Happy Friday!
This is a weekend for bundling up in layers and staying indoors with a steady supply of hot drinks and soup. Here in the Midwest, we’re heading into subzero windchills—never fun when stepping outside means being instantly frozen. Take care of yourselves and stay safe if you’re in an area experiencing dramatic temperature dips or snowstorms.
NewPages has the perfect remedy to keep you cozy and creative. Enjoy a weekly dose of writing inspiration and more than 100 venues where you can submit your work. It’s more than enough to keep you active, busy, and out of the chill.
Inspiration Prompt: It’s All in the Breed
I share my life (and my blankets) with two dachshunds—stubborn, affectionate little tunneling machines who believe the universe revolves around snuggle time and whatever scent trail they’ve decided is more important than my plans for the day. Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers underground… which explains both their determination and my yard.
For this week’s prompt, imagine a world where human emotions and habits are inherited directly from the animals we love or live with.
Not shapeshifting, not fables—just a strange rule of the universe: your temperament comes from your household species or breed.
How would that play out?
You might explore:
- A person with the anxious loyalty and oversized heart of a herding dog.
- A family whose members all express affection like their aloof but deeply devoted Russian Blues.
- A community of humans who “burrow” into blankets or conversations or ideas like dachshunds.
- A narrator whose emotional world echoes a rescue animal’s history.
- A hybrid piece or comic where physical mannerisms or speech patterns subtly reference the originating breed.
- A lyric essay about growing up with borrowed instincts that aren’t entirely your own.
Let the animal‑to‑human trait translation be literal, metaphorical, funny, uncanny, tender—whatever direction opens a door.
What parts of ourselves might suddenly make more sense if our emotional inheritance had paws, hooves, wings, or scales?
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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.
January 2026
Open Calls
- Hindsight Spring 2026 | nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: January 27, 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
- Belladonna’s Garden Issue 3: Poison Blooms | fiction, poetry | Free (tips accepted) | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- Brink Chaos-themed Issue | hybrid and cross-genre works | Free | Payment: one copy and $25-$100 Closes: January 31, 2026
- Girls Right the World Issue 10 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Extended Deadline: January 31, 2026
- The Hopper Spring 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- the engine(idling Issue 8: Collage | poetry, art | Free | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- Litmosphere Spring 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: January 31, 2026 (will close early if reaches 306 submissions)
- The Passionfruit Review Being in Bodies | poetry | £4 fee | First Prize: £600 and publication | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- RCC MUSE Spring 2026 Edition| Fiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- 🔔 Rock Salt Journal | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, humor, art | Free | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- 🔔 Sunspot Lit | Novella-length fiction, nonfiction, art | $20 fee (writing), $7 fee (art) | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- Tar River Poetry Review Fall 2026 | poetry | $3 | Deadline: January 31, 2026
Writing Contests
- 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
- Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest 2026 | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $300, publication, 5 copies of the journal, interview opportunity | Extended Deadline: January 31, 2026
- Driftwood Press In-House Short Story Contest 2026 | fiction | $30 fee | Prize: $400, publication, 5 copies of the journal, interview opportunity | Extended Deadline: January 31, 2026
- The Hemlock Review Fiction Writing Contest: The Call of the Wild | fiction | $5 fee | Prize: $200 and print and digital 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
- The Passionfruit Review Being in Bodies | poetry | £4/£5/£6 fee | First Prize: £600 and publication | Deadline: January 31, 2025
- Pinch The Page Prize | nonfiction | $15 fee | Prize: $1,000 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
- CutBank General Submissions | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art | $5 fee | Paying Market | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- 🔔 Divinations Magazine Issue 6: Cravings | horror fiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- Mad Persona Magazine Issue 5 | fiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- The Masters Review Winter Short Story Award for New Writers | fiction, nonfiction | $20 fee | Prize: $3,000, online publication, agency review | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- Naugatuck River Review Summer/Fall 2026 | narrative poetry | Free | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- 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
- Little Somethings Press Motherhood Anthology | flash fiction, flash memoir, poetry, visual art | Free | Deadline: February 7, 2026
- Interim Intertidal: Poetry from Singapore | poetry | $5 fee | Deadline: February 9, 2026
- Cantos 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art | Free | Deadline: February 15, 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.
