details here.

Horns and Rattles Press: Flora & Fungi
This is a horror fiction anthology, and the theme is Flora & Fungi. Apart from cash payment, contributors also get a copy – they will cover shipping costs up to $20. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 18 November 2023
Length: Up to 4,000 words
Pay: $20
Details here and here.

Rough Cut Press: Withhold
They publish short prose from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose on the ‘Withhold’ theme.
Deadline: 27 November 2023
Length: Up to 650 words
Pay: $25
Details here.

Dismantle Magazine
They publish essays, prose, poetry, art, and also say, “Have an idea or a submission that doesn’t fit within our categories? (i.e. Essays, Prose, Poetry, Art) Try us. We’re in the business of bending the rules.” Writers can send pitches or complete submissions. “Fashion and pop culture are important parts of everyday life and politics, but we don’t often have opportunities to dig deep into how these things connect us to larger communities and power structures. Dismantle Magazine is all about how understanding fashion, pop culture and social issues can help us dismantle systems of oppression. We feature the work of writers, scholars, activists, and artists in a supportive, collaborative environment.”
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Length: Unspecified
Pay: $100 for articles over 1,000 words
Details here and here.

Tyche Books: Carpe Noctem Anthology
This is a fiction and poetry anthology. “Night is practically another world. Owls and bats steal the sky from songbirds, nocturnal creatures thrive under the moonlight, and night-blooming plants flourish away from most human eyes. As the saying goes: people aren’t truly afraid of the dark – they fear what could be in the darkness with them. And the list of legends and stories about the things that go bump in the night is extensive indeed.
Carpe Noctem will be an anthology of stories and poems about darkness, night, and the multitude of things that thrive (or hide) in those elements. We are seeking stories beyond those simply set during the night or in a dark place, and that delve into tales of the nocturnal and – as the title would imply – really seize the night as a critical element of their stories, perhaps even as a character itself.
We are seeking submissions with a focus on characters, narrative, originality, and ‘own voices’.”
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Length: Up to 5,500 words
Pay: CAD50 for fiction, CAD20 for poetry
Details here.

(And the Northern Nights anthology is accepting dark/horror submissions from Canadian writers only; ideally set in Canada and incorporating a motif of night / nighttime / dusk/ darkness. They pay CAD0.10/word for stories of 500-5,000 words. Details here.)

Blue Planet Press: Space is the Place
This is a young adult (YA) science fiction anthology. “Stories should take place OFF Earth. Other planets, starships, space stations, the moon, all ok.”
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Length: 6,000-10,000 words
Pay: Half a cent per word, up to $50
Details here.

Parabola: Freedom
Parabola is a quarterly journal that explores the quest for meaning as it is expressed in the world’s myths, symbols, and religious traditions, with particular emphasis on the relationship between this store of wisdom and our modern life. “We look for lively, penetrating material unencumbered by jargon or academic argument. We prefer well-researched, objective, and unsentimental pieces that are grounded in one or more religious or cultural tradition; articles that focus on dreams, visions, or other very personal experiences are unlikely to be accepted.” They publish book reviews (500 words), articles and translations (1,000-3,000 words), retellings of traditional stories (500-1,500 words), forum contributions (up to 500 words), and poetry (up to 5 poems). The theme for their next issue, Spring 2024, is ‘Freedom’. They pay.
Deadline: 1 December 2023
Length: See above
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.

Eternal Haunted Summer: Horror
Eternal Haunted Summer is a publication about the gods and goddesses and heroes of the world’s many pagan traditions. They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and reviews. They are reading work on the ‘Horror’ theme. “Fear. Trepidation. Terror and revulsion. Send us your best scary poems and stories inspired by the world’s polytheistic mythologies and spiritual traditions. Send us poems about sailors journeying between Scylla and Charybdis. Send us short stories about the youth of Athens facing the Minotaur. Send us poems about Yūrei and stories about the Headless Mule. Send us essays about the literary evolution of redcaps, the transformation of indigenous spirits into demons, the use of Western spirituality in Eastern horror movies. Violence and gore must be appropriate to the story. We want horror, not splatterpunk. [Please note: we are not averse to pieces featuring vampires and werewolves. However, any such submissions must be firmly grounded in an ancient or extant polytheistic/Pagan tradition.]”
Deadline: 1 December 2023
Length: Any length (see guidelines)
Pay: $5
Details here.

