Happy Friday and Happy Halloween!
Whether you’re venturing out to watch ghosts, goblins, and witches on the hunt for treats—or hiding indoors with the lights off, hoarding candy for yourself—tonight is full of stories waiting to happen.
If you’re dodging the mayhem, let the sugar rush fuel your writing. If you’re out among the revelers, soak up the atmosphere for your next piece.
Either way, NewPages has you covered with this week’s roundup of submission opportunities. Heads up: several deadlines hit TODAY—don’t miss your chance!
Inspiration Prompt: I Do, I Do…But I Don’t
Sometimes a good reversal hits harder than the typical happy ending flow, doesn’t it?
Not reversal for reversal’s sake—but the kind no one saw coming. The kind that, in hindsight, was foreshadowed all along. The flags were there. The tension was humming beneath the surface. But the characters—and maybe the audience—missed it.
We’re trained to recognize narrative cues: the proposal, the confession, the breakthrough. But what happens when the expected answer turns inside out?
Start with a moment that feels like resolution—a “yes,” a “finally,” an “I do.” Then flip it. Let the reversal unravel everything.
Maybe the “I do” is followed by “but I don’t believe in marriage.”
Maybe the “I forgive you” is followed by “but I won’t forget.”
Maybe the “I’m here” is followed by “but not for long.”
Explore the tension between expectation and contradiction. Let the twist redefine the truth of the moment.
Try it in:
- A short story where the protagonist gets everything they wanted—only to realize it’s not what they needed.
- A poem that builds toward love, then turns toward loss.
- A collage that juxtaposes promises with their unraveling.
- A song lyric that starts with harmony and ends in dissonance.
- A script where a character’s declaration flips the entire scene’s meaning.
Optional constraint: Use a single line of dialogue or text as the hinge—the moment everything flips. Then keep scrolling to find the perfect home for your reversal.
📬 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: 126 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.
Jump to: October | November | December | January | February | March | April | May | Year-Round
October 2025
Open Calls
- Arcturus | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free (Tip Jar available) | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Banshee Issue 21 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Payment: Small fee and copy | 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
- 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
- The Headlight Review Mighty Micros Issue | fiction, prose poetry | $5 fee | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Hinterland Open Call | nonfiction, flash nonfiction | £3.00 | 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
- manywor(l)ds | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, art, translations | Free | Payment: $10 | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- Prime Number Magazine | fiction, poetry | Free | Opens: September 1 | Deadline: October 31, 2025
- 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
- Split Rock Review Issue 22 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, comics, graphic narratives, art, photography | 100 free submissions (tip jar + expedited response available) | 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
Open Calls
- 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 Cornerstone: Poetry by Young Writers in grades K-12 | poetry | Free | Deadline: November 1, 2025
- 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.
- Midnight Mind Magazine Number Nine: Back on the road in America | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, graphic narratives, graphic novels, reviews, interviews, art, photography | Free | Deadline: November 3, 2025
- 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
- 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
Contest Opportunities
- Ashland Poetry Press Broadside Contest | poetry | $10 fee | Prize: $250, publication, 50 copies | Judge: Marcelo Hernandez-Castillo | 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
- 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
- Baltimore Review Winter Contest | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $8 fee | Prize: 400/category and publication | Deadline: November 30, 2025
- Cloudbank Books Vern Rutsala Book Contest | fiction, poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $1,000, publication, 50 author copies | Extended 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
- Superpresent Echo-themed issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, drama, comics, graphic narratives, translations, art, photography, audio, video | Free | Deadline: December 1, 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 | Fee: $2 per poem (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
Contest Opportunities
- 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
- 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
Contest Opportunities
- 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
- RCC MUSE Spangler Award | Poetry | $5 fee | Prize: $200 and publication | Deadline: January 31, 2026
February 2026
Open Calls
- ANMLY | poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, translation | $3 fee | Payment: not listed | 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.
Contest Opportunities
- 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
- Colorado Review | fiction, poetry | $3 fee | Payment: $300 for short stories and nonfiction; $100 for poetry and cover art | Deadline: March 31, 2026
Contest Opportunities
- 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
Contest Opportunities
- 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
Contest Opportunities
- 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 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
- 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 | 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!
