Happy Friday!
As we head into the final weekend of February, here’s hoping March eases in gently rather than roaring to life. Mother Nature is a fickle one, of course—so we’ll see what she has in mind.

Whether you’re feeling early spring energy or full-on cabin fever, NewPages is here to help you channel it into your writing and submitting. March brings a fresh wave of opportunities, and several deadlines are closing soon. Don’t miss your window.

Inspiration Prompt: Precious Children

We weren’t called precious because we were adorable and utterly lovable.

We were called precious because of what we looked like.

One child came with golden locks and golden eyes, skin kissed warm by some unseen sun—a living echo of the most coveted metal on earth. Another arrived silver-haired and metallic-eyed, with a cool bluish-grey undertone that made him look like something poured and set, something that belonged behind glass. The third had copper hair, coppery brown eyes, a warmth in her skin that glowed like something freshly forged.

Three children who reminded people of precious metals. Three children who had done nothing to earn that resemblance and nothing to deserve what came with it.

Here is what you get to decide: what does come with it?

Are they coveted, sought after, collected, kept close by people who want to own beautiful things? Are they feared, because what looks rare is also fragile, and fragile things make people nervous? Are they worshipped in ways that hollow a person out over time? Or are they cursed by a world that can’t see past the surface of them, that has decided their worth before they’ve spoken a single word?

Write the life of one, or all three. Write the moment someone first looked at them and wanted something. Write the moment they understood what they were to other people. Write the moment they decided whether to use it or fight it or flee it.

Precious is only a word until someone decides what it means. You be the one who decides.

Happy Friday!
Somehow we’re already staring down the last week of the month. The February eLitPak newsletter is out, and here in Michigan the warmer weather has arrived with its usual mix of rain and fog—but at least we’re getting a break from snow and ice.

With another major storm rolling across the country, I hope you’re staying safe and finding time to write. Here’s this week’s roundup of submission opportunities, plus a little spark to keep your creativity going.

Inspiration Prompt: Reading Between the Lines

Mark Twain once said, “A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.” He was talking about editing — but there’s a deeper implication worth sitting with. Omission isn’t just a tool for clarity. It’s where a story’s interior life lives.

Every piece of writing has an on-screen existence — the words the reader follows, the scenes they witness, the dialogue they hear. But surrounding that visible story is a larger, quieter one: the character history that never surfaces, the worldbuilding detail you wrote only for yourself, the emotional beat implied in a pause rather than stated in a speech, the off-screen choice that explains everything without ever being named.

The most resonant writing doesn’t fill in those gaps. It trusts them. It lets the unseen world press against the edges of the page — present, shaping, felt.

Your Challenge

Happy Friday — or as happy as a Friday the thirteenth can be.
If you’re feeling superstitious and would rather avoid today’s bad‑luck vibes by staying home with a mug of something warm, we’ve got you covered. NewPages is back with our weekly roundup of submission opportunities, plus a little spark of inspiration to get those creative juices flowing.

Inspiration Prompt: It Just Takes Time…or A Jug of Moonshine

While reading the inaugural issue of Poetry Midwest, Paul Hostovsky’s poem “Flents” stopped me in my tracks. Perhaps it’s because my own grandfather passed away this past December, but the poem’s shift in perspective felt especially resonant.

In the poem, Paul Hostovsky recalls being fascinated as a boy by his father’s “Flents”—waxy, bite-sized lumps molded to the shape of his father’s ear canals. At thirteen and a half, they were novelties, curious mementos of the man himself. It wasn’t until Hostovsky reached the age his father was when he passed away that Hostovsky’s perspective changed. He realized those Flents weren’t just objects, but shields his father used to endure the very rock music Hostovsky once blasted through the house while his father lay in bed dying.

Perspective is a living thing—rarely objective, and always subject to change.

The Challenge:

Happy Friday and welcome to February!
We’ve officially made it through the first week of a new month. Here in Michigan, February arrived with an unexpected warm spell (20s after negative temperatures definitely counts as a heat wave, right?) after January delivered its fair share of subarctic drama. Winter, of course, isn’t finished with us yet.

