Erica Verrillo's Blog

Public Domain Pictures This October there are more than eight dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

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Sundog. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art. Payment: $50. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026, and closes when they reach capacity.

Strange Horizons. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: 9¢/word. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026, and closes when they reach capacity. Strange Horizons also publishes nonficton, art, reviews and poetry.

The Iowa Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry. Payment: $1.50 per line for poetry ($100 minimum) and $0.08 per word for prose ($100 minimum). Deadline: October 1, 2026. No fee for snail mail submissions. $4 fee for online submissions.

Polar Borealis. Restrictions: Open to Canadians only. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: 1 cent per word. $10 for one thousand words or less. $20 for two thousand words or less (but reasonably above one thousand). $30 for three thousand words or less (but reasonably above two thousand). Deadline: Opens in October, 2026.

Independence Literary Review: Healthcare and Healing Folio. Genre: Nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $50-200. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Adventitious. Genre: Speculative, surreal, and literary fiction. Length: Flash Fiction (including Micro): Up to 1,000 words; Fiction: 1,000 – 6,000 words. Novelette: 6,000 – 17,000 words. Payment: $0.08 USD per word. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026, and closes when they reach capacity.

Okay Donkey. Genre: One flash fiction OR one poem per author, per submission period. See website for details. Payment: $25. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026.


Rat Bag. Genre: Microfiction. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026.

The Paris Review. Genres: Poetry, prose. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026, and closes when they reach capacity.

Independence Literary Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and art of any theme. Payment: $25 - $200. Deadline: October 1, 2026.


The Last Line. Genre: Fiction that ends with the last line provided. Payment: $20-$40. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of queer and trans writing. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. "Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it." Payment: $100. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Delirious Doubles. Genre: Science fiction of at least 5,000 words that have pirates as their main characters. Payment: $30. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Payment: $100. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: October 1, 2026. Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached. 

Wyldblood Press (UK) Genre: Short speculative fiction. Length: 5000 words max. Payment: £0.01 cent/word. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026. Open for one day only,

Thinking Ink Press: The Neurodiversiverse – Bridging Worlds. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, and art. See theme. Payment: $100 per short story; $50 per flash fiction; $50 per poem. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Tales from the Moonlit Path. Genre: Dark fiction on theme. Payment: $10. Deadline: October 1, 2026.


Raconteur Press: The Wyrd, Wyrd, World of Sports. Genre: Short stories. Take me out to the ballgame, take me up through the clouds… Put a cursed jersey upon my back, I don’t care if it turns my soul black! It’s a friendly game or a death match. Magic is part of the dream. You have one, two, three wishes left for the Wyrd Sports team! Length: 5,000 to 8,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 2, 2026.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: October 2, 2026. Opens October 1.
Flame Tree: Icarus. Genre: Stories based on Icarus. See theme. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: October 4, 2026. 

Flame Tree: Pandora. Genre: Stories based on Pandora. See theme. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: October 4, 2026. 
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Gap Riot. Genre: Experimental, visual, innovative, and genre-blurring feminist poetry by primarily Canadian poets. Length: Short short chapbooks (absolute max 20 pages). See theme. Payment: Royalties, after first 20 copies have sold. Deadline: October 4, 2026.


Stone’s Throw. Genre: "We're looking for dark fiction, crime and noir, length between 1,000 and 2,000 words." Payment: $25. Deadline: October 4, 2026. Open to submissions the first three days of every month.

OTHERSIDE. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by self-identified members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Payment: $0.08/word for prose. $50 per poem. $100 for nonfiction and reprints. Deadline: October 1- 7, 2026. Submission period only for BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled authors.

Black Inc. Restrictions: Open to Australians. Genre: Full-length general, literary and commercial non-fiction – including history, current affairs, memoir and biography. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 7, 2026. This is a monthly call.

University of Queensland Press. Restrictions: Open to Australian citizens or permanent residents. Genre: Non-fiction, literary fiction (including short stories), poetry, children’s and young adult. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 7, 2026. This is a monthly call.

Cosmic Horror Monthly. Genre: Weird and cosmic fiction under 2,000 words. Essays. Payment: 3 cents (USD) per word. Deadline: October 7, 2026.

Wild Hyacinth .Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. See theme. Payment: CAD25. Deadline: October 9, 2026.

Poetry Sango-Ota. Restrictions: Open to African poets. Genre: Poetry. "We are interested in poems with a keen connection to a sense of place, nature, or otherworldly geographies." Payment: N10,000 (ten thousand naira) per poem. Deadline: October 10, 2026.Open from the 1st to the 10th of every month. 

Qwerty. Genre: Art, Poetry, Prose. Payment: $15. Deadline: October 12, 2026.

Planet Scumm. Genre: Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: October 13, 2026.


Rebel Satori Press. Restrictions: Open to LGBTQIA+ writers. Genre: Book-length speculative fiction involving LGBTQ+ characters written by LGBTQ+ authors, including but not limited to: sci-fi, interstitial, slipstream, horror, and supernatural fictional manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 14, 2026.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. See theme. Payment: $0.08/word for fiction, $40/poem, and $75/essay, $100 for reprint cover art, $200 for original unpublished cover art, $50 for reprint interior art, $100 for original unpublished interior art. Deadline: October 14, 2026.

Story Unlikely. Genre: Fiction. Payment: 8 cents a word. Deadline: October 14, 2026. (Note: Website is very hard to read.)

Translunar Travelers Lounge. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

New Orleans Review. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: $300 for prose, $100 for poetry. Deadline: October 15, 2026. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, there are no submission fees for Latinx writers from September 15th to October 15th.

100-Foot Crow. Genre: Speculative fiction drabbles, of exactly 100 words on two themes: TRANSFORMATION and BARS. Payment: $8. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

WordFire Press: Superheroes, Super Problems. Genre: Fiction and poetry on theme: Superheroes. Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: October 15, 2026.


Eye to the Telescope. Genre: Speculative poetry. See theme. Payment: 7 cents/word, up to $30. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 1.5 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Shenandoah. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Closes when they reach capacity.


Rattle: Tribute to Youth Poet Laureates. Genre: Poetry. "We invite previously uncurated poems from current or former Youth Poet Laureates at any level. The poems may be any length or subject, but together they reflect how this growing cohort is writing and shaping contemporary poetry." Payment: Contributors to the print magazine receive $200 and a complimentary one-year subscription. Poems for "Online" categories receive $100. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Chicken Soup for the Soul. Genre: True humorous stories. "Share your funny stories about something that happened to you in your life – in your relationship with a partner or spouse, a parent or child, a family member or friend, at work or at home – that made you and the people around you laugh out loud. Did you mean for it to be funny? Did the other person mean to make you laugh? Did a situation just get out of control? Did a misunderstanding turn into a comedy of errors?" Payment: $200. Deadline: October 15, 2026, extended deadline.


Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of queer and trans writing. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. "Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it." Payment: $100. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Consequence Magazine: The Culture of War. Genre: Short fiction, poetry, nonfiction, interviews, reviews, and visual art mainly focused on the culture of war. Payment: $20 - $50 for prose and poetry, $150 for art. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy. Genre: Science fiction and fantasy. Length: 1500-7500 words. Payment: $0.005/word up to 7500 words. Minimum of $15. Reprints paid at full rate. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Accepts reprints.


Electric Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: October 15, 2026

Neon Hemlock. Genre: Speculative fiction chapbooks. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Little District Books: Radiant Dawn – A Queer Hopepunk Anthology. Genre: Hopepunk. Payment: $0.05/word. Length: 2,500-10,000 words. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

3 Sisters. Genre: All genres, including but not limited to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art, mixed media, essay, video pieces, computational work, audio offerings, objects, and more. "We are especially interested in hybrid works, work that falls in between genres, and pieces that are not easily categorized." Payment: Modest honorarium. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Trembling With Fear. Genre: Horror. Payment: $5. Deadline: October 15, 2026.


Plott Hound. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry starring animals. Payment: 8 cents/word for original fiction. $20 - $100 for reprints. $50 for poetry. $300 for art. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Accepts reprints.

Indie Novella. Genre: Debut works that align with our mission to amplify underrepresented narratives, with particular focus on: Working-class writers and narratives. Writers from marginalised communities - LGBTQ+, neurodiverse, Black, Asian, and diaspora voices in the UK. Stories addressing mental health. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 16, 2026.

Skylight 47. Genre: Poetry. Payment: 40 euros. Deadline: October 16, 2026.

Seaside Gothic. Genre: Seaside gothic fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or a collection of photographs or illustrations. Payment: £0.01 per word. Deadline: October 18, 2026.

Quist. Restrictions: Open to writers and artists between the ages of 14 and 21 and based in Quebec. Genre: Poetry and prose. Payment: $75. Deadline: October 18, 2026.

Flame Tree: Dark Ages: Folk Horror Stories. Genre: Folk Horror Stories. See theme. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: October 18, 2026.

OTHERSIDE. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by self-identified members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Payment: $0.08/word for prose. $50 per poem. $100 for nonfiction and reprints. Deadline: October 21, 2026. 

Trans Survivors Zine. Genre: Trans and nonbinary writing and art. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: October 21, 2026.

Crooked Spine. Genre: Horror. See theme. Payment: $5 - $20. Deadline: October 23, 2026. 

Kaleidotrope. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry—science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but also compelling work that blurs the lines between these and falls outside of neat genre categories. Payment: For fiction, $0.01/word (1 cent a word) USD. For poetry, a flat rate of $5 USD per accepted piece. For artwork, a flat rat of $60 for cover art. Deadline: October 24, 2026.

Merrow. Genre: Fantasy, Horror and Speculative Fiction. Theme: Tales of mermaids, merfolk, and the rich mythology of the sea. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 28, 2026.


Neon Hemlock Novella Series. Genre: Speculative fiction novellas. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 30, 2026.

Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: 0.01 per word, with a $20 minimum. Deadline: October 30, 2026.

Glass Poetry Press. Genre: Poetry chapbook. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Ember. Genre: Creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry aimed at children and teens. Payment: 2 cents per word or $20 per work, whichever is more, for worldwide first publication rights in English. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Phoenix Poets Series: University of Chicago Press. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Read full guidelines HERE. Deadline: October 31, 2026.


Engen Books. Restrictions: Newfoundland and Labrador writers only. Genre: Love Stories. Length: under 7,500 words. Payment: $0.01 CAD per word. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Swords & Rockets: Tales of Futures Past. Genre: Sword and planet stories. See theme. Payment: £25. Deadline: October 31, 2026.


Carnage House. Genre: Splatterpunk. Payment: $5. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Short Reads. Genre: Nonfiction essays. 1,250 words maximum. Payment: $100 for original essays and $25 for reprints. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Note: They only accept submissions from active subscribers (it's free to subscribe)

Heartsick. Genre: Short fiction on theme: Love. Payment: $3. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

MIDLVLMAG. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, CNF. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: March 7, 2026.

Phylum Press. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. See theme. Payment: $10 CAD. Deadline: October 31, 2026.


