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.
📬 Want even more writing prompts?
Subscribe to the NewPages newsletter and get fresh ideas, submission calls, and literary news delivered to your inbox every week.
Submission Opportunities: 143 Ways to Share Your Work
Paid newsletter subscribers get early access to most submission calls and upcoming events before they’re posted on our site. You’ll also receive our monthly eLitPak Newsletter, packed with even more literary goodness. Consider subscribing or upgrading today!
🌱 New to submitting? Check out our Guide to Submission Opportunities for further details on these calls and contests.
✏️ Have young writers at home? Don’t miss our Young Writers Guide for contests tailored to grades K–12.
đź”” Items marked with a bell are new to the roundup this week.
NewPages works hard to bring you a vetted and regularly updated list of currently open submission opportunities. Always double-check the official websites for the most accurate information—reading periods can shift or close early.
December 2025
Open Calls
- Accents Publishing Open Reading Period | fiction, nonfiction, writing for children, writing for young adults, poetry | Fee: Must purchase a book from the catalog | Opens: November 1 | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Action, Spectacle Open Reading Period | full-length poetry manuscripts | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000, chapbook publication, and 25 copies | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- American Short Fiction | fiction | $3 fee | Payment: competitive, upon publication | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Arc Poetry Magazine | poetry, translation | $2 per poem fee (US submitters) | Payment: $50/page | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Bellevue Literary Review General Submissions | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $5 fee (Free for subscribers) | Payment: $75 for poetry, $150 for prose | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- CALYX, A Journal of Art & Literature by Women | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, book reviews, visual art | $5 fee ($3 student/low-income fee) | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Chapter House Journal 2025 Winter Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Chestnut Review Spring Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free (poetry & flash); $5 (prose) | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Decolonial Passage Prose Open Reading Period | fiction, nonfiction | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Doubly Mad | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Guest Poetry Editor: Thomas Townsley | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- 🔔 The Ear Issue 29 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- FOLIO Vol. 41: In-Between | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $2 fee | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Girls Right the World Issue 10 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, art, photography | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025 | Must be a girl or young, gender-fluid writer or artist aged 14-21
- 🔔 Hayden’s Ferry Review Issue 78 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations | $3 fee | Extended Deadline: December 31, 2025
- 🔔 Hayden’s Ferry Review Spring 2026 Web Issue: Aftercare | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, art, hybrid works | Free | Extended Deadline: December 31, 2025
- ISSUED | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic narratives | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- 🔔 Shenandoah Winter 2025-6 | nonfiction | Free | Paying Market | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- SmokeLong Quarterly Free Submissions Period | flash narratives | Free | Deadline December 31, 2025
- 🔔 Spectrum Literary Journal Volume 69: Consumption | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- 🔔 The Tampa Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Thimble Literary Magazine Issue 8.4 | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, photography | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- The Uncommon GRACkle Relaunch | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025 (or until full)
Writing Contests
- The Louisville Review Frederick Smock Poetry Prize | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000, book publication, 25 author copies | Deadline: December 20, 2025 | Open to Kentucky-affiliated poets
- The Letter Review The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, & Books | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, translations, reviews, interviews | $15 – $25 fee | Prize Pool: $4,000 and publication | Deadline: December 29, 2025