If the weather outside your window isn’t especially inviting, NewPages has plenty to keep you inspired indoors. This week’s roundup features dozens of new and ongoing submission opportunities, along with a creative writing prompt designed to help you shake loose any lingering writer’s block.

Inspiration Prompt: A Penny for Your Thoughts

Writing exercises aren’t about perfection. They’re about momentum.

Think of them as rough drafts of the mind: fragments, sparks, half-formed ideas that exist simply to get words moving. Sometimes, it’s those unpolished scraps that become the pieces we return to later and think, Ah. There’s something here.

(If you’re anything like us, that explains the notebooks, documents, and folders full of unfinished starts and fragments from who knows where.)

This week, we’re trying something a little different with a response-based writing prompt.

The Spark

Read the following lines from a work-in-progress and let them sit with you for a moment. Don’t worry about original context. Let the words become something new in your hands.

“Mercy, mercy,” quoth he. “Please have mercy on me!”

Why should I mercy show when you yourself have none?”

“Why, milady, to prove that you are the better one!”

“Aye and to prove that I am, a secret I shall let thee know… there is no mercy for the damned.”

And in one fell swoop she struck the killing blow.

Happy Friday!

Can you believe January is already halfway gone? This week we sent out our eLitPak newsletter—if you missed it, you can catch up online here.

The weather’s still doing its 2026 flip-flop—50s one day, teens the next. Some things never change! One thing you can count on, though, is NewPages bringing you a fresh roundup of submission opportunities and inspiration every week. Happy writing and submitting!

Inspiration Prompt: Negativity is All in the Head

We talk about “negative” temperatures, but what does that really mean? For some, cold means the 40s or 50s. For others, it’s subzero, where the air bites and the world freezes solid. Did you know that when it gets extremely cold, the atmosphere can become too dry for snow? The colder it gets, the less likely you’ll see those flakes…and the more likely you should be slathering yourself in moisturizer.

This week, imagine life in a world below zero. What would change for you? What new skills would you need to survive? Now take it further: what if your attitude controlled the temperature? The more negative your thoughts, the colder your surroundings become. Could your mindset freeze rivers, frost windows, or plunge a city into an endless winter?

Write, sketch, or create around the idea of negativity—how it shapes environments, relationships, and survival.

Now that you are perfectly inspired, and perfectly frigid, keep going to find a home for your work.

Happy Friday!

Welcome to the first submissions roundup of 2026! We hope you enjoyed a fun and relaxing winter holiday season. We’re back to help you keep your writing and submission goals going strong—and to spark your creativity with a weekly dose of inspiration.

Inspiration Prompt: What is a Living Wage?

“There is an apple in the world for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.”
— Rock My World

Minimum wage and living wage are not the same thing—and rarely even close. In the early 2000s, economists estimated that a true living wage for the average American would hover around $22 an hour. Two decades later, the gap between what people earn and what it costs to live has only widened.

We know the arguments: raise wages, cut jobs, hike prices. It feels like an endless cycle. But what does “enough” really look like?

Using your own experiences or observations, what do you think a true living wage is—and what would it take to achieve it?

• Explore what happens when the concept of “living wage” becomes literal: what if wages determined how long you live?
• Imagine a world where wages are tied to something other than money—time, health, happiness, or even art.
• Visualize the symbols of “need” versus “greed”: apples, scales, empty wallets, overflowing vaults.
• Tell the story of a character who earns their living in an unconventional way—or who fights for fairness in a system stacked against them.

Once you have finished your creation, keep going to find a home for your work.

Happy Friday!

Welcome to the final submissions roundup of 2025—say it isn’t so! With December wrapping up next week, now’s the moment to catch all those end‑of‑year deadlines before they slip away.

A quick scheduling note: NewPages will be on our annual winter break from December 24 through January 5. That means there will be no submissions roundup for the New Year. We’ll return with the first roundup of 2026 on January 9.

We hope you’ve had a wonderful, restful, and safe holiday season. Here’s wishing you all the best in the New Year—may your writing, reading, and submitting goals not only be met, but exceeded.

