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Calls for Submissions (Poetry, Fiction, Art) Facebook Group
This Facebook group features calls for creative writing and art submissions. Closed group, members accepted by request.
Camp Damascus
By Chuck Tingle. An autistic lesbian teen discovers the horrific secrets of the ex-gay camp that dominates her small Montana community. Forget about demons—the scariest part of this tale is the smiley-face gaslighting that our heroine endures from her parents and the celebrity pastor of the town's prosperity-gospel church. An excellent fast-paced novel with humor and poetic justice served hot.
Can Poetry Matter? an essay by Dana Gioia
Poetry is imprisoned in the cozy cells of academia and specialty publishers. Most people are oblivious to it. "The traditional machinery of transmission - the reliable reviewing, honest criticism, and selective anthologies - has broken down." It's time to unleash great poems again on the public. Here's how. Reprinted from The Atlantic Monthly.
Canceling My Book Deal Was the Best Career Move I’ve Ever Made
In this 2021 article from Electric Lit, Lilly Dancyger describes her long journey to publication of her hybrid memoir Negative Space (Santa Fe Writers Project) and warns writers not to rush into a sub-standard book contract simply because they're frustrated with rejections. Factors to look for in a small press: Amazon and trade-publication reviews, national distribution, social media presence, and editors who will work with you to improve your book.
Canva
Canva is an online resource site for easy-to-use graphic design templates for book covers, newsletters, periodicals, and promotional materials. Some templates are free. Use their print service to create custom stationery, business cards, and flyers.
Capital Community College Guide to Grammar and Writing
This comprehensive, searchable grammar guide from Capital Community College in Hartford includes lessons on word usage, sentence structure, rhetoric, and writing a research paper. There's even a PowerPoint presentation on "Solecisms of President George W. Bush".
Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s How to Do It Frugally
Carolyn Howard-Johnson's "How to Do It Frugally" website is the portal for her award-winning series of books on marketing, editing, and book proposals. Her guides for indie authors have received honors from USA Book News, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the Global Ebook Awards, and others. The Frugal Book Promoter and How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically feature strategies for free or low-cost book publicity. The Frugal Editor and Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers will ensure that your self-published book or manuscript submission looks professional. The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 30 Minutes or Less covers pitching your manuscript to editors and agents.
Carousel
Established in 1983, Carousel is a Canadian literary and arts journal that is now published exclusively online. Sign up for their email list to be notified when their poetry and fiction reading periods open. Carousel's #USEReview feature is open year-round, seeking literary reviews that are written in an innovative or genre-bending style. They are especially interested in reviews of hybrid literature, graphic novels, or experimental poetry and prose. Reviewers receive a small payment.
Carrd
Carrd is a free, simple tool for building one-page websites that display well on both desktops and mobile devices. The premium package, which is only $19 per year as of 2021, lets you add features such as contact and signup forms, Google Analytics tracking codes, and payment-processing widgets (Stripe, PayPal, etc.).
Cartoonists for Palestine
Cartoonists for Palestine was launched after the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack and Israel's violent retaliation in Gaza. The site invites creators of graphic narratives to submit comics bearing witness and protesting "the genocide of the Palestinian people". A print anthology is planned in 2024. Contributors currently include Jennifer Camper, Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer), Ben Passmore, and Ethan Heitner.
Cartoonists of Color
This database maintained by comics creator Mari Naomi features cartoonists of color who work in a wide variety of genres from fantasy to historical fiction.
Catch the Moon, Mary
By Wendy Waters. Fans of Anne Rice and "The Phantom of the Opera" will enjoy this paranormal romance/horror novel that asks creative questions about God, love, and power. The angel Gabriel has tried so long to enlighten humanity that he has become bitter and violent. He has lost faith in love, and believes that humanity must be redeemed by force. He rescues an abused girl who is a musical prodigy, in exchange for a claim on her talent—but her love and innocent wisdom make him question whether the end justifies the means.
Catholic Poetry Room
A weekly feature on the Integrated Catholic Life website, the Catholic Poetry Room has a Catholic Christian focus, but welcomes a wide range of takes on the spiritual life expressed in all manner of verse, from emerging and established poets.
