June 2025 Markets Newsletter | | |
In this issue:
- "Create Vivid Settings This Summer" by Renee Roberson
- "On Submission with Woods Reader: Founding Editor Sally Sedgwick" interview by Jodi M. Webb
- Calls for Pitches
- June Deadlines: Poetry, Fiction, Playwriting, Nonfiction, Multigenre, Just for Fun
- Craft Corner: "It’s a Wonderful World: How to Create a Compelling World and Setting in Your Novels" by Julie Shackman
- Recent WOW! Features and Posts from The Muffin
- Success Stories from the WOW! Community
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Writers!
I often struggle to find my writing groove in the summer. This past year, I officially became an “empty nester” with two kids away at college from August through May. Their absence has given me more time to write. When the kids were younger, I had a hard time balancing my summer schedule with pool time, enrichment activities, and work. I’ve been freelancing or working remote for most of my career, so this is nothing new. But among the juggling, I embrace the opportunities for new ideas I always find during my summer breaks and travels.
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Last summer, we rented a home in the Boone/Blowing Rock area of North Carolina to help my son get acclimated in his new college town. My husband graduated from the same university, so he was excited to share some of his favorite hikes and waterfalls with us. Of course, being a true crime podcaster, I couldn’t help but think of the many people who’d gotten lost in the local forests, which are part of the Appalachian Trail. I began taking notes and produced Episode 105: Missing and Murdered in the High Country once we returned home.
You don’t have to travel far from home to get numerous ideas for your writing. Unique settings are all around us. Here are a few tips:
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Become a tourist in your hometown. Interested in writing about food and drink? Check out a few of your local restaurants and create a round-up of “The Five Best Cocktails and/or Appetizers on Main Street.” Look for any unique places that might be worth pitching to a lifestyle magazine (regional or local). Not long ago, I had a ghost tour company reach out to me, so I’ve already planned to take the tour and write about my experience. (As you can see from this blog post, I love to write about ghost tours!)
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Immerse yourself in setting. I live near Lake Norman, a man-made body of water in North Carolina with a backstory that’s always fascinated me. Engineers from the Duke Power Company built a dam on the Catawba River to provide hydroelectricity. When they did this, they flooded 32,000 acres of surface, including remains of a summer camp that opened in 1938, the site of the Battle of Cowan’s Ford, and one of the earliest cotton mills built in the mid-1800s and the surrounding village town. With houses, old homesites and highways, and even an abandoned airplane lurking beneath the water, there is plenty to spark the imagination. New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda lives in the area, and I imagine her book, Daughter of Mine, which takes place in a lake town where secrets are revealed once the water level in the lake drops, was inspired by our infamous body of water.
| | On Submission with... Woods Reader | | |
When he was a little boy, a cousin once described my home as “like Boy Scout camp, but with nicer bathrooms.” My little house is surrounded by forests, ponds, meadows and lots of wild animals. So when I stumbled across the writer’s guidelines for Woods Reader, a magazine described as “for those who love woodland areas,” it seemed like a perfect fit for my life. I quickly sold them an essay on my husband’s family replanting a forest in the 1960s followed by two articles concerning the public garden Longwood Gardens: one on the historical trees that were the foundation for the gardens, and one on the treehouses that were built in 2008. For me, it quickly became a spot to share nature writing and photographs that hadn’t been able to find a home. I found it easy to find ideas for Woods Reader because there are woods, in one shape or another, everywhere. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t live in the wilds like me. If you visit forests, parks, or even have one lonely tree in your neighborhood, it could be the source of an idea.
After all my success, I contacted founding editor Sally Sedgwick to share her thoughts about Woods Reader and nature with me. “When you think about all the different landscapes in our country, what comes to mind when you say a ‘wild space’? Often, that’s a woodland!” She used that belief to create Woods Reader, a magazine celebrating the woods in all its shapes and forms. Today she’s sharing how WOW writers can become a part of Woods Reader, which is a paying market!
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WOW: Thank you for being here today, Sally! Although I’ve had the pleasure of having my writing and photographs in Woods Reader several times, your background is a bit of a mystery for me. Can you tell us about how you started Woods Reader?
Sally: Woods Reader is what some would call “a labor of love.” After leaving a position as marketing director for a small hospital, I enlisted my eldest daughter to join me in starting a magazine. What kind of magazine? We wanted a nature-based magazine that would be interesting and beautiful. And we wanted one that anyone could submit to—even if they had never been published before. I had always loved writing and photography, but my early academics and career had been in science and business. After moving from a city to the deep northwoods and starting to write for a local county newspaper, I woke up one day and said, “I’m earning my living writing!” It was such a cool feeling.
WOW: Magical words we all dream of saying! The theme that ties every piece in Woods Reader together is that it is “a publication for those who love woodland areas.” Do you ever worry that having such a specific theme is limiting?
Sally: No, no, no. Not at all limiting. After all, who doesn’t love woodland areas? There are so many dimensions to the topic: wood itself and all the things that can be made from it and from other forest finds, woodland destinations, plants and animals that live in the forest, woodland hikes and the reasons to take them…we have even published one story on how to dress for a hike.
WOW: Are there any pitches that you see over and over and want to just tell writers “No more”?
Sally: As long as they are within our guidelines, we are open to submissions, even if we see many others on the subject. “Hiking” is one such topic, but there are so many ways to take a fresh look; one story we published was about a virtual hike where the author took along a disabled friend via pictures sent from his phone. “Forest Bathing” is another popular topic right now. We don’t print hunting stories and we try to stay away from forest management since we focus on the wild nature of the woods.
WOW: Is there anything you wish you could see more of in your submission pile? A type of writing, or maybe a geographical area? After all, the woods of Minnesota are very different from the woods of Hawaii.
Sally: That’s true, and differences in woodlands (with pictures) would be a great topic for a traveler/author! We like to see humor and stories that make connections with classical authors. We’re hopeful we can see more DIY stories on “goods from the woods,” and unusual structures (like skyscrapers) made from wood. We are always open to personal experiences. We would like to expand into book reviews and will be posting a list of books we would like to see reviewed. Our readers also like a bit of history in the magazine!
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“We love to feel that—at the end of a story or poem—we have a new way of looking at or appreciating something. ... We are not poetry experts, but publish poems that are enjoyable reading, are easy to understand, and have that special use of language that creates the Aha! moment for the reader.”
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WOW: So, a little bit of everything. Woods Reader features so many different types of writing as well as art. As you put an issue together, how do you decide what to include?
Sally: Thank you for asking this question. One of the best things about publishing is opening your inbox! We haven’t assigned issue topics, although we might in the future, so our content is somewhat driven by what is submitted. It’s interesting that often a theme will evolve organically as if a topic like “old trees” has spontaneously hit writers all at once. Readers respond to different types of writing, so we do try to balance poetry, imagery and prose…and topics like personal experience, factual information, philosophy, humor and travel destinations.
WOW: What are some things writers can do to make sure their submissions stand out?
Sally: We love to feel that—at the end of a story or poem—we have a new way of looking at or appreciating something. We are not happy to see misspellings or grammatical errors. We generally follow AP style due to a familiarity with it and the importance of having the whole magazine using the same style, but don’t base acceptance on it. Subject matter that obviously veers from our submission guidelines is usually rejected.
Regarding poetry: poets should realize that we are not a literary magazine. We are not poetry experts, but publish poems that are enjoyable reading, are easy to understand and have that special use of language that creates the Aha! moment for the reader.
WOW: I love the idea of creating an Aha! moment for readers. Tell us more about the images that are such a big part of Woods Reader. I’ve submitted photographs to accompany a piece of writing, but can artists just submit woods related images for possible use?
Sally: Absolutely, we accept submissions of any art that can be converted to print. We have had serendipitous submissions where one author’s work just seems matched to another’s visual art, but we also print standalone photos. We have printed images of art and textile works, and our summer issue will feature a wonderful colorful collage on the cover.
WOW: Can’t wait to see it. Since you publish quarterly, do you ever accept a piece but hold it for an upcoming issue because it fits better with that season?
Sally: We do accept out of season articles. We pay 2-3 weeks after acceptance, even if we are holding an article. Where that makes a difference for an author is that we release the story for printing elsewhere 6 months after publication. The author owns the copyright.
We are working on decreasing the turnaround time for communication with authors. That has been a function of staffing, and we are consciously trying to improve in that area.
WOW: Anything else you’d like to share about Woods Reader?
Sally: We try to be author-friendly. One of the questions we’re frequently asked is whether publication on a personal website is a prior publication and our answer is “no.” We ask for first rights for commercial use. If a piece is in a subscription-based online magazine, that is different, but we will also buy reprint rights for that special story!
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WOW: My last question is a bit quirky, but it’s been in my mind since I received my very first copy of Woods Reader. Why the unusual square format instead of the standard 7.5” x 10.5” of most magazines?
Sally: When we first started talking to our printer in 2017, we were looking for a size that they could do that would be easier to take along than the large magazines. We occasionally review that decision, but haven’t wanted to change it yet. Surprisingly, most people refer to our issues as “books.”