Inspiration Prompt: Resolutely Magic

New Year’s resolutions are made just to be broken… right? Carrying your best intentions forward for an entire year can feel like both a monumental effort and a monstrous challenge.

But imagine living in a world where your resolutions weren’t just hopeful lists—they were official contracts.

What happens if you break one?
What does that cost you?

Or picture a year when something unexpected happens: your resolutions are blessed with magic, guaranteeing that you’ll meet every expectation you set for yourself. How would that change you? Would the meaning of your accomplishments shift if you didn’t have to struggle for them? Would you create new resolutions? Bigger ones? Stranger ones? Would you use the power of “your” resolutions to reshape your community—or the world?

Write, draw, collage, sketch… create a world where resolutions carry power, consequence, and possibility. Let your imagination decide what becomes resolute—and what becomes magical.

Happy Friday!

Yes, we’re back. I wish I could say our submission roundups took a two‑week break for something joyful or restorative, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. A sudden death in my family meant stepping away for the funeral and all the difficult, unglamorous business that comes with losing someone you love.

But the weekly roundup has returned to help you close out your 2025 submission goals strong. Next week’s edition will be the final one of the year—already! Hard to believe we’re here again. Where has this year gone?

Inspiration Prompt: Miracles All Year

December likes to claim miracles for itself. Between the Hallmark plots, the snow‑globe aesthetics, and the songs on repeat everywhere you go, it’s easy to start believing that wonder is seasonal—that it shows up only when the calendar says it should.

But miracles don’t follow a schedule. They arrive in the ordinary months, the off‑season hours, the messy stretches when no one is expecting anything luminous at all.

For this week’s prompt, look beyond the holiday glow and write into a moment of unexpected grace from any point in your life. It can be grand or quiet, explainable or not:

• A job you got against all odds—after you’d already rehearsed the rejection.
• A scholarship that appeared exactly when the math said it shouldn’t.
• A near miss, a narrow escape, an outcome that still makes people tilt their heads and say, “How did that happen?”
• Or even something small: the right person showing up at the right moment, a door opening you didn’t know you were allowed to try.

Let the “miracle” be whatever you define it to be—an event, an insight, a turn, a survival, a shift. Then translate that moment into any medium you choose: a poem that holds its breath, a story that doesn’t fully explain itself, a lyric essay threading disbelief with gratitude, a comic, a collage, a script, a scene, a song.

Where did your miracle begin? What did it change? What trace of it remains?

Happy Friday!
If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope it was full of good food, family, and gratitude. Hard to believe this is already the last Friday in November! That means some submission opportunities are closing soon—but don’t worry, NewPages has you covered with our weekly roundup. And because creativity deserves a little seasonal spice, we’ve got an inspiration prompt to shake off any writer’s block. This week? Think ghosts…on Black Friday.

Inspiration Prompt: Tis the Season…for Haunting You

Love it or hate it, Christmas promotions seem to creep in earlier every year, culminating in the greatest retail frenzy of all—Black Friday. I don’t hate Christmas, but let’s be honest: its haunting consumer presence can feel relentless.

Black Friday is here—and so are the ghosts. Is it a mother trampled in the chaos, clutching the toy she died to buy? Or the spirits of Christmases past, present, and yet to come? Christmas may celebrate life, but its shadows brim with ghosts and dark folklore—Krampus among them.

What haunts your holiday? A bargain gone wrong? A tradition that won’t let go? Christmas music that won’t stop playing long after the holiday is gone? Or something stranger still? Write the story, poem, or essay—or create art, collages, comics—that answers the question: What happens when the ghosts of consumerism collide with the ghosts of tradition?

Once you have your answer, scroll down to find the perfect home for your haunting in this week’s submission roundup.

Happy Friday!
Time marches on and before you know it, it will be Thanksgiving already. Here’s hoping the good news garnered this week keeps things on a positive note for the remainder of 2025.

What are you thankful for? Have your writing and submission goals been getting met like you hoped? NewPages is back with our weekly roundup of submission opportunities along with our weekly dose of inspiration to keep your writing fueled.

