Calls for Submissions — October 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!
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Synaesthesia Magazine is open to submissions of stories, poems, essays, art, photography on its latest theme — Sound.
“Tell us how you swore you felt the air change around you in a thunderstorm. How the world muted when you submerged your head underwater. How she was always within the sound of the train whistles. How you knew he’d gone when you couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore. Tell us if you can’t hear it, how you feel it. Show us how noise divides and unites, how it fills your world with textures. How you communicate. Show us wavelengths and underwater acoustics, the patterns of speech and the purple of ultrasound. Transform us into mp3 players and headphones. Soundproof the world. Lay out the timbre and beats, the blue-grey echoes. Open your mouth and let it out.”
Click here for complete guidelines and the link to submit.
Deadline: October 12, 2015
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Split Lip Magazine, an online affair for literature, music, fine art and film, is open to fiction and memoir submissions (500-3,500 words) without a fee for the first two weeks of October.
Fiction: “Send us your best piece of unpublished literary, mainstream or experimental writing.”
Memoir: “Give us the dirty lowdown. An unpublished dirty lowdown, please. We love memoir that shines a new light on the human condition.”
For more information about the magazine’s aesthetic, please see here, and for complete submission guidelines in each category, see here. The link to submit can be found here.
Deadline: October 14, 2015
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The deadline has been extended for The Missouri Review’s 25th Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize in Fiction, Essay and Poetry. $5,000 award in each category. Submit no more than 25 typed, double-spaced pages for fiction and nonfiction. Poetry entries can include any number of poems up to 10 pages in total. $20 entry fee entitles entrant to a one-year subscription to TMR in print or digital format. For complete guidelines and the link to submit, click here.
Deadline: October 15, 2015
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River Teeth’s Literary Nonfiction Book Contest is a yearly national contest conducted by River Teeth’s editors and editorial board to identify the best book-length manuscript of literary nonfiction. It is open to manuscripts between 150-400 pages long, double-spaced. All manuscripts are screened by the head editors of River Teeth. The winner will receive $1,000 and publication by The University of New Mexico Press. Final Judge: Andre Dubus III.
Deadline: October 15, 2015
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Mash Stories has announced the new keywords for its latest flash fiction competition: “taxes,” “vinegar,” and “carpenter.” $100 for the winning story, max. 500 words. Learn more about how to submit your original fiction creation here.
Deadline: October 15, 2015
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Red Hen Press and The Los Angeles Review are pleased to announce the third annual Wild Light contest. A prize of $1,000 and publication in The Los Angeles Review are given annually for an exceptional poem. Amy Uyematsu is the final judge. Submit up to three previously unpublished poems of up to 200 lines each, simultaneous submissions accepted, $25 entry fee. For more information and the link to submit, please click here.
Deadline: October 15, 2015
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The Timberline Review is a new literary journal that welcomes new work from established and emerging writers. Short fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, poetry — tell us about life! Tell us a story! Submissions should aim for a word count of up to 5,000, or up to five poems per entry. Previously unpublished work only; simultaneous submissions accepted. Payment: $25 and a copy of the journal. For more detailed submission guidelines and the link to submit, please click here.
Deadline: October 15, 2015
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Sequestrum is pleased to announce their New Writer Awards, in which over $500 will be awarded to up-and-coming writers and poets. The contest will accept both prose (fiction & creative nonfiction) and poetry submissions, with first-prize winners selected in each genre. $15 entry fee.
Fiction and nonfiction: entries up to 10,000 words accepted.
Poetry: Up to to three pieces per submission. Most Sequestrum poems average under 40 lines.
Please see the contests page for full guidelines.
Deadline: October 15, 2015
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Women’s Studies in the Library: Case Studies of Innovative Programs and Resources is seeking “one or two chapters from U.S. practicing academic, public, school, special librarians, LIS faculty, sharing practical know-how about what works for women’s studies programs and resources. Chapters are encouraged that could apply to more than one type of library: useful to public, school, special, LIS faculty. Proven, creative, case studies encouraged. How-to chapters based on experience to help colleagues; innovative workshops, outreach, grant resources highly valued.”
Book Publisher: McFarland. Carol Smallwood and Lura Sanborn, co-editors. No previously published, simultaneously submitted material. Compensation: one complimentary copy per 3,000-4,000 word chapter accepted no matter how many co-authors, or if one or two chapters: author discount on more copies. Please e-mail titles of four proposed chapters, each described in a few sentences to smallwood@tm.net along with a brief bio on each author, and name in the subject line.