- Hedge Apple Homegrown Issue | fiction, poetry, art | This issue is limited to people who live in the areas surrounding Hagerstown, MD | Deadline: February 15, 2026
- 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
- 🔔 Orange Blossom Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic literature, art, photography | Free (submissions may temporarily close if caps are meant each month) | Deadline: February 15, 2026
- SmokeLong Quarterly March 2026 | flash narratives | $4.40 | Payment: $100-$150 | Deadline: February 15, 2026
- University of Georgia Press Crux: The Georgia Series in Literary Nonfiction | nonfiction | Free | Deadline: February 15, 2026
- 🔔 Weird Lit | fiction | 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
- Interlochen Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, screenplay, songs, art | Free | Open internationally to high schoolers in grades 9-12 | Deadline: February 20, 2026
- Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine Winter 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Open to Michigan residents only | Deadline: February 22, 2026
- RockPaperPoem Issue 14 | poetry | Free | Deadline: February 22, 2026
- 2River View 30.3 | poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- 3Elements Review Issue 50: Stowaway, Microphone, Wonderland | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free (expedited submissions available) | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- Acorn Haiku | poetry | Free | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- COMP: an interdisciplinary journal | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, cross genre, critical prose | Free | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- New Myths | science fiction/fantasy fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Payment: $0.03/word with a minimum payment of $50 | 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
- The Poetry Porch 2026 | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews | Free | 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
- Spoon River Poetry Review | poetry | Free | Payment: contributor copy + complimentary 1-year subscription | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- Sundress Publications | full-length prose manuscripts | $15 fee | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- Wordrunner eChapbooks Anthology: Endings | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3 fee | Payment: $10 for poems, $15 to $25 for stories and essays | Deadline: February 28, 2026
Writing Contests
- Paterson Literary Review Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards | poetry | $20 fee | Prize: $2,000, publication, and reading invitation | Deadline: February 1, 2026
- Palette Poetry Rejected Poetry Prize | poetry | $20 fee | Prize: $3,000, publication, interview | Poem must have been submitted and rejected by lit mags or a contest offering a publication prize | Judge: Mai Der Vang | Deadline: February 8, 2028
- 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
- Fish Publishing Flash Fiction Story Prize | fiction | €16 fee ($19 USD) | First Prize: €1,000 ($1,160) and anthology publication | Judge: Tania Hershman | Deadline: February 28, 2026
- I-70 Review Bill Hickok Humor Award | poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Judge: Ted Kooser | Closes: February 28, 2026
- James Dain Indie Gold Awards | mystery, thriller, suspense, crime fiction | $15 fee | Grand Prize: $500, badge, newsletter feature, website feature, social promotion | Deadline: February 28, 2026
March 2026
Open Calls
- Apple in the Dark Spring 2026 | fiction, creative nonfiction | Free | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- 🔔 Artemis Journal “Origins” Issue | poetry, art | $5 fee | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- 🔔 Collateral 10.2 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- Flint Hills Review Issue 31 | fiction, poetry, nonfiction, plays, screenplays, art | Free | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- 🔔 HOOT | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- 🔔 The Shore Issue 29 | poetry | Free | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- Spirit Lake Review 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- 🔔 Teach. Write. | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, short plays, screenplays | Free | Payment: $10-$15 | Deadline: March 1, 2026
- 🔔 Tripwire 24 | essays, interviews, translations, 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
- 🔔 Harpur Palate Issue 25.1 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: March 15, 2026 (may close early if submissions cap met)
- Kings River Review. Spring 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Must be a 2-year college student | Deadline: March 15, 2026
- 🔔 Ponder Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, short plays, art, new media | $2 fee | Deadline: March 15, 2026
- Shō Poetry Journal No. 9 | poetry | $3 fee (Free for US Indigenous poets) | Payment: contributor copy | Deadline: March 15, 2026
- 🔔 South Florida Poetry Journal May 2026 | poetry, essays, flash | Free | Deadline: March 15, 2026
- Superpresent Spring Issue: Beginnings | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, film, visual art | Free | 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
- Chestnut Review Summer 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free (poetry & flash); $5 (prose) | 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
- The Word Works Washington Prize | full-length poetry collection | $25 fee | Prize: $1,500 and book publication | Deadline: March 15, 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
- 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 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
- Prime Number Magazine Awards | fiction, poetry | $15 fee | Prize/genre: $1,000 and publication | Deadline: March 31, 2026
April 2026
Open Calls
- Blood Orange Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Deadline: April 1, 2026
- 🔔 Potomac Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | 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
- Booth | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, lists, audio | $3 fee | Payment: $50 | Deadline: April 15, 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
- 🔔 #Ranger | experimental/avant-garde poetry, art, music, film | Free | Deadline: May 1, 2026
- 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
- American Poetry Review Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize | poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Deadline: May 15, 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 | Free | 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
- Flash Phantoms | horror fiction | Free
- Gambling the Aisle | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre | Free
- 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
Ready to submit? Bookmark your favorites, mark your calendar, and good luck sharing your work!