Catholic Writers Conference Online
This site offers a free online writers' conference featuring live chats with experienced writers and editors, pitch sessions with Christian publishers, writing workshops, and more.
Cathy’s Comps and Calls
Award-winning poet and fiction writer Cathy Bryant curates this writing resources site, which specializes in free-to-enter contests and calls for submissions that can be entered online. Her book How to Win Writing Competitions (and Make Money) collects the knowledge she has gained from editing this site and publishing her work.
Celan at 100
This 2021 feature in the magazine Jewish Currents commemorates the centennial of the birth of Paul Celan (1920-70), with translations of his poetry and prose by Pierre Joris and multi-genre responses to his writing by poets such as Anne Carson and Peter Cole. Also included are a translation and essay on Rose Ausländer's poem "To Life", from which Celan drew the famous image of "black milk" in his Holocaust poem "Todesfuge" (Deathfugue).
Celebration
By Martina Reisz Newberry
The morning's birthday rang through us like
a gong. Outside, no one believed there
was such a thing as mortality
and there was a perpetual grin
on the windshields of the cars down
in the street. Someone may have been
dreaming us, but we hoped they would not
wake up; our happiness was that
feral. We were safe and slipped into
the day on the remnants of last night's
moon. Over glasses of tea, we read
each other's palms to see where we were
going, but we could see only that
there is more than one truth in this world.
The morning's birthday showed us where to
how to begin the celebration,
where to put our things and where to go out
so that others could come in and find ease.
First published in Where it Goes (Deerbrook Editions, 2014)
Centaur
Launched in 2023, Centaur's motto is "Lit Half Civilized, Half Wild". This quarterly online journal specializes in hybrid-genre pieces, 400 words maximum. Authors and artists published in Centaur will be featured on their Bookstore page, receive a small honorarium, and be nominated for prizes such as Best of the Net.
Center for Fiction
The Center's website features audio and video recordings of their events.
Center for the Art of Translation
This California-based literary organization promotes the translation of world literature into English. Their main programs are TWO LINES, an annual journal that features English translations of creative and scholarly work side-by-side with the original texts, and Poetry Inside Out, a unique program offering schoolchildren the opportunity to write and translate poetry between two languages.
Cerise Press
This international online journal of literature, arts, and culture has published such authors as Tess Gallagher, Dorianne Laux, Yusef Komunyakaa, Victoria Chang, Richard Jackson, and Mahmoud Darwish (translated by Fady Joudah). They are open to submissions in photography, art, and poetry, including translations in French, Chinese, and Spanish. Send query by email before submitting prose.
Certain Doorways
By Jessica Goody
Doorways are a metaphor
for transience, transformation, opportunity.
The two-faced god Janus controlled the doorway
between past and future, a cosmic stage scrim.
Behind each wooden portal,
between brass digits and flowerpots,
lives occur. Auras of lamplight illuminate
domestic scenes like something in a play.
Curtains billow like sails against the windowpane.
Coats are heaped on pegs
and kicked-off shoes are scattered.
Umbrellas stand dripping, upended along the wall.
A cat stares from a window,
an all-knowing glow in its green eyes.
A door is a blind eye,
glassless and impenetrable.
A closed door is a haven, a cave
guarding the privacy of its occupant,
a friendly fortress, a retreat, a cocoon
of calming silence, encouraging contemplation.
Every house is a box filled with heartbeats,
footsteps, history, a potpourri of voices.
The old trees lining the street bear witness
to their gossip, their comings and goings.
As I pass, I consider the geometry of every door:
Narrow windowpanes, light glowing through stained glass,
the mouth-flap of the mail slot, the gleam of knob and hinge,
the relationships that shift and evolve with every entrance and exit.
It is human nature, when one encounters a box,
an eagerness to look inside and discover its secrets.
The most basic desire is the one to open the door,
to step, inside, secure in the knowledge of arriving home.
