Weekly Round-up of Calls & Contests :: January 21, 2022

It’s getting colder outside. Time to grab your favorite warm beverage and keep your submissions goals going strong in 2022. Check out the submission opportunities featured on NewPages this week. Don’t forget you can subscribe to our newsletter for a first peek every Monday and also get our monthly eLitPak. In fact, our January eLitPak newsletter was mailed to current subscribers this past Wednesday. Sign up today so you don’t miss out!

Calls for Submissions

You can view all active calls for submissions by visiting our website. Plus, if you have a young writer in your house, don’t forget you can find publications for them to submit to in our Young Writers Guide.

borrowed solace. Spring 2022 Issue: Unthemed. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, comics. No fee. Deadline: March 1, 2022.

Superpresent. Spring 2022 Issue: Public Private. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, cross-genre, translations, video, experimental. No fee. Deadline: March 1, 2022.

Mistake House Magazine Seeks Submissions from Graduate & Undergraduate Writers. Mistake House Magazine publishes fiction and poetry by students in graduate or undergraduate programs worldwide. We seek inventive work that speaks to the heart in a complex global context, including work expressive of documentary poetics. Submissions open through March 15, 2022. Submission fee $5. Guidelines at www.mistakehouse.org/submit/.

Club Plum. April 2022 Issue. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, art. No fee. Deadline: March 25, 2022.

Able Muse (Poetry, Prose, & Art) – Submission Now Open. Able Muse is now accepting submissions for our forthcoming issue, Winter 2022/2023. Submit poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews, art, and photography. Submission opens yearly January 1 and closes July 15. Read our guidelines and submit at www.ablemuse.com/submit/.

Atmosphere Press Reading Book Manuscripts in All Genres. Atmosphere Press currently seeks book manuscripts from diverse voices. There’s no submission fee, and if your manuscript is selected, we’ll be the publisher you’ve always wanted: attentive, organized, on schedule, and professional. We use a model in which the author funds the publication of the book, but retains 100% rights, royalties, and artistic autonomy. This year Atmosphere authors have received featured reviews with Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and have even appeared on a giant billboard in Times Square. Submit your book manuscript at atmospherepress.com. Deadline: Rolling.

Call for Submissions: Storm Cellar. Storm Cellar seeks new and amazing writing and art for its spring issue! We are a journal of safety and danger, in many senses, in print and ebook formats since 2011. Send secrets, codes, adventures, mad experiments, and wild things. Black, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent, fat, border-straddling, poor, and other marginalized authors encouraged; bonus points for a Midwest connection. Now paying; limited no-fee submissions available each month. Full guidelines and f.a.q. at stormcellar.org/submit and submit at Submittable. Deadline: Rolling

Chestnut Review Invites Submissions Year Round. Chestnut Review, a journal for stubborn artists, invites submissions year-round of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, and photography. We offer free submissions for poetry (3 poems), flash fiction (<1000 words), and art/photography (20 images); $5 submissions for fiction/nonfiction (<5k words), or 4-6 poems. Published artists receive $120. Notification in <30 days or submission fee refunded. We appreciate stories in every genre we publish. All issues free online which illustrates what we have liked, but we are always ready to be surprised by the new! Deadline: Year-round. chestnutreview.com

Daily Stories of Fifty Words or Less Straight into Your Inbox. If a reader signs up to 50 Give or Take, they will receive daily microfiction of fifty words or less straight into their inbox. Despite popular opinion, the name 50 Give or Take doesn’t refer to the number of words in the story. It is a metaphor for what we, as readers and writers, give and take emotionally from the written word. Do you write flash fiction? Then submit! We publish all accepted stories in a print collection every November 6. All you have to do is submit your story, one-line bio, and vertical photo of yourself. Info here: vineleavespress.com/50-give-or-take.html. Deadline: Rolling.

Angel Rust. Issue 8. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, comics, cross-genre, reviews. No fee. Deadline: Rolling.

