Calls for Submissions- August 2017

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!

LITERARY MAMA OPPORTUNITIES

Profiles

The Profiles Department department 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. A sample of what the editors are looking for can be found in this post.

See our Submissions page for guidelines.

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Columns

The Columns department seeks a columnist and a pitch for columns which are contracted for 10 installments and are published either monthly or bimonthly. Word count: 1000-1600 words.

See this blog post from our columns editors for details about the three essential ingredients to a successful column pitch: hook, roadmap, samples. Review our current and retired columns and make sure your idea is one that covers new ground in new ways. We see plenty of not-so-fresh column ideas (of the working-mom-quits-job-turns-stay-at-home-mom-discovers-joys/challenges/heartbreaks-of-parenting variety) . . . so we’re especially looking for columns that reflect a diverse view–racially, ethnically, sexually, emotionally, physically–you name it. But 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 three sample column submissions to LMcolumns (at) literarymama (dot) com in the text of an email. Include the word “Submission” in the subject line of your email, and allow one to three weeks for a response.

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Literary Reflections

The Literary Reflections department at Literary Mama seeks essays 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, which explore some aspect of reading or writing as a mother. Please send submissions of 1500-3500 words to LMreflections (at) literarymama (dot) com in the text of an email (no attachments), along with a brief cover letter. See submissions guidelines for further information, and check out our recent blog post to get a feel for what we publish.

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After Page One

We are currently seeking guest posts for our After Page One series: 300- to 500-word guest posts that motivate, inspire, and encourage other mama writers about getting started, returning to a writing project, integrating writing with motherhood, reading, or having a positive attitude. Send submissions to LMblogcontact (at) literarymama (dot) com in the text of an email, and include the words “After Page One” in the subject line. Visit our submissions page for guidelines.

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Photography

Literary Mama seeks 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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CONTESTS

Writer Unboxed has published their Summer 2017 edition of Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time. Click here to peruse their list.

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The University of New Orleans Press is looking for full-length fiction manuscripts, either novels or short story collections, for the third annual Publishing Lab Prize. The selected author will receive a thousand dollar ($1,000) advance on royalties and a contract to publish with UNO Press. The work does not have to be regionally focused. There is no word limit. There is no limit on subjects covered. More information, including the Submittable link, can be found here. 

Deadline: August 15, 2017

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Blue Earth Review’s annual flash fiction contest is now taking submissions. Submit up to two flash fiction pieces of no more than 750 words each. $5 fee. Winner will receive $500 (1st place), $250 (2nd place), and $100 (3rd place) plus publication in an upcoming issue of Blue Earth Review. Submittable link can be found here. 

Deadline: August 15, 2017

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Louisville Literary Arts is pleased to announce submissions are now being accepted for the Fourth Annual Writer’s Block Award in Creative Non-Fiction. One first place winner will receive $500, an opportunity to read at the 2017 Writer’s Block Festival in Louisville, KY on October 21, and publication in The Louisville Review, the literary magazine of Spalding University’s nationally distinguished low residency MFA in Writing program. Details here.

Deadline: August 15, 2017

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Hippocampus’ Remember in November Contest for Creative Nonfiction is open for submissions. Previously unpublished memoir excerpts and personal essays of up to 4,000 words are eligible. $1,000 grand prize, plus complimentary registration to HippoCamp 2017; $150 runner-up; three $25 honorable mentions. $12 entry fee. . To submit, click here.

Deadline: August 31, 2017

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Diode Editions announces its Chapbook Contest. A winner will be announced by September 30, 2017. We may publish more than one chapbook. The winning chapbook(s) will be published by March 1, and will be launched at the 2018 AWP Conference in Tampa. The winner(s) will receive $250.00, and 25 author copies. Select poems will appear in Diode Poetry Journal. If the winner(s) can attend AWP, they will have the opportunity to participate in an off-site reading, and also in signing sessions at the Diode Editions booth. The winning chapbook(s) will be perfect bound, and will have an ISBN number. Click here for guidelines.

Deadline: September 15, 2017

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CONSEQUENCE Magazine seeks submissions for the 2017 Women Writing War Award in Poetry.  $250 Honorarium and Publication. The contest is open to women and those identifying as women.  Entries must capture the nuances of the cultures and consequences of war. More info here.

Deadline: October 1, 2017

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Scribes Valley Publishing is accepting submissions for our 15th annual short story writing contest. All finalists are published in an annual contest anthology, both print and electronic versions. Monetary prizes for top 3 finalists are based on contest participation – the more entries we receive, the bigger the prize amounts. In addition, all finalists receive a copy of the finished anthology.
Thrill us…amaze us…entertain us…TELL US A STORY! Details available on the site.

