July Calls for Submissions & Opportunities
This list features all paid opps. Go get your coins, fam!
“If It Ain’t About the Money” July/August Opportunities
Stony Brook Southampton- Deadline July 14th
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story by a current undergraduate college student. The winner also receives a full scholarship to attend the Southampton Writers Conference in summer 2024, and the winning work will be considered for publication in the Southampton Review. Submit a story of up to 7,500 words by July 14. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Cinncinatti Review Prize: Robert and Adele Schiff Awards- Deadline July 15th
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Rebecca Lindenberg will judge in poetry, Michael Griffith will judge in fiction, and Kristen Iversen will judge in nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to eight pages of poetry, a short story of up to 40 pages, or an essay of no more than 20 pages with a $20 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Cincinnati Review, by July 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Regal House Publishing: Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction- Deadline July 15th
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novel. Translations into English are eligible. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 350 pages with a $25 entry fee by July 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Gulf Coast : 2023 Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing - Deadline August 31st
The Beauchamp Prize will consider submissions of work that have been written (or published) within the last year. Entries for the Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing should be a single piece of prose, written in English, not exceeding 1,500 words.
There will be one first place prize of $3,000 dollars, and two runners up, awarded $1,000 each. The winning essay will be featured in GC's printed journal, and the two runners-up will be considered for publication.
The Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing seeks to address this lacuna by bringing exposure to writers who are dealing with the spirit of the age and unafraid to ask difficult questions. The 2023 Beauchamp Prize will be judged by Micki Meng.
Comstock Review: Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award- Deadline July 15th
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a single poem. Danusha Laméris will judge. Submit up to five poems of no more than 40 lines each with a $27.50 entry fee (or $5 per poem via postal mail) by July 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Sixfold Poetry Prize- Deadline July 24th
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems totaling no more than 10 pages or a story of up to 20 pages with a $5 entry fee by July 24. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Sewanee Review Prize - Deadline July 31st
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a single poem or group of poems, a short story, and a creative nonfiction essay. Major Jackson will judge in poetry, Megan Mayhew Bergman will judge in fiction, and Alexander Chee will judge in creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to six poems or a story or essay of up to 10,000 words with a $30 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Sewanee Review, between July 1 and July 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Granum Foundation Prize- Deadline August 1st
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer to support the completion of a manuscript-in-progress. Up to three finalists will be awarded at least $500. A Translation Prize of at least $1,500 is also given. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of approximately 30 pages by August 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.
Press 53 Prize - Deadline July 31st
A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 53 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Tom Lombardo will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 120 pages with a $30 entry fee by July 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Two Sylvias Press Online Poetry Retreat
Two Sylvias Online Poetry Retreat offers you the opportunity to write new poems and have one of them critiqued by a guest poet: Diane Seuss, Traci Brimhall, January Gill O'Neil, Jennifer Jean, and Jennifer K. Sweeney for the August Retreat. You can learn about each guest critique poet by clicking here. The editors of Two Sylvias Press (Kelli Russell Agodon & Annette Spaulding-Convy) will critique poems for the October Session. We send you poetry prompts, example poems, creativity suggestions, and reflection questions to inspire your writing—ALL VIA EMAIL.
Southern Prize and State Fellows for Literary Arts - August 4th, 2023
The program is open to individual artists who meet all eligibility criteria and live in the South Arts region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Please refer to the eligibility and guidelines section below for full details on who may apply for the Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Literary Arts.
Applicants are required to submit (through South Arts’ online application portal-currently SlideRoom): an application, a writing sample, an artist’s statement and Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) as outlined in the Guidelines. Writers at all stages of their career are eligible to apply; successful applications show evidence of outstanding talent and commitment to the creation of new work.
The Unsealed Body Poem Contest
Write an inspiring letter or poem to your body about what makes your body wonderful. First Place – selected by The unsealed – $200
Ploughshares Reading Period Open Deadline rolling
To submit longform, longer works of fiction and nonfiction published in our Fall issues, see the guidelines here.
To submit a Look2 essay to the journal, see the guidelines here.
To submit to the Emerging Writer’s Contest, for writers who have never published or self-published a book, see the guidelines here. The 2023 contest judges are Gish Jen (Fiction), Sandra Cisneros (Poetry) and Meghan O'Rourke (Nonfiction).
Lucky Jefferson Poetry Contest & Awake Zine for Black Writers - Deadline August 1st
Writing allows us to imagine a world where oppression and trauma don’t exist. And there is a reality where we are not defined by our trauma(s), but through our power—And you’re invited to be a part of that.
