News

Levis Reading Prize

2026-10-26T19:55:00+00:00

$5,000 prize, deadline change: received by February 1

Deadline February 1 (must be received by this date), formerly January 15. Highly recommended free contest awards $5,000 for a first or second book of poetry by a US resident published during the preceding calendar year. Winner also receives an expenses-paid trip to Richmond, VA for a reading in the fall. Publisher must email a PDF of the book AND send three copies of the book, a cover letter, and a brief author bio by mail. Awarded by the Department of English and its MFA in Creative Writing program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Redivider

2026-10-22T23:36:00+00:00

Call for submissions: received by December 1

Deadline December 1 (must be received by this date). Redivider is a selective literary magazine run by graduate students at Emerson College in Boston. They are currently open to submissions of unpublished poetry, fiction, personal essays, cultural critique, and artwork. See their Submissions page for length limits for each genre. Read past issues on their website.

Sine Qua Non Prizes in Poetry and Creative Prose

2026-10-21T16:27:00+00:00

$500 prize, deadline change: received by January 7

Deadline January 7 (must be received by this date), formerly December 15. Neutral free contest awards prizes up to $500 for poetry (1-3 poems, 10 pages maximum) and creative prose (15 pages maximum) that exemplify traits of New Romanticism. Early submissions are encouraged. Submit online via sponsor's Submittable page and include a cover letter and brief third-person bio. Sponsored by the Sine Qua Non journal.

Tint Journal

2026-10-20T20:36:00+00:00

Call for submissions: received by November 30

Deadline November 30 (must be received by this date). Tint Journal is an online literary magazine for work by non-native English speakers. They are currently open to submissions of poetry, flash prose, short fiction, essays, and artwork for Issue #17 (Spring 2027). There is no required theme for this issue. See website for length limits and back issues.

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers

2026-10-20T19:24:00+00:00

C$10,000 prize, deadline change: received by December 1

Deadline December 1 (must be received by this date), formerly December 2. Highly recommended free contest awards top prizes of C$10,000 apiece for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction by Canadian authors with no published books, but whose work has appeared in at least one independently edited literary magazine, journal, anthology, or journalistic source. Finalists in each genre also receive C$2,500 and an invitation to attend the award ceremony. Genre usually alternates by year, but "2027" contest is for all three genres. Submit up to 10 pages of unpublished poetry, a single unpublished story or a creative nonfiction piece (or an excerpt from a longer piece of prose), 2,500 words maximum, online. Author can make one entry in each genre in a given year. Sponsored by Writers' Trust of Canada.

Lit Fox Award

2026-10-20T18:34:00+00:00

$1,500 prize, deadline change: received by December 15

Deadline December 15 (must be received by this date), formerly January 15. Recommended free contest from Lit Fox Books, a literary press in Austin, TX, offers $1,500 and publication for a full-length poetry manuscript (at least 48 pages). Enter online.

Apricity Magazine

2026-10-20T13:29:00+00:00

Call for submissions: received by January 4

Deadline January 4 (must be received by this date). Apricity is a literary and arts journal edited by students at the University of Texas at Austin. They are currently seeking submissions of unpublished poetry, fiction, essays, visual art, and performing arts audio/video. Previously published work is acceptable if you have reprint rights. There is no length limit for submissions to the online journal; for Issue 11 of the print journal, please limit submissions to 3,000 words for poetry, 7,500 words for prose. Note that online publications are taken down after two years because of storage space limits.

Golgonooza Magazine

2026-10-20T13:22:00+00:00

Call for submissions: received by January 1

Deadline January 1 (must be received by this date). Golgonooza Collective is dedicated to exploring and developing The Weird as an artistic philosophy. Their journal, Golgonooza Magazine, is currently open to submissions of unpublished poetry, fiction, essays, and artwork for their second issue. Submissions will close early if they reach their cap of 500 before the deadline. Send 1-3 entries per submission period, maximum 10,000 words each. See their Mission page for how they define The Weird, which includes elements such as transformation, category crisis, embrace of the visceral and body horror, and divergence from consensus reality.

Jaime Gill and Jonah Walters Win the 34th Annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

2026-10-15T14:10:00+00:00

Press release announcing the winners of the 34th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest sponsored by Winning Writers

Jaime Gill of Brighton, England won first prize in fiction and $3,500 for his story, "Black Sky, Blue Earth". Jonah Walters of Flushing, New York won first prize in nonfiction and $3,500 for his essay, "The Burnable Seas". 1,893 entries were received from around the world. Tamra Badgett judged, assisted by Sarah Halper. $12,000 was awarded in all. Read the complete release. Read the winning entries.

Platform

2026-10-12T19:55:00+00:00

Call for submissions: received by October 31

Deadline October 31 (must be received by this date). Hosted by Faber, a prestigious UK-based literary press, Platform is a new online space to showcase English-language contemporary poetry by authors who have yet to publish full-length collections. They are currently open for submissions for their Spring 2027 issue. Platform will publish twice a year, with three poets in each issue. Accepted authors receive 300 pounds. Send 1-10 unpublished poems by email.