Deadline: November 30, 2017

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ANTHOLOGIES

Gehenna & Hinnom Books is currently accepting submissions for the Year’s Best Body Horror 2017 Anthology. Find out more here. 

Deadline: August 15, 2017

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Shame: An Anthology is seeking submissions of poetry, fiction, and essays on the theme of “shame” edited by Charlie Bondhus, winner of the Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry and poetry editor of The Good Men Project. Submission guidelines are here.

Deadline: August 31, 2017

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The National Girls and Women of Color Council, Inc. is seeking submissions for personal stories, poems, essays and other short stories to be featured in an upcoming anthology, Our Voices Our Stories: Advancing, Celebrating, Embracing and Empowering Girls and Women of Color. Find out more here. 

Deadline: September 30, 2017 

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Palamedes Publishing seeks submissions for the forthcoming anthology, Finding Light in Unexpected Places: An Anthology of Surprises. We seek previously unpublished, creative essays that explore the beauty and light found in moments of sorrow and discomfort as well as in those of the everyday. We seek artfully written pieces on the unexpected moments that surprise, inspire and console with their beauty. Click here for guidelines.

Deadline: December 1, 2017

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AUGUST DEADLINES

Mom Egg Review is seeking your best poetry, fiction, and creative prose for its sixteenth annual print issue. This is themed issue focused on Mothers Play/Mothers Work. Unrelated submissions won’t be considered. Full guidelines here.

Deadline: August 15, 2017

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The Matador Review is an online literature and art quarterly that seeks poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art submissions for its Fall 2017 issue. They invite all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text). An “alternative” magazine, their purpose is to promote work that is thought-provoking and unconventional; “we want the controversial and the radical, the unhinged and the bizarre; we want the obsessive, the compulsive, the pervasive, the combative, and the seductive.” Submission information can be found here.

Deadline: August 31, 2017

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SEPTEMBER DEADLINES

Jenny Magazine has announced a special theme issue dedicated to women writers and artists. For specific information on how to submit drama, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, please visit their Submittable page.

Deadline: September 1, 2017

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Willow Books, the literary division of Aquarius Press, will be reading unsolicited manuscripts through September 1, 2017. This reading period is only for writers who have not previously been published by Aquarius Press/Willow Books. Our mission is to develop, publish and promote writers typically underrepresented in the market, and the reading period is open to all writers of color. Poetry manuscripts should be in the 48-96 page range, and fiction/nonfiction should be no longer than 180 pages. Scholarly titles covering literature, arts and the humanities are also accepted, but they should be in proper format (MLA, APA, etc.). Details here.

Deadline: September 1, 2017

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Seshat is looking to release its inaugural issue this fall. We are accepting poetry, fiction (up to 7500 words), and non-fiction (up to 7500 words). No submission fee. We are mostly looking for young writers who are homeschooled or have been homeschooled in the past. However, all ages (13+) are encouraged to submit to this journal. Visit our site for more details.

Deadline: September 1, 2017

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KiCam Projects, an Ohio-based indie publisher focused on true stories of survival and recovery, is seeking book proposals and manuscripts from women who are facing (or have faced) addiction as individuals or within their families. Target pub date is 2019. Please send a synopsis, author bio, one-paragraph marketing summary, and a table of contents and/or sample chapters to submissions (at) kicamprojects (dot) com. More info available here.

Deadline: September 2, 2017

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Creative Nonfiction is currently seeking experimental nonfiction (up to 4500 words) for the “Exploring the Boundaries” section (“experimental,” “boundaries” … yes, we know these can be loaded terms). We’re looking for writing that is ambitious, pushes against the conventional boundaries of the genre, plays with style and form, and makes its own rules. As always, we have only one absolute rule: nonfiction must be based in fact. All essays submitted will be considered for publication; this is a paying market. Full guidelines/Submit here.

Deadline: September 11, 2017

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Embark, a literary journal designed for novelists, is seeking submissions for its second issue. Released quarterly, Embark features the openings of unpublished novels, each one accompanied by a brief author’s statement. For more information and submission guidelines, please visit our website.

Deadline: September 15, 2017

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OCTOBER DEADLINES

Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry seeks up to five unpublished poems. We publish poems on the basis of their artistic excellence, rather than on the basis of the author’s professed creed or because the subject matter is explicitly Catholic.  The poems in this journal convey God’s presence in any number of ways—by exploring the intersection of matter and spirit, by depicting the struggle between belief and doubt, by questioning the faith, being surprised by it, taking joy in it, even finding humor in it. Details available here.