- Action, Spectacle Poetry & Prose Chapbook Contest | poetry, prose | $25 fee | Payment: $1,000 and 30 copies | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Atlanta Review Chapbook Contest | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $500, chapbook publication, 25 copies | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Booth Susan Neville Prize | fiction, poetry | $20 fee (includes 2-issue subscription) | Prize/genre: $1,000 and publication | Judges: Kaveh Akbar, Paige Lewis | Opens: October 1 | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Burnside Review Press Book Contest | poetry | $25 | Prize: $1,000, book publication, and 10 copies | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Press 53 Award for Short Fiction | fiction | $30 fee | Prize: $1,000 advance, publication, 53 author copies | Judge: Kevin Morgan Watson | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- University of Southern Indiana New Harmony Book Award & Residency | fiction | $35 fee | Prize: $2,000, $750 travel stipend, 7-day residency, reading | Deadline: December 31, 2025
January 2026
Open Calls
- The Emerson Review 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Deadline: January 1, 2026
- table//FEAST Issue 5 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, art | $3 fee (waived for need) | Payment: $5 for poetry; $10 for art; $15 for prose | Deadline: January 1, 2026
- Pinch | poetry | $4.95 fee | Deadline: January 2, 2026
- Apricity Magazine Volume 10 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, music, short films, short plays, dance, visual art | Free | Deadline: January 3, 2026
- 🔔 The Passionfruit Review Issue 24 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free (expedited & tip jar options available) | Deadline: January 9, 2025
- #Ranger | experimental/avant-garde poetry, art, music, film | Free | Opens: October 15 | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- Arkansas International Issue #20: The Labor Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic literature, translation | $4 fee | Payment: $25/500 words (fiction); $25/page (poetry) up to $200, plus free digital subscription | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- Blink-Ink Lost Civilizations: The Silurian Hypothesis | fiction | Free | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- 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
- Hindsight Vol. VI | nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- The Meadow | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Payment: 2 contributor copies | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- 🔔 Rattle Tribute to Invented Forms | poetry | Free | Payment: $200 and 1-year subscription | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- Rejoinder Ritual, Healing, and World-making-themed issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, drama, comics, interviews, art, photography | Free | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- Santa Clara Review Spring 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, plays, screenplays, translations, art, photography | $2 fee (Free for current students at Santa Clara University) | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- Poets in the Pines Made from Midnight: Delirium | fiction, poetry, cross-genre, art | Free (paid feedback options available) | Payment: PDF copy of anthology | Opens: October 17 | Deadline: January 16, 2026
- 🔔 The Lemonwood Quarterly Winter 2026 | fiction, plays | $4 fee | Payment: $200 | Deadline: January 19, 2026
- Barely South Review | art | Free | Open: September 1 | Deadline: January 26, 2026
- 🔔 The Fiction Desk General Submissions | fiction | £5 fee | Payment: £25/1,000 words | Deadline: January 30, 2026
- 128 LIT (Re)Familiarize Project | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross‑genre, art, multimedia | $3.99 fee (fee‑waiver option available) | Payment: small honorarium | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- 🔔 Anacapa Review 4.2 | poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- The Arkansas International | fiction, poetry, essays, translation, comics | $4 fee | Payment: $25/page | Opens: November 15 | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- 🔔 Brink Chaos-themed Issue | hybrid and cross-genre works | Free | Payment: one copy and $25-$100 | Opens January 1 | Closes: January 31, 2026
- The Hopper Spring 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- RCC MUSE Spring 2026 Edition| Fiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: January 31, 2026
Writing Contests
- American Poetry Review The Stern Prize | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $2,000, book publication, standard royalties contract | Deadline: January 1, 2026
- đź”” Gemini Magazine 16th Poetry Open | poetry | $10 fee | First Prize: $1,000 and online publication | Deadline: January 2, 2026
- Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop Erma Bombeck Writing Competition | nonfiction | $25 fee; $15 fee for students | Prize: $1,000, free registration to the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, & publication | Deadline: January 6, 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, 2026
- Driftwood Press In-House Short Story Contest 2026 | fiction | $30 fee | Prize: $400, publication, 5 copies of the journal, interview opportunity | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- 🔔 The Hemlock Review Fiction Writing Contest: The Call of the Wild | fiction | $5 fee | Prize: $200 and print and digital publication | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- James Dain Indie Gold Awards | mystery, thriller, suspense, crime fiction | $15 fee ($10 early bird rate through December 18) | Grand Prize: $500, badge, newsletter feature, website feature, social promotion | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- 🔔 StoryBottle Co. 2026 Short Story Contest | fiction | $15 fee | rize: $1,000, publication in print and online, and 10 copies of the issue | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- 🔔 Two Lines Press Calico Series: Animal Stories | translated fiction | Free | Payment: $200 for first page, $25 for additional pages (max $500) | Deadline: January 15, 2026