Otago University Press. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts that reflect the richness of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Baltimore Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, videos (including poetry), and cross-genre work. Payment: $50. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Flash Point Science Fiction. Genre: Speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. "Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short." Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: October 31, 2026.


Haven Speculative. Restrictions: Open to submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Nine Arches. Genre: Poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Dragon Soul Press: FLAME FORGER. Genre: All dragon-themed stories. All genres accepted. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Orion's Belt. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Length: 1200 words max. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: October 31, 2026.


I Want to Know What Love Is: Stories of Romance Inspired by Power Ballads. Genre: Short stories on theme: Romance Inspired by Power Ballads. Length: 3000-5000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

MetaStellar. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy or horror. 1000 words max. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Whytaker Lyon Press: Virginia Sideways Anthology. Genre: Alternate history stories with a Virginia element. Payment: 1/2 cent per word. Deadline: October 31, 2026.


Zine Machine. Genre: Mini zines. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Lucky Jefferson: Awake. Restrictions: Open to Black Writers and Artists. Genre: Poetry, prose, essays, art on theme. Payment: $25 - $50. Deadline: October 31, 2026. (?)

Manawaker Studio: 100 Word Project. Genre: Speculative fiction of exactly 100 words. See theme. Payment: $1. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Rebel Satori Press: Arabi Minor. Restrictions: Open to LGBTQIA+ writers. Genre: Full-Length Witchcraft and Occult Nonfiction. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

SpecPoVerse. Genre: Speculative poetry. Payment: $5. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Gigas Testament. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to Canadian citizens or residents. Genre: Horror. Payment: $50 CAD. Deadline: October 31, 2026.


Brick. Genre: Literary nonfiction. Payment: $65–$720, depending on the length of accepted work, plus two copies of the issue the work appears in and a one-year subscription to the magazine. Deadline: October 31, 2026.  Closes when cap is reached.

Trollbreath Magazine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Payment: 4 cents/word. 1/2 cent/word for reprints. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Accepts reprints.

Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series. Restrictions: Open to any individual living in the U.S. who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA. Genre: Books of poetry, prose (fiction or nonfiction), and hybrid texts of poetry and prose. Payment: In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Fun in the Dark. Genre: Fiction. See theme. Payment: £20. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Short Story Substack accepts one short story every month. Genre: All genres. Word count 6,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Reprints accepted.

Poetry Substack accepts one poem every month. Genre: Poem. Must have a rhyme scheme or a rhythm scheme. No blank verse or free verse. Payment: Base Pay of $10 for the chosen poem + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: October 31, 2026.. Reprints accepted.


AND A FEW MORE...

The First Line Journal. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry using the line provided. (See theme) Payment: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry. Deadline: November 1, 2026.

Thema. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: Sent by Mistake. Payment: $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: November 1, 2026. Accepts reprints.


Ninth Letter Web Edition. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $25 per poem and $75 for prose. Deadline: November 1, 2026.

Okay Donkey. Genre: One flash fiction OR one poem per author, per submission period. See website for details. Payment: $25. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

Tome & Space. Genre: Speculative fiction, nonfiction, art, and comics. Payment: 11 cents ($CAD) per word up to a maximum of $400 ($CAD). $70 ($CAD) per page up to a maximum of $400 ($CAD) for comics. $50 ($CAD) per piece. They will consider reprints of pieces posted on personal blogs like Substack, at a rate of $15 ($CAD) for commentaries.$300 ($CAD) per cover art piece. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2026.

Fusion Fragment. Genre: Science fiction or SF-tinged literary fiction stories and novelettes ranging anywhere from 2,000 to 15,000 words. Payment: Both previously unpublished work and reprints pay 4 cents (CAD) per word, up to a maximum of $400 (CAD) per story. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2026.

Liars’ League. Genre: Short stories. Length: 800-2,000 words. See theme. Payment: £20, reading of your story by a professional actor, as well as podcast, video and online publication of your work. Deadline: November 1, 2026.

Public Domain Pictures This October there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $60,500 to publication. None charge entry fees.Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

If you want to get a jump on next month's contests go to Free Contests. Many of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.

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The Lindenwood Review Undergraduate Flash Nonfiction Contest. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate students. Genre: Flash Nonfiction. Prize: Publication. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Hektoen International Grand Prix Essay Competition. Genre: Original essay that relates medicine to the humanities. Topics might include art, history, literature, education, etc. as they relate to medicine.1,500 words max. See theme. Prize: $5,000 for the winner and $2,500 for the runner-up. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, sponsored by the African Poetry Book Fund and in partnership with the literary journal, Prairie Schooner, is the only one of its kind in the world and was established to promote African poetry written in English or in translation and to recognize a significant book published each year by an African poet. A standard edition is 48 pages or more in length. Genre: Open to any book of original poetry, in English, published during 2015 in a standard edition by a full-length collection of poetry. Restrictions: African nationals, African residents, or poet of African parentage with roots from any country, living anywhere in the world. Prize: USD $1,000. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

John Lewis Writing Grants. Restrictions: Open to Black and African American writers who have resided in Georgia for at least one year. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or screen/playwriting. Prize: $500. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

2027 IHLR Long Story: Nonfiction and Fiction. Genre: Long fiction or CNF. Length: 20 to 40 pages. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 1, 2026. Note: They will accept 25 free submissions on October 1, 2026.

2027 Iron Horse Long Story: NaPoMo Contest. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 1, 2026. Note: They will accept 25 free submissions on October 1, 2026.

Horror Writers Association Diversity Grants. Restrictions: Open to underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers. Genre: Horror. Prize: $500 grant. Deadline: October 2, 2065.

PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative. Restrictions: Applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. Prize: Grant, amount not specified. Deadline: October 5, 2026.

North Carolina State Fiction Contest. Restrictions: Open to residents of North Carolina with no published fiction books. Genre: Short stories. Prize: $500 for fiction (up to 5,000 words) and $250 for shorter fiction (up to 1,200 words). Deadline: October 5, 2026.

American Antiquarian Society Fellowships for Creative Writers is calling for applications for visiting fellowships for historical research by creative and performing artists, writers, film makers, journalists, and other persons whose goals are to produce imaginative, non-formulaic works dealing with pre-twentieth-century American history. Successful applicants are those whose work is for the general public rather than for academic or educational audiences. The Society's goal in sponsoring this program is to multiply and improve the ways in which an understanding of history is communicated to the American people. Prize: A stipend of $2,400. Deadline: October 5, 2026.

The Solstice Prize. Restrictions: Open to 7 - 25 year olds. Genre: Short stories, blog posts, and poems. Nature writing. Prize: Publication and cash prizes for winners in three age groups: 7-11, 12-14, and 15-17. Deadline: October 10, 2026.

Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction. Restrictions: Open to both published and unpublished writers based in the UK. Genre: Short story. See theme. Prize: £500. Deadline: October 11, 2026.

DC Reid Poets’ Grant. Restrictions: Open to poets of "modest means." Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, living in Canada, who have published at least two books of poetry with a traditional publishing house. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $5000. Deadline: October 13, 2026.

Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to fiction writers aged 21+ who have not yet published a book and have never been enrolled in an MFA program. Writer must not have a book under contract with an agent and/or publisher at time of application, and writer cannot have been published by One Story (or have a forthcoming publication with One Story). Genre: Short fiction that "speaks to issues and experiences related to inhabiting bodies of difference." Prize: Free tuition for all of One Story's online classes and programming, a travel stipend of $2,000 and tuition to attend week-long summer writers' conference in Brooklyn, and a full manuscript review/consultation of a story collection or novel in progress with an executive editor. Deadline: October 13, 2026.

Neal Peirce Foundation Journalism Travel Grants. Genre: Journalism. "Grants are intended to support journalists in covering undertold stories about ways to make cities and their metro regions work better for all their people. Grants will cover travel expenses necessary for on-the-ground reporting. Full-time freelancers as well as journalists currently employed by a news organization are eligible to apply. The grants are for journalists to travel to cities within the U.S. to produce one or more stories for publication." Prize: Up to $1500. Deadline: October 13, 2026.

Latino Voices in Children’s Literature Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to Latino authors who are at least 18 years of age or older and residing anywhere in the United States. Genre: Children’s stories written by and about Latino people. Must be original children’s books for ages 0–4 (50–125 words) or for ages 4–8 (300–800 words). Prize: $1,000 cash prize. Deadline: October 14, 2026.

Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship. Restrictions: Poet must be born in the United States.  Genre: Poetry. The sample must not exceed either (1) 40 typed pages or (2) one printed volume plus no more than 20 typed pages of your most recent work. There is no minimum page requirement.  Prize: $60,500 for a year of travel and study abroad. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Voice.club. Genre: Flash fiction, 350 words max. See theme. Prize: $25 Amazon gift card. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Note: You have to join in order to enter. 

Charles Potts Poetry Award. Genre: First book of poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 15, 2026. (Sponsor confirmed that the date is correct, even though the date on the submissions page shows 2025.)

Prose Poetry Contest. Genre: Prose poem. Length: 150 words max. Prize: First place: £100 plus publication; Second place: £50 plus publication; Third place: £25 plus publication; Honorable mention: £10 plus publication. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Pay-if-you-can format for submissions.

The Fresh Voices Fellowship supports one emerging Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or other writer of color who does not have an MFA in creative writing nor an advanced English degree (MA, PhD), and is not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program. Prize: $2000. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. Awards are given for fiction, poetry. memoir, autobiography, and nonfiction. Prize: $30,000. Deadline: October 16, 2026.

Zocalo Book Prize. Genre: US-published nonfiction book that best enhances our understanding of community and the forces that strengthen or undermine human connectedness and social cohesion. 
Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 16, 2026.

Mindfood. Restrictions: Open to Australian and New Zealand residents only. Genre: Short story 2000 words in length and previously unpublished. Prize: U$1000 for the Australian winner and one (1) prize money of NZ$1000 for the New Zealand winner. Deadline: October 17, 2026.

Waltham Forest Poetry Competition. Genre: Poem on theme: Weather. Prize: 1st £50, 2nd £30, 3rd £20. Deadline: October 19, 2026. No entry fee for writers aged 18 and under.

Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition. Genre: Poetry. “We are looking for poems that seek out stories from the archives, revisit forgotten aspects of local history and celebrate unsung social histories in Greater Manchester." Prize: First prize £200, with £50 for second place, and £25 for third place. There will also be 10 highly commended poems with no financial remuneration. Entrants can be of any or no faith. No previous experience of creative writing or poetry required. All are welcome." Deadline: October 21, 2026.

Dark Descent. Genre: Horror microfiction, 250–500 words. Prize: £25. Deadline: October 25, 2026. Note: This is a monthly contest.

Write the World. Restrictions: Open to writers ages 13-19. Genre: Op-ed, personal narrative and creative writing on theme: "Justice." Prize: "Cash prize." Deadline: October 26, 2026. 

Bronx Council on the Arts Community Engagement Grants. Restrictions: Open to residents of Bronx County. Genre: All art forms, including writing. Grant: $1000 - $5000. Deadline: October 30, 2026.