WOW: Don’t change it! I love the look of Woods Reader. The square format gives it a special feel, even before you open it up and start enjoying the content. Thanks for sharing with us and I have a feeling you’ll have lots of fun opening your inbox in the upcoming months.
| | My thanks to Sally Sedgwick for telling us more about Woods Reader. As each season blossoms, I find new ideas for Woods Reader occurring to me, and hope you will, too. Woods Reader pays $40 - $100 for articles/essays, $35 for poems/cartoons and $25 for standalone photographs. They will also consider reprints at lower fees and do not include personal blogs/websites as first publication. Woods Reader does not accept any writing or art that uses AI. For more details about submissions visit: https://woodsreader.com/submissions | | |
Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains. She has bylines in Bob Vila, Pennsylvania Magazine, Tea Journey, Mental Floss, Business Insider, NPR, Woods Reader, and more, as well as a WIP about her plant obsession. She's also a blog tour manager for WOW! Women on Writing. Visit her website at jodiwebbwriter.com.
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Adi - Spring 2025
Deadline: May 31
Adi is seeking new poems for their Spring issue. They tend toward creative, experimental approaches to political writing, measuring the effects of policy through the intimate lives and experiences of people with a particular focus on those on the margins and in the Global South. Submit up to 5 poems, no more than 10 pages. Pay: $150 per poem. No fee.
https://adimagazine.submittable.com/submit/324172/spring-2025-open-call-for-poetry
The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards 2025
Deadline: June 1
Submit up to 2 haiku in English. Poems will be judged blindly. First Place: $200, a copy of Red Leaves: Selected Haiku of Peggy Lyles and a miniature crystal turtle; Second Place: $100 and a copy of Red Leaves; Third Place: $50 and a copy of Red Leaves. Submit by email to John Stevenson at ithacan@earthlink.net - put “Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards” in the subject line; provide haiku in the body of the email only-attachments will not be opened. Include your name and your location as you would like to see each listed. No fee.
https://theheronsnest.com/awards/awards_2025.html#pwl
Boulevard Poetry Contest
Deadline: June 1
This contest awards $1,000 and publication awarded for the winning group of three poems by a poet who has not yet published a book with a nationally distributed press. Fee includes a one-year subscription to Boulevard. Fee: $18
https://boulevard.submittable.com/submit
The Pedestal Magazine
Deadline: June 2
For Pedestal 96, editors will be accepting submissions of poetry. No restrictions on theme, style, length, or genre. Please submit up to 5 poems and include all work in a single file. Pay: $50 per poem. Fee: $3
https://thepedestalmagazine.submittable.com/submit/36214/poetry-for-pedestal-96
Poetry Magazine
Deadline: June 14
For more than 110 years, Poetry Magazine has been a monthly gathering space for poets and readers. Submit up to 4 poems (10 pages total) in a single document. They are open to poetry, translation, video poems, and visual poems. Pay: text poems: $10/line with a minimum payment of $400 per poem; visual poems: $400 per poem; video poems: $600 per poem; prose: $250 per published page. No fee.
https://poetry.submittable.com/submit
Eye to the Telescope: Issue 57: Birds
Deadline: June 15
Send your speculative bird poems! Issue 57, “Birds” will be edited by Maria Schrater. The endless diversity of birds is one of the great marvels of our world. Migration patterns, flight mechanics, song, life cycle, and more—it’s a diverse pool to draw from, with deeper potential with the addition of speculative layers. Submit 1-3 unpublished poems in English and include a short bio. Pay: 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25. No fee.
https://eyetothetelescope.com/submit.html
Philly Poetry Chapbook Review: Summer 2025 Edition
Deadline: June 15
The editors are looking for serious poetry that has something important to say. This can mean poems about topics important to you, poems telling them about who you are or what you think, or an unusual or clever creative style. Poems don’t need to deal with weighty subjects, but should be meaningful. They prefer thought-provoking free verse. AVOID common forms of metered verse, end-rhyme, haiku/tanka, and other well-worn forms. Submit at least three poems. Each submission is judged as a whole. Pay: $10 honorarium. No fee.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8QVOtSzwy33q4gOBt1wZbdAh8MirLpEJZ9z35FQL8eY7M5w/viewform
2025 Nature Poetry Prize
Deadline: June 15
This summer, Palette Poetry invites you to get outside and write some poems! Aimee Nezhukumatathil will judge their inaugural Nature Poetry Prize. Send them your meditations on the sound of wind, your obsessions with the shape of trees, and your words woven like blades of grass. The winner will be awarded $3,000 and publication, the first runner-up will receive $300 and publication, and the second runner-up will receive $200 and publication. Submit no more than three poems and under ten pages in one document. Fee: $20
https://palettepoetry.submittable.com/submit/dcb2d1f6-9362-49f1-8fa0-7d92bdd4268b/the-2025-nature-poetry-prize3-500-awarded
Akron Poetry Prize 2025 - Full Length
Deadline: June 15
Each year, the University of Akron Press offers the Akron Poetry Prize, a competition open to all poets writing in English. The winning poet receives $1,500 and publication of their book as part of the Akron Series in Poetry. Other manuscripts may also be considered for publication in the series. The final judge for 2025 is Eduardo C. Corral. Manuscripts must be a total length of at least 48 pages and no longer than 90 pages. Fee: $25
https://theuniversityofakronpress.submittable.com/submit
New Measure Poetry Prize - Full Length
Deadline: June 15
Parlor Press’s poetry series, Free Verse Editions, is pleased to announce the seventeenth annual New Measure Poetry Prize, which will carry a cash award of $1,000 and publication of an original, unpublished manuscript of poems. Up to three other manuscripts may be accepted for publication by Free Verse Editions editors. Submit a manuscript of at least 54 pages. The judge for the 2025 competition will be Rodney Jones. Fee: $28
https://parlorpress.com/pages/new-measure-poetry-prize
International EJCA Spring Haiku Contest – Theme: Spring
Deadline: June 21
Spring has arrived, the cherry trees are blossoming again, and EJCA invites you to get creative and submit a Haiku, suitably themed to celebrate the season. Submit up to two unpublished Haiku that you have authored. Give your Haiku a Spring theme by including a Spring seasonal word of your choice. Prizes: five or more awards of $20-$30 each. Guest judge is poet Shajin Watanabe. No fee.
https://ejca.org/Spring-Haiku-Competition
The 24th Annual Gival Press Oscar Wilde Award
Deadline: June 27
This award will be given to the best previously unpublished original poem written in English (of any length, in any style, typed, single spaced but with breaks for stanzas on one side only), which best relates LGBTQ+ life by a poet who is 18 or older. Entrants are asked to submit up to 3 of their poems. The winner will receive $500 (USD), and the poem, along with information about the poet, will be published on the websites of Gival Press. Fee: $20
https://givalpress.submittable.com/submit/210511/24th-annual-gival-press-oscar-wilde-award-2025
Poetry London Prize 2025
Deadline: June 30
Open internationally, the Poetry London Prize awards a single outstanding poem. First Prize is £5,000, Second Prize is £2,000 and Third Prize is £1,000. The judge of the 2025 Prize is Victoria Kennefick. Entries must be written in English, can be on any subject and in any style or form. Each poem should be uploaded in a separate document. Entries are welcome from poets based anywhere in the world and there are no restrictions on themes, subjects or styles. Fee: £10
https://poetrylondon.submittable.com/submit
2025 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize - Full Length
Deadline: June 30
Bauhan Publishing is accepting submissions for the 2025 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize. Manuscripts must be typed and paginated, and roughly 50 to 80 pages in length. The winner receives $1,000, book publication, and 50 copies of the published book, as well as distribution with other spring titles through their distributor (Casemate IPM). Fee: $30
https://bauhanpublishing.submittable.com/submit
SpecPoVerse Issue 2
Deadline: June 30
SpecPoVerse is an international journal of speculative poetry. They accept poems with or without known formalism and also experimental forms. An illustrated poem in which the illustration was created by the poet is also acceptable. Poems created by AI are not acceptable. Submit up to 3 poems; 100 lines or 499 words for a prose poem. Pay: $5 per poem. No fee.
https://specpoverse.org/submission
Last Stanza Poetry Journal: Issue 21 - Conversation
Deadline: June 30
Conversations, painful or joyful discussions, debates, gossip, pillow talks, or conversations you’ve always wished you could have had. A single $100 award will be given for an outstanding poem. Poems can be any style, but preferably non-rhyming. Submit up to three poems, each no longer than 64 lines, to laststanza@outlook.com as a single Word document or within the body of your email. Published poems will be considered for a Pushcart Prize nomination. No fee.
https://laststanzapoetry.blogspot.com/2025/04/callout-for-submissions-to-last-stanza.html
The Essential Voices Editorial Fellowship for a Poetry Anthology
Deadline: July 1
The Essential Voices Anthology Series has at its heart the ancient idea that poetry can reveal our shared humanity. The Fellowship gives an editor the resources and assistance to bring an anthology into the world. Green Linden Press intends to tailor the Fellowship to the editor of the selected project: so previous editorial experience is not required, and those with editorial experience are encouraged to apply. The Fellowship awards $2,500. Apply with a biographical statement, a proposal for the anthology, a sample list of poets, and a list of anthologies published on your theme. No fee.