Inspiration Prompt: Talking Past Each Other

This past week, I finished a Korean drama where two male leads were having what seemed like a normal conversation about their relationship. But the deeper and longer the exchange went, the less sense it made. Were they really talking about the same thing? Were they truly listening to each other? Or were they locked in parallel monologues, each hearing only what they wanted to hear?

For this week’s prompt, explore that fascinating space where meaning fractures:

• Writers: Craft a scene where two characters believe they’re having the same conversation—but they’re actually talking about completely different things. Let the misunderstanding grow until it leads to an unexpected twist, a humorous reveal, or a dramatic fallout. Bonus challenge: keep the dialogue natural and let subtext do the heavy lifting.
• Poets: Play with double meanings, misheard phrases, or layered interpretations. How does language betray us—or save us—when we’re not truly listening?
• Artists: Create a collage, illustration, or mixed-media piece where what’s said and what’s heard are visually at odds. Pair text with imagery that suggests a completely different interpretation, or layer contrasting elements to show the gap between intention and perception.

Tip: Miscommunication can be funny, tense, or heartbreaking. Think about tone shifts, clues that hint at the disconnect, and how the reveal changes everything.

And once you are done crafting your pieces, keep going to find them a home.

Happy Friday!
After a week of blustery winds and chilly temps, a little sunshine in the high 40s feels like a gift. As the cold settles in, why not warm up your creativity?

We’ve rounded up plenty of submission opportunities—some closing as soon as tomorrow, November 15—so you don’t miss a chance. Plus, we’ve included a fresh inspiration prompt to jump-start your next piece.

Happy Friday!
The first week of November is officially behind us. I say it all the time, but time flies when you’re an adult—more so than you ever think possible. With Halloween, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and All Saints Day behind us, there’s a lot of food for thought. I admittedly watch a lot of Asian dramas, so seeing how other cultures honor the memory of loved ones is fascinating—rituals full of color, music, and offerings that turn grief into celebration.

Do you get random bursts of inspiration from the media you consume or from simply observing the world around you? If your creative well feels a little dry, NewPages is here to help you find a home for your work—and maybe spark an idea or two along the way.

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween!
Whether you’re venturing out to watch ghosts, goblins, and witches on the hunt for treats—or hiding indoors with the lights off, hoarding candy for yourself—tonight is full of stories waiting to happen.

If you’re dodging the mayhem, let the sugar rush fuel your writing. If you’re out among the revelers, soak up the atmosphere for your next piece.

Either way, NewPages has you covered with this week’s roundup of submission opportunities. Heads up: several deadlines hit TODAY—don’t miss your chance!

Happy Friday!
It’s hard to believe next week starts the final week of October. If life has felt like a holding pattern lately, I get it—and I hope things are starting to shift, even if only by the smallest inch.

When stress and exhaustion make it hard to find inspiration or research submission opportunities, NewPages is here to lighten the load with your Friday roundup: a spark for your creativity and a curated list of places to send your work.

Happy Friday!
The week started tired and sluggish and seems determined to end there. If you’ve had an unbelievably exhausting week, we hope you have a restorative weekend ahead. If you want to work on writing, editing, and submitting, NewPages is here for you with our weekly roundup of submission opportunities.

Inspiration Prompt: What I Thought It Meant

Language is slippery. Sometimes we mishear a word or twist a phrase into something entirely new—like pronouncing Beloit as “bell-oh-it” (our publisher enjoyed that slip) or thinking someone was “like a Russian racehorse” instead of “rushing.” These mistakes can be funny, poignant, or even profound.

Happy Friday—and happy October! Fall is in full swing… but summer isn’t giving up without a fight. Here in Michigan, we’re expecting record highs near 90 degrees this weekend. Honestly, it feels like the perfect metaphor for this year: a continuum of highs and lows.

So, get out and enjoy the last burst of warm weather before sweater season settles in for good. Give your eyes and your brain a little rest. And when you’re ready to dive back in, NewPages is here with fresh inspiration and submission opportunities to keep your creativity flowing.

