Calls For Submissions — April 2015
On the first Wednesday of each month, Literary Mama shares a list of current calls for submissions. Good luck sending your work out into the world!
~~~~~
Mamalode announced an April theme of “Simplify.” This online magazine pays for publications. Find more information on how to submit here. Submissions are ongoing, including topical pieces not related to the theme.
~~~~~
Zone 3 Press has announced a Creative Nonfiction Book Award offering a prize of $1,000 and publication. Applicants are asked to submit one manuscript copy (150-300 pages) and a $25 reading fee payable to Zone 3 Press (includes a one-year subscription). Additional information about eligibility and submission can be found here.
Deadline: April 15, 2015
~~~~~
saltfront, “a literary journal for a new type of ecological storytelling,” is seeking “the newest and most vibrant eco-lyrical expressions, new ways to tell stories of what it means to be human amidst the monumental ecological transformations taking place on this planet.” Several works (not exceeding 3500 words total) may be submitted to saltfront@gmail.com. Specific guidelines and sample publications are here.
Deadline: April 15, 2015
~~~~~
Brevity is running a special May issue dedicated to gender. They are looking for flash essays (750 words or fewer) that explore “how gender is learned during childhood, lived over the entire course of a life, and how our changing understanding of gender shapes the way we experience ourselves and others.” You can learn more and submit your work here.
Deadline: April 20, 2015
~~~~~
The Monthly is accepting personal essays (nonfiction, first-person prose) of up to 900 words for their summer literary issue on the theme “This Left Me Speechless.”
“Please interpret ‘This left me speechless’ in any way that resonates for you. A distinct, compelling voice is what we’re after here, along with writing that is specific and personal.”
As a regional magazine, priority is given to California East Bay writers. To submit, paste your essay into an email to editorial@TheMonthly.com and also attach it as a Word document. Include name, email, address, and phone number in the body of the email and at the top of the essay.
Deadline: April 27, 2015
~~~~~
The Poetry Foundation welcomes submissions to the 2015 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships.
Five Fellowships in the amount of $25,800 each will be awarded to U.S. poets between 21 and 31 years of age through a national competition sponsored by the Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. Applicants are asked to submit an approximately 250-word introduction to their work (not to exceed one page) and up to 10 pages of poems, in standard font and size [Times New Roman, 12pt]. Click here for more information on how to submit.
Fellowship winners will be announced in September 2015 and featured in an upcoming issue of Poetry magazine.
Deadline: April 30, 2015
~~~~~
Jane Eaton Hamilton is seeking submissions for an anthology about LGBTTQI battering called ‘Never Say I Didn’t Bring You Flowers.’
She is “searching for works of creative non-fiction, essays, poetries, cross-genre work and fictions about battering in LGBTTQI relationships,” and particularly “positive pieces about coming out of abusive relationships.”
3-5 poems. 1000-5000 words of prose. Simultaneous submissions ok; previously published submissions ok with credits listed. Send work to janeeatonhamilton (at) shaw (dot) ca. You can find more information here.
Deadline: May 1, 2015
~~~~~
Co-editors Susan Goldberg and Elan Morgan are seeking submissions for a new anthology called “How the Internet Saved My Life (when it didn’t nearly kill me)” in which “bloggers reflect on the maddening, essential, frivolous, life-affirming, soul-destroying complexities of life online.” They seek stories (1500-4000 words) of negotiating the complicated personal and political spaces of the World Wide Web.
Essays should be submitted in Microsoft Word-compatible format to submissions (at) schmutzie (dot) com. More submission information can be found here.
Deadline: May 1, 2015
~~~~~
Creative Nonfiction has two current calls for submissions on the themes of Becoming a Teacher and Weather.
Becoming a Teacher: For a new anthology, In Fact Books seeks true stories (under 4500 words) on the process of becoming a teacher and perspectives of elementary and secondary school teachers “recalling and reflecting on the most salient moments of their careers.” More information about submission guidelines is here. Deadline: April 6, 2015
Weather: For publication in an upcoming special issue, CNF seeks essays (under 4000 words) that go beyond idle chit-chat and explore the weather as a fundamental human experience that affects us all.
“Send us your true stories—personal, historical, reported—about fog, drought, flooding, tornado-chasing, blizzards, hurricanes, hail the size of golfballs, or whatever’s happening where you are. We’re looking for well-crafted essays that will change the way we see the world around us.”
