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?
Inspiration Prompt: What’s Your Life’s Big Number?
A Life in Acts: Making a Musical All About You
Musicals. People either love them or hate them. From grand operas to moody rock ballads, from feel-good Broadway blockbusters to Disney numbers you can’t help but sing along to—musicals are everywhere, even when you try to avoid them.
But what about your life? Can you imagine a day when you and everyone around you suddenly break into song and dance? Or maybe you’d skip the choreography and stick to soulful solos with a few dramatic stage gestures.
Would your story be a comedy, a gritty drama, or something with deep meaning? Think about the genre, the opening number, the show-stopping finale, and the recurring motifs that define your life’s soundtrack.
Write or create something that captures the rhythm, drama, and unexpected harmonies of your life as a musical. Or reimagine the “what ifs” if your life followed classic musical patterns—what would change?
Maybe you have a character who despises music and lives a painfully ordinary life—until they’re trapped in a world where everyone is legally required to express themselves through song and dance. Perhaps you write a poem like an opening number. Or collage your dream set design for the perfect musical moment. Or maybe you are a lonely soloist on a journey to find a partner to build the perfect emotional harmony.
Act One is just beginning—step into the spotlight and write your truth in tunes.
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Submission Opportunities: 94 Ways to Share Your Work
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August 2025
- The Ekphrastic Review | fiction, poetry, nonfiction, translations, sequences | $5 CAD | Deadline: August 30, 2025
- Behemoth Magazine Summer 2025 | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, experimental works, art, photography | Free | Deadline: August 31, 2025
- Glass: A Journal of Poetry | poetry | Free | Deadline: August 31, 2025
- The Headlight Review Anthony Grooms Prize in Fiction | Fiction | $18 fee | Prize: $750, chapbook publication, 20 copies | Judge: James E. Cherry | Deadline: August 31, 2025
- Inverted Syntax Fissured Tongue Volume VII | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $4 fee | Deadline: August 31, 2025
- The Loch Raven Review | poetry | Free | Deadline: August 31, 2025
- Nashville Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translation, comics | Free | Payment: $25 for poetry $100 for prose and art | Deadline: August 31, 2025
- Stepping Out: Writings on Infidelity anthology | fiction, nonfiction | Free | Proposal Deadline: August 31, 2025 | Draft Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Sublunary Review | fiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: August 31, 2025
- Sunspot Lit Supernova | Very long-form fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel, poetry | $8 fee | Deadline: August 31, 2025.
- TINYWORDS 25.2 | haiku, tanka, haiga, haibun, poetry | Free | Deadline: August 31, 2025
September 2025
- Frozen Sea Issue 10 | poetry, art | Free | Deadline: September 1, 2025
- The Main Street Rag: North Coast Voices. Poetry Anthology | Fee: $3 | Payment: copies | Deadline: September 1, 2025
- Last Syllable. Book Awards in Poetry & Prose | Fee: $25 | Prize: $1,000 + travel + Visiting Writer Series feature | Deadline: September 1, 2025
- Superpresent Fall 2025: TRUTH | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, drama/plays, comics, graphic narratives, translations, art, photography, audio, video | Free | Deadline: September 1, 2025
- Waccamaw | poetry, fiction, nonfiction | Free | Deadline: September 8, 2025
- Hominum | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, hybrid pieces, one-act plays, screenplays, songwriting | Free | Deadline: September 10, 2025
- The Branches Fall 2025 Issue: VOICE | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, screenplays, graphic narratives, graphic novels, reviews, art, photography, audio, video | Free | Deadline: September 13, 2025
- Inlandia Fall 2025 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: September 14, 2025
- Asterales October 2025 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Deadline: September 15, 2025
- Bat City Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: September 15, 2025
- Bramble “What America Means to Me” | poetry | Free | Deadline: September 15, 2025
- Penumbric | speculative fiction | Free | Payment: $10 | Deadline: September 15, 2025
- Right Hand Pointing October 2025 | fiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: September 15, 2025
- Unbroken October 2025 | prose poetry | Free | Deadline: September 15, 2025
- Up the Staircase Quarterly November 2025 | poetry, art | Free | Deadline: September 15, 2025
- Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, academic papers, field notes | $7.50 fee | Deadline: August 16 – September 16, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel | $5 fee | Deadline: September 23, 2025
