Happy Friday!
This has been a week that felt both inexplicably long and, somehow, quite short — a perfect reflection of September itself. The month stretched and compressed in strange ways, and now here we are at its end, with a wave of opportunities and deadlines coming next week.
But before diving into submissions, take a pause for an anime break. I highly recommend The Vision of Escaflowne, a series full of fantastical elements and one burning question:
Was it a dream, or just a vision—or was it real?
Inspiration Prompt: Was It All Just a Dream? Or Maybe a Vision?
In Escaflowne, Hitomi asks this question repeatedly. The answer, as unbelievable as it seems, is neither—it was always real.
In My Magic Prophecy, a vision becomes reality. The fortune teller who sees it tries to prevent it, but in doing so becomes physically unwell—or even replaces the victim. The idea: a vision cannot be truly stopped. It echoes the logic of Final Destination, where death is inevitable no matter how hard one tries to avoid it.
This week, explore the blurry line between dream, vision, and reality. What happens when something intangible feels truer than the world around you? What do you know to be real, even if no one else believes it?
Create something that lives in that liminal space:
- A story where memory and magic intertwine
- A poem that questions the nature of truth
- A collage that captures a moment that might have happened
- A song that sounds like waking from a dream
- A script where a character refuses to let go of what they saw
Let your work be a testament to the things that feel real — even if they defy logic, time, or explanation.
📬 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: 133 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.
September 2025
- Ouch! Collective | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | Free (tip jar options available) | Deadline: September 28, 2025
- Alaska Quarterly Review Fall/Winter 2025 | nonfiction | $3 fee | Opens: September 20 | Deadline: September 29, 2025
- Ariel Chart | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- The Big Book of Quantum Fiction | fiction, poetry, cross-genre, art, photography | Free | Payment: $24 and 1 contributor copy | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Black Warrior Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, experimental forms | $5 fee | Paying Market | Opens: June 1 | Deadline: September 30
- The Capilano Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid forms | Free | Payment: $60 CAD/page | Opens: September 15 | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- DuFrank Lit. Fiction | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Granta | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | £2.50 (offers free submissions for low-income writers) | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Heartlines Spec Autumn 2025 | fiction, poetry | Free | Payment: $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction (500-3,500 words) and $60 CAD flat per poem | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- The Kenyon Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Payment: $0.08 per published word of prose (minimum $80, maximum $450) and $0.16 per published word of poetry (minimum $40, maximum $200) | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- The Letter Review Prize |fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, interviews | $15 – $25 fee | Prizes: 12-16 winners share $4,000 USD prize pool and are published | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Livingston Press Open Reading Period | Novels, linked story collections, narrative poetry | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- The London Magazine Free Submission Period | nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Nashville Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translation, comics | Free | Payment: $25 for poetry $100 for prose and art | Deadline: September 30, 2025 (or until cap reached)
- Presence #83 | haiku, tanka, haibun, rengay | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Silly Goose Press #6 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography | Free ($5 quick response option) | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Split Lit Magazine Free Submission Period | fiction, poetry, memoir, art, photography | Free | Payment: $75 | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Stone of Madness Press October 2025 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid works | Free | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Sunspot Lit | flash, poetry, graphic novel, art | $5 fee | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- Watershed Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $3 fee (Free for students/financial need) | Deadline: September 30, 2025
- The Yale Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations | $3 fee | Payment: $500-$1,500 (print prose), $200-$500 (online pieces), $150 (poetry) | Deadline: September 30, 2025
October 2025
- Changing Skies Vol. IV | nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Cherry Tree Issue 11 | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $3 fee | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Gordon Square Review | fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Free | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Gordon Square Review Flash Contest for Midwest Writers | fiction | $10 fee | Prize: $500 and publication | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Iowa Review | fiction, poetry | Free (postal), $4 (online) | Payment: $1.50 per line of poetry, $0.08 a word for prose | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- The Missouri Review 35th Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize | Fiction, nonfiction, poetry | $25 fee | Prize: $5,000 and publication awarded per genre | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Quartet Winter Issue | poetry | Free | Deadline: October 1, 2025 | Open to women aged 50+
- Same Faces Collective Fall/Winter Issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, film, animation, performance | Free | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Willow Springs Surrealist Poetry Prize | Poetry | $15 fee | Prize: $1,000 and publication | Final Judge: Michael McGriff | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Willow Springs Books Spokane Prize for Short Fiction | Entry fee | Prize: $2,000 + publication | Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Winning Writers Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest | poetry (can be previously published) | $25 fee | Prize: $3,500 for a poem in any style, $3,500 for a poem in a traditional/rhyming style + online publication | Final Judge: Michal ‘MJ’ Jones. Deadline: October 1, 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
- The Journal Wheeler Poetry Prize | poetry | $23 fee ($11.50 for BIPOC) | Prize: $2,500 and book publication | Deadline: October 11, 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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
- So to Speak 2026 Print issue | fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art | $4 fee (free for black & indigenous writers) | 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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.
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
- 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!