Deadline: October 28, 2015
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Glimmer Train‘s Very Short Fiction Award is now open to all writers. Any story that has not appeared in a print publication is welcome. Maximum length: 3,000 words.
1st place wins $1,500, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 10 copies.
2nd place wins $500 or, if accepted for publication, $700 and 10 copies.
3rd place wins $300 or, if accepted for publication, $700 and 10 copies.
$18 reading fee. Please click here to submit.
Deadline: October 31, 2015
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Under the Gum Tree is hosting one month of open (no-fee) submissions. They seek “true stories told without shame” — personal essays, memoir, and creative nonfiction stories (2,000 words max) that reveal authentic vulnerability, provoke conversation, or examine a universal truth. Complete submission guidelines can be found here.
Deadline: October 31, 2015
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The Fifth Annual StoryQuarterly Fiction Prize is open to submissions of up to 6,250 words, double-spaced. The winner will receive $1000, and the winner, first runner-up and second runner-up will be published in StoryQuarterly 49.
Judge: Mat Johnson, author of the novels Loving Day, Pym, Drop, and Hunting in Harlem, the nonfiction novella The Great Negro Plot, and the comic books Incognegro and Dark Rain. $15 submission fee. Please click here to submit.
Deadline: October 31, 2015
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Multiples Illuminated: An Anthology of Stories and Advice from Parents with Twins, Triplets and More seeks personal essays and/or advice (800-3,000 words) on “experience with infertility, pregnancy and the first couple of years of raising multiples.” The anthology will be edited by Megan Woolsey and Alison Lee, both writers and mothers of multiples (triplets and twins respectively). “Make us laugh, cry, think, and help us learn about multiples through your words.”
Original essays only. Compensation: $40 per essay. For more information on suggested topics and to submit, please click here.
Deadline: November 1, 2015
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Six Hens seeks women writers’ “true stories about the moments that define and redefine.”
“Our writers take us to the places and events that changed what they believe in, changed how they see their place in the world, and changed them. Through their storytelling, they change us. We are looking for powerful, first-person nonfiction about the moments that segment life into before and after.”
Submissions should be previously unpublished, no longer than 2,000 words. Featured writers will receive $50. For more specific submission guidelines and to submit, please click here.
Deadline: November 9, 2015
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Whiskey Island is specifically seeking creative essays (500-6,000 words) this reading period. Poetry, fiction, and flash fiction welcome too. “Our editors look for writing that surprises with language and plot. We love experimentation, and we love to be entertained.”
Simultaneous submissions accepted, but please identify them as such in your cover letter. No multiple submissions or previously published work. Please keep fiction submissions to 8,000 words or less. For more submission info, please click here.
Deadline: November 15, 2015
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Creative Nonfiction is open for submissions on its newest theme, Childhood, “seeking new essays that explore the joys and struggles, the indignities and infinite possibilities of childhood.”
“Maybe you lived Where the Wild Things Are or during The Wonder Years; maybe you’re a parent or a pediatrician or a marketer of breakfast cereals, witnessing young people discover themselves and the world. Whatever your perspective, we’re looking for well-crafted true stories that examine kid-dom in all its messy, exhilarating, turbulent glory.”
$20 reading fee; $25 to include a 4-issue subscription to Creative Nonfiction (US only)
$1,000 award for Best Essay; $500 for runner-up
For submission specifics and to learn more, please visit the site.
Deadline: November 16, 2015
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Narrative Magazine’s Fall 2015 Story Contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers.
“We’re looking for short shorts, short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction . . . As always, we are looking for works with a strong narrative drive, with characters we can respond to, and with effects of language, situation, and insight that are intense and total. We look for works that have the ambition of enlarging our view of ourselves and the world.”
Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest. $23 submission fee. First Prize is $2,500, Second Prize is $1,000, Third Prize is $500, and up to ten finalists will receive $100 each. All entries will be considered for publication.
Deadline: November 30, 2015
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A River & Sound Review, “an online literary journal that features the best in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and humor” is open for submissions.
Simultaneous submissions are considered; writers are limited to one submission for each genre per reading period. Only submit previously unpublished manuscripts. Literature in translation is welcome too. Fee of $2 for each submission. Contributors paid upon publication: $25 for poetry, $50 for prose. Click here to submit your work.
Deadline: November 30, 2015
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The Normal School is now open to online submissions of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. For detailed submission guidelines and the link to submit, please click here.
Deadline: December 1, 2015
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The Postpartum Year: Tales From The Trenches in the First Year of Motherhood is a new anthology open for submissions! The book will be curated by Kellie Edson, host of the bi-weekly “Postpartum Podcast,” and seeks “well-crafted personal essays of prose relating to your first year of motherhood.”
