Happy Friday!
Time marches on and before you know it, it will be Thanksgiving already. Here’s hoping the good news garnered this week keeps things on a positive note for the remainder of 2025.
What are you thankful for? Have your writing and submission goals been getting met like you hoped? NewPages is back with our weekly roundup of submission opportunities along with our weekly dose of inspiration to keep your writing fueled.
Inspiration Prompt: Talking Past Each Other
This past week, I finished a Korean drama where two male leads were having what seemed like a normal conversation about their relationship. But the deeper and longer the exchange went, the less sense it made. Were they really talking about the same thing? Were they truly listening to each other? Or were they locked in parallel monologues, each hearing only what they wanted to hear?
For this week’s prompt, explore that fascinating space where meaning fractures:
- Writers: Craft a scene where two characters believe they’re having the same conversation—but they’re actually talking about completely different things. Let the misunderstanding grow until it leads to an unexpected twist, a humorous reveal, or a dramatic fallout. Bonus challenge: keep the dialogue natural and let subtext do the heavy lifting.
- Poets: Play with double meanings, misheard phrases, or layered interpretations. How does language betray us—or save us—when we’re not truly listening?
- Artists: Create a collage, illustration, or mixed-media piece where what’s said and what’s heard are visually at odds. Pair text with imagery that suggests a completely different interpretation, or layer contrasting elements to show the gap between intention and perception.
Tip: Miscommunication can be funny, tense, or heartbreaking. Think about tone shifts, clues that hint at the disconnect, and how the reveal changes everything.
And once you are done crafting your pieces, keep going to find them a home.
📬 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: 138 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.
🔔 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.
November 2025
Open Calls
- Sunspot Lit | very long-form fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novel | $8 fee | Deadline: November 22, 2025
- RABBLE REVIEW Issue 10 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, reviews, interviews, art, photography | Free | Deadline: November 23, 2025
- 🔔 Infocalypse Arts & Literary Magazine Issue 1: RECURSION | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, performance, hybrid work | Free (tip jar available) | Deadline: November 28, 2025 (will close early if submission cap reached)
- 3Elements Review Issue 49: Compass, Rocking Horse, Underpass | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free (expedited submissions available) | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Anacapa Review 4.1 | poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Baltimore Review General Submissions | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Payment: $50 and copy | Deadline: November 30, 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
- Booth | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, lists, flash, audio | $3 fee | Payment: $50 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Contemporary Verse 2 | poetry, interviews, articles, essays, reviews | $3 fee (Free for Canadian residents) | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Fourth Genre | nonfiction | $4 fee | Payment: $50 and two copies | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- 🔔 Griffith REVIEW Issue 92: Lost & Found | fiction, nonfiction | Free | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- 🔔 The Hemlock Review Issue 9 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art | Free (expedited review options available) | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Hippocampus | flash nonfiction | $3 fee | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Hudson Review | fiction | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- L’Esprit Literary Review Issue 8 | fiction, nonfiction, drama, literary criticism, autotheory, book reviews | Free (tip jar available) | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- The London Magazine Free Submission Period | nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Opens: November 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- The Louisville Review Cornerstone: Poetry by Young Writers in grades K-12 | poetry | Free | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- 🔔 The Metaworker | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- NonBinary Review Issue 43: Carnival | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Payment: 1¢ per word (prose); $10 (poetry); $25 (art) | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- River Heron Review | poetry | $3 fee | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
Writing Contests
- Mukoli: The Magazine for Peace The Mukoli Contest | fiction, nonfiction, art, multimedia, poetry | Free | Prize: $100 and publication | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Perugia Press Prize for a First or Second Book by a Woman | poetry | $30 fee ($15 reduced fee; free option for BIPOC) | Prize: $2,000 and book publication | Opens: August 1 | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Omnidawn Fabulist Flash Fiction Contest | fiction, cross-genre | $30 fee | Prize: $1,000, book publication, 20 copies | Judge: Arria Deepwater | Deadline: November 16, 2025
- Cloudbank Books Vern Rutsala Book Contest | fiction, poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000, publication, 50 author copies | Extended Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Baltimore Review Winter Contest | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $8 fee | Prize: $400/category and publication | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Green Linden Press Wishing Jewel Prize | poetry, cross-genre, translations | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000 and book publication | Opens: August 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Indiana Review Fiction Prize | fiction | $20 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- River Heron Review Editors’ Prize | poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $500, publication, and a Zoom reading | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
December 2025
Open Calls
