Where to Submit Roundup: July 4, 2025

Happy Friday and Happy Independence Day!
Today is July 4, the day Americans celebrate Independence Day. Whether you’re staying cool at home or heading out to celebrate, NewPages has something for you. If you’re relaxing indoors, check out our fun writing prompt and submission opportunities to keep your creativity flowing. If you’re traveling or celebrating, no worries—our weekly roundup will be here when you’re ready.

Inspiration Prompt: Independence Day

Rather than focusing on traditional national independence celebrations, let’s explore a different angle. In 1994, country music artist Martina McBride released the powerful song “Independence Day,” written by Gretchen Peters. The song tells the story of a young girl whose mother, a victim of domestic abuse, takes a stand—marking a deeply personal and transformative “independence day” for them both.

This week, we invite you to reflect and soul search on the idea of personal independence.

What does your own “independence day” look like?

Maybe you finally left a toxic workplace or relationship.

Maybe you stepped into adulthood, fully independent from your family.

Maybe you overcame cancer or took control of your health after a pre-diabetes diagnosis.

Maybe you broke free from an addiction—whether to drugs, alcohol, or even something that seemed harmless but consumed you, like collecting rocks or scraps of paper.

Or, if you’d prefer to keep it fictional, imagine a world where independence is celebrated in a unique or unconventional way—or create a character who is desperately seeking freedom from something, anything—serious or seemingly silly, but deeply meaningful to them.

What would that journey look like?

Wishing you a safe, joyful, and creatively inspired holiday! When you’re ready, keep scrolling for this week’s roundup of submission opportunities.

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🌱 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.

July 2025

#Ranger. Issue 11 | All genres + multimedia | Free | Deadline: July 15, 2025
Blink-Ink Issue #61: Phones | Fiction | Free | Deadline: July 15, 2025
Burnside Review Press. Chapbook Contest | Poetry | Fee: $15 | Prize: $200 + chapbook + 10 copies | Extended Deadline: July 15, 2025
Driftwood Press.
- Adrift Chapbook Contest (Poetry) | Fee: $25 | Prize: $750 + publication + 20 copies | Judge: Matthew Olzmann | Deadline: July 15, 2025
- Adrift Short Story Contest (Fiction) | Fee: $30 | Prize: $500 + print copies | Judge: Kelly Link | Deadline: July 15, 2025
New American Press New American Fiction Prize | Fiction, cross-genre, translations | $25 fee | Prize: $1,500, publication, 25 copies, promotional support | Final Judge: Clancy Martin | Extended Deadline: July 15, 2025
Gutsy Great Novelist | Page One Prize | Fiction | Fee: $20 | Prizes: $1,000 (first), $500 (second), $250 (third) | Deadline: July 16, 2025 at 5PM ET
WCSU MFA: Housatonic Book Awards. All genres | Fee: $25 + processing | Prize: $1,000 honorarium + $500 travel stipend | Deadline: July 18, 2025
MudRoom | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free ($3 expedited submissions available) | Deadline: July 25, 2025
Press 53 2026 Press 53 Award for Poetry | Poetry | $30 fee | Prizes: $1,000 advance, publication, 53 author copies (winner); $500 advance, publication, 25 copies (runner-up) | Judge: Tom Lombardo | Deadline: July 31, 2025.
Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize | Poetry | $15 fee | Prizes: $1,000, publication, broadside (winner); $500 and publication (second); $250 and publication (third) | Final Judge: Stephen Kuusisto | Deadline: July 31, 2025
Sunspot Lit | Novella-length fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel, epic poetry | $20 fee | Deadline: July 31, 2025.
Wordrunner eChapbooks Prose Collections | Fiction, nonfiction | $8 fee | Payment: $125 + royalties for kindles | Deadline: July 31, 2025.

August 2025

About Place Journal Fall 2025: On Freedom | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, cross-genre, drama, graphic narratives, screenplays, interviews, reviews, translations, art, photography, audio, video | Free | Deadline: August 1, 2025
The Nomad Review Fragility theme | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, comics, graphic narratives, reviews, interviews, art, photography | Free | Deadline: August 1, 2025
Orison Books. Best Spiritual Literature Awards | Fee: $12 | Prize: $500 + publication | Deadline: August 1, 2025
Radar Poetry 12 Annual Coniston Prize | Poetry | $20 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Deadline: August 1, 2025
Inverted Syntax Aggrey & Tabbikha Prize for Poetry | Poetry, cross-genre | $20 fee | Prize: $500 and book publication | Deadline: August 15, 2025 | Open to Black poets and/or those part of the S.W.A.N.A diaspora
Inverted Syntax Sublingua Prize for Poetry | Poetry, cross-genre | $20 fee | Prize: $500 and book publication | Deadline: August 15, 2025 | For female-identifying poets only
Speckled Trout Review Summer 2025 Issue | Poetry | Free | Deadline: August 20, 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

September 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
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.
The Big Book of Quantum Fiction | fiction, poetry, cross-genre, art, photography | Free | Payment: $24 and 1 contributor copy | Deadline: September 30, 2025

October 2025

DuFrank Lit. Fiction | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
Willow Springs Books. Spokane Prize for Short Fiction | Entry fee | Prize: $2,000 + publication | Deadline: October 1, 2025
Kings River Review. Fall 2025 Issue (all genres + art) | Free | Must be a 2-year college student | Deadline: October 15, 2025

November 2025

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

Year-Round Opportunities

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!

Illustration of a person writing under fireworks with birds breaking free from chains, symbolizing personal freedom and creative independence. Text invites users to share real or fictional stories of independence.

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