“The postpartum year is one of such fundamental change in a new mom’s life, and one that is given so little thought in our modern society. This anthology is to bring to light this special, joyful and at times excruciatingly hard time by sharing our stories and experiences to bring comfort and let each new mom who reads it know that she is not alone.”
Please send previously unpublished (except on your own blog) pieces of 500-3,500 words embedded in the body of your email and a short bio (50-100 words) to Kellie Edson postpartumyear at gmail.com.
For more details about possible topics, payment, and other information, please see here.
Deadline: December 1, 2015
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Clockhouse calls for submissions in poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction for its 2016 issue. “We welcome all submissions, but are especially interested in diverse voices and nontraditional narratives. We seek writing that attempts to understand our place in the world and responsibility to each other.” The reading period is from August 15th-December 1. Writers can submit here.
Deadline: December 1, 2015
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Mud Season Review is accepting submissions for its second print issue. “We seek deeply human work that will teach us something about life, but also about the craft of writing or visual art; work that is original in its approach and that in some way moves us.” Mud Season Review’s online issues are published monthly and feature fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art. Its first print journal was released earlier this year. For submission guidelines and the link to submit, click here.
Deadline (for print issue): December 1, 2015; online submissions read year-round
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Ploughshares‘ reading period is now open. Submit fiction and nonfiction (less than 6,000 words) or poetry (1-5 pages at a time). Excerpts of longer works are welcome if self-contained. Significantly longer work can be submitted to the Ploughshares Solos series. $3 service fee; digital submissions preferred. For more specific guidelines and the link to submit, click here.
Deadline: January 15, 2016 at Noon EST
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Granta is now accepting submissions through April 1. “Fiction, non-fiction, poetry and art will be considered for both our print and online editions, unless you specifically state otherwise in your cover letter. We remain open to submissions of photography and art year-round.” Only original material; most submissions are between 3,000-6,000 words. Please click here for more information and the link to submit.
Deadline: April 1, 2016
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Boulevard is now open to submissions. It strives “to publish only the finest in fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. While we frequently publish writers with previous credits, we are very interested in less experienced or unpublished writers with exceptional promise. If you have practiced your craft and your work is the best it can be, send it to Boulevard.” Simultaneous submissions are fine, but work must be previously unpublished. Please click here for more detailed guidelines and to submit.
Deadline: May 1, 2016
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Brain, Child Magazine is now open to opinion/op-ed submissions (up to 1,200 words), seeking “a concise, strong opinion or angle on a timely or noteworthy issue related to the theme of motherhood/parenting. For example, questioning whether children should be labeled as gifted in elementary school.” Please click here to submit.
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Submissions are now open for F(r)iction, an imprint of Tethered by Letters.
“F(r)iction publishes short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, in addition to a selection of graphic stories. However, we are proud to include works that break from traditional forms and push the accepted boundaries of literature. If your writing is different, strange, or challenging, then we want to read it.”
$5 submission fee; authors are paid $10 per printed page of accepted work. Click here to learn more about F(r)iction, and here to submit.
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Ashland Creek Press is now accepting short story submissions (2,500-7,500 words) for Among Animals, a book-length fiction anthology focused on animals.
“We’re looking for stories of how the lives of animals and humans intersect, particularly in regards to the conservation and protection of animals. We are not seeking stories about hunting, fishing, or eating animals—unless they are analogous to a good anti-war novel being all about war.”
Previously published stories are fine, as long as you have retained the rights to reprint your story in an anthology. No deadline; stories will be accepted on a rolling basis. Click here to submit your story, along with cover letter, brief author bio and acknowledgment(s) if the story has been previously published.
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Youshare is seeking true, personal stories about life-shaping events or experiences – in the form of written essays, audio and video essays, and photo essays – from storytellers of all skill levels.
Length: Around 1,000 words are recommended for print submissions; a 2-minute minimum is recommended for audio and video essays; a 5-photo minimum is recommended for photo essays. Please click here to learn more and submit.
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Catapult is accepting pitches for essays, fiction, interviews, and profiles. Email: morgan.jerkins@catapult.co. Contributors are paid.
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Front Porch is now accepting flash fiction, short stories, poetry, and creative nonfiction. “Please submit only one piece of fiction and nonfiction at a time (up to or around 5,500 words), and no more than five poems at a time as DOC or RTF files only. Make sure your name and the page number appear on each page of the document.” For more information and the link to submit, please click here.
