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
Return to something you’ve already written — any length, any genre. Read it as if you’re looking for the shadow it casts rather than the light it throws. What is your character choosing not to say, and why? What happened ten minutes before this scene, or ten years before, that never appears but quietly governs everything? What piece of your world’s history echoes here without ever being named?
Write a short passage — a paragraph, a scene, a fragment — that lives in that shadow. Not exposition. Not gap-filling. Just the backstage world, briefly and carefully lit.
What’s already there, waiting between your lines?
📬 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: 130+ Ways to Share Your Work
Looking for places to submit your writing, artwork, or hybrid work? You’re in the right place.
Each week, NewPages curates and updates a comprehensive list of open submission opportunities, including literary magazines, journals, presses, contests, and calls for themed issues. Opportunities span poetry, fiction, nonfiction, cross-genre, visual art, and more, with options for both emerging and established writers.
Paid newsletter subscribers receive early access to many of these calls before they’re posted publicly, along with our monthly eLitPak Newsletter, featuring additional opportunities, events, and industry news.
👉 Consider subscribing or upgrading to stay ahead of deadlines.
✏️ Have young writers at home?
Don’t miss our Young Writers Guide, which highlights contests and publications open to grades K–12.
🏆 Interested in writing contests, book awards, and literary prizes?
Explore our curated list of current contests from literary magazines, independent and university presses, writing organizations, and events.
🔔 What’s new this week?
Items marked with a bell icon are newly added to this roundup.
A Note on Accuracy
NewPages works hard to maintain a vetted and regularly updated list of currently open calls. However, submission windows can shift or close early. Always confirm details on the publisher’s official website before submitting.
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Try searching for a different genre or clearing your filters.
Issue 4: Lifestyle
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, graphic novels, interviews, reviews, translation, audio, art, photography
Fee:
FREE
Issue 24
Genres: fiction, nonfiction
Fee:
$2.50 fee for flash, $4 fee for longer prose
Payment: $60 for writing, $25 for cover art
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, screenplay, songs, art
Fee:
FREE
Note: Open internationally to high schoolers in grades 9-12
Genres: flash fiction, micro fiction, prose poetry
Fee:
FREE
Fiction Reading Period
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, photo essays
Fee:
$3
Payment: contributor copies
Issue 14
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Issue 30.3
Genres: poetry
Fee:
$3
Issue 50
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography
Fee:
FREE
Note: All submissions must use these three elements: stowaway, microphone, and wonderland
Genres: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, cross genre, critical prose
Fee:
FREE
Issue 18: “I no longer exist? Perfect, now nothing can come between us!”
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scripts, hybrid works, experimental writing, art
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $15 (written work), $20 (art)
99 Cornerstone: Poetry by Young Writers in grades K-12
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
International Reading Period
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$7 CAD ($5 USD)
Payment: $70CAD/page, one-year print subscription, two copies
Science Fiction / Fantasy
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $0.03/word with a minimum payment of $50
General Submissions
Genres: iction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$3 fee (limited waivers available)
Payment: $25/poem, $100 for prose
2026 Issue
Genres: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews
Fee:
FREE
Issue 283
Genres: flash nonfiction
Fee:
FREE
Note: Will close early if submissions cap hit
Inaugural Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography
Fee:
FREE
Payment: two contributor copies, percentage of one-year’s worth of the issue’s sales
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: contributor copy + complimentary 1-year subscription
Genres: full-length prose manuscripts
Fee:
$15
Free Submissions Period
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, reviews, interviews, plays, comics, visual art, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Issue 1: Spirals and Stars
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, reviews, recipes, spells/rituals
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $5
Spring 2026 Isse
Genres: fiction, creative nonfiction
Fee:
FREE
“Origins” Issue
Genres: poetry, art
Fee:
$5
Genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, plays, screenplays, art
Fee:
FREE
Issue 12
Genres: poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Payment: None
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, reviews, translations
Fee:
$3
Payment: $50/page
Homegrown Issue
Genres: fiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Note: Hagerstown Community College students, faculty, and staff, as well as others in the local area of Hagerstown and surrounding areas.