https://greenlindenpress.submittable.com/submit/319297/the-essential-voices-editorial-fellowship
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Bard Fiction Prize
Deadline: June 1
A prize of $30,000 and a one-semester appointment as writer-in-residence at Bard College is given annually to a US fiction writer aged 39 years or younger at the time of application. The winner must give at least one public lecture and meet informally with students but is not expected to teach traditional courses. Submit a cover letter explaining the project you plan to work on while at Bard and submit a CV, along with three copies of the published book you feel best represents your work. No fee.
https://www.bard.edu/bfp/
History Through Fiction
Deadline: June 1
History Through Fiction accepts historical fiction short story and novel excerpt submissions 1,000–7,000 words long. HTF prefers stories that are based on real historical events and/or people. However, all stories (with the exception of those related to Nazi cruelty) with any kind of historical setting will be considered—this includes those with elements of fantasy and alternative history. Pay: $30 honorarium. Fee: $5
https://www.historythroughfiction.com/submissionguidelines
Halifax Ranch Prize for Fiction
Deadline: June 1
American Short Fiction's Halifax Ranch Prize for Fiction is now open for submissions. Daniel Mason will guest judge. The winner will receive a $2,500 prize and publication in an upcoming issue of American Short Fiction. In addition, the winner will receive a week-long all-expenses-paid writing retreat (optional—dates TBD) at the Tasajillo Residency, which neighbors the Halifax Ranch just outside of Austin in Kyle, Texas. The residency must be scheduled within a year after the winner is announced. All US-based submitters will receive a complimentary copy of the prize issue. The entry fee covers one submission, between 2,000-6,500 words. Fee: $20
https://americanshortfiction.submittable.com/submit/110312/the-halifax-ranch-prize
Salamander 2025 Fiction Prize
Deadline: June 1
First Prize is $1,000 and publication, Second Prize is $500 and Publication. All entries will be considered for publication. Send no more than one story per entry. Each story must not exceed 30 double-spaced pages. Fee: $15
https://salamandermag.org/contests/
The Dream Foundry: Emerging Writers Contest
Deadline: June 2
Open internationally, the Dream Foundry Contest for Emerging Writers is an annual no submission fees contest with cash prizes. They are looking for short speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction, etc.) First Place: $1,500. Second Place: $750. Third Place: $400. This contest is for writers who are relatively new to paid or incoming-earning publication of speculative short fiction in English. To be eligible for this contest, you must not have published more than 4,000 words, earned more than $320 from those words, and have not been nominated for a major award or are a previous winner, and no AI. Submit one complete and finalized story of up to 10,000 words. No fee.
https://dreamfoundry.org/writing-contest/
Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition - Full-Length
Deadline: June 2
The main prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a £10,000 advance (subject to contract). Their panel of judges will select the overall winner, who will also receive an offer of representation from literary agent Gyamfia Osei. The winner will be the entrant whose story, in the opinion of the judges, demonstrates the greatest entertainment value, quality, originality and suitability for children. To enter, you must have written a completed full-length novel (30,000 - 80,000 words) suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. Their bonus prize, sponsored by Lime Pictures, will be awarded by Barry Cunningham (Chicken House MD and Chairman of the Panel) and Tim Compton (Co-Head of Kids & Family at Lime Pictures) to a complete fiction manuscript for children aged 7 up to Young Adult that in their view shows great potential for film and TV development. Fee: £20
https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/submissions/
Bath Flash Fiction Award
Deadline: June 8
Submit a flash fiction with 300-word limit. Prize: £1000 prize for the winner, £300 second and £100 third. Two commendations £30 each. 50 long-listed entrants offered publication in their end of year print and digital anthology. Those accepting receive a free print copy. Flash Award judge, Marie Gethins, shortlists to 20 and chooses the winning, second, third, and two commended fictions. Fee: £9.00
https://www.bathflashfictionaward.com/
The Baltimore Science Fiction Society Amateur Writing Contest - Maryland Writers
Deadline: June 15
The Baltimore Science Fiction Society Amateur Writing Contest is open to amateur writers over 18 years old who are residents of Maryland and to students attending any Maryland 2- or 4-year college. The Amateur Writing Contest is limited to stories of speculative fiction between 1,000 and 5,500 words that have not have been previously published. Prizes include: 1st place is $250, 2nd place is $100, 3rd place is $50, and Honorable mentions are awarded for Fourth and Fifth place. No fee.
https://www.bsfs.org/bsfsssc.htm
Uncharted Magazine Novel Excerpt Prize
Deadline: June 15
Uncharted Magazine loves opening pages as much as any other genre magazine, but they offer submitters something unique. You can send any excerpt from your novel or manuscript in progress. They know there are scenes and sections that have just a bit more action, heat, or intrigue. Three co-winners will receive $1,000 each and publication. Writers may submit any section of their novel that is 1,001–5,000 words in length per entry. Both the excerpt and the novel must be unpublished. (The full novel does not need to be completed). Fee: $20
https://uncharted.submittable.com/submit/325393/uncharted-magazine-novel-excerpt-prize-judged-by-cynthia-pelayo-3000-awarded
The Jerboa Lit 500 Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: June 27
The editors send you a prompt, and your 500-word story is due 48 hours later. The prompt will include a genre, an item, and a phrase. Your story must subsequently fit in that genre, include that item, and use the phrase verbatim, all while being under the 500-word limit. All parts of the prompt are randomly selected out of a hat. The First-Place winner receives $1,000; Second: $500; Third: $300; Fourth and Fifth: $200. Fee: $25
https://www.jerboalit.com/rules-guidelines
Drue Heinz Literature Prize – Short Fiction Collection
Deadline: June 30
A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book of fiction or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in nationally distributed magazines or literary journals are eligible. No fee.
https://upittpress.org/drue-heinz-literature-prize-submission-guidelines/
The Drabble Harvest Contest – Theme: The Witch’s Broom
Deadline: June 30
Drabble on theme of “The Witch’s Broom.” A “drabble” is defined as a short story containing exactly precisely no more and no fewer than 100 words. It has a title, which can be from 1 to 15 words—but no more than 15. Pay for drabbles is 1 cent a word, which means one dollar per drabble. Pay for First Place is $5.00, and pay for Second Place is $2.00. No fee.
https://www.hiraethsffh.com/drabble-contest
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The International Audio Drama Competition 2026
Deadline: June 4
Writers from around the world are invited to submit their scripts for the 29th International Audio Drama Competition (previously the International Playwriting Competition), which is now open for entries. The global competition, hosted by BBC World Service and the British Council, offers the unique opportunity for writers from outside the UK to use the medium of audio drama to tell stories for an international audience. Winners will receive a £2,500 cash prize, be invited to attend an award ceremony in the UK in 2026, and to participate in the recording of their dramas for a world premiere on BBC World Service platforms. Flight and accommodation expenses are covered by the BBC. Submit a written synopsis (400 words long) outlining your story, and a script for your 40-50 minute audio drama with up to six central characters. This should be submitted as a PDF file. No fee.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5J6bfwwQ4G0044HZ5Skt33w/the-international-audio-drama-competition-2026-how-to-enter
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The Offing – Insight Essays
Deadline: June 1
Insight essays generally fuse together two topics that don’t typically belong together, weaving—and investigating—what is perceived versus what is true. Ultimately, these essays explore the ways in which interacting with this aspect of culture or ideology changed you or made a lasting impression. No specific word count limit. Pay: $25 - $100 per piece. No fee.
https://theoffingmag.submittable.com/submit
Republic Book Club
Deadline: June 1
Every month, The Republic of Letters invites reviews on a particular book. The goal is to get an exchange going between different writers. The first book on the docket is David Szalay’s Flesh. As a word to the wise, it’s best to focus on your honest reaction to the book as opposed to plot summaries, etc. There is no hard word count, but 1200-1500 words is a good target. Pay: $50 per piece. Reviews should be sent to republic.of.letters.substack@gmail.com with “Flesh” in the subject line. No fee.
https://therepublicofletters.substack.com/p/next-contests-and-flight-plan
Dorothy Parker’s Ashes – Theme: Noise
Deadline: June 1
An online magazine publishing fresh, contemporary first-person essays and art by women and gender non-conforming writers. Their June theme is “Noise.” Submit an essay between 500 and 2000 words. No fee.
