Calls for Submissions

Varied Deadlines

Join the Northern California Book Reviewers! The NCBR, a volunteer association, seeks prospective members based in California as jurors for the Northern California Book Awards, now in its 44th year. Nominating committees in Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction (General and Creative), Children's Literature (Younger Readers, Middle Grade, Young Adult), and Translation (Poetry and Prose) select the finalists and winners. NCBR members must have published three reviews in an established online or print publication. Editors at newspapers and publications that publish book reviews, children's librarians, book media hosts, and other book professionals are also eligible. To submit books for NCBA consideration, see: poetryflash.org/programs/?p=ncba. Joyce Jenkins, editor@poetryflash.org, (510) 612-3958, or (510) 525-5476.

Alta Journal is accepting submissions for poetry and fiction. They are committed to celebrating the literature of California and the West. They prefer poems thirty lines or less that convey a strong sense of place and emotion. For fiction, they prefer moving narratives 2,500 words or less. Submit through Submittable. They read all work within thirty days of submission. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.altaonline.com/about/a34431400/contact-us.

Santa Monica Review is accepting submissions for fiction and nonfiction. They publish literary short stories, essays, and interviews, and have a special dedication to publishing emerging and established writers from Southern California. Writers accepted for publication will receive copies of the journal, a journal subscription, and promotion by the journal. Submit through snail mail with an envelope and appropriate postage. A self-addressed, stamped envelope must accompany submissions. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.smc.edu/sm-review/submission-guidelines.html.

Peach Fuzz is accepting submissions for their October 2025 issue. They primarily publish written work and art in the erotic, but will accept any piece as it relates to the human condition. Payment for research-based articles and long fiction (1,500 word minimum) is $30; op-eds, short fiction and open verse (500-1,500 words) is $20; Poetry is $10 to $15; customized illustration is $20; all other artwork is paid at $10 to $15. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.peachfuzzmag.com/submit.

Submit by August 2025

Omnidawn is accepting submissions for its Poetry Open Book Contest. Judged by Jose-Luis Moctezuma. An "open" contest means you can be at any point in your publication career. It could be your first book, or your third, or fifth, or more. American citizenship is not a requirement. The winning entry will receive $3,000 and publication with twenty author copies. Fee: $30. Submit via Submittable. Deadline: August 16, 2025. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.omnidawn.com/contests/omnidawn-poetry-contests.

Women Who Submit Lit is accepting submissions for poetry, flash fiction, or essays that explore light—from the way morning light rewrites the familiar, to the quality of light that reveals before and after a storm. Women Who Submit wants work that understands light as both physical and celestial, science and movement toward possibility on the other side of darkness. Send to the Managing Editor, Jessica Ceballos y Campbell at blog@womenwhosubmitlit.org with the theme you are submitting under and the word "Submission" in the subject line (see website for themes). Email the piece as an attached .doc or .docx. If images are included, please do not send attachments. Include a short cover letter in the body of the email that states how you heard of Women Who Submit, your genre, where you reside, and a fifty-word bio. Contributors whose work is accepted will receive $75 per piece, upon publication. Deadline: August 23, 2025. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: womenwhosubmitlit.org/submit-to-us.

Off the Grid Press is accepting submissions for their Off the Grid Poetry Prize. Poets sixty-years-old and older may submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript (at least fifty pages) in English to be considered. Individual poems in the manuscript may have been previously published, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. The winning entry will be awarded $1,000, and publication, promotion, and distribution in print and audiobook formats. Reading fee is $25. Entries must be submitted through Submittable by August 31, 2025. Results announced in December 2025. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: grid-books.submittable.com/submit.

Sonder Literary is accepting submissions for their mini-issue, Dream Suite. Submit an original piece under 500 words accompanied by a blackout poetry version of the original piece. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScffzvV814IJ--qlDzwiFoOV8oMR0HPUNAFUOmGAprTY7QZTw/viewform.