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The Open Bar, the online arm of Tin House, is now open for submissions via Submittable. The Open Bar is a daily blog featuring previously unpublished fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, comics, and more. Please submit only one complete story or essay (word count dependent on category), or up to three poems at a time. Please include a cover letter with a brief bio, word count, and an indication of intended theme, if applicable. For more detailed information and to submit, please click here.
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Submittable is interested in “anything to do with the publishing industry or digital media,” as well as “book reviews and eclectic essays on any topic as long as they are of high literary quality.” They’d also “love to hear from people with contrary opinions to any posts on our blog and/or critiques and criticisms of our services. We’ll absolutely publish opinions that suggest there’s a better way.”
Submissions should be 1,000 words or less (600-800 is a good sweet spot), accompanying artwork may be included. $50 per post is payable upon publication. For more information or to submit, please click here.
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Another New Calligraphy publishes limited-edition books and CDs and seeks “work that successfully balances originality and sincerity. We love music and writing that simply exists within its own space, rather than making concessions to genre or attempts at mass accessibility. Given the nature of our books and the philosophy that guides their production, we typically prefer shorter written material . . . We are currently on the lookout for more music, short-form nonfiction writing, and quality work by marginalized voices.”
For more information on how to submit or to explore the site, please click here.
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Anthropoid, a literary collective and magazine of the humanesque, welcomes submissions to its second issue on the theme of Folk. “Give us the folk, and folkiness, of this earth. Our cultures, our curiosities, our habits, our categories, our commonalities and our differences.” Folk will consist of general submissions as well as several mini-folios organized around sub-themes. For specific information about the various theme categories and submission guidelines, please see here.
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The Midwest Review is a Madison-based regional publication that seeks submissions from writers from Wisconsin and the surrounding states, and all writers who have some tie to and admire this part of the world.
“We are looking for thoughtful and thought-provoking writing and visual art that examines, interprets, and redefines the wide spectrum of life, past and present, in the Midwestern heartland. We are especially interested in new and emerging voices. We accept unsolicited submissions of original poetry, creative nonfiction, scripts, short stories, and visual art from June through September through our online submission system.”
No mailed submissions or previously published work. Simultaneous submissions okay, but notify immediately if work is accepted elsewhere.
Prose/Scripts: up to 5,000 words, double-spaced, Times New Roman or similar book typeface.
Poetry: 1-5 poems or 10 pp.
Photography/Art: 1-5 images
Submission fee: $5
The 2016 book will debut April 15-17 at the Writers’ Institute in Madison. Please click here to submit.
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For The Vignette Review‘s autumn issue, they seek “exemplary examples of short fiction [300-900 words] that incorporate the beauty of the season. We’re looking for short, evocative stories that depict the beauty in the mundane and the quality of small moments.” For more guidelines and to submit, please click here.
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Compose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing seeks fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art by both emerging and established writers. They publish two digital issues per year, in spring and fall. Learn more about Compose here and submit via their Submittable page here.
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Mothers Always Write, an online literary magazine for mothers by mother writers, is seeking submissions of poetry (up to 3 poems) and essays (up to 2,000 words) about the parenting experience. Tell us your beautiful story about motherhood. Please see writers’ guidelines for specific requirements at the site.
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The Profiles department at Literary Mama seeks “profiles of writers who are mothers, or writers who write about motherhood (who may or may not be mothers themselves), or writers who have something to say to mothers.” Submissions should range from 750 to 2,500 words and may be Interview (Q&A) or narrative format. More information can be found here.
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The Columns department at Literary Mama seeks columns contracted for 11 installments (1,000-1,600 words) that are published either monthly or bimonthly.
This blog post from our senior columns editor provides details about the three essential ingredients to a successful column pitch: hook, roadmap, samples. You can review our current and retired columns to make sure your idea is one that covers new ground in new ways. Most of all, we want a story that is uniquely yours–one that you can’t wait to tell, and that we can’t wait to read.
Please send queries and submissions to lmcolumns (at) literarymama (dot) com in the text of an email. Include the word “Submission” in the subject line, and allow one to three weeks for a response.
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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 3,500 words, and more information can be found here.
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Literary Mama is seeking photography submissions to pair with the posts on our site. We are looking for photos that offer unique perspectives on motherhood, and we like photos that are artful, versus those that appear staged, and that encourage us to reflect.
If you would like to feature your evocative, creative photography on Literary Mama, you can review complete submission guidelines here and send .jpg images to: lmphotos (at) literarymama (dot) com. We always give photo credits and provide a link back to the photographer’s website.
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Finally, keep in mind that, now that it is fall, submissions are open at the following places, among others:
Brevity
Fourth Genre
Rathalla Review
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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.