Cervena Barva Press
This new literary press with connections to the Cambridge, Mass. poetry scene was founded by Gloria Mindock, longtime editor of the Boston Literary Review. Ms. Mindock says, "The press solicits poetry, fiction, and plays from various writers around the world, and holds open contests regularly for its chapbooks, postcards, broadsides and full-length books. I look for work that has a strong voice, is unique, and that takes risks with language. I encourage queries from Central and Eastern Europe." Subscribe to their free monthly email newsletter to read author interviews and find out about upcoming readings and new plays being produced around the country.
Chant of a Million Women
By Shirani Rajapakse
My body is a temple, not
a halfway house you enter for
temporary shelter from
the heat and dust swirling through trees.
It's not a guest house to book a room, spend
a night on your way to someplace else.
Not a transit lounge
to while away the hours until
your next flight to fantasy seeking
greener pastures.
My body is my temple.
Enter with reverence.
Keep your shoes at the door your
hat on the step. Bring flowers as offering.
Garlands of jasmine wound tight, pink
lotus piled up high on a tray, petals opened,
lips inviting, alluring.
Place oil lamps on the floor.
Let the light guide the way, chase away
shadows trying to hide in gloomy corners.
Burn sweet incense, let the perfume linger
on the air, climb on the tail of a
gust of breeze
and travel unhindered.
Murmur sutras to supplicate.
Sing songs of praise.
Call out my many names amassed
down the ages.
Place those trays of fresh fruit,
succulent, ripe and oozing, at the side.
My body is my own.
Not yours to take
when it pleases you, or
use as collateral in the face
of wars fought for your greed, or zest to own.
Not give to appease the enemy, reward
the brave who sported so valiantly in the
trenches, stinking of blood and gore.
It's not a product.
Not something to bargain, barter for goods
and services, share with friends,
handed around the table,
a bowl of soup, drink your fill,
use and abuse as you please.
Don't adorn me in expensive silks and gold,
and gift to the Gods, or
wrap me up in a shroud,
imprison me, maim my thoughts
that shout to get out.
No religious decree, no social pressure,
you have no right to own.
It's mine and mine alone and you have
no authority to take it away from me.
Character Naming Tips and Resources at the Kindlepreneur
Digital marketing blogger Dave Chesson a/k/a the Kindlepreneur shares links to his favorite character name generator websites, as well as advice on picking the right name for your character's age, time period, personality, and book genre.
Charley Says Give Me Your Heart
By Francine Witte
It is gentle,
and I want to know it.
First thought is run,
but I've been alone
so many months.
I stretch
my arms to see
if they still reach
another human being.
And they do.
Charley says
put out the light
and he swoops down
with a force
even time
doesn't have.
I'm a young girl
compared to the Earth,
and I've seen animals
shred each other's skin
in the name of hunger,
the one crime everyone forgives.
Next morning, light
tears me up like a canine tooth.
I am alone,
although Charley is here.
He turns to me,
and simply says give me your heart.
It is mine now
and later
I might
want it.
Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs
By Johann Hari. This meticulously researched history book reads like a thriller, with vivid characters and political intrigue. British journalist Hari unearths the junk science and racist panic behind the criminalization of addictive substances, exposes the brutality of American prisons, and profiles communities from Vancouver to Portugal where legalization is working. His takeaway findings: Drugs don't cause addiction, trauma and isolation do. Prescribing maintenance doses to addicts in safe medical settings not only cuts crime dramatically, it even reduces addiction over the long term.
Chiasmus.com
Chiasmus is "a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases." Dr. Mardy Grothe collects exemplars of the art. We especially like this one, relayed by John F. Kennedy in 1956: http://www.chiasmus.com/mastersofchiasmus/kennedy.shtml
Chicago Literary Hall of Fame
Founded in 2008 by the Chicago Writers Association, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame maps the city's literary heritage with links to bookstores, journals, and historic places. They also offer competitions for local writers. Their resources are a good place to start planning your publicity outreach for a book launch in the Chicago area.