https://www.dorothyparkersashes.com/submit
Herstry – Theme: Redemption Stories
Deadline: June 1
How have you found redemption in this world? Come back from the edge after nearly losing it all? How have you made up with someone you thought you could never forgive? Or maybe you are still seeking redemption. Maybe you can’t let the person who hurt you back into your life. Maybe your redemption has actually come in the form of letting go. Submit a true story up to 3,000 words. Pay: $20 per accepted essay. Fee: $3
https://herstryblg.com/redemption-stories-july-2025
The Fiddlehead 2025 Creative Nonfiction Contest
Deadline: June 2
$2,000 CAD for best creative nonfiction essay. The guest judge is author Nicole Breit! Submit a creative nonfiction piece up to 6,000 words. Fee: If your address is in Canada, then the fee for first entry is $35 CAD. Additional entries after that first contest entry are $10 CAD. If you do not live in Canada, then the fee accounts for the exchange rate and is $50 CAD (approximately $40 USD) for the first entry and $10 CAD for additional entries. Fee includes a one-year subscription.
https://thefiddlehead.ca/cnf-contest
Anne Brown Essay Prize
Deadline: June 6
This contest awards £1500 for the best literary essay by a writer in or from Scotland. Entrants must be over 16 and a resident in Scotland, born in Scotland or have a longstanding association with Scotland. Submit an essay up to 4,000 words. No fee.
https://www.wigtownbookfestival.com/blog/anne-brown-essay-prize-2022
Room Creative Nonfiction Contest
Deadline: June 15
Room is Canada’s oldest feminist literary magazine, published quarterly since 1975. First prize: $1,000 and potential publication in Room; Second prize: $250 and potential publication in Room; Third prize: $100 and publication on Room’s website. Submit CNF up to 3,500 words. Do not include your name or personal info on the document, as submissions are judged blindly. Fee: If you reside in Canada, $39. If you reside in the US, $49 CAD. If you reside outside of North America, $59 CAD.
https://room.submittable.com/submit/35799/contest-entry-creative-non-fiction
Norton Writer's Prize
Deadline: June 15
The Norton Writer’s Prize recognizes outstanding original nonfiction by undergraduates. The contest is open to students age 18 and above who are enrolled in an accredited 2- or 4-year college or university during the 2024–2025 academic year. Three cash prizes of $1,000 apiece will be awarded in 2025 for coursework submitted during the academic year. Submissions must be between 1,000 and 3,000 words in length. Literacy narratives, literary and other textual analyses, reports, profiles, evaluations, arguments, memoirs, proposals, multimodal pieces, and other forms of original nonfiction will be considered. No fee.
https://wwnorton.com/norton-writers-prize/
The Tusculum Review 2025 Nonfiction Chapbook Prize
Deadline: June 15
First prize is $1,000, publication in The Tusculum Review’s 21st Volume, and creation of a limited-edition stand-alone chapbook with original art. Essays may be between 1,500 words (5 manuscript pages) and 17,000 words (55 pages: novelette-length). Editors of The Tusculum Review and contest judge Jaime Cortez will determine the winner of the 2025 prize. Fee: $20
https://tusculumreview.submittable.com/submit/315470/the-tusculum-review-2025-fiction-chapbook-prize-1-500-jaime-cortez
Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Public Service Journalism
Deadline: June 19
The Pulliam Fellowship awards up to $100,000 to outstanding editorial writers, columnists or reporters to help broaden their journalistic horizons and knowledge of the world. The award can be used to cover the cost of study, research and/or travel. To be eligible, writers must be employed as an opinion writer, or as a reporter with a major focus on analytical or investigative journalism, at a U.S. news outlet. Submit an application with a cover letter of your project, an endorsement of the project by an editor, a one-page bio, and five samples of opinion or analytical writing. No fee.
https://www.spj.org/eugene-c-pulliam-fellowship-for-public-service-journalism/
My Writing Journey Competition: The Worst Writing Mistake I've Ever Made
Deadline: June 30
Open internationally. Submit a 600-word essay on the theme: The worst writing mistake I’ve ever made. Make it funny, heartfelt, quirky and real. They’ll publish the best piece in their newsletter and blog, plus the winner receives $200 NZ. No fee.
https://www.thewriterscollege.com/free-writing-competition-my-writing-journey/
Storyhouse Nonfiction Contest
Deadline: June 30
The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $250 in any single year. Any appropriate nonfiction topic is eligible. Stories must be true, not semi-fictional accounts. Submit a nonfiction piece between 1,000-5,000 words. Prizes: $200 for the winner, $100 for the runner-up, and certificates of achievement for all finalists. No fee.
https://www.storyhouse.org/contest2025.html
Modern Love
Deadline: June 30
The New York Times’ Modern Love column seeks true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. They welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship—anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now. Word count: 1500-1700 words. Send submissions to: modernlove@nytimes.com. Please put the subject of your essay or a possible title in the email subject line. Pay: $400 per essay. No fee.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/how-to-submit-a-modern-love-essay.html
Vine Leaves Press: 2026 International Voices in Creative Nonfiction Competition - Full Length
Deadline: July 1
The competition is open to writers worldwide with the top prize of $1,000 and book publication by Vine Leaves Press. If your manuscript is narrative in nature (i.e. a memoir) then the length should be between 50,000 - 80,000 words. If your manuscript is experimental in nature (i.e. not straight prose, could be vignettes, poetry, or a mix), it should be at least 100 pages long. They welcome submissions from marginalized voices. Fee: $25
https://www.vineleavespress.com/international-voices-in-cnf.html
Candlelight Magazine: Personal Essays about Death and Loss
Deadline: July 1
Candlelight Magazine is a bi-monthly publication created to bring comfort, connection, and quiet support to those navigating loss. They’re always looking for writers to cover death, grief, and memories of loved ones from fresh angles. They’re drawn to pieces that offer comfort without cliché, insight without platitudes, and beauty without sentimentality. They welcome storytelling, reported features, personal reflections, and thoughtful service journalism. Upcoming themed issues: Submissions due July: Shared Stories; Submissions due September: Sacred Spaces; Submissions due November: Navigating Loss. If your ideas don’t fit a theme, no problem—they still want to meet you and hear what you’d like to write about. Pay: $25 per piece. Send your pitches and submissions to info@waitingroompublishing.com with “submission” in the subject line. No fee.
https://waitingroompublishing.com/collections/candlelight
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2025 International Wizard of Oz Club Contests
Deadline: June 1
All work must be related to the world of Oz. This means entries must be about or pertaining to the Land of Oz as originally created by author L. Frank Baum in the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its sequels, Oz plays, Oz movies, or any other version or aspect of Oz. Contest winners will be announced during The Wizard of Oz Club National Convention in Aberdeen, SD, on July 19, 2025. Fiction: submit a story up to 10,000 words. Poetry and drama about Oz are included in this category. Nonfiction: submit academic or scholarly research paper about or pertaining to the Land of Oz, Oz authors, illustrators, and other portrayals of Oz, up to 10,000 words. Visual Arts: Visual Arts are defined as any two- or three-dimensional original expression that is about or pertaining to the Land of Oz. Art can be in the form of, but is not limited to: drawings, paintings, sculptures, costuming, and crafts. Artwork will be displayed at the National Convention. The Fred Otto Prize will be awarded as follows: $100 First Prize and a $50 Second Prize. The C. Warren Hollister prize for Oz Non-Fiction will be awarded as follows: $100 First Prize and a $50 Second Prize. No fee.
https://www.ozclub.org/about/oz-club-contests/
Lucky Jefferson Literary Magazine – Theme: Fissure
Deadline: June 1
Send poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to Lucky Jefferson Literary Magazine. Send three poems per submission. Send Haiku, Short Poems (<14 lines), Micro Fiction (under 100-300 words); Send Prose, Short Story, Flash fiction, Creative-Nonfiction, Hybrid/Experimental (under 1000 words). The theme is Fissure. Pay: $15-$20 per piece. No fee.
https://luckyjefferson.submittable.com/submit/319722/issue-15-fissure
The Common – A Strong Sense of Place
Deadline: June 1
The Common seeks stories, essays, poems, and dispatches that embody a strong sense of place: pieces in which the setting is crucial to character, narrative, mood, and language. Dispatches: are notes, news, and impressions from around the world. Both prose (nonfiction only) and verse accepted. Length: up to 800 words. Include the title, piece location, and word count of the piece on the first page of your submission. Fiction, Essays, and Translations: submit one piece up to 10,000 words. Poetry: submit up to 5 poems. Pay: Fiction, nonfiction, translations, and poetry will be considered for print and online publication. $200 honorarium per prose piece, and $40 per poem. Dispatches are published online only and receive $100 per piece. Fee: $2-$3, no fee for subscribers.
https://thecommon.submittable.com/submit
Outskirts
Deadline: June 1
Outskirts (n) — The fringes of a place, existing with and pushing against imposed boundaries. They want to read poetry and prose that explores liminal spaces—that dilapidated barn still perpetuating folktales, the edge of a field after harvest season, the shopping mall parking lot reflecting yellowed fluorescents. They want to publish the misfits, the misunderstood, and the underrepresented. You know the piece you love that’s been rejected 16 times? Trust your stubborn gut and send it to them. Poetry: submit 3-5 poems, ten pages max. Prose: up to 12 pages. Email your submission to outskirtslit@gmail.com with the subject “Last Name_Genre.” In the body of your email, please include a cover letter and a brief third-person bio. No fee.