Editors will award $1,000 for Best Essay and $500 for runner-up. There is a $20 reading fee. Complete submission guidelines here. Deadline: May 11, 2015
~~~~~
Ploughshares‘ 2015 Emerging Writer’s Contest is now open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish or self-publish a book. The winner in each genre will be published in the Winter 2015-16 issue and awarded $1,000. Fiction and nonfiction: under 6000 words; poetry: 3-5 pages. The $24 fee for contest entry includes a one-year subscription and is waived if the submitter is a current subscriber. Find out more about eligibility and submission here.
Deadline: May 15, 2015 at noon EST
~~~~~
If and Only If: A Journal of Body Image is currently seeking submissions related to body image, the body, and eating disorders for their Summer 2015 issue.
“The writing that is most likely to find a home in If and Only If is honest, engaging, and raw. We like risks, confessions, the unexpected. Expose yourself by giving us your truth, showing us your passion and making us feel alive.”
Submit poetry (up to 5 poems), artwork (up to 3 images), and fiction/creative nonfiction (up to 600 words) here.
Deadline: May 15, 2015
~~~~~
Breakwater Review, a literary publication run by MFA students at the University of Massachusetts Boston, is proud to announce The Peseroff Prize: publication and $1,000 for a single poem.
Submit up to three poems and a $10 entry fee; no restrictions on length, content, or form: “it’s all poetry.” All submissions will be considered for publication; winners will be announced in September. Submissions can be sent through the submission manager here.
Deadline: May 15, 2015
~~~~~
DatingTrenches seeks submissions (500-4000 words) for its collection, “Rendezvous in the Rough: Essays from the 21st Century Dating Trenches.”
“[W]e seek witty, wry, raw, insightful, and/or (yes, always) humorous essays (be they happy-ending, painful, regretful, or even tragic) about dating in the 21st century. Above all, they need to be real. We seek personal, but not solely anecdotal, writing. We want to know the affect and effect of putting yourself out there in a technological dating pool. Essays should be literary and creative in nature, rather than expository.”
Submit the essay and a brief bio in the body of an email and as an attachment to datingtrenches@gmail.com using the subject line: Rendezvous in the Rough — [Author First and Last Name]. For suggested topics and more submission information, see here.
Deadline: May 30, 2015
~~~~~
The HerStories Project is now accepting submissions for their next anthology, So Glad They Told Me: Women On Getting Real About Motherhood.
They are looking for “well-crafted, true accounts” of 500-3500 words “that explore and examine the reality of motherhood, including struggles with the transition to new motherhood and other ‘growing pains’ that occurred with subsequent transitions, such as the birth or adoption of additional children, the start of school, a special needs diagnosis, or even the onset of an empty nest.” The compilation will aim “to provide readers with a real, honest glimpse at what modern motherhood is like, with an emphasis on sharing our truths and supporting one another.”
You can find more information about the project, submission guidelines, as well as the link to submit your work here.
Deadline: May 31, 2015
~~~~~
WOW! Women On Writing invites entries of short fiction (any genre, between 250-750 words) to its Spring 2015 Flash Fiction Contest, sponsored by BookBaby. “The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, good storytelling, and provide well-rewarded recognition to writers of all levels.”
Email submissions only; reprints are okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual email. Writers retain all copyright to their stories. Open internationally. $10 entry fee. Critique option also available.
See here for more details on guest judges, prize packages, and submissions.
Deadline: May 31, 2015
~~~~~
Helen : A Literary Magazine announced an open call for submissions.
“We’re looking for short stories, poems, essays, personal narratives, artwork, graphic narratives, and photography for our upcoming animal issue… a collection of various work that awakens our inner beasts.”
“Show us your beasts, your friendly creatures, your creatures of habit. Make us love your pets and the animal in each other. Let us hear the song of your people in your words. Reveal your inner animal in pictures that will take our breath away. Make us laugh, make us cry, but most importantly … send work in that makes us roar.”
They will pay $10 for short stories and essays, $2 for poems. Click here to submit.
Deadline: August 1, 2015
~~~~~
Ashland Creek Press is receiving submissions for the second annual Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature.
“The contest is open to unpublished, full-length prose manuscripts, including novels, memoirs, short story collections, and essay collections. The winner will receive a cash award of $1,000, a four-week residency at PLAYA, and an offer of publication by Ashland Creek Press.”
“New environmental literature” refers to literary works that focus on the environment, animal protection, ecology, and wildlife. For complete writers’ guidelines, see here.
Deadline: September 1, 2015
~~~~~
Brain, Child Magazine is looking for exceptional flash fiction (up to 800 words) related to being a parent or having been parented. Please submit complete stories to editorial@brainchildmag.com. These are paid pieces.