childplay
By The Poet Spiel
you learn to touch the knob with your eyes closed
so you may believe it cannot hurt you—twisting it silently—
like you are not touching it at all
you learn to release the latch
by pressing your small body against such a heavy door—delicately—
so the hinges will not groan like he makes them groan
you learn to shift your tiny feet whisperlike—
the way you imagine an angel might shift its wings—
as if your feet never touch the floor
while he is in his deepest sleep
you learn to become as invisible
as a grass snake escaping the garden—
so you may play in the dark
you eventually learn—
even in sunlight—
not to cast a shadow
—but before all this
you had to learn
not to scream
#
First published in the 2013 Ascent Aspirations Anthology
Children’s Book Publishers Open to Direct Submissions
This list posted in 2024 at the writers' resource site Authors Publish profiles 55 presses that accept un-agented submissions of picture books, middle-grade, and/or young adult literature.
Children’s Books on the Disability Experience
The American Library Association has compiled this bibliography of books for young readers that portray emotional, mental, or physical disability experiences, most published between 2000-2008. Visit their website for guidelines for the Schneider Family Book Awards, a free contest honoring an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Children’s Diversity and Justice Library
Rooted in values of equity and compassion and hosted by the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Children's Diversity and Justice Library empowers young people to celebrate diversity and seek justice in their lives and communities. Browse their online catalog for book recommendations in 12 categories: African American, Bodies & Abilities, Cultures & Traditions, Diversity, Gender, Families, Hispanic/Latino/Spanish, Justice, LGBTQ+, Refugees & Immigrants, Religion, and Women & Girls.
Children’s Guide to Poetry
Brief, easy-to-understand discussion of short poetic forms such as the haiku, cinquain, and sonnet, with links to lessons and examples.
Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market 33rd Edition
"In this book, you'll find more than 500 listings for children's book markets, including publishers, literary agents, magazines, contests, and more. These listings include a point of contact, how to properly submit your work, and what categories each market accepts." Published on January 11, 2022 by Writer's Digest Books.
Chill Subs
Chill Subs is a free searchable database of submission opportunities for creative writers. Their most extensive category is literary magazines, with over 500 publications that can be filtered by selectivity, demographics (e.g. youth or LGBTQ writers), response time, and "vibe". They are also building up their listings of contests, residencies, and resources.
Chill Subs List of Magazines That Publish Young Writers
Writing resource site Chill Subs posted this list on their Instagram in 2024, with 43 journals that regularly accept work by authors under 18. Some, like Lunch Ticket and Gigantic Sequins, also publish work by adults, while others are youth-only.
chixLIT
Magazine by and for girls ages 7-17, aims at empowering young women by publishing their creative writing and artwork.
Choice of Words
By Valerie Nieman
My father and I
each became single
in the same year.
He is bereft,
robbed of his happiness,
a widower, or widowman.
His life has come undone,
and he is adrift
among the wreckage.
The only words worthy
of his loss are Anglo-Saxon
uncensored howls.
*
But I am separated
on the way to divorce,
terms for a civilized
coming apart.
Separated like an egg,
occasionally messy
but with some care
the yolk rests aloft,
while the white goes
cool and sliding into the bowl.
*
In plain words,
it's all butchery,
whatever the parting:
disjointed, sundered, severed.
*
A separation is also,
however, embarkation.
We stand at the rail,
each waving a white handkerchief
at the sinking shore.
Christening the Dancer
Vital, innovative first collection of poems blazes with the agony and ecstasy of rebirth. "We stand in the fusillade,/refusing to camouflage ourselves./Every bullet swallowed turns to gold in our bowels."
Christine Rhein
Ms. Rhein became an award-winning poet after a career in mechanical engineering. Her poetry collection Wild Flight won the Walt McDonald First-Book Competition from Texas Tech University Press. Visit her site for sample poems and ordering information.
Christopher Fielden’s Links to Writing Critique Services
Fiction writer and digital marketing expert Christopher Fielden's blog features a list of links to services, both free and paid, where you can get feedback on your writing.
Christopher Fielden’s Writing Advice and Competitions Listings
The blog of Christopher Fielden, author of the thriller Wicked Game and numerous short stories, includes several pages of useful resources for fiction writers. In addition to Fielden's writing advice and editorial services, there are links to the top English-language competitions for short stories, unpublished novels, and published and self-published books.