https://www.outskirtslit.com/
The PEN/Bare Grants
Deadline: June 1
The PEN America Literary Grants support literary works-in-progress in the categories of Children’s and Young Adult Novelists, Life Review/immigrant refugee writers, Literary Oral History, and Translation. Grants of $2,000 - $15,000 are awarded for fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Apply with a sample of your writing. No fee.
https://pen.org/literary-grants/
CRAFT 2025 Dialogue Challenge
Deadline: June 1
For this challenge, CRAFT is asking writers to recreate the serendipity of overheard conversations: think loud arguments in quiet restaurants, hushed confessions in out-of-the-way coffee shops. Think eavesdropping and interloping, but in the name of art. The only catch—they want to read only the dialogue: no tags, no stage directions, no settings—no added context whatsoever. They’ll consider scenes and excerpts, from 50 to 250 words, composed entirely of lines of dialogue. Don’t worry about presenting a full story or narrative arc. The winner will receive $500 and publication. Fee: $10
https://craft.submittable.com/submit/326417/craft-2025-dialogue-challenge
Spring 2025 Fox Tales Prize – Theme: Mixed Messages
Deadline: June 1
Black Fox is accepting submissions for their Spring 2025 Fox Tales Prize. The theme is “Mixed Messages.” They are open to loose interpretations of the theme in any genre, as always. Please submit your strongest fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. The prize is $325 and print publication in the Summer 2025 issue. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. For poetry, send up to three poems in the same document. For flash fiction, send up to two stories in the same document. Fee: $12
https://blackfoxlitmag.com/contests/
Solstice Annual Literary Contest
Deadline: June 1
Submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and graphic lit to the Solstice Annual Literary Contest. Top fiction winner will receive $1,000. Poetry, nonfiction, and graphic lit each receive $500 per category winner. Fiction or Nonfiction: 21-page maximum; free-standing excerpts from books also accepted. Poetry: 3-poem maximum. Graphic Lit: Original artwork, multiple panels (no single image pieces), 1-6 pages preferred, maximum 8-10 pages, in JPG/PDF format. Fee: $18
https://solsticelitmag.org/contest/
Midway Journal Flash Poetry and Prose Contest
Deadline: June 1
Midway Journal’s -1000 Below: Flash Prose and Poetry Contest awards a $500 grand prize, $250 second prize, and $50 third prize. Poetry: up to 2 poems per entry. Not more than one poem per page. Maximum of 55 words per poem. (Any style/format—they even accept erasure). Fiction and Nonfiction: 1 piece per entry, up to 1,000 words. Fee: $10
https://midwayjournal.com/contest/
Unwoven Literary & Arts Magazine
Deadline: June 4
Unwoven Literary & Arts Magazine is committed to publishing original work that represents a wide aesthetic range, from the traditional to the experimental. Fiction: between 1,000 and 5,500 words. Creative Nonfiction: between 2,000 and 5,000 words. Poetry: submit up to 3-5 poems per submission. Fee: $3
https://www.unwovenlitmag.com/submit
Write by the Sea Competition 2025
Deadline: June 6
The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of €500 and a free weekend pass to the Write By The Sea Festival 2025, located in beautiful Kilmore Quay, County Wexford, Ireland. All four winning pieces will be published in Issue 10 of The Waxed Lemon Literary Journal. The runners-up in each category will receive €300 and third place will receive €200. Fiction Short Story: up to 2,500 words. Flash Fiction: up to 700 words. Poetry: maximum 40 lines. Memoir/Personal Essay: up to 1,000 words. Fee: €10
https://writebythesea.ie/writing-competition/
Boston Public Library 2025-2026 Writer-in-Residence Fellowship
Deadline: June 6
Open to US citizens or green card holders, the residence provides an emerging children’s writer with the financial support, editorial assistance, and office space needed to complete one literary work for children or young adults. The fellowship recipients get a $70,000 stipend, up to $2,500 of additional funding, a private office space at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, and an opportunity to present your manuscript at a fall reading. All genres welcome! Eligible projects include fiction, non-fiction, a graphic novel, script, memoir, or poetry intended for children or young adults. No fee.
https://www.associatesbpl.org/events-and-programs/writer-in-residence-program/
The Icelandic Festival of Manitoba Poetry & Short Story Contest
Deadline: June 7
Writers do not need to be of Icelandic descent to submit an entry, however material reflecting Icelandic culture and interests will be given preference, as will entries that reflect their 2025 theme, “Woven Together: 150 years, Iceland and Canada.” Poetry: submit up to two entries per person, not to exceed 300 words. Short Story: submit one entry per person, up to 1,000 words. For each category, prizes are awarded: 1st Place Open: $125; 1st Place Intermediate (13-18): $75; 1st Place Junior (12 and under): $50. No fee.
https://www.icelandicfestival.com/festival-events/contests/poetry-short-story-contest
The 2025 Clarissa Dalloway Prize for Short Prose
Deadline: June 8
L'Esprit seeks short prose of exceptional vision and skill. $500 and publication in the journal awarded to the winner; $100 and publication to Second Place. All entries receive a digital copy of Issue Six and are considered for publication. Submit your best piece of fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work under 5,000 words. Fee: $10
https://lespritliteraryreview.submittable.com/submit/323391/2025-short-prose-contest
Ocean Awareness Student Contest
Deadline: June 9
The 2025 Ocean Awareness Contest—Connections to Nature: Looking Inside, Going Outside—encourages you to explore the natural world and your place in it. Students ages 11-18 from around the world are invited to participate. Submit a variety of creative expressions, including poetry and spoken word, creative writing, and more. Cash awards are presented to winners in all of the categories at both the Junior and Senior Division levels. Gold Award prize is $1,000. No fee.
https://bowseat.org/programs/ocean-awareness-contest/contest-overview/
Lullaby Machine
Deadline: June 10
Lullaby Machine is a quarterly e-magazine that publishes poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction (including interviews and reviews) and lullabies/recorded landscapes. Lullabies invite the practice of relational presence via rest. Rest invites the possibility of restoration and dream. Dreams remind us that life is liminal, reality bends, and change is possible, inevitable, and necessary. They are currently seeking submissions for issue 002. Prose: Maximum 10 double-spaced pages, or roughly 2,500 words. Poetry: you may submit multiple poems in one document. They also accept visual, hybrid work, and recorded lullabies. Pay: $30 per piece. No fee.
https://lullabymachine.com/submit
Macrame Literary Journal
Deadline: June 15
Like the macrame weaver, the writer conjures a vision of a new literary creation. Carefully selecting the words, the author painstakingly knots, pulls, twists, and aligns them into the strings of sentences until line by line, a unique literary work is born. They are seeking submissions for their Summer 2025 issue. Fiction: send one short story up to 1500 words. Micro-fiction: send up to three stories of 250 words. Poetry: send no more than thee poems per submission in a single file. No fee.
https://macramelit.com/submit/
The Gold Man Review
Deadline: June 15
Gold Man Review is accepting poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from Oregon, Washington, and California residents. Fiction and nonfiction submissions must not be longer than 5,000 words and poetry submissions can be either three short poems or longer poems with a three-page maximum. Multiple poems should be submitted separately. No fee.
https://goldmanpublishing.submittable.com/submit
iō Literary Journal
Deadline: June 15
iō Literary Journal aims to embrace all forms of creative writing and artistic expression, even those works that expand the genre beyond the conventional interpretations. Fiction and Nonfiction: 15 pages max.; Flash Fiction and Nonfiction: 750 words max.; Microfiction and Nonfiction: 100 words max. Submit up to three poems per submission (5 pages max. per poem). Pay: $20 per piece. Fee: $5 for fiction and nonfiction; $4 for flash fiction, flash nonfiction, and poetry.
https://ioliteraryjournal.submittable.com/submit
The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
Deadline: June 15
They accept fiction and creative nonfiction, as long as they are compressed in some way. Work is published weekly, without labels, and the labels here only exist to help them determine its best readers. Pay: $50 per accepted piece. No fee.
https://matter.submittable.com/submit
Little, Brown Emerging Artist Award – Picture Book
Deadline: June 15
Open to US residents, the award will be given to the entrant who submits the most accomplished picture book submission in the form of a mock-up. One prize is available and consists of American Express® gift cards totaling $1,000, and a portfolio review by a Little, Brown Books for Young Readers’ professional children’s book design and editorial team, and distinguished Artist Mentor LeUyen Pham. The winner of the Little, Brown Emerging Artist Award will also have an opportunity for his or her submission to be reviewed by the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editorial team for possible future publication. Submit a mock-up of no more than 32 pages of text (no more than 1200 words), sketches, and at least 2-3 double page spreads (or 4-6 individual pages) of finished art. No fee.