- The Big Book of Quantum Fiction | fiction, poetry, cross-genre, art, photography | Free | Payment: $24 and 1 contributor copy | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- DuFrank Lit. Fiction | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- The Letter Review Prize |fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, interviews | $15 – $25 fee | Prizes: 12-16 winners share $4,000 USD prize pool and are published | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Livingston Press Open Reading Period | Novels, linked story collections, narrative poetry | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Presence #83 | haiku, tanka, haibun, rengay | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | flash, poetry, graphic novel, art | $5 fee | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Watershed Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee (Free for students/financial need) | Deadline: September 30, 2025
October 2025
- Cherry Tree Issue 11 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Gordon Square Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Gordon Square Review Flash Contest for Midwest Writers | fiction | $10 fee | Prize: $500 and publication | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Iowa Review | fiction, poetry | Free (postal), $4 (online) | Payment: $1.50 per line of poetry, $0.08 a word for prose | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- The Missouri Review 35th Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $5,000 and publication awarded per genre | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Same Faces Collective Fall/Winter Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, film, animation, performance | Free | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Willow Springs Surrealist Poetry Prize | Poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Final Judge: Michael McGriff | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Willow Springs Books Spokane Prize for Short Fiction | Entry fee | Prize: $2,000 + publication | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Winning Writers Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest | poetry (can be previously published) | $25 fee | Prize: $3,500 for a poem in any style, $3,500 for a poem in a traditional/rhyming style + online publication | Final Judge: Michal ‘MJ’ Jones. Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Euphemism 21.1 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, spoken word, sound installation, music, video, comics, sequential art, graphic narratives | Free | Deadline: October 10, 2025
- Harpur Palate | poetry, art | Free ($3 expedited response) | Deadline: October 15, 2025 (or until 500 submissions reached)
- Jet Fuel Review Fall 2025 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Kelp Journal Issue 13 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Kings River Review. Fall 2025 Issue (all genres + art) | Free | Must be a 2-year college student | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Little Patuxent Review January Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- The Loch Raven Review | fiction, nonfiction | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Phoebe 55.1 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Payment: $30 | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Arcturus | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free (Tip Jar available) | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Blue Mesa Review Fall 2025 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Payment: $25 | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- The Dolomite Review Issue One “Firsts” | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3.50 fee | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Grist: A Journal of the Literary Arts | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee (Free for current subscribers) | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Inlandia Blacklandia Anthology on Black Mental Health | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Editor: Romaine Washington | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Inscape 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Payment: Copies | Deadline: October 31, 2025
November 2025
- Iowa Review | nonfiction, visual literature | Free (postal), $4 (online) | Payment: $0.08 a word for prose, $40 per page of visual literature | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- Qua Magazine Fall 2025 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Deadline: November 2, 2025 | Must live in the state of Michigan.
- Black Fox Literary Magazine. Winter Issue | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | |Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Blueline 2025 Open Reading Period | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Payment: Copies | Deadline: November 30, 2025
January 2026
- The Emerson Review 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Deadline: January 1, 2026
- Magazine 1 PoetryLife Poetry Contest | poetry | $5 fee | First Prize: $150 Bookstore1 gift card, invite to read at PoetryLife, publication | Judge: Rick Hilles | Deadline: January 10, 2026
- Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest 2026 | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $300, publication, 5 copies of the journal, interview opportunity | Deadline: January 15, 2025
- Driftwood Press In-House Short Story Contest 2026 | fiction | $30 fee | Prize: $400, publication, 5 copies of the journal, interview opportunity | Deadline: January 15, 2025
- FLARE: The Flagler Review Spring 2026 | fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free (Tip Jar available) | Payment: 1 contributor copy | Opens September 30, 2025 | Deadline: January 15, 2026
February 2026
- Doubleback Review April 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: February 15, 2026 | Work must have been previously published in a defunct journal.