Happy Friday!
This has been a week that felt both inexplicably long and, somehow, quite short — a perfect reflection of September itself. The month stretched and compressed in strange ways, and now here we are at its end, with a wave of opportunities and deadlines coming next week.

But before diving into submissions, take a pause for an anime break. I highly recommend The Vision of Escaflowne, a series full of fantastical elements and one burning question:
Was it a dream, or just a vision—or was it real?

It’s Friday! Missed our September 2025 eLitPak? It’s packed with submission opportunities, events, and new book releases. Find it online here.

When you’re ready to write and submit, NewPages has you covered—with fresh inspiration and 100+ places to share your work.

Happy foraging!

Inspiration Prompt: Who Can it Be Now?

A knock at the door.
You think you know who it is.
You hope you know.
You dread knowing.

Happy Friday!
Just like that, another week has flown by. With September nearly halfway over, many submission deadlines are fast approaching—don’t miss your chance to share your work! And keep an eye out for our monthly eLitPak newsletter, arriving next Wednesday afternoon—packed with extra literary goodies and submission calls.

Remember to take a break, stay hydrated, and indulge in that movie marathon or back-to-back album binge while catching up on your reading list. When you’re ready, NewPages is here with our weekly roundup of submission opportunities and inspiration to help keep your writing flowing and your submission goals going strong.

The final week of August was personally very stressful, and that carried over into the first week of September. Hopefully, you’ve been having a better week. Remember not to beat yourself up over those goals and ambitions. Taking a break—or taking it slow and easy for a while—is a necessity to recharge and come back with renewed energy for your writing and submitting goals.

NewPages is always here with our weekly roundup of submission opportunities and an inspiration prompt—ready whenever you are.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Hopefully you’ll get a chance to rest and relax this weekend—or head out for some fun festivities. Let your mind take a break so you can come back refreshed and ready to tackle those submission goals. Just remember, with August ending and September beginning, many submission windows are closing soon—don’t miss out!

To help, NewPages is here with our weekly roundup of opportunities and a dose of inspiration to keep you going.

This week’s inspiration takes a cue from Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana singing “If We Were a Movie”—but with a twist: What if your life were a musical? Imagine the opening number, the show-stopping finale, and all the harmonies in between. Would it be a glittering Broadway spectacle, a gritty rock opera, or something entirely unexpected?

TGIF! Happy Friday, everyone!
It’s been a long week of coding nightmares and endless link-checking—such is life when you run an online portal for recommended literary magazines, presses, creative writing programs, and submission opportunities.

If your week felt underproductive a well, NewPages is here to help you reclaim a sense of momentum. Whether you’re writing, submitting, or just seeking inspiration, we’ve got you covered. This week’s prompt draws from the real world—and a shared frustration with scientific jargon. Plus, we’ve rounded up over 80 submission opportunities to help you share your work!

Let the good times roll.

🧪 Inspiration Prompt: The Chemistry of Words

From causation and correlation to chaos and confusion, what makes people dig in their heels in the modern age? What sparks outrage, blind allegiance, or misunderstanding?

t’s Friday — and the weekend is calling!

Whether you’re stepping away from your desk for one last summer hurrah or leaning into the cooler weather with a fresh burst of creative energy (indoors or out—laptops travel well!), NewPages has you covered with this week’s submission opportunities for August 15, 2025 (featuring ways to share your work)—plus a creative writing prompt to help spark new ideas if you’re feeling stuck.

📅 Heads up: It’s the 15th, which means some deadlines close today. Don’t miss your chance to submit!

📬 ICYMI: Our August eLitPak went out Wednesday to newsletter subscribers, packed with even more submission calls, fall book releases, and upcoming events for readers and writers alike.

This week’s prompt, Don’t Stop the Music, was inspired by the Japanese drama Glass Heart and the magic of collaboration. Whether you’re imagining your own fictional band or turning your words into lyrics, let the music move your creativity.

🌡️ It’s Friday!