Cider Press Review
CPR also offers a poetry manuscript contest which accepts online entries.
CipherJournal
Online journal of literary translation seeks creative approaches to poetry and prose by classic and contemporary authors. The editors say: "We believe in the place of translation to inspire stronger literature; without cross-fertilization, no growth can last. We aim to focus on literary translation in its broadest sense, cracking open this often-neglected field by melding the invisibility of the translator with the identity of the artist. We will achieve this by publishing creative works of art & literature that call attention to the process of translation. We will also include reviews of translated literature—both new and old—with a special emphasis on the merits of the translation."
circle
by Jess Chua
this negative cycle
where nothing changes
is a spiral of denial
time for me to start anew
leave everything behind
including you
Civil War Navy Magazine
CWNM is also looking for poetry written in fresh, original language.
Classism in Literature
Managing Editor Annie Mydla consults North Street Book Prize judge Ellen LaFleche on classist tropes we commonly see in contest entries, why they're harmful, and what to do about it.
Interested in social justice in writing? See also the previous post on Exploitation Versus Representation.
When it comes to troubled representation in literature, classism is a top offender—and can be among the hardest to self-edit for. Class-discriminatory ideas are entrenched in our society and in our writing. Consider the following real-life examples from entries we've received:
The introduction of a book written during the COVID-19 pandemic takes for granted that "we were all stuck at home", disregarding the experience of millions of lower-income people with front-line jobs who didn't have the luxury of working remotely.
A book about a modern-day, early-career college professor depicts him owning a home outright and having the income and job security to take a lengthy trip around the world without a second thought, counter to the precariousness of academic work today.
The speaker of a poetry collection is a wealthy, middle-class man who quits his prestigious job to live in a mountain hut. The poems depict the speaker's decision as morally superior, but do not mention or explore the class dimension: the speaker is able to do this thanks to his wealth.
In all three cases, the problem lay not with the story or characters themselves, but with the unspoken assumptions about class that collapsed our sense of the book's authority. Each of these books would have been significantly stronger had class been brought into the open as an underlying condition, and its implications explored wherever they touched the plot and themes.
North Street Book Prize judge Ellen LaFleche has long been outspoken against classism in her book evaluations. In preparation for this blog post, I asked for her thoughts. Here are some of the classist assumptions Ellen has noticed most frequently in North Street entries, together with her commentary.
A low-income character can't bootstrap their way out of poverty, and the narrative shows that it's because they're too "stupid" or "lazy"
"It's really important to talk about/ask about an aspect of classism that is rarely acknowledged: the myth that someone is a failure or lazy or stupid if they can't bootstrap their way out of the working class. No matter how hard people try to bootstrap, the country still needs people to work at numerous low-paying jobs: short-order cooks, farmers, housecleaners, meatpackers, school bus drivers, etc. Meatpackers were among the hardest hit early in the COVID epidemic, but I haven't seen analysis of this very important story that includes a discussion of classism."
Education is depicted as an automatic solution for a character's poverty
"It's assumed that education is crucial to bootstrapping, but working-class people face huge obstacles with fewer educational resources. As a personal example, I worked full time while going to high school. Literally full time. 40+ hours per week. I had little time to study or do homework. I was always exhausted at school. I got home around 10:30 every night, and had to decide whether to sleep, do homework, or take a shower to wash off the restaurant smells that permeated my hair. I got by on 'coffee and anxiety'. The anxiety persists to this day and has led to serious health problems.
"The elite colleges are priced out of range for the working class. Predatory student loans have held back Gen X and Millennials, even those from middle-class backgrounds. Many Millennials have been priced out of owning a house, yet they get lambasted for buying a Starbucks coffee. And while Biden has been working to relieve these predatory loans, his efforts have been met with huge amounts of anger and controversy.
"Add in racism, sexism, ageism, and so on. All of which make bootstrapping that much harder."