- Martha’s Vineyard Summer Writers’ Conference Fellowships | Parent-Writers, Emerging Writers, Educators, LGBTQIA+ Writers, Writers of Color | $20 fee | $20,000 total in fellowships awarded | Deadline: January 19, 2026
- Stanford University Libraries / William Saroyan Foundation William Saroyan International Prize for Writing | fiction, nonfiction | $50 fee | Prize/genre: $5,000 | Deadline: January 30, 2026
- After Happy Hour Review Contest: Work & Labor | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $10 fee | Prize: Percentage of fees and publication | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- 🔔 The Louisville Review Frederick Smock Poetry Prize | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000, book publication, 25 author copies | Extended Deadline: January 31, 2026 | Open to Kentucky-affiliated poets
- RCC MUSE Spangler Award | Poetry | $5 fee | Prize: $200 and publication | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- Roanoke Review Roanoke College High School Fiction and Poetry Contest | fiction, poetry | Free | Prize: $100 (first), $50 (second), $25 (third) | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- swamp pink 2026 swamp pink Prizes | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $20 fee | Prize/genre: $2,000 and publication | Opens: January 1 | Closes: January 31, 2026
February 2026
Open Calls
- ANMLY | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, translation | $3 fee (waiver available) | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- đź”” Sixteen Rivers Press Open Call | full-length poetry collections | Free | Deadline: February 1, 2026 | Must live in Northern California
- 🔔 The Twin Bill World Baseball Classic 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3 fee | Payment: $10-$25 honorarium | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- 🔔 Interim Intertidal: Poetry from Singapore | poetry | $5 fee | Deadline: February 9, 2026
- Belladonna’s Garden Issue 3 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free (tip jar available) | Opens: January 15 | Closes: February 15, 2025
- Doubleback Review April 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: February 15, 2026 | Work must have been previously published in a defunct journal.
- 🔔 Heimat Review Issue 11 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free (paid expedited response and feedback options available) | Deadline: February 15, 2026
- 🔔 Litro Future Archives-themed Print Issue | fiction, nonfiction | Free | Deadline: February 15, 2026
- University of Georgia Press Crux: The Georgia Series in Literary Nonfiction | nonfiction | Free | Deadline: February 15, 2026
- 🔔 Catalogue Zine Issue 4: Lifestyle | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, graphic novels, interviews, reviews, translation, audio, art, photography | Free | Deadline: February 20, 2026
- 🔔 3Elements Review Issue 50: Stowaway, Microphone, Wonderland | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free (expedited submissions available) | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- 🔔 Ninth Letter General Submissions | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3 fee (limited waivers available) | Payment: $25/poem, $100 for prose | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- rex inc. lit mag. Inaugural Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Payment: two contributor copies, percentage of one-year’s worth of the issue’s sales | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- 🔔 Sundress Publications | full-length prose manuscripts | $15 fee | Deadline: February 28, 2026
Writing Contests
- Next Generation Short Story Awards | fiction, poetry | $25 fee | Grand Prize: $500, engraved trophy, anthology publication; Category Prize: $75, gold medal, anthology publication | Deadline: February 26, 2026
- đź”” I-70 Review Bill Hickok Humor Award | poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Judge: Ted Kooser | Opens: January 1 | Closes: February 28, 2026
March 2026
Open Calls
- 🔔 Spirit Lake Review 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- 🔔 Interim intranslatable/untranslatable | poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: March 3, 2026
- 🔔 Interim Visual Edition | visual poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: March 6, 2026
- About Place Journal Spring 2026: The Ground Beneath Us | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, cross-genre, drama, graphic narratives, screenplays, interviews, reviews, translations, art, photography, audio, video | Free | Deadline: March 10, 2026
- 🔔 Arkana Micro Issue | fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, illustrated narratives, hybrid words | Free | Deadline: March 15, 2026
- Kings River Review. Spring 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Must be a 2-year college student | Deadline: March 15, 2026