Varnish Prize for Fiction. Genre: Short fiction, up to 5,000 words. Prize: First Place: $350. Second Place: $100. Third Place: $50. Deadline: October 30, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

Raleigh Review Flash Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Open to US residents. Genre: Flash fiction. Prize: $300. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Submission fee of $7 is optional.

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Restrictions: Emerging African American writers. Genres: Short story collection or novel published in the current year. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Shady Grove Literary. Genre: Any style, genre, tone of flash fiction. Length: 300 words max. Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is given annually by the Arts Club of Washington to nonfiction books about the arts written for a broad audience. Genre: Non-fiction book. Self-published books not accepted. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Storyhouse: Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $250 in any single year. First prize winners of previous contests, while ineligible for prizes in regular contests, can compete in this one. Genre: Travel Nonfiction. Prize: First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

New York Historical Society Children's History Book Prize. Genre: Nonfiction history or historical fiction for middle-grade readers that was published in the US in the current calendar year. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to poets of color with US citizenship who have not previously published a book-length volume of poetry. Genre: Poetry chapbook. Prize: $500, publication by Northwestern University Press, fifteen copies of the book, and a featured reading at The Poetry Foundation.. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Young Walter Scott Prize. Restrictions: Open to UK authors aged 11-19. Genre: Historical fiction between 800 and 2000 words. Prizes: £500 travel and research grant to further explore historical places in the UK, and an invitation to the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland. Two runners-up in each category receive a £100 book token, and all four winning stories are published in a special YWSP anthology book. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Lex:lead Essay Competition. Restrictions: Candidates must show citizenship in an eligible country and be enrolled in studies with at least one law class in an eligible country at the time of the award. Genre: Essay: How can artificial intelligence (AI) be regulated to reduce poverty and support economic development? Prize: $500 scholarship. Deadline: Registration deadline October 31, 2026.

US Naval Institute Essay Prize. Genre: Essay. Length: 3,000 words max. Great power competition will require the Sea Services to rethink how to address national, strategic, and operational challenges and the way they will have to fight. Essays may address any topic. Prize: First Prize: $6000; Second Prize: $3000; Third Prize: $2000. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest is sponsored by Hollins University. Restrictions: Open to young women who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school. Genre: Poetry. Prize: Up to $5,000 renewable annual Creative Talent Scholarship in creative writing if winner enrolls at Hollins. Free tuition and housing for the university’s Hollins summer creative writing program. $350 cash prize. Publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ award-winning student literary magazine. Ten copies of Cargoes. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Betty Trask Prize. Restrictions: Author must be a Commonwealth citizen. Genre: First novels, published or unpublished, written by authors under the age of 35 in a "traditional or romantic, but not experimental, style." Prize: Top prize 10,000 pounds. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Eric Gregory Awards. Restrictions: Applicants must be under 30 and a British subject by birth and must ordinarily be resident in the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland. Genre: Poetry collection. Previously published work accepted. Prize: £4,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

McKitterick Prize. Restrictions: Open to authors over age 40. Genre: First novel. The work must have been first published in the UK in the year in which the deadline falls (and not first published abroad), or be unpublished. Prize: £4,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize. Restrictions: Open to a UK or Irish writer, or a writer currently resident in those countries. Genre: A novel focusing on the experience of travel away from home. Inspired by Malcolm Lowry’s novel, Under the Volcano and in celebration of its author, the prize aims to inspire literary excellence and encourage writers to travel and to write from the resulting experience. Publishers must enter the work. Prize: The winner will receive £2,000 and the runner-up £750. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Queen’s Knickers Award. Genre: Children’s illustrated book for ages 0-7. "It will recognise books that strike a quirky, new note and grab the attention of a child, whether this be in the form of curiosity, amusement, horror or excitement." Prize: £5,000, as well as a golden Queen’s Knickers badge. The runner-up will receive £1,000 and a silver badge. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Somerset Maugham Awards. Restrictions: Open to UK writers under the age of 35. Genre: Published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Prize: 2,500 pounds apiece to four winners. Prize money must be used for travel. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Mikrokosmos Annual Fiction and Poetry Contest. Genre: Fiction and poetry. Prize: First Place Prize: $250; Second Place Prize: $150; Third Place Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

ADCI Literary Prize. Restrictions: Open to authors with a disability and/or chronic illness. Authors must be a British national OR resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for three years prior to the date of submission for the award, and writing in English and submissions must have been published or self-published in the UK. Genre: Novel which includes a disabled or chronically ill character or characters. Prize: Winner will receive £1,000 and two runners-up £500 each. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Biennial prize. 

Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge. Genre: Poem inspired by artwork. (See site for image.) Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026. This is a monthly contest.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

Eureka Springs, AR: Wikimedia
This October there are more than four dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most will be held in person or use a hybrid format.

These writing events offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, how to market your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.

I have included conferences with deadlines that have already passed on this list to give you advance notice. If you miss an application deadline, put it on your calendar for next year. Quite a few conferences offer scholarships, so apply early. Plan ahead!

For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences.

Be sure to check out Boyds Mills list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year.

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The Art of the Overhaul with Cynthia Newberrry Martin. October 1, 2026: Online. You’re years into a new book, and it’s just not working. But there’s something about it you can’t let go of. In this class, we’ll discuss how to unravel, resee, reclaim, and rebuild—all the while holding onto the heart of the manuscript. There’s an art to the overhaul. You’re not starting from scratch; you’re starting again. You’ll leave with energy for your project, a renewed dedication to your vision, and a step-by-step plan for moving forward. Optional: Submit up to 300 words about the overhaul you’re facing and what you would like help with.

Middle Grade Writers: A Generative Retreat. October 1 - 4, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. Write, wander, and connect with fellow middle grade writers as we swap ghost stories around the campfire, engage in character development exercises, and play games designed to generate new pages and revive old ones. Waitlisted.


Colorado Gold Writers Conference. October 1 - 4, 2026: Aurora, CO. An intensive three days of workshops, presenters, agents, master classes, intensives, and more!

First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Colleen Morton Busch. October 2, 2026: Online. Colleen Morton Busch is the author of Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire, a work of nonfiction published by Penguin Press and selected by Publishers Weekly, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Barnes and Noble as a best book of the year in 2011. Her poetry collection, Smolder, won Ex Ophidia Press’s 2025 Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Poetry Contest and was published in June 2026.

Writing Conference & Convention, sponsored by The Kansas Authors Club, Oct 2 - 4, 2026: Junction City, KS. Writing workshops, panels, and presentations. 

Write on the Sound Writers' Conference and Pre-Conference. Oct 2 - 4, 2026: Edmonds, WA. Founded in 1985, Write on the Sound writers’ conference (WOTS) is a small, affordable conference focused on the craft of writing. A variety of sessions, workshops and panel discussions are available for all levels and interests, including valuable information regarding today’s writing and publishing industry. 

Picture Book Summit. Oct 3, 2026: Online. A one day live event for picture book writers including author keynotes, interviews, workshops and agent & editor panels. Recordings provided for attendees for four months post-conference.


DFW Writers Conference. October 3 - 4, 2026: Hurst, TX. Featuring pitch sessions with literary agents, advanced classes, engaging panels, interactive workshops.


Socializing the Nature Poem: A Poetry Workshop with Elizabeth Bradfield. October 3 - November 7, 2026: Online. In this workshop we’ll embrace how our “social selves”–our race, gender, hobbies, families, cultures, and friendships–can enrich our poems centering the more-than-human world. In each class session, we’ll divide our time between doing a deep read of one or two example poems, reading and discussing them with enough time to let nuance and detail surface, and sharing new work generated from class prompts. Consider this a “soft workshop,” in that we will offer responses and suggestions as a way to reflect what is working and provide insights for possible futures.


Purposeful Page Turns: Crafting Momentum in Picture Books. October 5 - 7, 2026: Online. Explore techniques to make your picture book's page turns super engaging, because a story is only as good as the reader’s desire to see what happens next.


Diving Into Picture Books. October 6 - 27, 2026: Online. Ready to write your own picture book? Join editor Matthew Phipps to learn the process from start to finish. This workshop covers everything from brainstorming to polishing your final draft.

Whole Novel Workshop: A Virtual Course for Middle Grade and Young Adult Writers. October 6 - December 1, 2026: Online. A transformative opportunity to have your entire draft (up to 80,000 words) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and a private consultation provided. This online program is for any writer of a middle grade or young adult novel. 


Revising Your Novel in Verse: An Online Course. October 7 - November 18, 2026: Online. The verse novel is an art all its own—sculpted through story, and the act of revision. If you’ve done the hard work of drafting your novel in verse and are now ready to immerse yourself in revisions, we invite you to join us!


Putting Pressure on Characters with Becky Mandelbaum. October 8, 2026: Online. Pressure is at the heart of any great story, but sometimes we instinctively protect our characters from experiencing it. In this class we’ll look at how to apply pressure to our characters through interiority, setting, dialogue, other characters, and plot, taking guidance from examples in popular movies, TV shows, and fairy tales. We’ll practice together with in-class exercises and you’ll leave with prompts for applying pressure in your own work.
 
Ozark Creative Writers Conference. October 8 - 10, 2026: Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Workshops by published authors, editors and agents; Publishers Row, independent publishers available to hear about your next project.

A Public Space's Weekend Writers' Retreat. October 8 - 10, 2026: Tivoli, New York. The APS Weekend Writers' Retreat is an opportunity to nurture new work and expand and explore technique. The retreat will include morning workshops with limited participants (5 to 7 per workshop); afternoon literary talks; and an array of evening events, including readings and a Saturday BBQ. There will also be opportunities for informal conversations with authors and editors and independent generative exercises, as well as complimentary tickets to events at Kaatsbaan's Annual Festival. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. There is no fee to apply. Applicants must be 21 years of age by October 10, 2026, to apply. Capacity is limited, and applying early is recommended.


New York Comicon. October 8 - 11, 2026. "New York Comic Con is your event. Where you can feel unafraid to geek out. Where you’re accepted and embraced for being yourself. Where you can experience the best in pop culture because no matter what fandom you’re passionate about, we have it waiting here for you. Be inspired by award-winning comic artists and Japanese anime creators. Get star struck over your favorite TV and film idols. Treat yourself to exclusive fandom gear and unique artwork. But most importantly, create all of those memories with the people you care about the most. Because this event is for you. To embrace your inner hero or root for the villain. To geek out as a family. To celebrate a weekend together you’ll never forget."


The 2026 Online Florida Writing Workshop. October  9 - 10, 2026: Online. This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop. In other words, it’s two days full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome. And even though this is the “Florida” Writing Workshop, make no mistake — writers from everywhere are welcome to attend virtually. Our WDW writers conferences have helped dozens of writers find literary agent representation.


Annual Maryland Writer’s Conference. October 10 - 11, 2026: Baltimore, MD. The Brain to Bookshelf Annual Conference offers over 20 workshops and agent panels. Agent pitches and critiques are available, but agent slots are limited, so register early. Keynote each day from Brigid Kemmerer.