Sadly, the rain seems to be avoiding my area like the plague, and my vegetable garden could really use some TLC to help its struggling plants along. If your area is also bracing for yet another awful heat wave, NewPages has plenty to keep you cool and help you meet your submission goals. Take a break, watch a movie, go to the beach, get recharged to write, edit, submit, and repeat!

🎤 This Week’s Inspiration: K-pop Demon Hunters

I’m late to the trend, but thanks to its explosive popularity, I finally caved and watched K-pop Demon Hunters on Netflix—even my non-K-pop-loving family members loved it! Now its characters, plot, and of course music are living rent-free in my head. And while it’s an animated movie, it’s packed with deep themes—perfect for nudging your creative juices.

Instead of one singular prompt, here are three creative prompts inspired by this trending film. Whether you write fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, or songs—or work in visual mediums like graphic narratives, collage, or mixed media—these themes are ripe for exploration:

Happy Friday, writers!

With the rain comes a cool, windy break from the heat—but don’t worry, the 80s will be back soon enough. If you’re enjoying a brief respite from summer’s swelter, we hope you’re able to spend some time outdoors without the usual bug battalion.

Too chilly for your taste? It’s the perfect excuse to cozy up with your laptop and dive into your writing and submission goals. And if you’re not sure where to begin, NewPages has you covered with this week’s creative writing prompt and a fresh roundup of literary submission opportunities.

Inspiration Prompt: The Rusty Years

We often hear that life after 65 is the beginning of the “golden years”—a time of rest, reward, and reflection. A period when retirement brings freedom, joy, and the chance to finally enjoy the fruits of a life well-lived.

But what if that sheen is just a myth?

What if, instead of golden, these years are rusty?

Happy Friday!
Can you believe the month is already halfway over next week? Time really flies! With so much to do and so little time, I hope you’re finding moments to enjoy nature this summer with the people you love.

Don’t forget the essentials: sunscreen, bug spray, and plenty of water. Not a fan of plain water? Try flavored hydration drops—they’re especially helpful for those stubborn folks who resist staying hydrated. Cucumbers are also a great, refreshing option!

But I digress…

If you’re not able to get away just yet, NewPages is here to keep your creativity flowing. We’ve got fun writing and art prompts and submission opportunities to help you stay on track with your writing goals until you can shift to vacation mode.

🧠Inspiration Prompt: Face Pareidolia

Sounds intense, right? Face Pareidolia—is it a condition? A disease? A new form of body dysmorphia? Actually, it’s nothing scary at all.

Face pareidolia is the brain’s quirky tendency to see faces in everyday objects. Ever looked up at a cloud and seen not just a bunny or a dragon, but the face of a wise old wizard? Or maybe your pet rock “Bob” reminded you of Bob Ross, thanks to its spongey-looking “afro” and facial features?

Let your imagination run wild—what faces do you see in the world around you?

Happy Friday and Happy Independence Day!
Today is July 4, the day Americans celebrate Independence Day. Whether you’re staying cool at home or heading out to celebrate, NewPages has something for you. If you’re relaxing indoors, check out our fun writing prompt and submission opportunities to keep your creativity flowing. If you’re traveling or celebrating, no worries—our weekly roundup will be here when you’re ready.

Inspiration Prompt: Independence Day

Rather than focusing on traditional national independence celebrations, let’s explore a different angle. In 1994, country music artist Martina McBride released the powerful song “Independence Day,” written by Gretchen Peters. The song tells the story of a young girl whose mother, a victim of domestic abuse, takes a stand—marking a deeply personal and transformative “independence day” for them both.

This week, we invite you to reflect and soul search on the idea of personal independence.

What does your own “independence day” look like?

Maybe you finally left a toxic workplace or relationship.

Maybe you stepped into adulthood, fully independent from your family.

Maybe you overcame cancer or took control of your health after a pre-diabetes diagnosis.

Maybe you broke free from an addiction—whether to drugs, alcohol, or even something that seemed harmless but consumed you, like collecting rocks or scraps of paper.

Or, if you’d prefer to keep it fictional, imagine a world where independence is celebrated in a unique or unconventional way—or create a character who is desperately seeking freedom from something, anything—serious or seemingly silly, but deeply meaningful to them.