Deadline: October 1, 2017

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ROLLING SUBMISSIONS

Akashic Books (of Go the F*ck to Sleep fame) seeks submissions for their Terrible Twosdays series. “Are you a parent going through the Terrible Twos? Did you live through them and survive? Terrible Twosdays is a place to commiserate over the unending shenanigans of your Darling Children (as the online parenting communities say).” Stories must not exceed 750 words. E-mail your submission to info@akashicbooks.com. More details here.

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Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine seeks essays, stories, and poems that capture the essence and immediacy of the beast. Animal is a subject-specific litmag, however loosely we define “animal.” In some form, we want a literal beast as a central character or motif. Render on the page what is both alien and familiar about an animal, animals, or being “animal.” Our submission guidelines are available here.

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Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies is open to submissions in all disciplines. Assay “publishes the best peer-reviewed critical scholarship of creative nonfiction to provide a space for work that elevates the genre in an academic setting.” For more information on what they are looking for and how to submit, please click here.

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Balloons Literary Journal (BLJ) is looking for extraordinary poetry, short stories, and artwork for our young audience (12+). BLJ publishes twice a year and we are open to all themes and generations of writers and artists. Every issue is downloadable for free as a PDF and contributors get a print copy as payment. Please visit the site for details.

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Break the Parenting Mold seeks submissions of syndicated or original posts. This is an online community dedicated to strength in community, lifting up parents of children with special needs and offering support by sharing individual stories. Lists (at least 400 words) or essays (at least 600 words) welcome. Submission guidelines available here.

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Carbon Culture Review is a journal at the intersection of new literature, art, technology and contemporary culture. They are seeking well crafted poetry, short stories, memoir and reviews. We are open to all types of work on any subject matter, but are also actively seeking submissions on technology, culture and art and also fiction related to those themes written by or for or about women and mothers and or family. Submission guidelines are available here. 

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CARBON will begin publishing books from our in early 2018. They are looking for poetry, novels, short fiction, memoir and experimental full length books on any subject, in any genre. Submission guidelines available here.

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Compose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing is reading for its Spring issue. They publish work by both emerging and established writers and accept fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, articles on the craft of writing—both practical and inspirational, interviews with established writers, literary agents, editors, etc., excerpts from traditionally published works, photography and artwork. Detailed submission guidelines can be found here.

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The Cossack Review is open for submissions of creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and works in translation. We seek thoughtful, surprising writing, and have published meaningful work from both well-known and emerging writers since 2012. As always, we especially seek submissions from women, people of color, and new and diverse writers. Submission guidelines available here.

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C&R Press is open for submissions and are accepting compelling literary work about all aspects of life which includes fiction and memoirs about women and families. They are accepting submissions for novels, essay collections, short story collects, memoirs, cross-genre, and experimental manuscripts. Submission information is available here. 

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Edify Fiction seeks submissions for our new online magazine Edify Fiction.  This magazine’s focus is positive/uplifting work.  We accept short stories, flash fiction, poetry, photography, and digital art. Guidelines available here.

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The Establishment “is looking to unearth overlooked stories, produce original reporting, and provide a platform for voices that have been marginalized by the mainstream media. And yes, we want your humor, wit, and good old-fashioned satire, too. We publish originally reported features, interviews, long-form journalism, personal essays, and multimedia of all shapes, sizes, and creeds.” All contributors paid. Details on how to pitch can be found here.

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The Fem, a literary journal that publishes feminist, diverse, and inclusive creative works, is now open to feminist poetry, fiction, and nonfiction submissions. For detailed submission guidelines, please click here.

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The Forge Literary Magazine seeks fiction and nonfiction submissions. While we prefer work below 3,000 words, we will consider work of rare quality up to 5,000 words. Since we are a diverse, international group of writers, our tastes and styles are wide-ranging. Submissions are read anonymously year-round. We publish one prose piece per week selected by a rotating cast of editors. Our selection is competitive, so send us your best! There is no fee to submit, and we pay all contributors. Visit our website for better insight into who we are and what we publish.

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FunnyInFiveHundred dares you to fit as many laughs into 500 words as possible. We are seeking funny stories in under 500 words (are you a closet Mark Twain?), and humorous monologues in under 500 words (like a stand-up routine). Submissions are accepted year-round. Visit the submissions page to submit your work.