Letters & Lines Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference. October 10 - 11, 2026: Golden, CO. This conference offers you opportunities to learn your craft, boost your career, and get feedback on your work. The schedule includes keynotes; a industry professionals panel; breakout sessions on writing, illustrating and professional development; intensives on picture books, novels and illustration; as well as critiques, portfolio reviews and showcase, a virtual bookstore of faculty titles, and more. 


Viable Paradise Science Fiction Writers' Workshop. Oct 11 - 16, 2026: Martha’s Vineyard, MA. Viable Paradise is a unique one-week residential workshop in writing and selling commercial science fiction and fantasy. The workshop is intimate, intense, and features extensive time spent with best-selling and award-winning authors and professional editors currently working in the field. VP concentrates on the art of writing fiction people want to read, and this concentration is reflected in post-workshop professional sales by our alumni. Application deadline May 15. 


But How Do We Know?: A Writing workshop with Kate Lebo. October 13 - November 17, 2026: Online. As creative nonfiction writers, how can we build our authority while embracing the essential mystery of our work? How do we become conscious of our limits and biases, find the holes in our expertise and memories, and use them to create greater risk and meaning? In this class, we’ll examine the different strategies writers use to create authority while not-knowing. We’ll explore how trusting and questioning ourselves can deepen intellectual honesty, personal vulnerability, and artistic surprise. Classes will be discussion-based and generative, with time to share work.

Ghosting the Self: Writing Through What We Avoid. October 14, 2026, 6:00-7:30PM EST: Online. Every writer has subjects they circle but never quite touch. Sometimes it’s a memory, a contradiction, an obsession, or a version of themselves that doesn’t fit the story they’re trying to tell. In this generative workshop, we’ll explore the gaps, omissions, and recurring patterns that shape our work from the margins. Through discussion, close reflection, and writing exercises, participants will identify what they tend to avoid on the page and experiment with new approaches to writing through resistance rather than around it. Writers of all genres and experience levels are welcome.

Writing the Natural World in Fiction: A workshop with Caitlin Shetterly. October 14 - November 18, 2026: Online. In this workshop, novelist Caitlin Shetterly will lead writers through a series of exercises and tasks aimed at understanding the layers great novelists from Charles Dickens to Allegra Goodman have written into their fiction in order to create depth and urgency about the natural world and their characters. This course is open to nonfiction and fiction writers alike, at any level. Bring enthusiasm, an open mind, and a desire to tell complex and deep stories.

Georgia Romance Writers: Moonlight and Magnolias. October 15 - 17, 2026: Atlanta, Georgia. Includes keynote speakers, workshops, editor/agent appointments, autographing & bookfair, awards banquet.


Women Writing the West Conference. October 15 – 17, 2026: Phoenix, Arizona. Workshops and Panels will be presented during the conference. Our guest Editors and Agents will present a panel on the state of the publishing industry, and be available for Pitch Appointments. 


PNWA Conference. October 15 - 18, 2026: Seattle, Washington. Sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. More than 50 seminars, editor/agent forums & appointments, practice pitching, keynote and featured speakers, reception, awards ceremony. Many agents and editors attending. Will be held in person and online.


Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference. October 16 - 17, 2026: Tempe, AZ. "The Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference creates a unique and intimate creative writing experience where writers of all backgrounds, genres, and skill levels gather together and connect through the celebration and study of literary craft, culture, and community. Featuring over 25 faculty members teaching more than 50 sessions, we seek to create a warm and welcoming environment that meets people wherever they are, where writers can learn from and support each other as they work toward their goals. Beyond regular programming, we also feature advanced pre-conference workshops, an exhibitor fair, scholarships, and fellowships. We also offer opportunities to advertise with or sponsor the conference as well."


Clockwork Alchemy. October 16 - 18, 2026: Redwood City, California. Our theme for 2026 will be “Rogue Makers & Air Pirates.” Leave the mundane world behind as you seize the spirit of independence. Craft wonders that others fear to dream of, and venture into the skies to feel the sun and storms on your face. We see you, spirited adventurer, and we invite you to come dance with us on the edge of the wild, wide world.

Red Clay Writers Conference. October 17, 2026: Kennesaw GA. Red Clay Writers Conference is the annual conference of Georgia Writers Association. Red Clay has been hosted since 2009 to encourage and inspire writers through literary events that focus on the art and craft of writing. 


The Rochester Writers Fall Conference. October 17, 2026: Rochester, MI. Lectures, Workshops, and Panel Discussions. Open to new writers, working journalists, and published authors. Professional development to move writers to the next level.


Craft of Writing Conference. October 17, 2026: Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Join the Tulsa NightWriters Saturday, October 17 for our 10th Annual Craft of Writing Conference: Capturing the Imagination! We will once again be at the OSU Center for Poets & Writers and are grateful for their continued support."


Whole Novel Workshop: An In-Person Retreat for Novelists (October). October 18 - 23, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. This intensive, transformative Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 85,000 words) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided. Waitlisted.

Elk River Writers Workshop. October 18 - 23, 2026: Chico Hot Springs, MT. The Elk River Writers Workshop embodies the idea that deep, communal experiences with the wild open the door to creativity. We bring together some of the most celebrated nature writers in the United States with students who are serious about fostering a connection with the environment in their writing. It all happens at Chico Hot Springs, a historic retreat just north of Yellowstone National Park. 


Worldbuilding 101 with Editor Emma D. Dryden. October 20 - 22, 2026: Online. Every great story thrives on worldbuilding. This short course explores the physical, psychological, and emotional contexts for our stories and our characters, so that we may bring them to life for our readers.


American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) Conference. October 21 - 24, 2026: Tucson, AZ. Panels, workshops, readings, a book fair, and opportunities to meet with editors for translators. "The ALTA Annual Conference is a refreshingly collegial gathering of amateurs and professionals alike, both within the profession and outside it, all wholeheartedly committed to fostering, furthering, and supporting the practice of literary translation." 


Jackson Hole Writers Conference. October 21 - 25, 2026: Jackson Hole, WY. You will have ample opportunity to share your work with a distinguished faculty as well as writers from Massachusetts to Florida, from Texas to Washington. Serious writers pour into Jackson Hole each year looking for a fresh, but critical eye on their work. This event usually has at least 4 agents to pitch. 


Steamboat Springs Writers Conference. October 23 - 24, 2026: Steamboat Springs, CO. Two instructors, seminar-type workshops for all levels, beginning to professional. Topics change each year. Limited enrollment. 


Annual Florida Writers Conference. October 23 - 25, 2026: Altamonte Springs, Florida. Over 75 workshops, major speakers, agent interviews, professional manuscript critiques, lively social events, and much more.


Early Readers and Chapter Books: A Creative Retreat. October 23 - 26: Boyds Mills, PA. Kids who are starting to read on their own need to find the books that meet them creatively, inspirationally, and more! This engaging retreat will help you understand the needs of this market and how to create with these transitional readers in mind.


WriteAngles. October 24, 2026: Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Panels and workshops, a limited number of agent meetings. Continental breakfast, and buffet lunch included. 


Ozarks Writers League Conference. October 24, 2026: Joplin, MO. The Ozarks Writers League is a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to promoting writing, literacy, photography, and art. Since 1983, OWL has welcomed individuals at all stages of their development. 


Colrain Cold Read. October 25, 2026: Online. An intimate, 5–7 poet one-day intensive built around an enactment of a real-time submission moment: a press editor reads your manuscript cold, in front of the small group, and thinks aloud—exactly as they would at their office desk. You’ll hear the real editorial questions (title/TOC, opening 5-10 pages, through-line, writing skill, structure, cohesiveness, style, etc), followed by concrete responses for all 5-6 manuscripts in the group as the editor responds to each, one by one. After the editor’s departure, a Colrain faculty member anchors interpretations and expectations so you leave with a realistic understanding of work to be done.


Novels in Verse: A Generative Retreat. October 26 - October 29, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. Verse novelists (and those interested in writing verse novels) are welcome to join this retreat for community, daily presentations, writing exercises and a 1:1 consultation with faculty.

Publishing Trends, Market Shifts, and Opportunities. October 27 - 29, 2026: Online. Explore publishing trends in children's literature for insights into strategically positioning your work to navigate and thrive amidst industry change.

Writing By Writers Manuscript Boot Camp. October 29 - November 1, 2026: Sundance Mountain Resort, Utah. The Writing By Writers Manuscript Boot Camp is for the writer who has a full, book-length manuscript (novel, memoir, short story or essay collection) and would like to engage with a small group for a serious and productive response. The extended weekend will include an intimate manuscript workshop, craft panels, readings, and individual meetings – the perfect pre-publication boot camp for any manuscript. Classes are limited to 5 participants.


Big Sur on Cape Cod. October 30  - November 1, 2026, North Falmouth, MA. Focus on children's writing. Faculty: Andrea Brown and four of her agents, four editors and four authors. 


Ossabaw Weekend Writer’s Retreat. October 30 - November 1, 2026: Ossabaw Island, GA. Ossabaw Writers’ Retreat offers a variety of programs to address the needs of writers hoping to expand their craft and improve their work-in-progress. We hope you will join us in this great literary tradition by taking part in one or more of the various programs offered by the Ossabaw Writers’ Retreat. Where loggerhead sea turtles and endangered wood storks nest, and photographers, writers, painters, and musicians listen, watch, reflect, and create. Application deadline: October 1.


Kentucky State Poetry Society. October 31, 2026: Online.Celebrate our 60th anniversary with a full day of poetry, connection, and community featuring workshops, conversations, readings, and a keynote presentation from Ricardo Nazario y Colón alongside poets and poetry lovers from across the Commonwealth.This October there are more than four dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most will be held in person or use a hybrid format.

Sahar Kashi Here are nine new literary agents actively seeking clients. New agents are a boon to writers. They are actively building their lists, and will go the extra mile for their clients. All of these agents work for established agencies with good track records. They are looking for all genres.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change. 

NOTE: Don't submit to several agents at the same agency simultaneously. If one rejects you, you may then submit to another. (Some small agencies share. Be alert to a notice that "a no from one is a no from all.")

You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients.
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Sahar Kashi of Heirloom Literary

A seasoned development executive and producer, Sahar Kashi has spent over a decade bridging literary voices and the screen. She previously served as Head of Development and Production at Three Things Productions under an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, and as a Creative Executive at Anonymous Content, working on series including Shadow & Bone, On My Block, and 13 Reasons Why. 

What she is seeking: Sahar Kashi is open to adult and young adult fiction and memoir submissions. As an agent at Heirloom, Sahar is drawn to daring work that finds laughter alongside grief, explores mental health and emotional healing, and pushes narrative boundaries. She loves romance woven through immersive worldbuilding and stories that subvert genre expectations. She champions visionary storytellers who pair commercial insight with an authentic connection to their material.