- Arkansas International Fall 2026 Issue themed the ways we labor | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic literature, translation | $4 fee | Payment: $25/500 words (fiction); $25/page (poetry) up to $200, plus free digital subscription | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- 🔔 Gyroscope Review Winter 2026 | poetry | Free | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- The Headlight Review Mighty Micros Issue | fiction, prose poetry | $5 fee | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- MQR Mixtape SWANA Insomnia edited by Noor Al-Samarrai | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, audio, video, hybrid works | $3 fee | Paying Market | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- Superpresent Echo-themed issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, drama, comics, graphic narratives, translations, art, photography, audio, video | Free | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- 🔔 Wallstrait | fiction, nonfiction | $3 fee | Payment: $100 | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- Book of Matches | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translation | Free | Deadline: December 12, 2025
- 45th Parallel | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, comics | Free | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- AGNI | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translation | $3 fee | Payment: $30/page (prose), $50/page (poetry) | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Asterales January 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Carolina Muse Literary & Arts Magazine | visual art & photography, dance (video), music (video/audio), poetry (text/audio/video), short stories & scripts | Free | Opens: October 1 | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Epiphany Issue 36 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, art | $5 fee (waivers available for hardship) | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Exposition Review Issue XI | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, one-act plays, screenplays, experimental narratives, visual art, comics, film | $3.50 fee | Payment: $50 | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Glassworks Magazine Open Reading Period | fiction, nonfiction, art | Free | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Glassworks Magazine Flash Glass | flash fiction, micro essays, prose poetry under 750 words | Free | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- LitMag Print & Online | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $5 fee | Payment: $100-$300 (print), $125 (online) | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Muleskinner Journal Issue 16: Sabotage | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, plays, screenplays | Free (tip jar options available) | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- 🔔 Right Hand Pointing January Issue | fiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | short fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel | $5 fee | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- 🔔 Unbroken January Issue | prose poetry | Free | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- 🔔 West Trade Review General Submissions | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | flash, poetry, graphic novel, art | $5 fee | Deadline: December 16, 2025
- Alaska Quarterly Review Fall/Winter 2025 | fiction | $3 fee | Opens: December 10 | Deadline: December 19, 2025
- 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
- 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
- Doubly Mad | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Guest Poetry Editor: Thomas Townsley | 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
- ISSUED | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic narratives | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025
- The Uncommon GRACkle Relaunch | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: December 31, 2025 (or until full)
Writing Contests
- Foglifter Start A Riot! Poetry Chapbook Prize | poetry | Free ($3 tip jar option) | Prize: $3,000, $1,000 for tour/promo, chapbook publication | Judges: Grayson Thompson, Dani Putney, Zara Jamshed | **Must be QTBIPOC+ and living in the larger San Francisco Bay Area** | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- The Writing Salon 9th Jane Underwood Poetry Prize | poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $500 and online publication | Final judge: Matthew Olzmann | Deadline: December 1, 2025
- L’Esprit Literary Review 2026 Leopold Bloom Prize for Innovative Narration | fiction | $10 fee | Grand Prize: $500 and publication | Deadline: December 7, 2025
- The Capilano Review Fall 2025 Writing Contest: Connective | Uncontainable | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, experimental forms | $25 fee (includes 1-year digital subscription) | Prize: $500 and publication | Opens: November 11 | Deadline: December 12, 2025
- 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
- Action, Spectacle Poetry & Prose Chapbook Contest | poetry, prose | $25 fee | Payment: $1,000 and 30 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
- 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
- Apricity Magazine Volume 10 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, music, short films, short plays, dance, visual art | Free | Deadline: January 3, 2026
- #Ranger | experimental/avant-garde poetry, art, music, film | Free | Opens: October 15 | 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
- 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
- Barely South Review | art | Free | Open: September 1 | Deadline: January 26, 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
- The Arkansas International | fiction, poetry, essays, translation, comics | $4 fee | Payment: $25/page | Opens: November 15 | Deadline: 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
- 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
- 🔔 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
- 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
- RCC MUSE Spangler Award | Poetry | $5 fee | Prize: $200 and publication | 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
- 🔔 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.
- University of Georgia Press Crux: The Georgia Series in Literary Nonfiction | nonfiction | Free | Deadline: February 15, 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
March 2026
Open Calls
- Kings River Review. Spring 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Must be a 2-year college student | Deadline: March 15, 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
Year-Round Open Calls
- Action, Spectacle | fiction, nonfiction, reviews, interviews, plays, comics, visual art, poetry | $3.50 fee | Open Year-round
- Arkana | fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, illustrated narratives, translations, art | Free
- Blue Mountain Review | prose, poetry, music, visual art | $5 fee
- 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 | $3 fee (free on Mondays)
- 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
- Kelp Journal The Wave | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, book reviews, photography, art | Free | Deadline: Year-round
- 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
- Philly Poetry Chapbook Review | Excerpts, interviews, reviews | Free
- Pictura Journal | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free (tip jar) | Payment: $5 (open until quota reached)
- 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!