Chrysalis Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews
Fee:
FREE
Spring 2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, videos, music, sound art
Fee:
FREE
Issue 29
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, short plays, screenplays
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $10-$15
Issue 24
Genres: essays, interviews, translations, art
Fee:
FREE
Spring 2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
intranslatable/untranslatable
Genres: poetry
Fee:
$3
Note: May close early if issue fills
Visual Edition
Genres: visual poetry
Fee:
$3
Note: May close early if issue fills
50th Anniversary Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, comics, graphic narratives, art, photography
Fee:
$3
Payment: Unkown
April 2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography
Fee:
$3
Tales of the Sea
Genres: fiction
Fee:
FREE
Payment: Unknown
Micro Issue
Genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, illustrated narratives, hybrid works
Fee:
FREE
Guest Edited by Sarah Sadie
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Note: Open to Wisconsin poets only
Open Reading Period
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: Unknown
Issue 25.1
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Note: May close early if submissions cap met
Issue 10
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Issue 33
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Genres: poetry, fiction
Fee:
FREE
No. 9
Genres: poetry
Fee:
$3 (Free for US Indigenous poets)
Payment: contributor copy
May 2026
Genres: poetry, essays, flash
Fee:
FREE
Genres: prose poetry
Fee:
FREE
Issue 46
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Payment: Contributor Copy
Chapbook Series
Genres: poetry
Fee:
$15
Under a Warm Green Linden
Genres: poetry
Fee:
$3
Issue 25
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Genres: short fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel
Fee:
$5
Genres: fiction, poetry, reviews, translations, audio, video
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $25
Issue 4.3
Genres: poetry
Fee:
$3
Genres: lit comics
Fee:
FREE
Summer 2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
Free (poetry & flash); $5 (prose)
Genres: fiction, poetry
Fee:
$3
Payment: $300 for short stories and nonfiction; $100 for poetry and cover art
Winter 2026: Collaborations
Genres: iction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, comics, translations
Fee:
Free for first two weeks, then $3 fee
Genres: flash, micros, short-shorts
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$3
Genres: nonfiction, poetry, reviews, cross-genre
Fee:
$3
Payment: copies and complimentary subscription
Genres: flash, poetry, graphic novel, art
Fee:
$5
Spring 2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
$3
Volume 58
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: Unknown
Note: Categories may close early if submission caps are met
2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$3
Payment: 2 copies and complimentary 1-year subscription
Genres: nonfiction, hybrid work
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
General Submissions
Genres: fiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $15 and one copy
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, art
Fee:
$3
Payment: one contributor copy, 1-year subscription, and 1-year gift subscription
Genres: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translation
Fee:
$3
Payment: $100 for poetry, $0.10/word for prose up to $200, two contributor copies, and one-year subscription
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, lists, audio
Fee:
$3
Payment: $50
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: 1 copy
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, art
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $20 – $50 (writing), $30 – $150 (art)
Note: Work needs to address human consequences of war and geopolitical violence
Vol. 26
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art
Fee:
FREE
General Submissions
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$3.50
Genres: poetry, short-shorts, visual essays
Fee:
FREE
Tribute to the Future
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $200 and 1-year subscription
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Issue 3: Ecology
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: None
Note: Opens to submissions on April 1
Collaboration Issue
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: None
Note: All work submitted needs to be a collaborative effort. They have a form if you're looking for a partner
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$3
Payment: contributor copies
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid, cross-genre, art
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $50
Genres: experimental/avant-garde poetry, art, music, film
Fee:
FREE
General Submissions
Genres: fiction, poetry, book reviews, art
Fee:
$3
Issue 32: Love the World Anyway
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography
Fee:
$5 (Free for high school students)
Genres: poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: one copy
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews
Fee:
Free (postal), $3 (online)
Payment: $50 per printed page for prose and $4 per line for poetry, up to $800, two copies
General Submissions
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography
Fee:
$5
Payment: One Copy
Note: Writers must have a connection to the Midwest
Proximity: A Portfolio of Writing and Art by Women of Color
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art
Fee:
FREE
General Submissions
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $50
Immigrant Writing Series
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid texts
Fee:
FREE
Payment: publication, marketing, standard royalties contract, $500 travel stipend
2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography
Fee:
FREE
Note: Writers must live or work in the larger Mercer County/New Jersey Area
Open Reading Period
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
Free, $3 Tip Jar
Payment: Payment: $50
Note: Free submissions will close if monthly cap meant and resets each month
Spring 2026
Genres: fiction, poetry
Fee:
$3
Payment: $100 (long-form prose), $40 (short prose), $20 per poem
2026 All-Star Issue
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$3
Payment: $15-$25 honorarium
Open Reading Period
Genres: poetry, reviews, essays
Fee:
FREE
Fast-Track
Genres: poetry
Fee:
$3.75
Payment: Two copies
October 2026 Issue
Genres: fiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Payment: None
Note: Work must have been previously published in a defunct journal.
2026 Open Reading Period
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Payment: None
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, comics, graphic narratives, translations
Fee:
FREE
Note: Open to queer writers
Genres: prose, poetry, music, visual art
Fee:
$5
Genres: nonfiction
Fee:
$3
Payment: $45
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, photography, art
Fee:
FREE
Genres: creative nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$3
Genres: fiction, poetry, comics, graphic novel, short story collections, art, photography
Fee:
Varies
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction
Fee:
FREE
Genres: horror fiction
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scripts, writing for children and young adults
Fee:
FREE
Genres: poetry, flash fiction
Fee:
FREE
Genres: creative nonfiction, poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Payment: copies
Book Manuscript Queries
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$5
Genres: fiction, translations
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, translations
Fee:
$3
Payment: None specified
Genres: lullabies
Fee:
FREE
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
$4
Payment: $25/printed page
Steller's Weekly
Genres: fiction
Fee:
FREE
Payment: None
Genres: current-events poetry
Fee:
FREE
Magazine & chapbook submissions
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, graphic narratives, comics
Fee:
$3 (magazine) $8 (chapbooks)
Payment: copies (magazine) | $200 honorarium and 20 copies of chapbook
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Fee:
FREE
Note: Submissions may close if quota is reached
Genres: poetry, essays
Fee:
FREE
Genres: poetry, art
Fee:
FREE
Payment: $200 and 1-year subscription (print), $100 (online)
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography
Fee:
FREE
Payment: None
Ready to submit? Bookmark your favorites, mark your calendar, and good luck sharing your work!