~~~~~
Sweatpants & Coffee, “an online magazine dedicated to comfort, creativity, inspiration, and fun” is seeking personal essays (2000 words max), fiction (2500 words max), and poetry (up to 3 poems). Please submit authentic, well-crafted writing with “lyrical turns of phrase, stories about transformation and redemption, of traveling into dark places and emerging in the light.” More specific submission information for each genre can be found here.
~~~~~
xoJane.com is looking for new writers with distinct voices to write original articles on topics such as love and relationships, sex, entertainment, fashion, beauty, home, DIY, tech, family, or health. “We’re especially interested in personal stories told from a raw, honest perspective.”
xoJane.com seeks submissions for various columns: “It Happened to Me,” which is a first-person story about something unusual, interesting, or downright amazing that happened in your life; experiential “I’ll Try Anything Once” stories; Worst Roommate Ever; Cheaters (stories of cheating or being cheated on); and Gross Out Fridays (personal essays about something gross that’s happened to you).
Send all story ideas to pitches@xojane.com.
~~~~~
Vela is an online magazine committed to helping close the byline gender gap that publishes longform nonfiction written by women.
“We are particularly interested in narrative nonfiction, essays with a research and/or reporting component, and literary journalism with a unique, compelling voice.”
They also run a series of columns that accept short-form submissions, including a new one, Mind the Gap, which will look at storytelling through a gender lens. You can learn more about how to submit here.
~~~~~
The editors of Mothers Always Write, a new online literary magazine for mothers by mother writers, are seeking submissions of poetry (up to 3 poems) and essays (up to 2000 words) as well as micro nonfiction (<300 words) about the parenting experience. Also newly seeking unpublished blog posts about parenting for our blog. Please see writers’ guidelines for specific requirements at the website.
~~~~~
LitroNY, a US seedling of London-based Litro Magazine, is accepting poetry, art, nonfiction, and fiction submissions for their online journal.
“We want stories that find new ways to view the world: the compelling and controversial, the funny and the fantastic, the sad and the strange.”
You can find out more about who they are and what they’re looking for here. Any questions or pitch ideas can be sent to onlineeditor@litrony.com.
~~~~~
The Literary Reflections department at Literary Mama seeks “writing by mother writers, both established and emerging, focused on the creative process. We’re looking for first-person reflections with an intellectual as well as personal focus.” You may choose to write about your reading, writing, or professional life. Submissions should range from 700 to 3500 words, and more information can be found here.
~~~~~
The Mid celebrates life in “the messy middle.” They seek essays about “parenting, relationships, work, wellness, and fun,” and feature content on raising tweens and teens, caring for aging parents, 1980s and 1990s pop culture—”and coming to terms with the way that we both love and hate having reached this age.” They pay for original content, but will also republish older work to give it a wider audience. You can submit here, and be sure to mention “Literary Mama” in the referral box!
~~~~~
STIR Journal publishes provocative essays (1500-3500+ words), interviews, and videos that tackle controversial issues. They’re looking for pieces that “combine a strong personal narrative with a layer of well-researched reportage.”
“Talk about issues that make you passionate. We prefer compassion to judgment, hope to cynicism, strength to anger. Be persuasive yet open-minded, thorough but concise. Avoid polarizing rhetoric that shuts people down. Pose questions. Make room for discussion. Share your vision for change.”
Submit previously unpublished, completed work during the first week of the month to submit@stirjournal.com. STIR pays $250 upon publication. For suggested topics and detailed submission information, see here.
~~~~~
Full Grown People seeks personal essays “that explore what it means to be an adult.” Topics can run the gamut from romance, family, health, career, aging loved ones, and more. But the common theme is “the sense that we’re all feeling our way along.”
Submissions should be 800-4000 words, have a literary quality, and be sent in the body of an email to submissions (at) fullgrownpeople (dot) com. Essays may be considered for publication in future anthologies. You can read more about FGP’s mission here and its submission process here.
~~~~~
Role Reboot seeks “essay-style, first-person narrative storytelling and cultural critique about current events from folks who are rethinking ‘tradition,’ breaking through stereotypes, and bucking expectations about their roles.”
Send submissions (600-1200 words) as a Word document along with a short author bio (2-3 sentences) to managing editor, Meredith Landry, at meredith@rolereboot.org. More information can be found here.
~~~~~
Literary Mama is seeking photo submissions to pair with our blog posts. If you would like to feature your evocative, creative photography on Literary Mama, please send jpeg images to: lmblogcontact (at) literarymama (dot) com. Photo credits always given.
~~~~~
If you have information on calls for submissions not listed here that you think Literary Mama readers would appreciate, please e-mail us at lmblogcontact (at) literarymama (dot) com.