March 2026
- Colorado Review | fiction, poetry | $3 fee | Payment: $300 for short stories and nonfiction; $100 for poetry and cover art | Deadline: March 31, 2026
April 2026
- Talking River Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, art | $3 fee | Payment: one contributor copy, 1-year subscription, and 1-year gift subscription | Deadline: April 1, 2025
- West Branch | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translation | $3 fee | Payment: $100 for poetry, $0.10/word for prose up to $200, two contributor copies, and one-year subscription | Deadline: April 1, 2026
- Winning Writers Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest | poetry (can be previously published) | Free | Prize: $2,000, two-year gift certificate to Duotrope, online publication | Final Judge: Jendi Reiter | Deadline: April 1, 2026
- Abandoned Mine | poetry | Free | Deadline: April 30, 2025
May 2026
- Winning Writers Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest | fiction, nonfiction (can be previously published) | $25 fee | Prize/genre: $3,500, two-year gift certificates to Duotrope, online publication | Final Judge: Mina Manchester | Deadline: May 1, 2026
- The Georgia Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews | Free (postal), $3 (online) | Payment: $50 per printed page for prose and $4 per line for poetry, up to $800, two copies | Deadline: May 15, 2026
Year-Round Opportunities
- Arkana | fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, illustrated narratives, translations, art | Free
- Blue Mountain Review | Prose, poetry, music, visual art | Fee: $5
- The Capra Review | All genres + multimedia | Free
- Changing Skies | Creative nonfiction, poetry, art | Free
- Decolonial Passage | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free
- Driftwood Press | All genres + graphic works | Fees vary
- Fahmidan Journal | All genres | Free | Payment: $15
- Feels Blind Literary | All genres + comics | Fee: $3 (free on Mondays)
- Fiction on the Web Critique Service | Fiction | Fee varies
- Gambling the Aisle | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre | Free
- Hindsight Journal | Art, photography, nonfiction, poetry | Free
- Jewish Fiction | Fiction, translation | Free
- Kaleidoscope | Articles, fiction, poetry, reviews, visual art | Free | Payment: $10–$100
- New Verse News | Current-events poetry | Free
- Palooka | Magazine & chapbook submissions | Fee: $3 (magazine), $8 (chapbook) | Payment: copies
- Philly Poetry Chapbook Review | Excerpts, interviews, reviews | Free
- Pictura Journal | August 2025 Issue (all genres + art) | Free (tip jar) | Payment: $5
- Plant-Human Quarterly | Poetry, essays | Free
- Stone Circle Review | Poetry | Free
Ready to submit? Bookmark your favorites, mark your calendar, and good luck sharing your work!
Where to Submit Roundup: September 12, 2025
Let the rain guide your creativity—then find the perfect place to share your work with this week’s 110 verified submission calls.
Where to Submit Roundup: September 5, 2025
Looking for places to send your work? Our Where to Submit Roundup for September 5, 2025, features fresh calls for submissions, contests, and opportunities for writers and artists. Plus, this week’s inspiration prompt—“The Color That Stayed”—invites you to explore the colors that linger in memory, emotion, and art.
Where to Submit Roundup: August 29, 2025
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? When you’re ready to take center stage, we’ve got 94 submission opportunities waiting for your next big piece.
Where to Submit Roundup: August 22, 2025
Feeling stuck or uninspired? This week’s Where to Submit Roundup features 85 places to share your writing—plus a thought-provoking prompt exploring the chemistry of words. Get inspired, get submitting!