Death in the Mouth Anthology
This is a “horror anthology series showcasing BIPOC and other ethnically marginalized writers and artists from around the world! It will feature twenty prose stories spanning from the terrifying mythic past to the unnerving far future, real and fictive worlds, and explore unique and unsettling manifestations of horror.” The are accepting fiction submissions, and art portfolios. They want work from “Authors who identify as BIPOC or, outside of US-American context, anyone who is from a marginalized ethnicity (eg. Roma, Sámi, Nenets would also fall under this umbrella etc)”.
Deadline: 1 December 2023
Length: 1,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here

Big Wing Review
This is a new magazine, and they are reading for their inaugural print + online issue. They want poetry, prose, spoken word, and visual art works. For this issue, they want “work that explores nature and our relationship with it.”
Deadline: 1 December 2023
Length: Up to 1,000 words for prose, up to 6 poems
Pay: $25
Details here.

(And Channel Magazine accepts fiction, nonfiction, poetry; nonfiction is accepted through the year for both print and online, and they will reopen for fiction and poetry for their tenth issue during November, according to a notice on their website. “Channel’s aim is to provide a home for Irish and international writing that contributes to building rich, mutually sustaining relationships between human beings and the natural world. … This journal exists to provide a passage through which ideas about human relationships with our environment, expressed and embodied in creative work, can flow.” They will open in November for fiction and poetry — see the website for announcements/dates, and length guidelines are prose up to 6,000 words, up to 4 poems; pay is €50 per poem, or per page of prose, up to €150, details here.)

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker – The Brides of Dracula
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about them here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on ‘The Brides of Dracula’. “We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines – unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting.” Pay is $0.05/word for stories of 1,500-5,000 words.
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

JayHenge Publishing: Four themes
They want submissions for some speculative fiction anthologies.
— Sunshine Superhighway: Solar Sailings: “A new anthology in the spirit of looking forward with a positive outlook. Solarpunk, cyberpunk, other planets, alternate worlds that might be nearly lost through our own hubris; futuristic fantasy and speculative-fiction stories of all kinds that are hopeful and leave us with the idea that despite the doom and gloom in the universe, things can possibly work out if we use TECHNOLOGY to strive to make life better, even if in a small way.” Deadline 31 December 2023.
— The Kafka Protocol & the Burden of Compliance: “Do you have a story to tell about the struggles of navigating an endless sea of paperwork, the tedium and surrealism of bureaucratic procedures, the tyranny of faceless institutions, or some other aspect of the absurdity of Kafka-esque politics? We are excited to read your speculative fiction (SFF+) submissions and to bring together a collection of stories that will transport readers to a world that is both bizarre and thought-provoking.” Deadline: Until filled
— The Pelagic Zone: Uncharted Waters: “This planet (and surely others like it) are mostly covered in water, and while we know a bit about life there, what mysteries might still lie far down within its depths? From gripping narratives that explore the ocean, the discovery of lost civilizations, or the dangers of creating underwater colonies, we are seeking stories that examine those worlds, and transport readers to a place that is both familiar and fantastical. Send us your speculative fiction (SFF+) tales of the underwater!” Deadline: Until filled
— AI, Robot: Imaginative writers, your speculative tales of AI and robotics are needed for our “AI, Robot” anthology. Delve into a future of sentient devices, smart homes, and moral machines. Dazzle us with your stories that ask big questions about consciousness, morality, and the nature of intelligence. Send us narratives that excite, provoke, and inspire. Let your storytelling intertwine with the possibilities and pitfalls of advanced technology. Send us your stories!“ Deadline: Until filled
Deadlines (for all JayHenge anthologies): See above
Length: Up to 15,000 words (can publish longer – see guidelines)
Pay: $5 per 1,000 words
Details here and here.

(And, Zombies Needs Brains are also accepting submissions for two anthologies: Familiars, science fiction, fantasy, or urban fantasy stories where the story revolves around some type of animal familiars or human familiar; and Last-Ditch, which will feature military science fiction, fantasy, or urban fantasy stories revolving around spies, espionage, and last-ditch Hail Mary efforts to turn the tides of war; the deadline is 31 December 2023 for both anthologies, and they pay $0.08/word for stories of up to 7,500 words. Details here, here, and here.)