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Glass Poetry Press is interested in poetry submissions that enact the artistic and creative precision of glass. “We are not bound by any specific aesthetic; our only mission is to publish collections of high quality writing. All styles, forms and schools of poetry are welcome, though easy rhymes and ‘light’ verse are less likely to inspire us. We like poems that show a careful understanding of language, music, passion and creativity.” To submit, click here.

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Gazing Grain Press is an inclusive feminist press, and we are currently seeking submissions of reviews or micro-reviews of new chapbooks (poetry, prose, or hybrid) for publication on our blog. More details can be found here.

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Helen: A Literary Magazine is looking for flash fiction that opens us up in unexpected ways, poems that enrich us, artwork and photography that challenge and dazzle us, and essays that pour us into your world. We pay token to semi-professional. For more information, visit the submissions page.

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HerStories Project is looking for the kind of writing that moves us, amazes us, and makes us wish that we had written it ourselves. As always, we to highlight the best of women’s voices and show the uniqueness and commonalities of women’s experiences, We are continuing with our monthly themes – October’s is fear and November’s is gratitude. Please visit our site for submissions guidelines.

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In Flux is looking for artists and writers to submit that exhibit facets of everyday moments, thoughts, and dreams. Contributing artists and writers must be of high school or college age. Because it is a relatively new magazine, submissions will be confirmed within 24 hours and the staff is easily contactable. This is a good opportunity to creators to get feedback on their work as well as get exposure. More details on submission requirements are on our website.

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KERNPUNKT Press is currently reading manuscripts of literary fiction, art & architecture, science fiction, historical fiction, and children’s books. For more information and the link to submit, please click here.

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Lady Literary Magazine seeks fiction, creative nonfiction, essays on writing, and poetry from female writers of all ages. Fiction and creative nonfiction: up to 5,000 words; essays: up to 3,000 words; no word limit for poetry. As a literary magazine, they are seeking complex, multi-layered work. No genre fiction or simultaneous submissions. More information here.

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Mamalode magazine pays for publications. Submissions are ongoing, including topical pieces not related to the theme. You can submit here.

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Maximum Middle Age, a new online pop culture magazine for women of a certain age, is open for submissions in various categories (“Hardcore Feminist,” “The Domestic Arts,” “Back in the Day,” “Beauty Industrial Complex,” “Family Ties,” and Dr. Feelgood”). For more information on each category and submission details, click here.

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Minola accepts poetry, fiction, essays, reviews, and visual art exclusively from those who identify as women. They are “interested in the fearless and unsympathetic, featuring only work that goes where others are uncomfortable or afraid to go, collecting raw yet well-crafted work to create a space that is honest about the otherwise under-represented female experience.” Specific submission guidelines can be found 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 their writer’s guidelines for specific requirements and suggested monthly themes at the site.

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Motherwell is a publication that tells all sides of the parenting story. It is open to submissions of personal essays (up to 1,200 words), opinion pieces (1,200 words), dialogues (1,000 words), and dilemmas (800 words). Original submissions only. Paying market. Co-founders: Randi Olin and Lauren Apfel. For genre-specific submission guidelines, please visit their Submittable page.

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MUTHA Magazine, exploring real-life motherhood from every angle, at every stage, seeks personal essays (~1,500 words), comics / graphic narratives / photo essays, and select interview pitches. MUTHA is a labor-of-love for all involved and does not pay at this time; ongoing open submissions; no reading fees; may take 3-4 weeks to respond to submissions (sometimes faster!). Editor: Meg Lemke c/o muthamagazine@gmail.com. Submission guidelines available here.

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Mystery Weekly, a short story mystery magazine, seeks short mysteries (1,000-10,000 words). Mystery Weekly Magazine presents crime and mystery short stories by some of the world’s best established and emerging mystery writers that run the gamut from cozy to hardboiled fiction. Click here to read guidelines and submit.

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One for One Thousand is a virtual literary journal that pairs photography and prose. Prose: Submit 1,000-word stories or narrative essays inspired by a photo. Photography: Submit photographs that inspire an opening into a potential world. Seeking submissions in both categories; they will include hyperlinks to the photographer’s or writer’s chosen site. They also provide a unique workshop and editing process that involves all of their editors with live commentary. More information on how to submit here.

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Outsider Poetry, a literary review for those who create with mental illness, are self-trained, or create art and poetry that challenges cultural and academic norms, is accepting submissions at all times and is open to poets of all experience levels. Submit work via email to either Olivia Suchs at oliviasuchs@gmail.com or Thomas Vaultonburg at vaultonburg@gmail.com. Editors will respond to submissions promptly.