How to submit: Please send Sahar your full manuscript and a query letter in which you succinctly describe your work, its place in the market, and anything about yourself that is pertinent to her consideration of the material. Please send all materials to QuerySahar@HeirloomLiterary.com.

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Chelsea Moyer of Raven Quill Literary Agency

Chelsea Moyer has been promoted to Literary Agent at Raven Quill Literary Agency. Prior to Raven Quill, Chelsea graduated with her Master’s Degree from the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program and gaining experience in the publishing industry as an Agency intern and Adult Department Assistant.  

What she is seeking: She’s enthusiastically preparing to build a list of stories that are fantastical, fierce, and filled with “big feelings" in Middle Grade, YA, and Adult categories. "Universally, I love commercial genre fiction (especially fantasy, speculative fiction, and mysteries) but some of my absolute favorite titles are contemporary, so I usually leave that door open, too. More than anything, I’m seeking big feelings, yearning (romantic and not), interesting characters who make compelling, human decisions, pacy stories that keep me turning pages, and worlds and scenarios that set my imagination on fire."

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.

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Andi Twaddle of Spencerhill Associates

Before joining Spencerhill Associates, Andi completed two in-depth internships with Creative Media Agency (CMA) and assisted two agents, including Bethany here at Spencerhill! In a previous life, she was an auditor for a Big Four accounting firm, an Assistant Controller at a High Frequency Trading firm, and an accounting specialist and bookkeeper for various companies across the world before taking down her CPA license. Andi spent a decade giving her time and energy to a career in accounting while quietly investing her heart and soul into stories through her own writing and writing community. Now, she aims to combine her favorite aspects of both worlds in service of uplifting other writers.

What she is seeking: Andi is looking for upmarket and commercial fiction for the adult & new adult markets. Across all genres, Andi wants stories that are dark, gritty, visceral, and perhaps a bit unhinged (okay, a lot unhinged). Please send her Romance - particularly Romance blended with Horror or Fantasy, fresh sports romance, and historical or contemporary with a magical or speculative bent. All spice levels welcome, but please no religious/inspirational romance, erotica, non-con, or dub-con. Andi particularly loves Sci-Fi and Fantasy - from grounded to epic - but must have the character first to be fully invested. She is open to a wide range of Horror, with a strong preference for indigenous North American (Canada & US) voices and anything that feels like mythology or folklore. Andi will also be looking for select Women's Fiction and Book Club fiction with dark, feminist vibes, gallows humor, and/or a speculative edge.

In KidLit, Andi is looking for Graphic Novels (author/illustrator only) for early readers to a young middle grade audience. She is also seeking Picture Books (authors and author/illustrators welcome) particularly with a subversive, wry, or quirky bent.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.

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Ryan Nuzzo of Speilburg Literary Agency

Ryan enjoys collaborating and is always open to having ideas bounced off of him, no matter how wild. Author career strategy chats are just as fun for him as conversations about character arcs and magic systems. His background in stage management means he isn't afraid to break down each scene of a manuscript into a spreadsheet.  

Ryan lives in Connecticut with a bunch of swords. He does Tai Chi, Jianfa (Chinese sword fencing), and HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) so if you need help choreographing a fight scene, you know who to call. He is excited to grow his client list and create lasting partnerships.

What he is seeking: Ryan is interested in science fiction, fantasy, LitRPG, horror, and romance in both adult and YA and would love to open doors for underrepresented voices. 

How to submit: Use his querymanager HERE.

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Olivia Greenan of Speilburg Literary Agency

Olivia joined Speilburg Literary Agency in 2024 as an intern under Eva Scalzo until becoming the agency’s Administrative Assistant. She is now an Associate Agent. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in English Literature Honors and subsequently earned her Master’s of English from Binghamton University.

What she is seeking. She is excited to be accepting clients in the Adult and YA space. As a lifelong mystery reader, she is particularly interested in detective novels. Olivia is also interested in representing Gothic romances, darker Fantasy, and high concept horror, among others. 

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.
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Ms. Diana DeVault of The Rights Factory

Diana DeVault is an agency assistant with a background as a writer, editor, and author's aide. Calling the American East Coast home, she lives in New Jersey with her partner, their nine cats, and enough books to qualify as her own library. She has a bachelor's degree in English from Randolph College and a master’s degree in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Diana’s hobbies include reading, writing, playing video games, learning everything she can, and pretty much any activity that falls under the “cozy” umbrella. 

What she is seeking: She is excited to work with authors who write young adult, middle grade, science fiction, fantasy, and anything with a touch of magic, she is especially captivated by LGBTQIA+ content and underrepresented voices. She is interested in anything cozy, but specifically fantasy or science fiction. Open to all cozy genres though, including mystery, romance, and horror.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.

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Ms. J.D. Myall of The Tobias Literary Agency

J.D. Myall is an editorial agent and the author of the YA fantasy Heart’s Gambit and its sequel, Pawn’s Fate, from Wednesday Books. Having navigated querying, submission, revisions, and publication herself, she brings an author’s perspective to her work with clients.

She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Drexel University, where she teaches, and a BS in Criminal Justice from West Chester University. She has worked as a sensitivity reader, judged Writer’s Digest competitions, and written for Writer’s Digest, Ms. Magazine, and HuffPost. She also hosts the Craft Chat Chronicles podcast.

What she is seeking: J.D. represents picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction and nonfiction, as well as graphic novels and illustrators. She is especially excited to grow her middle grade and young adult lists.

For middle grade, give her kids with big problems, questionable plans, and plenty of heart. She loves unexpected friendships, wild adventures, mysteries that need solving, and stories just creepy enough to make turning off the bedroom light feel like a bad idea. Humor is always welcome.

For YA, she especially loves fantasy, romantasy, and horror, and welcomes thrillers, mysteries, speculative fiction, magical realism, and contemporary stories. She’s drawn to magic with consequences, secrets that refuse to stay buried, and characters with something to lose. Bring on the yearning, impossible relationships, and falling in love when everything else is going wrong. Friendships and family relationships can break her heart just as easily.

Her criminal justice background informs her interest in crime, motive, and the reasons people do what they do.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE

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Sarah Fox of Belcastro Agency

Sarah’s first word was “book,” and she’s been talking about them non-stop ever since. She decided to pursue her love of medieval literature and dead languages by getting her BA in English Literature from Loyola University Maryland and her MA in English Language and Literature from The Catholic University of America. She has had the joy of working with hundreds of authors through her own editing company, One Sitting Books. She’s so thrilled she can help writers’ dreams come true as an agent at Belcastro Agency. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband, daughter, two corgis, and thousands of books.

What she is seeking: Across all genres, I’m looking for adult books from diverse writers that make me accidentally stay up until midnight reading.

RomanceI am yearning for a high-concept contemporary romance.I’m a fan of romances with a speculative twist (like B.K. Borison’s Good Spirits) or are a genre blend.My favorite tropes are small town, workplace romance, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers (of course), fake dating, only one bed, and second chance romance, but I’d love to see a fresh spin on them.I adore stories where both the female main character and male main character are well-developed, messy people. I actually love a third act breakup and the miscommunication trope, but they both have to be earned and are realistic.I prefer open-door romances, but I’m open to closed-door romance as long as it remains sex positive.I’m dying for a modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park. I also would love to read a modern version of Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte.ThrillerI’m a sucker for domestic thrillers; ever since I read Gone Girl, I’ve been hooked! I’m particularly drawn to those that deal with themes of motherhood like Ashley Audrain’s The Push.I also love thrillers set in glamorous places or deal with the wealth and class disparities. Bonus points if the protagonist is a conman or the plot involves a heist.Ever since I read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, I’m dying for a Gothic thriller. Even better if there’s an element of satire.I desperately want dark academia. If you have a book like The Maidens, send it to me!I am on the hunt for unreliable narrators and “unlikable” main characters.I’m not a fan of political, legal, spy, or military thrillers. I especially don’t want anything that involves AI or cybercrime.Women’s FictionI can’t stop reading weird girl lit, so please send me your manuscripts! I really can’t get enough of it. The weirder, the better.I’m a fan of unlikable female characters. I will like them!I enjoy books that explore ideas of new motherhood, but I’m looking for a fresh take.I’m on the lookout for manuscripts about female friendships, especially the messy and complicated parts of them.I’m an only child fascinated by sister dynamics.I also love upmarket and book club fiction.LiteraryI love gorgeous writing, but there must also be a strong plot and developed characters.I’m a huge fan of writers who play with narrative form or conventions (like Trust by Hernan Diaz).Non-FictionFor all non-fiction, I need a large platform, a fresh concept, and a hook that grabs me.For memoir, I love a book that reads like fiction and has a larger message (like Maid by Stephanie Land).I’m interested in non-fiction books that focus on pop culture, the arts, celebrities, history, biography, and parenting.I also would love a book by an adoptee or a birth parent on adoption.Journalists are my favorite people. Please, please send me your books!How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.

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Ms. Phoebe Schmidt of Britt Siess Creative Management

Phoebe Schmidt BSCM after working as an independent scout and a book-to-film agent at Paradigm Talent Agency. She works primarily with upmarket science fiction and fantasy. She is a hands on agent with a developmental approach, and loves projects that turn everyday life upside down.

What she is seeking: Phoebe is actively growing her list, and has a particular interest in Sci-Fi and Fantasy. She’s always interested in stories by queer and BIPOC authors, and she’s excited to help writers develop their projects in a way that feels most authentic to each of them.

How to submit: Please send all queries to phoebe@brittsiesscreative.com with “Query” in the subject line.

Rawpixel This September there are more than six dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

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Philadelphia Stories. Restrictions: Open to authors living in, or originally from, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art. Payment: $50. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

Rat Bag. Genre: Drabble. See theme. Payment: $1. Deadline: Opens September 1, 2026.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: September 1, 2026. Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached. 

WWPH: Capital Translation. Restrictions: Open to residents of DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Genre: Translations of poetry or prose. All languages accepted. Payment: $25. Deadline: September 1, 2026, or until filled.

“Psycho Pulp” Anthology. Genre: Crime, horror, psychological thriller, western, science fiction, or any sub-genre or blend of these. Payment: $20. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

Exquisite Undead: An Anthology of Vampires. Genre: Vampire fiction and poetry. Payment: $30/flash or poetry, $65 for longer stories. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

Okay Donkey. Genre: One flash fiction OR one poem per author, per submission period. See website for details. Payment: $25. Deadline: Opens September 1, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

The Cincinnati Review. Genre: Literary nonfiction (up to 20 pages), fiction (up to 40 pages), poetry, poetry translations, drama, and art. Payment: $25/page for prose in the journal, $30/page for poetry, $25 for miCRo posts or special features. Deadline: Opens September 1, 2026. Note: Opens on the first day of the month and closes once they hit the submissions cap.

Pacific Northwest Gothic. Restrictions: Open to current residents of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art "that explore the region’s shadowed forests, coastal fog, urban isolation, and the quiet unease that lingers beneath its natural beauty." Payment: $25. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

Ricochet Editions. Genre: Hybrid/Experimental work between 40 and 200 pages. "We are looking for purposeful experimentation with language and form that challenges or plays with convention." Payment: $500 and 50 copies of the perfect-bound book. Deadline: September 1, 2026. No submission fee for POC and Indigenous writers and writers facing financial hardship.

