Happy Friday!
The first week of November is officially behind us. I say it all the time, but time flies when you’re an adult—more so than you ever think possible. With Halloween, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and All Saints Day behind us, there’s a lot of food for thought. I admittedly watch a lot of Asian dramas, so seeing how other cultures honor the memory of loved ones is fascinating—rituals full of color, music, and offerings that turn grief into celebration.
Do you get random bursts of inspiration from the media you consume or from simply observing the world around you? If your creative well feels a little dry, NewPages is here to help you find a home for your work—and maybe spark an idea or two along the way.
Inspiration Prompt: Rituals of Remembrance
Across cultures, honoring the dead often takes the form of vibrant rituals—altars adorned with food and drink, music and color, communal gatherings that invite ancestors to join the living. Western traditions tend toward quiet remembrance. What happens when grief becomes a feast, or memory becomes art?
Create something that explores this tension or reinvents it:
- Fiction/Poetry: A story or poem where the living and the dead share space—through ritual, accident, or imagination.
- Nonfiction: A personal essay on how your culture (or family) honors the dead, or how you wish it did.
- Visual/Hybrid: Design an altar in words and images. Collage objects that speak to memory. Invent a ritual and document it as if for a future archive.
- Experimental: Use sound, text fragments, or mixed media to evoke presence and absence.
Browse the opportunities below and consider where your piece might find a home.
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Items marked with a bell 🔔 are new to the roundup this week.
November 2025
Open Calls
- Blue Mesa Review Fall 2025 | fiction, nonfiction | $3 fee | Payment: $25 | Extended Deadline: November 7, 2025
- Alaska Quarterly Review Fall/Winter 2025 | poetry | $3 fee | Opens: November 1 | Deadline: November 9, 2025
- 🔔Barzakh Spring 2026: Yearning | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, multigenre/hybrid work | Free ($3 tip jar option) | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Clockhouse Spring 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, screenplays | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- 🔔Elm Leaves Journal The Karma of Nature Edition | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, interviews | Free | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Fugue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, hybrid work, reviews | $3 fee (one free submission for financial hardship available) | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- 🔔 MSU Roadrunner Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Outskirts Issue 2 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee (free submissions for BIPOC) | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Ploughshares Open Reading Period | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations | $3.75 fee (Free for current subscribers) | Payment: $45/printed page, $90 minimum per title, $450 maximum per author, 2 contributor copies | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- So to Speak 2026 Print issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $4 fee (free for black & indigenous writers) | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | novelette fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novel | $10 fee | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Thorn & Bloom Issue 4: Radical Joy We Cultivate | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, comics, graphic narratives | Free | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- wildscape. literary journal Issue 5 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free (expedited response options) | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Beloit Fiction Journal | fiction | $3 fee | Deadline: November 16, 2025
- Hedgerow #151 | poetry, art | Free | Opens November 5 | Deadline: November 19, 2025
- 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
- 3Elements Review Issue 49: Compass, Rocking Horse, Underpass | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free (expedited submissions available) | 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
- Fourth Genre | nonfiction | $4 fee | Payment: $50 and two copies | Opens: September 1 | 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
- River Heron Review | poetry | $3 fee | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
Writing Contests
- New Letters Editor’s Choice Award | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-Genre | $20 fee (includes 1-year digital subscription) | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Deadline: November 10, 2025
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Muleskinner Journal Issue 16: Sabotage | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, plays, screenplays | Free (tip jar options available) | Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | short fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel | $5 fee | 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
- 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
- Doubly Mad | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Guest Poetry Editor: Thomas Townsley | 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
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
- 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
- #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
- 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
- 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
- Stanford University Libraries / William Saroyan Foundation William Saroyan International Prize for Writing | fiction, nonfiction | $50 fee | Prize/genre: $5,000 | Deadline: January 30, 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
- Doubleback Review April 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: February 15, 2026 | Work must have been previously published in a defunct journal.
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
- 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
- Abandoned Mine | poetry | 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
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
- 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!