What would that journey look like?

Wishing you a safe, joyful, and creatively inspired holiday! When you’re ready, keep scrolling for this week’s roundup of submission opportunities.

Welcome to our June 27, 2025 writing prompt and submission opportunities roundup—your weekly dose of inspiration and places to share your work.

It’s the final full week of June—hard to believe the year is already half over, isn’t it? If you’re lucky enough to be getting a break from the heat vortex that’s been smothering much of the country in sweaty malaise and creative inertia, maybe now’s the time to hit the pool. Or, if it’s still too hot to think, stay inside and focus on your writing, editing, and submission goals.

This week, I was torn between which writing prompt to include in the newsletter versus our weekly roundup of submission opportunities—but in the end, I went with my gut.

Since the end of 2023, I’ve been dealing with a new gut issue: acid reflux. It’s amazing what stress (and the bad eating habits that come with it) can do to your stomach on top of some newly discovered FODMAP issues. That got me thinking…

Writing Prompt: Gut Instinct

When the world is too loud, sometimes the only voice we can trust is the one rumbling in our gut. Whether it’s intuition, indigestion, or something in between, this week we invite you to write about your gut—literally or metaphorically.

• What if your gut had a voice?
• What if it was a character, a symbiote, a weather vane for your emotional climate?

As Ebenezer Scrooge once said in The Muppet Christmas Carol, “You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato.”

Sometimes our ghosts—and our stories—start in the stomach.

And in the immortal words of Little Giants:
“I use these for acid indigestion.”
“What are we going to use them for?”
“Intimidation.”

If you know, you know. If you don’t…go watch Little Giants now.

Gut health is a serious topic, but maybe getting creative about our woes and maladies can bring some relief—if not physical, then at least mental or spiritual.

After going with your gut, keep scrolling to find a submission opportunity that speaks to it.

Today marks the first day of summer—the summer solstice. And in honor of both the season’s arrival and the oppressive heat that’s rolled in this week, what better way to get your creative juices flowing than by exploring one of summer’s more dramatic downsides?

We’re also back with a fresh roundup of submission opportunities to help you find a home for your work. So grab your laptop, a cold matcha latte, and head to your local library, bookstore, or that blessedly air-conditioned coffee shop—and dive in.

Writing Prompt: Stormy Weather

There comes a time in every life when the air turns thick and stale—when the heat presses down like a weight, and even the hum of a fan feels like a cruel joke. The energy to move, to think, to cook, evaporates. You sit, sweat pooling, praying for something—anything—to break the spell.

Then, it comes. A low rumble. A flicker of light. The sky cracks open and the storm rolls in—thunder shaking the windows, lightning slicing the sky, and finally, finally, a breath of cool air. Relief, wrapped in chaos.

Have you lived through days like these? When your clothes felt like damp rags and your mood was as volatile as the weather? When the phrase “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” became a personal mantra—or a punchline?

Or maybe you’ve never known that kind of oppressive summer. But can you imagine it? A world where the very air turns against you, where you long for the violence of a storm just to feel alive again. In our house, it was tradition to throw the curtains wide and marvel at the storm, even as the radio warned us to take shelter in the basement.

This week, we invite you to write about stormy weather—literal or metaphorical. Maybe your character is trapped in a sweltering city, waiting for the sky to break. Maybe the storm is emotional, a long-awaited release after a period of tension. Or maybe you want to explore a sci-fi world where humidity is weaponized and storms are currency. Perhaps you’ll craft a poem where the pacing mirrors that bated breath and sweet release.

Whatever your take, let the pressure build—and then let it pour. Then see below for places to submit your work.

Happy Friday! Whether you’re superstitious or skeptical, NewPages has your creative fuel—offering inspiration to jumpstart your writing along with submission opportunities to keep you busy. If Friday the 13th sends a shiver down your spine, maybe hold off on submitting until tomorrow. But today? Perfect for setting your plans in motion.

Writing Prompt: Demystifying 13

In honor of Friday the 13, why not embrace this as our prompt? Is thirteen a symbol of fortune or misfortune?