Teach. Write. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, flash fiction, poetry, CNF. "I prefer writing that is either written by composition teachers and writing students OR about teaching and learning." Payment: $15. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

University of Wisconsin Press. Genre: Novels, short story collections, and works in translation. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

Phi Kappa Phi Forum. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Payment: $4/ line. Deadline: September 2, 2026.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: September 2, 2026. Opens September 1.

Raconteur Press: Giant Killer Kaiju. Genre: Short stories. “Daishikyuu hinan shite kudasai!” Take shelter, please! The kaiju are back and ready to rumble. See mankind’s desperate defenders pull out all the stops before there’s no planet Earth left! Wonder at the sheer size and power of all manner of giant beasts! Ponder the mysteries of time and space, like how do these things get around the inverse square law? Length: 5,000 to 8,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 4, 2026.

Stone’s Throw. Genre: "We're looking for dark fiction, crime and noir, length between 1,000 and 2,000 words." Payment: $25. Deadline: September 4, 2026. Open to submissions the first three days of every month.

Liars’ League. Genre: Short stories. Length: 800-2,000 words. See theme. Payment: £20, reading of your story by a professional actor, as well as podcast, video and online publication of your work. Deadline: September 6, 2026.

#EnbyLife Journal: Tribute, Restrictions: Open to non-binary and gender diverse creatives only. Genre: Poetry, microfiction (under 100 words), and art. See theme. Payment: $30 AUD. Deadline: September 7, 2026. Accepts reprints.

Black Inc. Restrictions: Open to Australians. Genre: Full-length general, literary and commercial non-fiction – including history, current affairs, memoir and biography. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 7, 2026. This is a monthly call.

University of Queensland Press. Restrictions: Open to Australian citizens or permanent residents. Genre: Non-fiction, literary fiction (including short stories), poetry, children’s and young adult. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 7, 2026.

Uncanny Magazine. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: 10 cents/word. Deadline: September 7, 2026.

Sunlight Press. Genre: Poetry, CNF. Payment: $50. Deadline: Opens September 8, 2026.
The Icarus Writing Collective. Genre: Stories that retell, adapt, or transcend literary classics and mythology. See theme. Payment: $5. Deadline: September 10, 2026.

Shenandoah. Genre: Fiction. Payment: $80 per 1000 words of prose up to $400. Deadline: Opens September 10, 2026, and closes when they reach capacity.

Samjoko Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, play, screenplay. Payment: $20. Deadline: September 10, 2026.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: September 11, 2026.

Fourteen Poems Genre: Poems. "We want to represent all that's thrilling about the new wave of LGBT+ poets. If you’re a poet, even if you’ve never been published before, we want to read your work. Every issue we publish 14 of the best queer poems we’ve found, and we want to include you! We publish 4 times a year, but take submissions all year round. To be considered, email up to 5 poems, preferably in a pdf format, with a small paragraph about yourself." Payment: £30 for each poem published. Deadline: September 11, 2026.

Flame Tree: Romantic Fantasy: Of Love Forbidden and Of Fae & Fire. Genre: Romantic Fantasy. See themes. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: September 13, 2026.

Penumbric. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art, animation, and music. Payment: $10. Deadline: September 15, 2026.

Fifth Wheel Press. Genre: Poetry, prose poetry, short prose (<1500 words), and other experimental writing by queer, trans, and gender variant writers. Visual components and hybrid formats are welcome. See theme. Payment: $5. Deadline: September 15, 2065.


Philly Poetry Chapbook Review. Genre: Reviews of chapbooks coming soon or published in the past three years, essays on the crafts of poetry and chapbook making or publishing, and features about authors or publishers of chapbooks. Payment: $10. Deadline: September 15, 2026.

Metphrastics: Words. Genre: Poetry focusing on Words, responding to works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection and special exhibits  "This can be a literal or abstract wound depicted in a painting, a “wounded” or damaged work of art itself, kintsugi and other artistic repairs of “wounds,” weapons that have caused wounds, having your heart broken in the Egyptian Wing, or any other way you’d like to interpret this prompt.” Payment: $10 per poem. Deadline: September 15, 2026.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings. Genre: Nonfiction. One of the most important keys to contentment and happiness is the ability to count your blessings. Even during the toughest times, if we can find gratitude and count our blessings we feel better. Each day holds something to be thankful for and it could be just as simple as having the sun shine or having food on the table. Payment: $200. Deadline: September 15, 2026 extended deadline.

Constellations of Becoming: Queer Futures and Other Worlds. Genre: Speculative fiction centering queer voices, characters and imaginations. Word Limit: 2,000 to 6,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 15, 2026.


Plott Hound. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry starring animals. Payment: 8 cents/word for original fiction. $20 - $100 for reprints. $50 for poetry. $300 for art. Deadline: September 15, 2026. Accepts reprints.

Midnight and Indigo. Restrictions: Open to Black women. Genre: Speculative Fiction. Payment: 7 cents/word. Deadline: September 15, 2026. 

Women with Weapons. Genre: Stories featuring women with weapons. Payment: INR 3000 for each accepted original English story PLUS INR 3 per word. (About USD $31.50 + $0.03 per word).  Deadline: September 15, 2026. 

Slashed Budgets: An Anthology of Corporate Horror. Genre: Horror. See theme. Payment: $10. Deadline: September 15, 2026. 

Liminal Lit. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. See theme. Payment: $100.  Deadline: September 15, 2026. 

Exoplanet. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, weird fiction, and cross-genre stories. Payment: $0.01/word with a $5 minimum. Deadline: September 15, 2026. 

Three-Lobed Burning Eye. Genre: Horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: September 16, 2026.

The Green Sheaf. Restrictions: Open to female and gender-fluid writers over 50. Genre: Flash fiction and poetry on theme: The Crone. Payment: $50. Deadline: September 18, 2026.

Island Online. Restrictions: Open to Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents only. Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction. Payment: $600. Deadline: September 18, 2026.

Reject. Genre: Poetry, short stories (8,000-word limit), essays, lyrics, and articles. "We accept writing that wasn’t accepted by a publication, institution, contest, etc. Hell, even your school newspaper and family Christmas newsletter counts!" Payment: $50. Deadline: September 19, 2026.

Translunar Travelers Lounge. Restrictions: September 15 - 21 is reserved for writers of color. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20. Deadline: September 21, 2026.

Strange Pilgrims. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction. "The work we’re drawn to is surreal, philosophical, sincere, and unforgettable — stories and essays that get under your skin and reach the heart of the human condition." Payment: $200 per short story/essay, $50 per flash piece. Deadline: Opens September 21, 2026 for a 24-hour period.


The Deadlands. Genre: Poetry. "The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve." Payment: $50. Deadline: September 21, 2026. Accepts reprints.

The Ex-Puritan. Genre: Poetry, fiction, reviews, interviews, essays, and experimental work. "The Ex-Puritan now seeks to publish the best in all forms of writing." Payment: $100 - $200 (CAD). Deadline: September 25, 2026.

Red Wolf Editions. Genre: Poems on theme: “The Delights of Love.” Payment: Royalties? Deadline: September 29, 2026.


Black Hare Press. Genre: Dark stories, in any genre. Length: 5,000 - 50,000 words. Payment: $20 - $50, depending on length. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Dragon Soul Press: A WINTER IN LOVE. Genre: All Christmas-themed stories are welcome. All genres accepted. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Hearth Stories. Genre: Speculative fiction. "We publish fiction and poetry that explore connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world. The stories often fall into a fantasy, science-fiction, or magical realism sort of “slice of life.” No non-vegan stories. Payment: 1¢ per word for accepted stories (with a minimum of $20 regardless of length. Deadline: September 30, 2026.


Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. Genre: Short stories and poetry. See themes. Payment: $50.00 USD for featured authors, or $20.00 USD for stories published on their &More page and $10.00 USD for poems. Deadline: September 30, 2026.


Space Ace. Genre: Science fiction. "Stories must feature at least one asexual and/or aromantic character in a prominent role. This is inclusive of related identities within the wider asexual spectrum such as demi-sexual, demi-romantic, grey-ace. While we are primarily looking for human representation, we will consider stories with non-human (e.g. alien, robot, sentient computer, etc.) aromantic or asexual characters." Payment: £0.02 GBP per word. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Air and Nothingness Press: Are You Everything Alright. Genre: Apocalypse stories. See theme. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

The Bombay Literary Magazine. Genre: Fiction, poetry, translated fiction/poetry and graphic fiction. Payment: Indian rupees 5,000 (approx. $61) per contribution. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

long con. Restrictions: Canadian residents only. Genre: Prose and poetry about art. Payment: $20 CAD. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Hookers and Handguns Anthology: Crime Fiction Solved by Strippers, Streetwalkers and Other People of the Night. Genre: Short stories on theme: Crime Fiction Solved by Strippers, Streetwalkers and Other People of the Night. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

DILIM Press: Sirena's Song. Genre: Tales of thalassophobia, oceanic terror, underwater kingdoms, origins of the Yonaguni monument, creatures from Lemuria, musical echoes in the depths, or the dance of the stars in the heavens. See theme. Payment: $0.07/word for originals. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Heartlines Spec. Restrictions: "Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Our goal for each issue is to publish at least 50% Canadian content." Genre: Short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. "We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules." Payment: $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction and $80 CAD flat for poetry. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Split Lip Magazine. Genre: Fiction (flash and short stories), memoirs, and poetry. with a pop-culture twist. Payment: $75 for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews web issues. Deadline: September 30, 2026. Closes when they reach capacity, so submit early.

The New Quarterly. Restrictions: Open to Canadian writers. Genre: Fiction, poetry. Payment: $400. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Harbor Editions. Genre: Chapbook. Length: Chapbooks should be between 20-40 pages of poetry or 20-50 pages of prose. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 30, 2026. No submission fee for BIPOC writers.


Manawaker Studio: 100 Word Project. Genre: Speculative fiction of exactly 100 words. See theme. Payment: $1. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ stories, 5,000 - 9,500 words. See theme. Payment: $30. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Cast of Wonders. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Positive Thinking. Genre: Nonfiction. We are looking for stories of optimism, faith and strength to encourage our readers to use positive thinking. What was the situation that inspired you to use positive rather than negative thinking? How did you change your attitude -- from negative to positive? How did that turn your life around? These inspirational stories will remind readers to use positive thinking, focus on hope and show them that each day holds something to be grateful for. Payment: $200. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness. Genre: Nonfiction. We are looking for true stories about random acts of kindness that have happened to you or stories about a kindness that you performed for someone else. Stories can be serious or funny but they should definitely inspire our readers to look for ways in which they can perform kind acts. Payment: $200. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Aurealis. Restrictions: Australian and New Zealand writers. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy or horror short stories between 2000 and 8000 words. Payment: A$20 and A$60 per 1000 words. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Chestnut Review. Genre: Poetry, flash fiction, short fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, visual media (art/photography). Payment: $120. Deadline: September 30, 2026. Submit early to avoid submission fee.