Workers Write!
Their website says, “Issue 20 of Workers Write! will be Further Tales from the Cubicle and will contain fiction and poems from the office worker’s point of view – we’re especially interested to see how the home office has taken on a new meaning because of Covid and what it’s been like for those of us who have returned to the annoying commutes and communal bathrooms.”
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $5-50
Details here.
Also see their Overtime! Series of chapbooks for longer workplace-related fiction; writers can send submissions or queries for works of 5,000-10,000 words, pay is $40-60, details here.

Full Bleed: Home
Full Bleed is an annual print journal devoted to the intersection of the visual and literary arts. For this issue, they only want submissions from writers who identify as parents or grandparents (though submissions need not address parenting or related topics), on the ‘Home’ theme. They publish portfolios of visual art, belle-lettres, art criticism, fiction, poetry, and graphic essays. “We are always happy to feature innovative projects combining word, image, and design; collaborations between writers and artists; ekphrastic creations; and groundbreaking critical essays.” On the Home theme, they say, “we are especially, though not exclusively, interested in work that explores the meaning of home (or habitat), for human and non-human life, at a time of rapid ecological change, and in an era of acute, ongoing refugee and humanitarian crises. We’d also welcome work that considers the aesthetics of home, the discovery or creation of new homes, homesickness, working from home, chosen families, home-in-exile, housing insecurity, and any other angles on the theme that attract your curiosity.”
Deadline: 10 January 2024
Length: Up to 7,000 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: $100 for prose / art, $50 for poetry
Details here.

Talk Vomit: Gifts
Their website says, “Talk Vomit is a women-owned and run online literary art zine based out of Massachusetts that harbors a willful longing for when the internet was still fun. We publish essays, short stories, visual art and genre-bending ruminations.” They want work on the Gifts theme for the Winter 2023 issue. They publish quarterly. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: Unspecified
Length: Up to 4,000 words for nonfiction, up to 2,000 words for fiction, up to 2 poems
Pay: $5-15
Details here.

The Christian Science Monitor: The Home Forum
This news organization accepts pitches from freelancers and writers, and complete submissions for The Home Forum, where they want “upbeat personal essays of from 600 to 1,000 words. We recently began accepting short poetry submissions, as well. … For time-sensitive material (seasonal, news-related, holiday- or event-themed), you must submit at least SIX WEEKS in advance.” Also, “These are first-person, nonfiction explorations of how you responded to a place, a person, a situation, an event, or happenings in everyday life. Tell a story with a point; share a funny true tale. Describe a self-discovery. The humor should be gentle.
We accept essays on a wide variety of subjects and encourage timely, newsy topics. However, we don’t deal with the topics of death, aging, medicine, or disease. We do not publish work that presents people in helpless or hopeless states.” Please read some of the essays to see if your work is a good fit.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: 600-1,000 words for essays
Pay: $400 for essays, $200-250 for poetry
Details here.

THEMED CONTESTS

Some unthemed contests are also open, including the ServiceScape Short Story Award for a work of short fiction or nonfiction, prize  $1,000, deadline 30 November 2023, details here; Polar Expressions: Student Contests for Short Story and Poetry for Canadian students, first prizes of CAD60-100 for students of various grades, deadlines: 24 November 2023 for short stories, 30 November 2023 for poetry, details here. There are also some fellowships/grants for US-based journalists which are open now; the Grist Fellowships, details here, the New York Times Newsroom Fellowship Program, details here; and the Pulitzer Center’s Connected Coastlines Grants, details here.

Weird Christmas Flash Fiction Contest
This is an annual contest, they want flash fiction or narrative poetry about weird Christmas. There are three prompts the writers can choose to write on: stocking stuffer (any weird Christmas story), weird Christmas specials (take a well known Christmas show … and mess it up), and weird cards (use a weird Christmas card the editor has posted, as a prompt) – see guidelines for details. Writers can send multiple entries. Stories have to be up to 350 words.
Value: $75 first prize for the best overall story, $50 prize for a winner in each prompt, and $5 for every honorable mention (10-12)
Deadline: 6 November 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Patrick Henry Fellowship
This fellowship is from the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. It is for those working on American history and/or legacy. The residential fellowship supports work on the subject by both scholars and non-academics in many genres. Applicants should have a significant project currently in progress — a book, film, oral history archive, podcast series, museum exhibition, or similar work. The project should address the history and/or legacy – broadly defined – of the U.S. founding era and/or the nation’s founding ideas.
Value: $45,000, health benefits, book allowance, faculty privileges, residency
Deadline: 15 November 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival: Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize
This prize will be awarded to a Brooklyn- focused non-fiction essay which is set in Brooklyn and is about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. “We are seeking compelling Brooklyn stories from writers with a broad range of backgrounds and ages (minimum age 18 years old) who can render Brooklyn’s rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer’s actual experiences in Brooklyn.” Essays have to be 4-10 pages (up to 2,500 words).
Value: $500
Deadline: 15 November 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