Class mobility is as possible now as it was in mid-1900s America
"It's getting progressively harder to bootstrap in America. Think soaring rents, single parents working two jobs, and so on. The richer neighborhoods/states often have better schools, better health care, better nutrition, etc. Not to mention: access to generational wealth through inheritance. For many poor people, the death of a parent means spending money (cremation services, etc.) rather than inheriting it."
The protagonist encounters characters low-income characters and considers that their class status is their fault
"Working-class people suffer from the myth that the oppression they face is their own darn fault. I've been thinking about how my late husband worked most of his 40-year career as a gerontologist. Ageism is everywhere, and it's ferocious, but nobody ever walked up to an old person and blamed them for being 78. Who can help when they were born? Yet, working-class people are blamed and shamed: they didn't try hard enough, they weren't smart enough, they took drugs, etc.
"This blame is so deeply entrenched in all of us that it's often hard to see classism in a book even if I'm looking for it. One trope that is obvious is portraying working-class people with no teeth, living in trailer parks, and drinking beer on the stoop."
As Ellen's comments show, it can be hard to identify classism in books due to its cultural prevalence. But the benefits of resisting these tropes are significant. Authority, narrative depth, and relatability all blossom when stereotypes are challenged. So what can we do to identify and resist classism in our own work?
1. Keep an eye out for classism in other authors' work. Ellen shares her experience with J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy: "I was eager to read the book because of its focus on Appalachian poverty. I bought a copy at a secondhand bookstore. After reading about 50 pages, I had a strong urge to toss it in a dumpster. All the classist tropes are there. I was astonished but not surprised when he became the Republican nominee for Vice President. If you want to brush up on your skills at spotting classism in a book, Hillbilly Elegy is the perfect 'textbook' to do so. Hint: look for generational poverty being blamed on laziness and drug addiction—as if wealthy people are never lazy or high on drugs!"
2. Become familiar with the tropes. Tvtropes.com has extensive indexes of tropes relating to poverty, wealth, occupations, and class relations. Googling "class tropes" leads to many hits, too. You might be surprised how fun it can be to learn about tropes. Since I learned about tvtropes.com, "trope-scrolling" has become one of my top sources of edutainment.
3. For fantasy and sci-fi writers: Double-check your worldbuilding. Imaginary realms can sometimes be an outlet for classist assumptions that would be more easily identifiable in realistic settings. This article from Mythcreants has useful examples from popular entertainment: Five Signs Your Story Is Classist.
4. Ask how your character would feel if they read your work. If part of your plot or character depiction focuses on class or income, imagine yourself in their shoes. What assumptions did the text make? What could it be saying instead?
5. For older authors: Investigate your own assumptions about what life is like in the year of your story, especially if it's set in the present day. Some older authors grew up in environments that were more economically stable and might not have fully taken on board how times have changed (this turned out to be the case in the example about the college professor, above). If you're an older author writing about the world of the 2020s, it might be a good idea to do some research to find out whether the economic conditions you're giving your characters are realistic.
6. Look for intersections with other forms of literary exploitation. Classism often goes hand-in-hand with racism, sexism, ableism, and body-shaming. Examples from past contest entries include mocking working-class women for wearing cheap clothing and bold cosmetics; or depicting a character eating fast food as shorthand for being unrefined and uneducated.
If you find an exploitative trope, sniff around and you might find classism lurking close by.
Clayton Eshleman
We especially liked the poem on his website titled 'Deeds Done and Suffered by Light', which blends humor, philosophy and the macabre in a manner reminiscent of Ginsberg's 'Howl'. His book Conductors of the Pit, an anthology of surrealist and experimental verse, has just been reissued.
Clemens Starck
Clemens Starck's books include Cathedrals and Parking Lots: Collected Poems (Empty Bowl, 2018). Awards include the Oregon Book Award and the William Stafford Memorial Poetry Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. New York Times critic Dana Jennings calls him "an essential plainspoken poet of work". Critic Louis Simpson says, "The poetry of Clem Starck is an American Works and Days...This is the kind of poetry Whitman called for: an expression of the individual—original, moving, refreshingly unacademic."