ONLY POEMS is accepting submissions for their Bob Hicok Fellowship for Poets. The winner will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize; $1,000 in workshop credits; a 1-on-1 conversation with Bob Hicok; a full year to develop a new portfolio of poems; a lifetime membership to ONLY POEMS; space to share your work and process through a quarterly column; an in-depth post-fellowship interview, and a featured portfolio on our website and socials. Five finalists will receive $200 in workshop credits, and lifetime membership to ONLY POEMS. Submit five to ten pages of unpublished or previously published poetry by August 31, 2025 to be considered. The submission fee is $18. The winner will be announced November 2025 (for the 2026 fellowship). For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.onlypoems.net/bob-hicok-fellowship-poets.

Telluride Institute is accepting submissions for the Fischer Prize. Poets may submit their poems to be considered. Each poem must be a single file. The base price for poems is $12 per piece with an additional $8 fee for feedback. The winner will be awarded $1000 and five finalists will also receive $250. Contest winners may also be selected to read their poetry for the Bardic Trails Zoom poetry series. To submit, please use their online submission form or by snail mail to Write Talking Gourds Poetry Program, P.O. Box 160, Norwood, CO 81423 with an extra $10 mail processing fee. Deadline to submit is August 31, 2025. Failure to adhere to the guidelines listed on their website will result in a $10 resubmission fee. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.tellurideinstitute.org/fischer-cantor/fischer-prize-submissions.

Submit by September 2025

The Academy of American Poets is accepting submissions for their Academy of American Poets First Book Award. Previously unpublished poets without commitments to publish a book-length collection may submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript (48 to 100 pages) in English to be considered. Individual poems in the manuscript may have been previously published, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. The winner of the prize will be awarded a $5,000 first-book publication prize, publication by Graywolf Press, an all-expenses-paid, six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center, distribution of their winning book to thousands of Academy of American Poets members, and promotion in American Poets magazine, the Academy's newsletter, and Poets.org. Reading fee is $35; simultaneous submissions are permitted. Submit online by September 15, 2025 to be considered. The contest will be judged by poet Brenda Hillman, In a Few Minutes Before Later. The winner will be announced by April 30, 2026. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: poets.org/academy-american-poets/prizes/first-book-award.

Fractured Lit is accepting submissions for their Elsewhere Prize. Submit one to two previously unpublished flash micro fictions (100 to 1,000 words) that make the familiar strange or the strange familiar. Self-published work is ineligible. The winner of this prize will be awarded $3,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively. All entries will be considered for publication. Reading fee is $20 and multiple submissions are welcome with an additional reading fee. Submit online by September 14, 2025 to be considered. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: fracturedlit.com/2025-elsewhere-prize.

The Branches: A Journal of Literature and Philosophy is seeking submissions for their Fall 2025 issue on the theme of VOICE. Submit previously unpublished visual or written work. Prose has a 1,500-word maximum and Poetry/Art has a four-piece maximum. Submit online by September 13, 2025 to be considered. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.thebranchesjournal.com/submissions?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email.

Ex Ophidia Press is accepting submissions for their Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Poetry Contest, named after the founder of the press. Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript (50 to 100 pages) in English to be considered. Individual poems in the manuscript may have been previously published, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. The winner of this prize will be awarded $2,000, ten copies of the book, and an author discount on additional copies. Nine finalists will receive a copy of the winning book. Reading fee is $25; simultaneous submissions are permitted. Submit online by September 15, 2025 to be considered. The winner will be announced in January 2026. Poet Felicia Zamora, I Always Carry My Bones, will select the 2025 winning manuscript and nine finalists. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.exophidiapress.org/contest.

California State University, Fresno is accepting submissions for their Philip Levine Prize for Poetry. Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript (48 to 80 pages) in English to be considered. Individual poems in the manuscript may have been previously published, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. Translations and previously self-published books are ineligible. The final judge, Jake Skeets, Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers, is currently serving as the third Navajo Nation Poet Laureate. The winning manuscript will be awarded a $2,000 prize, publication by Black Lawrence Press, twenty-five author copies of the published book, and a public reading at California State University, Fresno. Reading fee is $25. Entries must be submitted through Submittable by September 30, 2025. Results announced early February 2026. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: cah.fresnostate.edu/english/centers-projects/levineprize/index.html.