Academy of American Poets: Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize
This prize is given to honor exceptional poems that help make real for readers the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment at present; poets may submit one poem. It is for US writers (see guidelines). In addition to the prize money, all three poems will be published in the popular Poem-a-day series.
Value: $1,000, $750, $500
Deadline: 15 November 2023
Open for: US poets (see guidelines)
Details here and here (Submittable)

(The Academy of American Poets also has other prizes, including the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award, a $1,000 award recognizing a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the previous calendar year, deadline 15 February 2024, details here; and the Ambroggio Prize, a $1,000 publication prize given for a book-length poetry manuscript originally written in Spanish and with an English translation, deadline 15 February 2024, details here; see all the Academy of American Poets’ prizes here.)

The One Teen Short Story Contest
This contest is open for short fiction by writers around the world ages 13-19. There are three categories, ages 14-15, 16-17, and 18-19. About the kind of stories they want, they say, “We are interested in great short stories of any genre about the teen experience—literary, fantasy, sci-fi, love stories, horror, etc. What’s in a great short story? Interesting teen characters, strong writing, and a beginning, middle, and end.” Also, they want “Some examples of stories we look out for are ones that deal with issues of identity, friendship, family, and coming-of-age. Gratuitous profanity, sex, and drug use are best avoided. We’re open to all genres of well-written young adult fiction between 2,000 and 4,500 words. Because of our format, we can only accept stories that are strong enough to stand alone (as opposed to excerpts from novels-in-progress).” They also accept translations (see guidelines). A parent or legal guardian must sign a consent form for writers under 18. Apart from cash prizes, winners get 25 copies of the magazine featuring their work. The contest winners will also have the opportunity to work with a One Teen Story editor prior to publication.
Value: $500
Deadline: 27 November 2022
Open for: All teen writers
Details here and here.

Speculative Literature Foundation’s Gulliver Travel Grant
This grant is to help writers of speculative literature (in fiction, poetry, drama, or creative non-fiction) in their non-academic research. It is to be used to cover airfare, lodging, and/or other travel expenses. Writing samples (speculative literature) are part of the application requirement (see guidelines). This grant is awarded on the basis of interest and merit. Applicants need not have prior publishing credits to apply. The application portal for this grant will open during the submission period. They also have other grant submission periods coming up.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here (Gulliver Travel Grant) and here (schedule for all grants).

Dappled Things: The J. F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction
Dappled Things is a space for emerging writers to engage the literary world from a Catholic perspective. For this contest, they want stories of up to 8,000 words “with vivid characters who encounter grace in everyday settings—we want to see who, in the age we live in, might have one foot in this world and one in the next.”
Value: $500, $250
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here.

The Society of Authors: The Betty Trask Prize
This is for UK, Ireland, or Commonwealth based writers under 35, for a debut novel. Writers can enter a published or self-published book or an unpublished manuscript which must be in a traditional or romantic, and not experimental, style.
Value: £10,000 for the winner, and a fund of £16,200 will be divided equally between shortlisted authors
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Open for: UK, North Ireland, Commonwealth writers (see guidelines)
Details here.

Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition
This is an international contest for novel manuscripts in the malice domestic genre, for writers who have never been the author of any published mystery novel. “Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story. Whatever violence is necessarily involved should be neither excessive nor gratuitously detailed, nor is there to be explicit sex. The suspects and the victims should know each other. There are a limited number of suspects, each of whom has a credible motive and reasonable opportunity to have committed the crime. The person who solves the crime is the central character. The “detective” is an amateur, or, if a professional (private investigator, police officer) is not hardboiled and is as fully developed as the other characters. The detective may find him or herself in serious peril, but he or she does not get beaten up to any serious extent. All of the cast represent themselves as individuals, rather than large impersonal institutions like a national government, the mafia, the CIA, etc.” The work must be at least 65,000 words. Minotaur is an imprint of Macmillan.
Value: $10,000 advance against royalties
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Open for: All writers (see guidelines)
Details here.