Writing Contests

You can find all active contest ads on our website. Like to plan your submissions calendar in advance? The Big List of Writing Contests lists a variety of book, magazine, and chapbook contests by their deadline date. Plus, if you have elementary to undergraduate aged writers in your life, don’t forget to go through our contests for young writers. The majority of those contests are free to enter.

3rd Annual Short Short Story Contest to Support Literacy. Ethos Literacy—a nonprofit literacy program—announces its 3rd Annual Short Short Story Contest. 100-word limit on one of these topics: chewing gum, horror movies, skyscrapers, or tubas. Cash prizes: Best in Contest: $250; Best Youth Prize (14 years or younger): $100; 4 Best of Category: $100; People’s Choice $100. Publication in a digital magazine + webcast of winners reading their stories. Submission fee: $10. Proceeds support literacy programs for teens and adults. Deadline: January 31, 2022. www.ethosliteracy.org

Driftwood Press In-House Short Fiction & Single Poem Contests. Submit soon to our In-House Short Fiction & Single Poem Contests! On the short fiction side, we’re proud to announce that we’ve upped the award to $500 for the winning story and $150 for all runner-ups! Winners and runner-ups also receive publication, an interview, and an illustration that will appear alongside their story. All stories submitted are considered for publication by not one—but two editors, and response times are faster than usual. On the poetry side, all works are also considered for publication, with the runner-ups awarded an interview, publication, and $50 per poem. The winner of the In-House Poetry Contest will receive $400, publication, a featured interview, and a commissioned illustration to appear alongside their work. Extended Deadline: January 31, 2022.

2022 New American Poetry Prize Extended Deadline February 14. Submissions are now open for the 2022 New American Poetry Prize. The winning author will receive a publication contract including $1,500, 25 copies, and promotional support. All forms and styles of poetry are welcome. Final judge this year is Eduardo C. Corral, author of Slow Lightning (2012), winner of the Yale Younger Poets Prize, and Guillotine (2020). Please use Submittable to send your work.

Cloudbank. Issue 16 Poetry/Flash Fiction Contest. Fiction, poetry. $15 fee. Prize: $200 and publication. Deadline: February 28, 2022.

2022 Able Muse Contests Now Open for Submissions. 2022 Able Muse Contests :: Submit now! Write Prize (poetry & fiction): $500 each + publication. Final Judges: Aaron Poochigian (poetry), Dennis Must (fiction); $15 entry; deadline: March 15, 2022. Enter now—go to www.ablemusepress.com for full details.

2022 Prime Number Magazine Awards for Poetry and Short Fiction. $1,000 first prize in each category plus a Pushcart Prize nomination. Winners and two Runners-up in each category published in Prime Number Magazine. Reading fee $15. Poetry judged by Faith Shearin, author of Lost Language and others. Short Fiction judged by Jubal Tiner, author of The Waterhouse and founding editor of Pisgah Review. Open January 1 to March 31. Submit online through Submittable. Details at www.Press53.com/prime-number-magazine-awards.

2022 Able Muse Contests Now Open for Submissions. 2022 Able Muse Contests :: Submit now! Book Award (poetry): $1,000 + book publication. Final Judge: Rachel Hadas; $25 entry; deadline: March 31, 2022. Enter now—go to www.ablemusepress.com for full details.

Brilliant Flash Fiction’s Welcome 2022 Writing Contest with Pamela Painter. No prompt or theme. No Entry Fee. Word limit: 500 words, excluding title. Submit entries via email. Prizes: $200 first prize, $100 second prize, $50 third prize. Shortlisted stories receive $20 and publication. Judge: Pamela Painter. Contest Rules: One entry per author. Send your entry pasted into the body of an email and also as a Word attachment with the story title in the subject line. Double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman. No name on entries. Submit an author bio in a separate attachment. Results announced June 30, 2022. View full guidelines here. Deadline: April 15, 2022.