Myths and Legends. Genre: Stories based in the world and legends of Robin Hood. Payment: $50 for original fiction, $20 for reprints. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Freefall. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: Short story and novel excerpts; non-fiction, writing-related or general-audience topics; creative non-fiction; plays; and postcard stories. Payment: $10 per page in the magazine (to a maximum of $100) and one copy of the issue your piece is published in. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

The London Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: September 30, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

The Haiku Shack Anthology. Genre: Haiku. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Queer Love Project. Genre: CNF. Think “Modern Love”—but only queer stories. Payment: $75. Deadline: September 30, 2026. (Note: You must register to submit. Registration is free.)

Nashville Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, art, and nonfiction. Payment: $25 per poem & song selection; $100 per selection for all other categories, including featured artwork. Translators receive $25 per poem & $100 for prose selections. Deadline: September 30, 2026.

Short Story Substack accepts one short story every month. Genre: All genres. Word count 6,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: September 30, 2026. Reprints accepted.

Poetry Substack accepts one poem every month. Genre: Poem. Must have a rhyme scheme or a rhythm scheme. No blank verse or free verse. Payment: Base Pay of $10 for the chosen poem + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: September 30, 2026. Reprints accepted.


AND A FEW MORE...

Sundog. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art. Payment: $50. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026, and closes when they reach capacity.

Okay Donkey. Genre: One flash fiction OR one poem per author, per submission period. See website for details. Payment: $25. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026.

Rat Bag. Genre: Microfiction. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026.

The Paris Review. Genres: Poetry, prose. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2026, and closes when they reach capacity.

Independence Literary Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and art of any theme. Payment: $25 - $200. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

The Last Line. Genre: Fiction that ends with the last line provided. Payment: $20-$40. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of queer and trans writing. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. "Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it." Payment: $100. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Gordon Square Review. Genre: Poetry, short stories, personal essays, and hybrid prose works. Payment: $25 per prose piece and $10 per poem. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Delirious Doubles. Genre: Science fiction of at least 5,000 words that have pirates as their main characters. Payment: $30. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: October 1, 2026. Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached. 

Aspen Institute This September there are more than two dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most will be held in person or use a hybrid format.

These writing events offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, how to market your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.

I have included conferences with deadlines that have already passed on this list to give you advance notice. If you miss an application deadline, put it on your calendar for next year. Quite a few conferences offer scholarships, so apply early. Plan ahead!

For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences.

Be sure to check out Boyds Mills list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year.

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Traveling at Home: A Writing Workshop with Erika Howsare. September 1 - October 27, 2026. Online. In this course we will ask how writing can be a tool for creating intimacy with our own places, the places where we live, even (and especially) if they lack destination status. We’ll be less focused on polishing finished pieces of writing and more concerned with using the notebook as a focusing device for our eyes, ears, intuition, and all other human sensory gifts, generating material that may later be refined into poems or essays. Weekly assignments will feel more like experiments. Application deadline: July 15, 2026

From Idea & Sketch to Dummy & Submission: An Author/Illustrator Online Course. September 2 - October 7, 2026: Online. If you are illustrating AND writing your own book, and wondering how to prepare your submission, this is the course for you. You will focus on the craft of writing and illustrating a picture book with an intense level of feedback from faculty Courtney Pippin-Mathur and special guests, Natasha Khan Kazi and Aram Kim. Participants who complete all assignments should be able to finish or revise a working dummy (mocked up book) in its entirety during the course, preparing for submission to editors, agents, or art directors. 24 participants max. 

DragonCon. September 3 - September 7, 2026: Atlanta, Ga. HUGE sci-fi event, with parade, autograph sessions, live performances, readings, wrestling (!), workshops on belly dancing, writing (yes, there's even some writing), art show. (This conference sounds really wild.)

WriterCon. September 4 - 7, 2026: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The annual WriterCon Conference is three days of 60+ speakers providing more than 80 sessions designed to cover all genres and all aspects of the writing experience: skills, industry knowledge, opportunities, networking, pitching, contests, opportunities to meet with writers privately, to obtain manuscript reviews or private consultations, and much more.

The Gathering. September 5 - 7, 2026. Workshops in poetry as well as readings. 2-hour Workshops & Readings Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. Participant Open Mics Friday and Saturday night. Will be held on Zoom. 

The Gift of Attention: A Poetry Workshop with Erin Coughlin Hollowell. September 5 - October 25, 2026: Online. In this eight-week course we will discuss ways to refocus our attention as poets by examining anchor texts by various contemporary poets and then trying out the techniques in our own work with some generative exercises. Poets should bring a good idea of which landscapes are often featured in their work, and they will leave with five or six new poems that re-envision those places with refreshed attention. Application deadline: July 15, 2026.

Writelines. September 7 -11, 2026: Star Island, Portsmouth, NH. We write in a group from prompts designed to awaken creativity. We write by candlelight in a stone chapel. We write in rocking chairs with a panoramic view of the ocean in all directions. We write with the sound of waves and gulls. We experiment with technique in a positive environment. Designed for writers of all skill levels.

Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Broadway Debut of For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. September 9, 2026, 6:00-7:30PM EST: Online. Join us for an online celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Broadway debut of Ntozake Shange’s seminal work, For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf. This showcase of poets who’ve performed Shange’s work and/or been inspired by it, includes choreopoet, director and educator Monica Prince, who will lead the evening. She will be joined by an incredible lineup of poets including Shakeema Smalls, M. Mick Powell, Sullivan Summer, Jasmine Blooms and Rosa Castellano.
 
Revision Roadmap with Editor Kat Brzozowski. September 9 - 30, 2026: Online. Gain the editorial vision needed to identify narrative gaps and chart a definitive revision path for your novel in this online workshop.

Inkubator Writing Conference. September 11 - 12, 2026: Cleveland, OH. Literary Cleveland's Inkubator Writing Conference is one of the largest free writing conferences in the country, providing workshops, craft talks, panel discussions, readings, and more to empower writers, celebrate literary excellence, and amplify diverse voices. 

The Alabama Writers' Conclave. September 11 - 13, 2026: Birmingham, Alabama. The Conclave is today one of the oldest continuing writers' organization in the United States. Writers, aspiring writers and supporters of the writing arts may join. Sharing information, developing ideas, honing skills, and receiving practical advice are hallmarks of the annual meeting. 

Hold Space Retreat for Artists of Color. September 14- 20, 2026: Saugatuck, Michigan. Participants who qualify for a Hold Space Retreat can enjoy communal living, making, and opportunities to organize on Ox-Bow’s campus in Saugatuck, Michigan. Lodging, three meals per day, and access to Ox-Bow studios and spaces are provided. People of color across the creative spectrum including artists of any discipline, writers, curators, teachers, and Ox-Bow Alumni are encouraged to apply. The retreat supports individuals or groups of up to twenty for any length from one to seven nights. Application deadline: July 5, 2026.

Picture Book Authors and Illustrators: A Generative Retreat. September 16 - 19, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. Picture book writers and illustrators: set aside time to focus on your picture book project! Here is a special retreat just for you. Join Leslie Helakoski, Darcy Pattison, Matthew Phipps, and Nancy Castaldo to immerse yourself in all things picture books. You’ll enjoy presentations, read alouds, small group discussions of your work, and so much more. In addition to the support from your faculty and fellow creatives, you’ll have ample time to work on your stories. We recommend bringing several stories at various parts of the drafting and revision processes. 

The Algonkian Writer Retreat and Novel Workshop. September 16 - 20, 2025: Algonkian Park, Virginia. "You can show us your manuscript, improve your skills, clear your head, have your work read by our writer mentors, whatever works for you, whatever helps you grow and discover your vision as a writer. You discuss with us ahead of time via the Algonkian Writer Retreat Application the goals you wish to accomplish, and we'll work with you to make it happen. Do you desire a review? A line edit? Do you wish to discuss the reality of the current fiction market, your novel project, plot and characters, or perhaps get feedback on the opening hook or a few sample chapters? Or would you simply like a relaxed and productive dialogue about your goals as a writer?"

2026 Great Minds: Optimism, Speculative Futures, and the Worlds We Dream Into Being. September 17, 2026: Seattle, WA. We're bringing together three brilliant voices in speculative fiction: Kira Jane Buxton (Hollow Kingdom), Kathleen Alcalá (Spirits of the Ordinary), and moderator Rashida J. Smith (aka author Jasmine Silvera) for a night about the futures we have the power to write. Expect a reading by SAL’s Youth Poet Laureate, performances by Bushwick BookClub Seattle, an audience Q&A, and a reading list to take home. Readers and writers alike are invited to imagine the worlds we dream into being.

Writing On The Door: Washington Island Literary Festival. September 17 - 19, 2026: Washington Island, Wisconsin. "The Washington Island Literary Festival is a moveable feast of writing, reading, discussion, and thought about the written word. Writers’ workshops, author panels and presentations, readings and parties are scheduled at various quaint, historic and beautiful venues around the Island. Participants have a unique opportunity to share time with prominent authors and dedicated readers in the intimate, friendly setting of Washington Island, a half-hour by ferry from the Door County mainland, in September’s color and warmth." 

Creatures, Crimes & Creativity. September 18 - 20, 2026: Columbia, MD. A writer's and fan's conference for genre fiction covering mystery, suspense, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk & horror.

11th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference. September 18 - 20, 2026: Decatur, Georgia. "With one of the strongest list of authors you will ever find at a conference, we’ve added even more agents, editors and publisher representatives than ever before! Combined with educational sessions and workshops, the Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference will offer you all that you need to refine and improve your craft."

Brooklyn Book Festival. September 20 - 28, 2026: Brooklyn, NY. The mission of the Brooklyn Book Festival (BKBF) is to celebrate published literature and nurture a literary cultural community through programming that cultivates and connects readers of diverse ages and backgrounds with local, national and international authors, publishers and booksellers. To this end the Brooklyn Book Festival develops original programming that is hip, smart, diverse, and inclusive and presents free, literary, cultural events at the Brooklyn Book Festival Day & Literary Marketplace, Virtual Festival Day, and the family friendly Children’s Day. Additionally, BKBF presents Bookend events in venues across NYC and on-line, which are overwhelmingly presented free to the public.

Just Do It! Your Collaborative Support Group for Finishing Your Draft (Fall). September 23  - November 11, 2026: Online. This supportive program takes all creatives (nonfiction or fiction, picture books, novels, essays, and more) from goal-stating to finished drafts. Together, we’ll move through live sessions, writing prompts, studio dates, daily inspirations, check-ins, feedback, and more. 50 participants max.