https://lbartistaward.com
Yellow Arrow Vignette – Theme: Blaze
Deadline: June 15
Yellow Arrow Vignette editors are looking foremost for women-identifying creatives from the Baltimore region or have a connection to Charm City. This means women-identifying writers/authors who currently live in, grew up in, or recently lived in the Baltimore or surrounding area. This issue of Vignette welcomes submitters to consider what the theme BLAZE means to them (the submission does not need to be about Baltimore to be included). Creative nonfiction (1 submission per author) must be between 100 and 1,000 words. Poetry (up to 3 poems per author, grouped into a single document) must be less than 30 lines. Pay: $10 per piece. No fee.
https://www.yellowarrowpublishing.com/vignette/submissions
Variety Pack: ISSUE XII: Voices of The Modern Diaspora
Deadline: June 15
For this issue, they will be accepting submissions from Diasporic writers only, but strictly folks who understand the marginalization that comes with the territory of being a Diasporic voice. Refugees, Asylum Seekers, First-generation immigrants, Second-generation immigrants, Third-generation immigrants, folks who can trace the homeland of their roots within recent times. Poetry: up to 4 poems, any form. Flash fiction: up to 1,000 words. Short fiction/novelette: between 1,001–9,000 words. Nonfiction: up to 3 pieces, a maximum of 5,000 words. They also accept reviews, interviews, and artwork. Pay: $10 per poem; $20 for prose. No fee.
https://varietypack.net/submissions-2/
Prairie Ronde Artist Residency
Deadline: June 15
Prairie Ronde is hosted by The Mill at Vicksburg, a redevelopment project of the former Lee Paper Company mill, in the historic village of Vicksburg, Michigan. They provide artists from a range of disciplines a 5 – 6 week residency with the goal of engaging with The Mill and its surrounding 80 acres of property, as well as a $2,000 stipend upon completion of the residency, $500 travel grant, and more. Fee: $25
https://prairieronde.org/about/apply/
A Midsummer Tale Narrative Writing Contest – Theme: Heat Wave
Deadline: June 21
This is a summer-themed narrative writing contest open to non-genre fiction and creative nonfiction. The theme of the 2025 A Midsummer Tale writing contest is: Heat Wave. Your story must be set during the hot summer months and the theme must play an integral role in the story. Length: 1,000 words minimum; 5,000 words maximum. Prizes: $5-$50 Amazon gift cards. No fee.
https://tclj.toasted-cheese.com/a-midsummer-tale/
MEMEZINE: The Kakistocrazy Issue
Deadline: June 21
MEMEZINE believes that memes not only inspire art, literature, and poetry, but that they also hold artistic merit in and of themselves. Whether or not we are aware, interacting with a meme is a way of engaging in a larger cultural moment. Urgent times call for urgent writing. This issue will be curated by guest editors Rachel Lauren Myers and Thom Eichelberger-Young (T E-Y), co-sponsored by Blue Bag Press, an answering howl to the important work of ISSUE01. Bring them words SO FIRE they can melt and burn a T€SLA. Be funny, be serious, but most of all, be urgent about it. Send 1-3 pieces with a maximum of five (5) pages. Pay: $200+ split between contributors. No fee.
https://www.memezinelit.com/submit
Chestnut Review
Deadline: June 30
Submit poetry, prose, and flash fiction. Any artist from anywhere in the world may submit. Poetry: Length and format are open. Submit one to three poems without a fee, submit four to six for a small fee. Flash: Submit one piece of up to 1000 words. Prose: Submit one piece between 1000 and 5000 words. Pay: $120 per piece, on publication. Fee: $5 for prose; No fee for poetry and flash.
https://chestnutreview.submittable.com/submit
2025 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize
Deadline: June 30
This competition is open to anyone who has not published or signed a contract to publish a book-length work of fiction, life writing, or poetry, except for self-published works or poetry chapbooks. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication in Wasafiri magazine. Entrants can submit an unpublished English translation of a published or unpublished work of up to 3,000 words. Fee: £12
https://www.wasafiri.org/writing-prizes/queen-mary-wasafiri-new-writing-prize/enter-the-2025-queen-mary-wasafiri-new-writing-prize/entry-form
The Golden Quill Writing Contest – Theme: Risk
Deadline: June 30
The theme for the 2025 SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest is: RISK. The contest is open to writers 18 years old and over residing in the United States and Canada. Fiction and creative nonfiction (essays and memoir): up to 5,000 words. Poetry: up to 60 lines of poetry per poem; up to 3 poems per submission. First-place winners in each category will receive a $350 cash prize and publication in the 2025 issue of The NightWriter Review. Second-place winners in each category will receive a $150 cash prize and publication in the 2025 issue of The NightWriter Review. Third-place winners in each category will receive a $50 cash prize and publication in the 2025 issue of The NightWriter Review. Fee: $20 (members), $25 (non-members).
https://slonightwriters.org/golden-quill/
Regeneration Literary Contest - Food & Food Systems
Deadline: June 30
Presented in partnership with I-Regen and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They invite poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction responding to or exploring the subject of “regeneration,” specifically as it relates to food and food systems. Fiction and Nonfiction: submit one piece of no more than 8,000 words. You may also submit up to three pieces of flash-fiction or flash-nonfiction as long as the total word count of the submission is no more than 8,000 words. Poetry: up to 5 poems in a single file of no more than 8 pages. Winner and finalists will be announced in the fall. Prize: $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter print edition of Ninth Letter. Fee: $7
https://ninthletter.com/regeneration-literary-contest/
60th New Millennium Writing Awards
Deadline: June 30
First Place in each category receives a $1,000 cash prize, a certificate to document the success, publication online and in print, in New Millennium Writings, and two complimentary copies. Submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and flash fiction. Fiction and Nonfiction (all types welcome): 7,499 words or less. Flash Fiction: 1,000 words or less. Poetry: each entry may include three poems, up to five pages total. Fee: $20
https://newmillenniumwritings.submittable.com/submit/320937/60th-new-millennium-writing-awards
The Letter Review Prize
Deadline: June 30
Submit poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to The Letter Review Prize. Win up to $1,000 per category. Fiction and Nonfiction: up to 5,000 words. Poetry: up to 70 lines. All stories and poetry types welcome. Books: an excerpt up to 5,000 words. Open to writers who live anywhere in the world. Fee: $15-$25
https://letterreview.submittable.com/submit
Fringe Literary Contest
Deadline: June 30
The Eden Mills Writers’ Festival is committed to providing a venue for unpublished or modestly published writers to showcase their work. Fiction and Creative Nonfiction: 2000 words maximum; Poetry: Five pages maximum, any number of poems. One winner will be selected in each category and invited to read at the EMWF on Sunday, September 7, 2025. Winners will also receive $150. Both the winner and a guest of their choosing will receive free entry to the festival. Fee: $20
https://edenmillswritersfestival.ca/read-at-the-fringe-literary-contest/
Apus: Symbiosis: With Whom, and How Do We Live?
Deadline: June 30
Apus is a bilingual literary magazine that collects diasporic artwork and writing in Chinese and English. Their annual print and digital publication welcomes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, visual arts, and creative works that blend genres. They invite creators to explore the theme of “Symbiosis,” which means “living together.” Prose: no longer than 15,000 words. Poetry: should not exceed 200 lines. Pay: $1 USD per line of poetry; $10 per 1,000 words. No fee.
https://apuslit.com/submission
Off Topic: Trans and Genderqueer Voices Anthology
Deadline: June 30
Submit poems, flash fiction, short stories, creative nonfiction, essays, and unclassified other writing of any style and theme. The work must be written by a trans/genderqueer person. Poems: Submit up to 3 poems in a single file submission. No more than 30 lines per poem. Flash Fiction: Submit up to 3 pieces in a single file submission. No longer than 500 words, not including the title. Short Stories (Fiction): Submit 1 piece. 501-2500 words. Creative Nonfiction & Essays: Submit 1 piece. Maximum 2500 words. Pay: $20 CAD + an equal share of sales. No fee.
https://offtopicpublishing.com/opencalls/
Whispering Angels
Deadline: June 30
Whispering Angel Books is excited to announce their upcoming anthology of uplifting and inspirational short stories and poetry, entitled Whispering Angels. They’ll be celebrating personal heroes—real life whispering angels—who have lifted you up, shown you the power of resilience, inspired you to keep going, or guided you in becoming your best self. To borrow a sentiment from “Wicked,” tell them who’s changed your life “for good.” Submit short true stories and poems up to 1,500 words. If your work is selected, you will receive a copy of the book. No fee.
https://whisperingangelbooks.com/submissions
New Voices Award Contest – Picture Book Manuscripts
Deadline: June 30
Established in 2000, the New Voices Award is given biennially to an unpublished writer of color or Native/Indigenous writer for a picture book manuscript. Manuscripts may be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for children ages 5 to 12. Manuscripts should address the needs of children of color or Native/Indigenous children by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to different family structures, gender identity, LGBTQ+ communities, or disabilities are also of interest. To be eligible for this contest, writers cannot have had a picture book published traditionally. Submit up to 2 submissions, not to exceed 4,500 words. One winner will receive the New Voices Award, which consists of a standard publication contract, including Lee & Low Books’ basic advance and royalties for a first-time author in the amount of $5,000. No fee.
https://www.leeandlow.com/authors-illustrators/writing-contests/new-voices-award/
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WOW! Women on Writing Quarterly Flash Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Contests
Deadlines: May 31 (fiction) and July 31 (nonfiction). Our favorite writing community offers quarterly contests judged blindly with multiple cash prizes and more for 20 winners, up to $1,350 (fiction) and $1,175 plus a gift certificate to CreateWriteNow (nonfiction), an affordable critique option, and a 300-entry limit on each contest. Previously published work is accepted! What’s not to love? This season's guest judge is Literary Agent Isabel Lineberry. Fee: $10 (Flash Fiction) and $12 (Nonfiction).
