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.
Submission Opportunities: 49 Ways to Share Your Work
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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!
Where to Submit Roundup: June 12, 2026
Where to Submit Roundup: June 5, 2026
Where to Submit Roundup: May 29, 2026
