Happy Friday—and happy October! Fall is in full swing… but summer isn’t giving up without a fight. Here in Michigan, we’re expecting record highs near 90 degrees this weekend. Honestly, it feels like the perfect metaphor for this year: a continuum of highs and lows.
So, get out and enjoy the last burst of warm weather before sweater season settles in for good. Give your eyes and your brain a little rest. And when you’re ready to dive back in, NewPages is here with fresh inspiration and submission opportunities to keep your creativity flowing.
Inspiration Prompt: Wrong Time, Right Place
“I still remember in The Lord of the Rings when Frodo says Gandalf is late, and Gandalf replies: ‘A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.’
Food for thought: Have you had that moment? Perhaps you, unlike Gandalf, did not arrive when you were supposed to—but you arrived when you were meant to.
Maybe you missed your destination and avoided an accident or a heartbreak. Maybe you walked into the wrong room and met someone who changed your life. Maybe the delay, the detour, the mistake was the very thing that opened a door you didn’t know you needed.
Write about a time when being “off schedule” or “off course” became the right moment, the right place. Explore how timing and place collide—what happens when the universe seems to conspire in your favor, or when chaos becomes clarity?
Try it in any form: a short story, a poem, a personal essay, a script, a hybrid piece, even a visual narrative. Let the accident become the axis of your work.
Then keep scrolling to find a home for your piece.
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Submission Opportunities: 121 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.
October 2025
- Jerboa Lit 500: A Flash Contest | fiction | $25 fee | First Prize: $1,000 | Registration Deadline: October 3, 2025 | Submission Deadline: October 5, 2025
- Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop A Hotel Room of One’s Own | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, plays, screenplays, comics, graphic narratives, graphic novels | $30 fee | Prize: travel, meals, lodging, and some pocket money for uninterrupted writing at University of Dayton Marriott, complimentary registration to 2026 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop | Deadline: October 6, 2025
- The Louisville Review Cornerstone: Poetry by Young Writers in grades K-12 | poetry | Free | Deadline: October 7, 2025
- Blank Spaces Prompt Contest | flash fiction | Free | Prize: Publication and complimentary print and digital copy | Deadline: October 10, 2025 | Open to Canadian writers only
- Euphemism 21.1 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, spoken word, sound installation, music, video, comics, sequential art, graphic narratives | Free | Deadline: October 10, 2025
- Watershed Review Flume Press Chapbook Contest | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid forms | $15 fee | Deadline: October 10, 2025
- The Journal Wheeler Poetry Prize | poetry | $23 fee ($11.50 for BIPOC) | Prize: $2,500 and book publication | Deadline: October 11, 2025
- The London Magazine Short Story Prize | fiction | £12 fee | First Prize: £750 and publication | Judges: Gurnaik Johal, Ben Pester and Erika Price | Deadline: October 12, 2025
- Silly Goose Press Minis: The Life of a ShowGoose | poetry | Free | Opens: October 1 | Deadline: October 13, 2025
- Silly Goose Press Minis: Goose-Bumps | flash prose, poetry, art, photography | Free | Opens: October 1 | Deadline: October 13, 2025
- Blink-Ink Museum-themed Issue | fiction | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Consequence Spring 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art | Free | Paying Market | Opens: July 15 | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Foglifter Winter Edition: Body Politics | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, comics, art, scripts, multimedia | Free (tip jar options available) | Opens: August 15 | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Gently Mad Issue 4 | fiction, poetry, art | Free | Open: September 1 | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Harpur Palate | poetry, art | Free ($3 expedited response) | Deadline: October 15, 2025 (or until 500 submissions reached)
- Jet Fuel Review Fall 2025 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Kelp Journal Issue 13 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Kings River Review. Fall 2025 Issue (all genres + art) | Free | Must be a 2-year college student | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Little Patuxent Review January Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- The Loch Raven Review | fiction, nonfiction | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Lullaby Machine Issue 3 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, reviews, lullabies, art, audio, video | Free | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Phoebe 55.1 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Payment: $30 | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Santa Clara Review The California Edition | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $2 fee | Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Willow Springs Surrealist Poetry Prize | Poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Final Judge: Michael McGriff | Extended Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Willow Springs Books Spokane Prize for Short Fiction | Entry fee | Prize: $2,000 + publication | Extended Deadline: October 15, 2025
- Global City Review Impermanence of Home issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, comics, graphic narratives, art, photography | Free | Deadline: October 16, 2025
- Saranac Review Issue 21 | fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry, art, graphic novels, graphic memoirs, photo essays, comics | $3 fee | Payment: $60 | Opens: September 8 | Deadline: October 17, 2025
- The Missouri Review 35th Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $5,000 and publication awarded per genre | Extended Deadline: October 18, 2025