(Minotaur is also running a First Crime Novel Competition, which has a mid-December deadline.)

Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize
This prize is for young UK-based writers. They want fiction or non-fiction of 1,000-1,500 words on the relevance of Benjamin Franklin’s relevance in our time. The quote for this year’s competition is “Government must depend for its Efficiency either on Force or Opinion.” From ‘The Colonist’s advocate’, VII. (Feb 1, 1770). Writers are asked to interpret this quote for its significance today.
Value: £750, £500
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Open for: UK writers aged 18-35
Details here.

U.S. Naval Institute – Information Warfare Essay Contest
This prize is for an essay of up to 2,500 words, presumably for US writers. “The Nation’s adversaries and competitors are proving to be formidable in the digital battlespace—using online platforms, social media, malicious code, disinformation, and cyberattacks to undermine elections, steal intellectual property, spy on governments, sow discord, and weaken alliances. Essayists can choose to answer any of the following questions (see guidelines) or write on another information warfare topic that interests them.” See guidelines for the theme details/topics. The contest is open to “all contributors – active-duty military, reservists, veterans, and civilians”.
Value: $5,000, $2,500, $1,500
Deadline: 30 November 2023
Open for: “All contributors – active-duty military, reservists, veterans, and civilians”
Details here.

(See all the US Naval Institute’s contests here, including the Leadership essay contest with a November deadline; only Junior officers from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard can participate.)

The London Society: Love Letters to London
This is an international, themed contest, about London. “Tell us why you love this city. Write a Love Letter to London of up to 500 words. Entries are to be around the theme of “Love Letters to London of the Future” and can be about any aspect of London’s past, present or future. It can be reportage, an historical essay, a ‘think piece’, a spot of futurology, a work of fiction, a poem.” There are 4 categories: Aged 11 and under; 12-18 year olds; Open – all other entrants; and Poetry. Entries can have been published elsewhere but must fit the brief and have been written in 2023.
Value: £500, £250, and £100 each for Open and Poetry categories; £500, and 4 runners up prizes of £150 each for 11 and under, and 12-18 categories
Deadline: 1 December 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here.

The African Poetry Book Fund: Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry
It is for poets born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African, and who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published (this includes self-published books if they were sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or a similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible). Manuscripts have to be at least 50 pages long. Only poems written in English can be considered, but they accept poems in translation too. In the case that the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money would be awarded to the translator. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets publication from the University of Nebraska Press.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 1 December 2023
Open for: African writers (see guidelines)
Details here (guidelines) and here (Submittable).
(See all the African Poetry Book Fund contests here.)

Ohio University: E.W. Scripps School of Journalism – 2024 Kiplinger Fellowship
This is an international journalism fellowship, and will open in October for applications. “The Kiplinger Fellowship will be held April 14-20 at Ohio University and the Scripps School of Journalism. This upcoming fellowship will focus on the critical reporting topic of Immigration and Migration. If you are a working journalist with at least five years of experience covering this issue, please consider applying. The fellowship is made up of a combination of international and U.S. journalists. Kiplinger will pay all of your lodging and training for the week. We will cover most of your meals and a large percentage of your travel.”
Value: Unspecified; covers training, lodging, meals and some social events + travel stipend
Open for: Journalists in all media
Deadline: 2 December 2023
Details here.

A couple of contests with later deadlines are:

— Defenestration.net Lengthy Poem Contest: They are reading entries for a lengthy poem, of at least 120 lines and up to chapbook-length (see guidelines). It is best to divide it into parts or sections, though this is not a strict requirement. Poem cycles will be considered. Please note, the shortlisted poems will be posted on the website, which will be followed by fan voting. The prize is $300, and the deadline is 1 January 2024. Details here.
— San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program: This awards writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. The creative writing fellowship does not require that there be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck’s. The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University’s creative writing program. There are up to 6 fellowships of $15,000 each, and the deadline is 5 January 2024. Details here and here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.