Awake is a digital zine and collection of work by Black authors that explores the power we each hold. For the very first time, Awake will be in print!
Poetry at Ephemera: Creativity and Inspiration Submisson
Ephemera Newsletter is a weekly Substack in the literature, arts, and creativity space that goes to 29,000 subscribers. We review artists, musicians, magazines, writing opportunities, and job postings on a weekly basis. We also deliver book recommendations, and interesting & apropos literary and creative miscellany, alongside weekly craft mini-essays to get people thinking and motivated.
Beginning in 2023, we've opened for poetry submissions. Each weekly issue, beginning in April, will contain 1-2 poems, and one poet will be featured across all weekly issues for the month.
The poet will receive a separate Substack post where the poems will also appear, alongside a writer bio & photo, an artist statement, a link to recently published work & book covers (if applicable) and a craft/creativity statement. For more submission details, please refer to each individual submission category.
Kweli Literary Festival Scholarship
We're thrilled to announce the 2023 Kweli International Literary Festival REGISTRATION IS OPEN! The nation’s foremost literary festival exclusively for BIPOC writers, #KweliLitFest23 will be held July 15th through September 15th and will feature readings and conversations, craft talks, master classes, and workshops with award-winning BIPOC authors, including Hanif Abdurraqib, Fatimah Asghar, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Oscar Hokeah, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, Victor LaValle and Namwali Serpell.
Our Festival Inaugural Day will be held on SATURDAY, JULY 15, 8AM-6PM, in-person at Barnard College in New York City. The all-day inaugural event includes readings and craft conversations with acclaimed authors, and panel discussions with agents and editors. Review our SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE. There is limited capacity for the in-person inaugural day so sign up now to reserve your spot. Additional master classes, craft talks, and multi-session workshops following Inaugural Day will be held virtually for full accessibility. Click here to register for the virtual classes.
Driftwood Press Submission Opportunities
Deadline: July 15, 2023 (Adrift contests); Year-round (general submissions)
Driftwood Press is happy to share a plethora of submission opportunities for writers and artists! Our Adrift Short Fiction & Poetry Chapbook Contests, in which every work submitted is considered for publication as winner or runner-up, is ending soon! For our yearly print anthology, we are looking for poems, short stories, comics, and visual art that will wow our readers, accepted as both contest and normal submissions. We are a paying market, and our published writers also get to take part in bespoke interviews about their work! Driftwood is also on the hunt for amazing book-length titles to grow our catalogue, so if you have a novella, poetry collection, comic collection, or graphic novel manuscript, we would love to read it! Visit us here for our Submittable page, and we encourage you to follow us on social media (@driftwoodpress) to learn about even more submission opportunities!
BIPOC Writers Connect: Facilitating Mentorship, Creating Community is open to Black, Indigenous, and racialized writers who have a minimum of one published piece of writing (e.g., an article or short story in an online newspaper, school paper, or magazine), and who currently have a work-in-progress (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, YA, or children's writing) to submit for manuscript evaluation. Writers who have one or more full-length published book (traditional or self-published) or contract offer, and staff of The Writers' Union of Canada or the League of Canadian Poets are not eligible to apply. Previous BIPOC Writers Connect mentees are not eligible to reapply. Applicants must be 18 or older by October 19, 2023.
Inkyard Press publishes smart, engaging YA fiction across a variety of genres, from realistic contemporary to epic fantasy. We are passionate about publishing diverse voices and giving our readers a chance to see themselves and each other in our books, with grateful acknowledgment to the work of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop on the importance of “windows” and “mirrors” in literature. For our Black Creators submission call, we are looking for YA fiction, including fantasy, contemporary social issues, mystery, romance, thriller, and horror.
NORTH CAROLINA LITERARY REVIEW PRIZES
JOHN EHLE PRIZE – We collaborated with Press 53 of Winston-Salem to create a $250 honorarium for the author of the best work on a neglected or forgotten writer selected for publication in our pages (essays on the work of John Ehle included). Eligible content may be for any section of the issue (feature, Flashbacks, or NC Miscellany) and can be literary criticism or an interview.
RANDALL KENAN PRIZE – UNC Chapel Hill Creative Writing Program has provided a $250 honorarium to the author of the best essay on or interview with a new (or relatively new) North Carolina writer, selected for publication in our pages.
PAUL GREEN PRIZE – The Paul Green Foundation will provide a $250 honorarium to the author of the best Paul Green–related content accepted for publication in the North Carolina Literary Review.