- Arcturus | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free (Tip Jar available) | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Blue Mesa Review Fall 2025 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee | Payment: $25 | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Cloudbank General Submissions | flash fiction, poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Cloudbank Books Vern Rutsala Book Contest | fiction, poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000, publication, 50 author copies | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- The Dolomite Review Issue One “Firsts” | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3.50 fee | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- FENCE No. 44 | fiction, translation, poetry, “other” | $5 fee | Payment: $50 and 2-issue subscription | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Grist: A Journal of the Literary Arts | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee (Free for current subscribers) | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Hamilton Stone Review Issue 53 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Opens: October 1 | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Indiana Review | fiction, poetry, nonfiction | $3 fee | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Inlandia Blacklandia Anthology on Black Mental Health | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Editor: Romaine Washington | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Inscape 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Payment: Copies | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Prime Number Magazine | fiction, poetry | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- manywor(l)ds | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, art, translations | Free | Payment: $10 | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: October 31
- Seneca Review | nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre | $3 fee | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- SpecPoVerse Issue 3 | speculative poetry | Free | Payment: $5 | Open: September 1 | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | novella-length fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, art | $20 fee (writing), $7 fee (art) | Deadline: October 31, 2025
November 2025
- Barely South Review Fall 2025 issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Open: September 1 | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- Foglifter Spring Edition | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, hybrid works | Free (tip jar options available) | Opens September 1 | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- Iowa Review | nonfiction, visual literature | Free (postal), $4 (online) | Payment: $0.08 a word for prose, $40 per page of visual literature | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- The Louisville Review Frederick Smock Poetry Prize | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000, book publication, 25 author copies | Deadline: November 1, 2025 | Open to Kentucky-affiliated poets
- Nerve to Write Inaugural Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid work, art | Free | Deadline: November 1, 2025 | Open to disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent writers and artists.
- Oracle Fine Arts Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- Snowflake Magazine Anthology IV | art, poetry, essays, flash fiction, photography, interviews, articles | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 1, 2025 | Submissions should either be made by or involve an artist who identifies as LGBTQ+ (or both!)
- The Turning Leaf Journal | nonfiction, poetry, art | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature Winter issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, art, photography, comics, music, audio, reviews, interviews | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- Qua Magazine Fall 2025 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Deadline: November 2, 2025 | Must live in the state of Michigan.
- Alaska Quarterly Review Fall/Winter 2025 | poetry | $3 fee | Opens: November 1 | Deadline: November 9, 2025
- Clockhouse Spring 2026 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, screenplays | Free | Opens: September 1 | 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
- 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
- wildscape. literary journal Issue 5 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free (expedited response options) | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 15, 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
- 3Elements Review Issue 49: Compass, Rocking Horse, Underpass | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free (expedited submissions available) | 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
- The Headlight Review Mighty Micros Issue | fiction, prose poetry | $5 fee | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Hippocampus | flash nonfiction | $3 fee | 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
- River Heron Review Editors’ Prize | poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $500, publication, and a Zoom reading | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: November 30, 2025
December 2025
- L’Esprit Literary Review 2026 Leopold Bloom Prize for Innovative Narration | fiction | $10 fee | Grand Prize: $500 and publication | Deadline: December 7, 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
- 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
- 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
- American Poetry Review The Stern Prize | poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $2,000, book publication, standard royalties contract | Deadline: January 1, 2026
- The Emerson Review 2026 Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | 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, 2025
- Driftwood Press In-House Short Story Contest 2026 | fiction | $30 fee | Prize: $400, publication, 5 copies of the journal, interview opportunity | Deadline: January 15, 2025
- 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
- RCC MUSE Spring 2026 Edition| Fiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: January 31, 2026
- RCC MUSE Spangler Award | Poetry | $5 fee | Prize: $200 and publication | Deadline: January 31, 2026
February 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.
- 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
- Colorado Review | fiction, poetry | $3 fee | Payment: $300 for short stories and nonfiction; $100 for poetry and cover art | 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
April 2026
- 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, 2025
- 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
- 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
- Abandoned Mine | poetry | Free | Deadline: April 30, 2025
May 2026
- 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
- 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
Year-Round Opportunities
- Arkana | fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, illustrated narratives, translations, art | Free
- 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)
- 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 | 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!