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
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 | | Hello, Summer! The first day of summer arrives with the solstice this year on Friday, June 20th! Celebrate by submitting to Dreamworldgirl Zine's upcoming issue on nostalgia and summer: Reminiscence. Dreamworldgirl Zine is a Boston and LA based multimedia zine for all things girlhood. For issue 03: Reminiscence, they are looking to dive into the nostalgia and nuance of summer: as you look back, what stands out? Do you remember summertime sadness, journeys back home with cultural significance, eyes glued to the television, sticky popsicles with family friends, sweet summer flings, or sunburns that hurt just as bad as they looked? The possibilities for exploration here are endless. They want artists to send them their most personal and vulnerable interpretations of summer. Submit no more than 3 submissions. Keep poetry and prose submissions under 1,000 words. Send all submissions to dreamworldgirlzine@gmail.com, and make sure to include your name! Pay: $5-$10 per piece. No fee. Submit by June 11! www.dreamworldgirlzine.com/submit
| | Craft Corner: It’s a Wonderful World: How to Create a Compelling World and Setting in Your Novels | | |
By Julie Shackman
Two of the biggest compliments I ever received were from readers of my feel-good romances, who recently sent me the following messages on social media:
The first said, “I loved your descriptions and settings. It felt like I was there.”
Another said, “It’s as if Julie Shackman’s locations become a character in their own right.”
Whoa! Talk about making my year—let alone my day! As a writer who loves to world-build, these comments left me with an emotional and warm fuzzy glow!
Personally, I love to read books where the world springs to life from the page and catapults me into the story. As I read, there’s nothing more I enjoy than seeing in my imagination the places I’m reading about.
Novels that conjure up pictures in my head of where the characters work, live, love, and exist have a very special place in my heart. You can see the buttery sun cascading down the castle walls, smell the woodsmoke spiraling through the forest, or hear the flapping of dragon wings, as it soars over the erupting volcano.
But as writers, how can we achieve descriptions of vivid colors and make them reality when we world-build? How can we make our settings seem real and spring from the page? What techniques can we use to make our readers feel like they are right there in the middle of the action, too?
Two of my favorite authors, Jenny Colgan and Trisha Ashley, who are spellbinding with their world-building, create amazing settings for their books.
You can literally feel the sea breeze on your face and taste the sea salt on your tongue whenever Jenny puts pen to paper. She will describe a Highland setting to perfection.
As for Trisha, she is a master at creating and stirring up visions of windswept hillsides and old houses with mullioned windows. Yorkshire leaps from the pages.
We all have special places in our hearts for settings we’ve read about or perhaps they are just memorable to us because of how the author crafted them. Whether it’s the shadowy crime-ridden Gotham City for Batman or the fictional town of Amity, where a great white shark struck fear into the locals, such worlds stay with us for a variety of reasons, long after we finished reading.
That’s if the author has managed to make their world compelling.
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For my own feel-good romances set in Scotland, I tend to create imaginary places and come up with my own town or village names. I love doing this, and each time, it’s a thrill to start over with a brand-new setting to create and a new town or village name to conjure up.
I think I’m rather like a magpie—I tend to steal elements of real-life places that I’ve been to or read about and then mold them together to make up my own settings. It might be an old Gothic church I spied in one town and a crumbling castle in another.
Then I’ll mull over possible place names and not only try to choose something that sounds good but also reflects the appearance, location, or atmosphere of my world.
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For example, in my first Scottish Escapes title, A Secret Scottish Escape, I came up with the setting of Loch Harris, which is loosely based on Loch Lomond. I wanted somewhere that I could create a stunning loch, breath-taking scenery, and have a jetty to house an old boat shed.
In A Scottish Lighthouse Escape, the setting is the fictional Scottish Highland seaside town of Rowan Bay. As you might have guessed from the title, a lighthouse features in the story, and so I had great fun describing the wildlife there, the bay itself, and the majestic waves hitting the rocks.
Try to adopt the same approach for your world or town, and create a name that encapsulates the spirit of your world. Perhaps it reflects the scenery, lakes, or history of the area. Maybe it harps back to an aspect of its industrial past? Let your imagination run free and try to come up with a unique name that not only fits your new world but also mirrors it.
There are so many memorable worlds and settings from well-known books with amazing names that live long in literary history: Narnia, Westeros, Neverland. Try to make sure that yours is equally as creative and memorable.
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Create a world in your novel or short story that pulls your reader in and makes them want to visit. You will have achieved something very special.
But how?
Effective world-building is vital—if we, as authors, are to achieve that element of reality. If we can do this, it is every bit as enjoyable for us as it is for the reader.
Fictional world-building that manages to create pictures in the minds of your readers will make them feel like they are there alongside your characters, living and breathing the story. Use color, smell, sight, touch, and taste to paint a picture of where your characters are. Describe unique buildings and snaking streets or glossy doorways and the brittle feel of wooden shop shutters. There might be the rich tang of coffee or the bitter scent of smoke from a nearby foundry.
Do that well, and you will hook your reader!
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In order for your reader to feel immersed in your world, you need to bring the setting to life.
Think of well-known fictitious worlds that have achieved just that. For example, think of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter novels with the school’s imposing, mysterious location, medieval turrets, and magic woven into every stone.
Or perhaps you are a fan of The Hobbit with its weird and wonderful creatures and its fantastical land of Middle Earth. You could be a keen artist, wishing to follow in the footsteps of Tolkien and come up with maps of your new world.
So, what do novels like these have in common?
You certainly don’t have to be a keen, fledgling cartographer. But what you should strive to do is paint a picture on the page that makes the reader feel like they are following in the footsteps of your characters.
Hogwarts and Middle Earth are both memorable with settings that fizz from the page, providing a sense of place that the characters complement. Use your unique storytelling and imaginative prowess to describe how your settings look, what the atmosphere is like, and how it feels for your characters to be there.
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Perhaps your world has stringent laws and customs. Maybe it has a controlling hierarchy that refuses to have any sort of anarchy.
Introducing such aspects as these above will give your setting a different dimension as well as another storyline to explore with your characters.
Make your world stand out with unique architecture or an unusual history. Again, this could be implied and explored further in the name you choose for your novel or short story setting.
Details like this, could infer a compelling, subversive element that your characters have to challenge. What would this mean for your world? How would it change? What would the impact be?
For instance, think of the underbelly of lies and deceit that exists in the power struggles of Game of Thrones. There are shadowy hallways and sinister castles as warring families battle to seize power.
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Everywhere we live—whether town, city, country, or continent—these places possess their own unique characteristics and history. That’s what makes our planet such a beautiful, original, and diverse place.
Make your novel’s setting no exception.
Create an imaginative backstory of how your setting came to be, by whom and why. How was it originally started? Were there warring families or maybe someone was running from something and had to start over?
For example, you have so many opposing factions in the Star Wars franchise, where ancestors created various settlements and planets, only for them to be conquered by their enemies. Characters could have a special connection to a place, or they could possess a dark secret that is hidden in the place where your story is set.
Bring the backstory and evolution of your world to life. Sprinkle these details throughout your novel, and weave them into the fabric of the background of your world. This will make your setting more relatable and real to your reader.
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With novels such as Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games, law and order, rebellion, and war feature heavily.
This aspect is something you could incorporate into your own story. Not only would these types of events greatly impact your characters, but they also provide a great excuse for tension and intrigue!
Imagine clandestine characters meeting up on cobble streets or dingy taverns to discuss their battle plans.
Such details will make your characters, story, and place pop from the page and create more atmosphere.
You wouldn’t have a trio of villains meeting on a sunny day at the beach (well, you could, but it wouldn’t be very atmospheric).
Instead, enhance the themes and pace of your story by using your world to its full advantage to create tension and drama. A place with dark, looming doorways and furtive-looking characters loitering on every street corner will make any reader curious to know more.
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Characters interact with your setting, whether it be a factory, house, or stately home and such places can trigger memories, heartbreak, or guilt, depending on your story.
They could adore their world, or conversely, it may feel like a prison to them and they are desperate to escape.
But it’s also about the character of your fictional world and not just the people who inhabit it. Give your setting enough character and detail in its own right, and it will become a living and breathing entity, just like your protagonist and antagonist.
Your setting too will have a story to tell.
Just think of the likes of Oz in The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and Wonderland from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
World-building is one of my favorite parts of writing a new book. It gives me free reign to put my shiny, new set of characters into a brand-new place, brimming with new landscapes, secrets, and location.