- 🔔 Shō Poetry Journal No. 9 | poetry | $3 fee (Free for US Indigenous poets) | Payment: contributor copy | Deadline: March 15, 2026
- 🔔 Green Linden Press Chapbook Series | poetry | $15 fee | Deadline: March 21, 2026
- 🔔 Green Linden Press Under a Warm Green Linden | poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: March 21, 2026
- Barely South Review | lit comics | Free | Open: September 1 | Deadline: March 31, 2026
- Colorado Review | fiction, poetry | $3 fee | Payment: $300 for short stories and nonfiction; $100 for poetry and cover art | Deadline: March 31, 2026
Writing Contests
- Glenville State University Little Kanawha Reading Series Chapbook Contest | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid works | $10 fee | Prize: $200, publication, author copies, reading invitation | Deadline: March 31, 2026
- National Baseball Poetry Festival 2026 Contests | poetry | Free | Winners will receive recognition at Welcome Reception, 2 complimentary tix to Friday’s game, a Certificate, and a National Baseball Poetry Festival t-shirt! | Deadline: March 27, 2026 12PM ET
- National Indie Excellence Awards | fiction, nonfiction, genre fiction, memoir, writing for children, writing for young adults, poetry, graphic novel, comics, photography, cookbooks | $75 fee | Cash Prizes & Sponsorship Awards | Deadline: March 31, 2026 | Open to self-published, independently-published, & university-published books
April 2026
Open Calls
- Blood Orange Review | fiction, nonfiction, art | $3 fee | Deadline: April 1, 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, 2026
- 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
- The Healing Muse Vol. 26 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art | Free | Payment: copies | Deadline: April 15, 2026
- 🔔 Rattle Tribute to the Future | poetry | Free | Payment: $200 and 1-year subscription | Deadline: April 15, 2026
- Abandoned Mine | poetry | Free | Deadline: April 30, 2026
- Pine Hills Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid, cross-genre, art | Free | Deadline: April 30, 2026
Writing Contests
- Orison Books 2026 Orison Prizes | fiction, poetry | $25 fee | Prize/genre: $1,500 and book publication | Judges: Leila Chatti, Margot Livesey | Opens: December 1 | Deadline: April 1, 2026
- Willow Springs Books Emma Howell Rising Poet Prize | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000 + publication | Opens: October 1 | 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
- The Healing Muse F. Sean Hodge Prize for Poetry in Medicine | poetry | Free | Prize: $250 and publication | Must be a current med student, resident, or fellow or a physician who has completed post-grad training | Deadline: April 15, 2026
May 2026
Open Calls
- 🔔 North American Review General Submissions | fiction, poetry, book reviews, art | $3 fee | Deadline: May 1, 2026
- 🔔 Birmingham Poetry Review | poetry | Free | Payment: one copy | Deadline: May 14, 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
- 🔔 AGNI Proximity: A Portfolio of Writing and Art by Women of Color | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art | Free | Deadline: May 31, 2026
- Willow Springs Spring 2026 | fiction, poetry | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: May 31, 2026
Writing Contests
- 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
- Livingston Press Changing Light Prize for a Novel-in-Verse | fiction | Free | Prize: $500, book publication, and 20 copies | Deadline: May 25, 2026
Year-Round Open Calls
- Action, Spectacle | fiction, nonfiction, reviews, interviews, plays, comics, visual art, poetry | $3.50 fee | Open Year-round
- Blue Mountain Review | prose, poetry, music, visual art | $5 fee
- 🔔 Brevity | Nonfiction | $3 fee | Payment: $45
- The Capra Review | All genres + multimedia | Free
- Changing Skies | Creative nonfiction, poetry, art | Free
- 🔔 The Dolomite Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3.50 fee
- Driftwood Press | All genres + graphic works | Fees vary
- Fahmidan Journal | All genres | Free | Payment: $15
- Feels Blind Literary | All genres + comics | $3 fee (free on Mondays)
- 🔔 Flash Fiction Magazine | fiction | Free
- đź”” Flash Phantoms | horror fiction | Free
- Gambling the Aisle | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre | Free
- đź”” Good River Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scripts, writing for children and young adults | Free
- JackLeg Press Book Manuscript Queries | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $5 fee | Deadline: Rolling
- Jewish Fiction | Fiction, translation | Free
- Lullaby Machine | lullabies | Free | Deadline: Rolling
- New Verse News | Current-events poetry | Free
- Palooka | Magazine & chapbook submissions | $3 fee (magazine), $8 fee (chapbook) | Payment: copies
- Pictura Journal | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free (tip jar) | Payment: $5 (open until quota reached)
- Plant-Human Quarterly | Poetry, essays | Free
- Rattle | poetry, art | Free | Payment: $200 and 1-year subscription (print), $100 (online)
- Stone Circle Review | Poetry | Free
- Write Hook Weekly Writing Competition | fiction | Free (inaugural contest only) otherwise €15 per entry | Peer reviewed judging | Deadline: Weekly
Ready to submit? Bookmark your favorites, mark your calendar, and good luck sharing your work!