Throughout history, cultures have clashed over the meaning of this number. In Western traditions, it’s often associated with bad luck—especially on a Friday. Some link this superstition to the Last Supper, where Judas became the infamous 13th guest before the crucifixion. Others cite Norse mythology, where Loki disrupted a feast of twelve gods, leading to chaos. The thirteenth card in a Tarot deck is death.

But in many cultures, thirteen marks a positive transformation. Jewish tradition celebrates thirteen as the age of maturity with a bar mitzvah. In Mesoamerican civilizations, thirteen symbolized an important cycle in the sacred calendar, tied to cosmic order and spiritual growth. Even the ancient Egyptians viewed thirteen as a number of ascension in the afterlife.

Are these beliefs simply passed down without question, or do they reflect something deeper? For this prompt, explore how the number thirteen shapes luck, culture, or personal experience. Write about a character who defies superstition, a society built on the sacred power of thirteen, or a twist of fate where thirteen holds unexpected meaning. Write a poem reflecting on the ways thirteen has shaped your fortune—or misfortune. Craft a lyric essay unraveling superstition, questioning beliefs that may crumble under close scrutiny. Or…how about a tongue-in-cheek experiment where you test all things related to 13 and luck that you can and record the results?

Whether thirteen is a blessing or a curse is up to you—so grab your pen and explore! And don’t wait too long—June 15 is right around the corner, and plenty of submission opportunities are ending soon.

Welcome, June! After weeks of Mother Nature flip-flopping between chilly mornings and surprise heatwaves, it seems she’s finally made up her mind. Summer is here in full force. A gentle, much-needed rain gave the gardens a break—thankfully, no wild weather this time.

But this week brought a personal challenge: on Sunday, my grandfather took a fall and fractured his left shoulder. Fortunately, it happened after his birthday—and after our big Memorial Day celebration, when we were all together.

It’s a strange kind of gratitude, but it made me pause and think—sometimes, finding a silver lining in a tough situation is the only way to stay grounded. It reminded me of a line from A Smoky Mountain Christmas, where Dolly Parton’s character comforts a wary orphan, “It could’ve been better, but it could’ve been a whole lot worse.” That line stuck with me.

Writing Prompt: Finding A Ray of Silver Lining

Write about a time you had to find the bright side of a bad situation—what helped you shift your perspective, and what did you learn?

Whether it’s a small inconvenience or a major life event, we all have moments where optimism feels like a stretch—but those are often the stories that stick with us the most.

Not ready to get too personal? That’s totally fine. Try reflecting on a recent news story—can you find a silver lining? Or write about a time when optimism felt impossible. What helped you cope?

Ready to keep writing? Scroll down to explore different submission opportunities where your voice and story might find a home.

It’s that time of the week again—Fri-yay! 🎉

NewPages is back with our weekly roundup of submission opportunities, plus a dose of creative inspiration to help get your ideas flowing. Kick off the long weekend with fresh prompts and venues to help you hit your writing and publishing goals.

Inspiration: Just Like ABC

Abecedarian poems can be tricky—finding the right rhythm and words for those tough letters like Q, X, and Z is no small feat. But what if you turned that challenge into a song?

Back in elementary school, we learned songs that celebrated Michigan’s history—from voyageurs and logging camps to sailing the Great Lakes. One song stood out: it listed reasons why Michigan was a great place to live, from A to Z.

That got me thinking: what if you created your own alphabetical ode to where you live? Try listing reasons—serious or silly—why your state, city, township, or province is wonderful. Or flip the script and list reasons you don’t love it. Maybe even do both for a fun contrast.

You don’t have to stick to song lyrics or poetry. This could become a children’s story, a young adult piece, a lyric essay, or even an adult picture book. Explore how the quirks and flaws of a place might actually be what makes it feel like home.

Stretch those creative muscles. And if you have kids, get them involved! It’s a great long weekend activity that might just spark something worth submitting.

Speaking of the long weekend—NewPages wishes you a wonderful and safe Memorial Day.