Terrain.org is accepting submissions for their annual contests in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. For poetry, submit one to five unpublished poems as a single document. Poet Blas Falconer, Rara Avis, will judge. For fiction, submit one unpublished story (up to 5,000 words), or up to two unpublished flash fictions (up to 1,000 words each). Novelist Samantha Dunn, Failing Paris, will judge. For nonfiction, submit one unpublished essay or article (up to 5,000 words), or up to two unpublished flash essays (up to 1,000 words each). Essayist, editor, and nonfiction writer Doug Carlson, At the Edge, will judge. The winner in each category will be awarded $1,000 and publication. Finalists in each genre will also receive publication and a $200 prize. All submissions are considered for publication. The cost to submit is $20 per story, essay or article, or set of one to five poems. Up to three entries are allowed with each $20 fee. Submit online by September 1, 2025 to be considered. Winners will be announced December 2025. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines.

The Hive Poetry Collective is accepting submissions for their Annual Morton Marcus Memorial Poetry Prize. Poets may submit one poem (up to two pages in length) to be considered. The winner will be awarded $1,000 and an invitation to read their winning poem at the 16th Annual Morton Marcus Memorial Reading at UC Santa Cruz on November 20, 2025. The deadline to submit is September 30, 2025 and the submission fee is $18. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: hivepoetry.org/morton-marcus-prize.

Submit by October 2025

Winning Writers is accepting submissions for their 23rd iteration of both the Tom Howard and Margaret Reid poetry contests. Submit one to three poems in English in any style or genre to be considered for the Tom Howard Prize, or submit one to three poems in English that rhyme or have a traditional style for the Margaret Reid Prize. Poems must be 250 lines or fewer. The winning poems will be awarded a $3,500 prize and two-year $100 gift certificates for Duotrope. Ten awards of $500 will be given to Honorable Mentions and the top twelve entries will be published online. Reading fee is $25. Multiple submissions okay. Entries must be submitted through Submittable by October 1, 2025. Results announced on April 15, 2026. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: winningwriters.com/our-contests/tom-howard-margaret-reid-poetry-contest?utm_source=pw&utm_medium=magazine&utm_campaign=tompoetry-pw-magazine-202507.

Submit by November 2025

Perugia Press is accepting submissions for their Perugia Press Prize for poetry. Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript (45 to 85 pages) in English to be considered. Individual poems in the manuscript may have been previously published, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. Translations and previously self-published books are ineligible. The winning manuscript will be awarded a $2,000 prize, publication by Perugia Press, twenty author copies of the published book and a fifty percent discount on additional copies, editorial assistance, support from the Perugia Poet Liaison, review and entry copies to a number of post-publication contests, book launch events with a travel stipend, ongoing publicity, and exposure through local and national book fairs. Reading fee ranges from free (for BIWOC poets) to $30. Simultaneous submissions okay. Entries must be submitted through Submittable by November 15, 2025. Results announced by April 1, 2026. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: perugiapress.org/contest.

SmokeLong Quarterly is accepting submissions for their SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest. Submit unpublished or previously published micro fiction or nonfiction (250 words or fewer) to be considered. The grand prize for this contest is $1,000; the second prize is $500; the third prize is $300; and finalists will receive $100. All prizewinners and finalists will be published in the December 2025 issue of SmokeLong. Check their website for submission details. Submissions will be closed on November 15, 2025. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.smokelong.com/the-smokelong-grand-micro-contest-2025.

Baltimore Review is accepting submissions for creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry starting August 1, 2025. In this window, please review the editors' preferences and tips to writers. They do not charge a fee to submit non-contest work. Payment for submissions is either a $50 Amazon giftcard or $50 through Paypal, and a complimentary print issue of the journal where the work appears. Submit on Submittable. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: baltimorereview.org/submit.

Submit by December 2025

Meadowlark Press will be accepting submissions for their Birdy Poetry Prize starting on September 1, 2025. To be considered, submit a full-length (55 to 90+ pages preferred) poetry manuscript by the deadline. Poems in the manuscript may be previously published in journals and/or anthologies, but not in full-length, single-author volumes. The winner of this prize will be awarded $1,000 cash, publication by Meadowlark Press, and fifty copies of the completed book. The deadline to submit is December 1, 2025; the fee is $25. For more guidelines and to submit, visit: www.meadowlarkbookstore.com/birdy-poetry-prize.

—POSTED AUGUST 2025