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Peacock Journal a daily online literary & arts magazine highlighting beauty in all its forms, seeks original submissions of Fiction, Art, Photography, Translations, Non-Fiction and Poetry from emerging and established writers and artists. We want to see your most beautiful work, however you define the term. Submissions are read year round. For more details please visit our Guidelines page, and for our aesthetic preferences, please read our About page. Submit work here.

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Pithead Chapel, an online journal of gutsy narratives, seeks essays (personal, memoir, lyric, experimental, etc.) under 4,000 words. For detailed submission guidelines and to submit, please see here.

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Poor Yorick, A Journal of Rediscovered Objects brings back into light the skeletons hidden in our cultural closets.  The free online journal welcomes writing and other creative productions about lost objects and images of material culture: sculptures and paintings in the back rooms of museums or in dusty corners of public spaces; murals forgotten in plain view; lost photographic archives and restored films; newly discovered letters or manuscripts; knickknacks in attics; oddities and curiosities in misbegotten sideshows; forgotten stories that remind us of pasts that we cannot afford to forget.

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A Quiet Courage is an online literary journal that publishes microfiction and poetry 100 words or less (titles not included). “We seek your absolute best writing. No deadlines, submissions rolling. No submission fees. We are a non-paying market. We consider writing in Spanish too, with exact English translations. We have a special affinity for Holocaust-related writing, but we consider writing about all kinds of subjects and topics.” For more information and specific submission guidelines, please click here.

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Raising Mothers seeks well-written, original first-person essays (1,000-2,000 words max) about anything and everything related to motherhood. All are welcome, but an effort is made to highlight the voices of multiracial/multi-cultural families and mothers of color. Essays should have a literary quality: strong, engaging work without it being at all academic. Excerpts of larger works and poetry (up to 3 poems) also accepted. At this time, they are specifically looking for pieces on step-parenting, raising a child with special needs, and adopting children of color. Submission details can be found here.

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SmokeLong’s Global Flash Series is now open to stories 600 words or fewer in French, Spanish, Danish, and German. Submit here.

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Storm Cellar, a national literary arts magazine with a special emphasis on the Midwest, is open to submissions of unpublished, amazing writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, flash) and images. They’d love to see more art, photos, diagrams, graphic narratives. For more detailed information, please visit their Submittable page.

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Tethered by Letters launched Dually Noted, an online group writing project. New and established writers from around the world come together to create one ongoing story through weekly installments. Those interested in adding the next section of the story should submit their 500-word addition before the next Friday night deadline. The editor will publish the best submission at the beginning of each week. For submission specifics and formatting information, please click here, and submit here.

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Succor Press is launching a literary journal called Succor, and fiction submissions are open for the inaugural issue. There’s no theme or particular focus beyond well-crafted writing. Submissions are free and payment in copies. For submission specifics, please click here.

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The Sunlight Press is an online digital literary journal for new and established voices and is open to submissions of nonfiction, fiction, poetry, book reviews and photography. For submission specifics, please click  here.

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Under the Gum Tree is a quarterly literary arts magazine that seeks creative nonfiction submissions year-round. Details available here.

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Vela publishes nonfiction written by women. They are particularly interested in narrative nonfiction, essays with a research and/or reporting component, and literary journalism with a unique, compelling voice. For more detailed information, please see their submission guidelines.

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Waxwing is reading submissions of poetry, short fiction, and literary essays until May 1; translations of poetry and literary prose are read year-round. Poets should send one to five poems, and prose writers one story, essay, novella, or novel chapter (or up to three short-short stories or micro-essays). Submission details here.

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Willow Springs is open to nonfiction submissions all year. Contributors paid $100 per published long-form prose piece, $40 for short prose. $3 reading fee for all submissions. More info here.

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The Woven Tale Press welcomes submissions of poetry, fiction, memoir, flash fiction and the experimental. We also consider literary works accompanied by original art images. For more information, our submission guidelines are available here.

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400 and Falling Press seeks submissions of poetry, fiction, visual art, creative non-fiction and criticism for the first issue of its Journal of the Arts and Literature. Submission guidelines available here. 

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ZiN Daily is the living document and online creative laboratory of ZVONA i NARI in Istria, Croatia, where literature happens every day. ZiN Daily is specifically looking for boundary- and border-crossing work that illuminates underexplored connections as we build a common platform for mutual solidarity and exchange. We seek visual arts, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in English, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, French, German, and Italian. Translations are strongly encouraged. Submission guidelines are available here. 

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. —