So, when you next begin to pull together ideas for your novel’s world, remember that the setting you will carve out of nothing really is your oyster. If you live and breathe it in your imagination, your reader will, too!
Happy world-building and good luck!
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Julie Shackman is a feel-good romance author from Scotland and is published with the HarperCollins imprint One More Chapter. Visit her website: julieshackman.co.uk. Connect with her on social media: X @G13Julie, Instagram @juliegeorginashackman, and Facebook @julie.shackman.
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Finding Out the Old Stories Don't Speak to You
By Nicole Pyles
This has been a year of surprises. I've let go of a major writing gig and went both feet into my new podcast booking service (which is doing surprisingly well). And I managed this year, so far, to finish a strong draft of a story I'd been working on for years.
After that, knowing I needed to give myself a break, I reached for other stories in my "finished - but not revised" folder. I brought both up, started working on them, and got bored.
I. Got. Bored.
With my own work!
This is obviously a terrible sign, but I thought...well, I'm stressed. And I'm having a hard time focusing creatively. So, maybe just keep at it.
Until something hit me.
READ MORE
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Revising a Nonfiction Picture Book: Let Kirsten W. Larson Show You the Way
By Sue Bradford Edwards
I’m always disappointed that most of the books I find about revising picture books are about revising fiction picture books. Yes, that’s an important topic, but it isn’t incredibly helpful to me – an author who writes primarily nonfiction.
Fortunately, I’ve found a top-notch book on revising the nonfiction picture book. And the best part? It isn’t just a book. It is, as the subtitle indicates, a step-by-step revision guide. If you write nonfiction picture books, consider Reimagining Your Nonfiction Picture Book: A Step-by-Step Guide by Kirsten W. Larson.
READ MORE
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A Day in the Life of Working From Home
By Renee Roberson
I primarily work as a freelance writer, podcaster, and aspiring novelist. But if I’m to be honest, I spend most of my days being distracted by bright and shiny objects. Something tells me I’m not alone in this. Consider what an average day looks like for me.
Wake up anywhere between 7 and 8 a.m. Get my coffee, catch up on the national news (most of the time I regret this), drink a glass of water, and make breakfast. From there, I get dressed and walk my two dogs. One is an elderly dachshund who is not too keen on walking, the other is a feisty chihuahua terrier who will NOT have her walk cut short unless it is raining, or she hears thunder in the distance.
READ MORE
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Everything's fine. Or not.
By Jodi Webb
If my life was a song, the refrain would be “Everything’s fine.” I am that person. The one who tries to put a positive spin on every person and event. Part of it is wanting everything to be fine and the other part is not wanting to worry people with my problems. So I’ve been singing “Everything’s fine” for years. Even when things were not. It just seemed easier.
READ MORE
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Even Google Wants You to Have a Team
By Sue Bradford Edwards
Recently I signed up for the Google Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Professional Certificate through Coursera. My library had scholarships available, and I’ve been wondering how much of the content would be useful to me, a freelance writer. I need to be visible online. I want people to find my work especially that I am now preparing to self-publish.
READ MORE
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Don't Underestimate the Power of Habit
By Nicole Pyles
Somehow, over the past month, I've become disconnected from my writing routine. I have thought about writing, and I certainly would have liked to have written. Yet, those thoughts never turned into action. The anti-muse that is busyness crept back in, whispered in my ear that there's far too much to do, and turned my attention away from my creative work.
Oops, right?
Over the past week, I have been thinking about this and realized one aspect I needed to build back into my day: habit.
READ MORE
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Friday Speak Out! So You Got Rejected, Now What?
By Laura Yeager
Rejection is something with which all writers are familiar. Writers can be rejected for many reasons from weak grammar to an illogical storyline. There are many causes of rejection, but what are some of the effects of rejection on the writer?
The some of the effects include the following –
Throwing the piece out and beginning afresh. This is a drastic response to rejection and is likely to be a result of hurt feelings and devastation. I don’t recommend this action, but if you’re completely tired of working and reworking a story or article, starting from scratch might be the way to go.
READ MORE
| | Success Stories From WOW! Writers | | |
By Margo L. Dill
In this newsletter, we’ve read a lot about place, setting, and world-building. As writers, we know that immersing readers in the setting of our story is extremely important. Plus, we need to get out into the world to experience it for our readers. This could mean traveling to new destinations or visiting your favorite local coffeehouse or library. We asked on social media: Where is your favorite writing spot? The writers who answered set us in their spaces immediately. We love the creativity and ideas they gave us to find our perfect spot.
Plus, we are back with more success stories, and these are ones you do not want to miss! Podcast appearances, contest wins, published books, contracts signed, and more. Please email me your success stories for my next column at margolynndill@gmail.com and cc margo@wow-womenonwriting.com. Please put WOW Success Story in the subject line.
We share successes to encourage everyone to follow their dreams. We like to hear what you’re working on! So a success can be accomplishing a goal like refreshing your website or submitting five stories a month for publication. We want to celebrate books published and books written! Take some time to read these below and check out any links the writers included. Then find your favorite writing spot, and craft your dream.
Where is your favorite writing spot?
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Sara Fox Author writes, “I've recently fully committed to being an author. This meant that my writing space had to be exactly that! I bought a new desk and a chair so that I can actually sit comfortably and correctly - begone back pain! I need to be able to see the garden, so I can lose myself in plots while I gaze out. I have photos and pictures relating to my novels around me. My ancestors like to chime in with contributions. Quite often, I'll actually have a photo of a grandfather on a chair next to me. We put plots together between us which is always fun. Writing a historical family saga is definitely a team effort. 😁😉”
Andrea Dorn writes, “I write best in a public place like a park, a library or a doctor’s office.”
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@lesfroo writes, “My writing space inspires me through open windows to nature, taking in blue sky, a sprawling green lawn, and a tumbling rock waterfall. Next to my antique oak schoolmaster’s desk, a bookshelf holds books, journals, notepads, pens, and coffee or wine, depending on the time of day. The wall ahead of me features a print from the painting of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, ‘The Reader Crowned with Flowers’ or ‘Virgil’s Muse,’ 1845. On either side are framed quotes by Ernest Hemingway and a poem reminding me to be fearless in pursuit of my dream. A Sid Dickens Memory Block defines ‘Joy,’ a state of happiness, and sits next to a rustic ‘L’ - my first initial. To the right of center, a tiny shelf holds a miniature Victorian typewriter and two pocket-sized bibles, one in Spanish, one in English, belonging to my grandfather in the late 1800s. My greatest inspiration sits at my feet, peering through dark Shih Tzu eyes, wondering why I’m writing and not playing with her, until the tapping of fingers on the keyboard lulls her to sleep in the quiet.”
Success Stories
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Em Buckman writes, “On Monday, I was lucky enough to be interviewed for a podcast run by my local literary festival. The interview focused on me becoming a published author in my sixties and on the journey I've been on to have a non-fiction and a fiction book published. Yesterday I worked on an article for my blog. Today I met with a local media firm about how they might be able to work with me with the marketing plan for my book, which comes out on July 1st. I try to do something marketing-related every day. It's not always easy! Finally, I have just published my latest blog article on mental health and weight. Now it's time to walk the dog and feed the cat who's incessantly meowing at me as I write this!”
Mary Jo Thayer, Author writes, “Signed a contract for my second fictional novel, Running Out of Sand, a story about how alcohol chips away at a really good man (to be released in 2026): Silvester is the older brother of Carolyn Fandel, the main character in award-winning Close to the Soul. Sil didn’t intend to become a drunk. But his inability to save and protect those he cares about—especially his sister who was raped—leaves him with emotions only alcohol can tame. Follow along on Insta and Facebook: @maryjothayerauthor”
Ann Cathleen Neumann writes, “My debut novel Turning Toward Eden released on May 6 and hit the #1 Amazon Hot New Release in Teen-YA Historical Mysteries the entire first week out. It’s a retro (1971) coming-of-age story for adults and upper YA.”
Suzanne Stauffer, writer of fiction writes, “My debut historical cozy culinary mystery, Fried Chicken Castañeda, was released on May 6. It was called ‘A deftly crafted masterpiece of the cozy mystery genre,’ by the Midwest Book Review in their April issue.”
Amanda Nicholson writes, “I was interviewed about my book, Death to All Men, on ‘5 things to do today’.”
Marion Lougheed writes, “My tiny poem ‘normal style’ came out in Wild Whispers Poetry Magazine. I also had my latest article pitch accepted for Writer's Digest.”
Elle Mott writes, “One of many goals in my prepublication process has recently been completed and that is, the line editing. This involved getting through 244 comments from the editor. (Phew! I did it!) My soon upcoming book, Marie, A Leading Lady, is a nonfiction historical biography. As such, I couldn't make anything up story wise when answering my editor's questions. Rather I was often back in my bibliography to revisit my sources. Now, the copyeditor is taking a whack at it🙂.”
Lori Green writes, “I received the Silver medal in a flash writing contest with Blank Spaces Magazine!”
Congratulations, Writers!
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