Algonkian Writer Conference–New York City Write to Pitch. September 24 - 27, 2026: Ripley-Grier Studios in New York City. The New York Pitch Conference and writers workshop is held four times a year and features publishing house editors from major houses such as Penguin, Random House, St. Martins, Harper Collins, Tor and Del Rey, Kensington Books and many more who are looking for new novels in a variety of genres, as well as narrative non-fiction. The event focuses on the art of the novel pitch as the best method not only for communicating your work, but for having you and your work taken seriously by industry professionals.

Central Coast Writers' Conference. September 25 - 26, 2026: San Luis Obispo, CA. "We are excited to announce our Cuesta College Central Coast Writers’ Conference returns again this year in a two-day format with a theme of Say Yes! Join us at the college’s San Luis Obispo campus on Friday and Saturday, September 25 & 26, 2026 as we celebrate 42 years of bringing writers of all backgrounds and experience levels together. It’s no surprise CCWC was named the “Best Conference in the West” by Writers Magazine, as our organizers and volunteers work together to ensure attendees enjoy insightful dialogue, networking opportunities, and unrivaled access to an esteemed staff of presenters."

The 2026 Aspen Literary Festival. September 25 - 27, 2026: Aspen, Colorado. The Aspen Literary Festival is a three-day celebration of books and ideas taking place in the beautiful mountain town of Aspen, Colorado. The festival features author talks and panel discussions, book signings, food trucks, parties and other attractions for book lovers. Most events are free with registration. Marquee events at the Wheeler Opera House are ticketed and require advance purchase. 

James River Writers Conference. September 25 - 27, 2026: Richmond, Virginia. James River Writers is excited to continue to offer both in-person and online elements for our conference. Join us for Master Classes online, on Friday, September 25. Then, join us at the Greater Richmond Convention Center (in Richmond, Virginia) for a full slate of programs focusing on the craft and business of writing. Enjoy lively panel discussions, critique sessions with literary agents, an engaging keynote, headshots mini sessions, and agent one-on-one meetings (standard with your ticket). In addition, we’ve included opportunities for networking and socializing, because community is at the heart of everything we do. Since 2003, this multi-day event has been known for its inspiring, collegial atmosphere and hospitality. Whether you’re just starting out on your writing journey, or a seasoned professional, there’s something for everyone.

Write on the Sound Writers' Conference and Pre-Conference. Preconference, September 26, 2026. Conference: Oct 2 - 4, 2026: Edmonds, WA. Founded in 1985, Write on the Sound writers’ conference (WOTS) is a small, affordable conference focused on the craft of writing. A variety of sessions, workshops and panel discussions are available for all levels and interests, including valuable information regarding today’s writing and publishing industry. 

Futurescapes. September 26 - 27, 2026: Online. Futurescapes is an intensive, exclusive workshop, offering writers an unparalleled chance to work with top authors and agents in speculative fiction (science fiction, horror, fantasy, paranormal). This summer, we’ll be exploring the first 100 pages of your manuscript. The workshop sessions will require work outside of meeting times as there is a generative nature to it. This workshop is smaller and more competitive than our regular workshop. In addition to workshopping a larger portion of your manuscript (25,000 words), we’ll have plenty of unstructured and semi-structured time to network with fellow students and faculty. August 1, 2026 — Orientation.

Flathead River Writers Conference. September 26 - 27, 2026: Kalispell, MT. Writers help writers in this two day conference packed with energizing speakers and workshops. Features: Workshops, MS preparation & submission, working with agents, movie deals, media use, & children's book publishing.

Okoboji Writers' Retreat. September 27 - 30, 2026: West Lake, IA. The annual Okoboji Writers’ Retreat, founded in 2021, is open to all skill levels. Columnist Julie Gammack is the producer. Over 30 faculty resources will be on hand to work with participants in small-group settings. Whether you come to find out how to get started or land a book deal, this retreat is a welcoming event for all.

Six Bridges Book Festival. September 27 - October 4, 2026: Little Rock, Arkansas. "Prestigious award-winners, screenwriters, comedians, an expert witness, artists, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet are among the diverse roster of presenters who will be providing sessions." Free. 

Travel & Words: Northwest Travel Writers Conference. September 28 - 30, 2026: Skagit Valley, Washington. TRAVEL & WORDS offers a multi-faceted conference for travel journalists interested in exploring Northwest destinations. The primary focus of the conference is to connect journalists with destinations throughout the Northwest. Attendees will have one-on-one meetings with destination marketers to learn about their destination and lay a foundation for productive working relationships. In addition, attendees will enjoy expert presentations about current topics in travel content publishing and have plenty of opportunities for networking and exploring the host destination. In more than a decade of conferences, Travel & Words has become an important force in the Northwest travel industry. Travel & Words is by invitation only. There is no registration fee for journalists. 

Ella Miller Here are ten new literary agents actively seeking clients. New agents are a boon to writers. They are actively building their lists, and will go the extra mile for their clients. All of these agents work for established agencies with good track records. They are looking for all genres.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change. 

NOTE: Don't submit to several agents at the same agency simultaneously. If one rejects you, you may then submit to another. (Some small agencies share. Be alert to a notice that "a no from one is a no from all.")
​
You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients.
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Ella Miller of The Kepner Agency

I graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Creative Writing and a minor in Publishing––so being a literary agent is a total dream job! I live in the Albany area, where I also work as an Admissions Counselor at Excelsior University.

What she is seeking: I’m interested in fiction manuscripts in the following genres––literary fiction, upmarket/book club/women’s lit, grounded genre fiction (like Project Hail Mary or Sea of Tranquility), contemporary romance (literary leaning, like Normal People), and humor/satire––but I’m open to anything with an exciting plot and a strong voice. As for nonfiction, I’m interested in stories about 60s-90s band culture, medieval history, and cults. I am not interested in anything (fiction or nonfiction) related to AI.

How to submit: Email your query letter along with the first ten pages pasted into the body of your message to ella@kepneragency.com.

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Claire Lee of The Kepner Agency

I'm a graduate of The George Washington University with majors in Creative Writing and American Studies, and currently pursuing my MFA at Brown University.

What she is seeking: When it comes to manuscripts, I am most interested in acquiring character-driven literary and upmarket novels, novellas, and short story collections. Though I love any good story, I'm partial to road-trip novels and Westerns, grounded sci-fi and speculative fiction, magical realism, or anything with a particularly humorous, surreal, or even absurd note.

How to submit: Email your query letter along with the first ten pages pasted into the body of your message to claire@kepneragency.com

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Erin Gray of The Kepner Agency

I studied English and Creative Writing (Publishing) at the University of Iowa, and I now live in Cedar Rapids and work as Advancement Communications Coordinator for Coe College, in addition to my role as Associate Literary Agent.


What she is seeking: I’m interested in your adult literary, upmarket, historical, and survival fiction; family sagas; Westerns; mysteries, crime novels, and thrillers; narrative nonfiction; novellas; and short story collections. I’ve been known to enjoy grounded science fiction and fantasy, as well as folk/gothic horror, too. If your book has complex characters, a setting that functions as a character, and/or engaging pacing, send it my way! My favorite books include The Nix by Nathan Hill, The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier, and Table for Two by Amor Towles, and I’m always looking to find their successors.

How to submit: Email your query letter along with the first ten pages pasted into the body of your message to erin@kepneragency.com

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Alyssa Santoleri of The Kepner Agency

Previously working in the editorial department at Dumbo Press, an indie publisher of experimental literature, I’ve handled a diverse range of genres, voices, and styles before coming to The Kepner Agency. I studied English and CW (Publishing), Theatre, and Media Management at the University of Iowa.

What she is seeking: I have a soft spot for any genre fiction including (but not limited to) fantasy, soft sci-fi, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and women's fiction and am always looking for anything with romance. Unfortunately, I’m not a good choice for any faith-based or Christian stories, or books with a plot that centers a sentient AI system.

How to submit: Email your query letter along with the first ten pages pasted into the body of your message to alyssa@kepneragency.com

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Amelia Theriault-Brown of Laura Gross Literary Agency

A lifelong Bostonian, Amelia studied psychology and worked in several research labs before pursuing an MFA in fiction at Bennington College and beginning her publishing career at Charlesbridge, an independent children’s publisher in Watertown, MA.

What she is seeking: Amelia is looking for literary and upmarket fiction, and narrative non-fiction. Across all of these, Amelia is most drawn to books with an obsessive bent. Her ideal fiction skews voicey and strange, with an indelible sense of place, written by someone who spends an unreasonable amount of time revising at the line level. She likes speculative and dark, but prefers the weird, surreal and uncanny over horror. In narrative non-fiction, she is looking for writers who celebrate or investigate the overlooked and the difficult-to-categorize, and anything to do with the natural world. Having worked in psychology and neuroscience labs, she has interest in that field—contemporary developments and the history of the science—but she has a high bar, and a low tolerance for pop psychology. She got her start in children’s publishing and is always happy to read picture book and middle grade submissions, preferably off-beat and contemporary fiction or non-fiction about things as wild and strange as kids are. Across all categories and genres, Amelia is looking to amplify underrepresented voices, and whatever stories they want to tell.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.

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Rita Veras of Rosecliff Literary
Rita Veras is an Associate Agent at Rosecliff Literary. She started writing short stories and poetry at a young age, inspired by her upbringing in the Dominican Republic. Rita is passionately dedicated to uplifting BIPOC voices, enhancing representation, and championing diverse narratives.

What she is seeking: She’s seeking immersive, atmospheric stories across genres, especially historical fiction—gothic or moody tales, BIPOC romances rooted in heritage, and magical realism with political nuance. She welcomes feminist retellings that reclaim overlooked voices and narratives on identity and ancestry. Rita also enjoys folklore-inspired horror, blending beauty and terror. Above all, she is drawn to books that linger in your soul and stay with you long after the last page is turned.

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.

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Loni Crittenden of Handspun Literary Agency

Loni Crittenden is an associate agent at Handspun Literary Agency, as well as assistant to Courtney Miller-Calihan, the agency’s founder and president. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from SUNY Oswego and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Loni brings several years of freelance developmental editing experience across YA and speculative fiction, and completed an editorial internship with Sourcebooks. 

What she is seeking: She is currently looking for imaginative, accessible fantasies with literary crossover appeal (ex: Piranesi, The Song of Achilles, This Is How You Lose the Time War, The Fifth Season) from historically underrepresented voices. 

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.

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Pronoy Sarkar of Georges Borchardt, Inc.

Previously, he worked at Little, Brown as a senior editor, where some highlights include publishing the New York Times bestselling, Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell, finalist for the Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism, LA Times Book Prize, and PEN/EO Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing; San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal by Justin Gregg; The Everything War by WSJ reporter and Pulitzer winner Dana Mattioli, a finalist for the Financial Times Book Prize, and acquiring forthcoming books by bestselling historian Rick Perlstein, Washington Post op-ed columnist Dana Milbank, Congressman James Clyburn, and bestselling management professor at MIT, Andrew McAfee, among many others. He was also an editor at St. Martin’s Press, where he published 2030 by Mauro F. Guillen, a Wall Street Journal bestseller and Financial Times Best of the Year pick, New York Times bestselling The Fund by NYT reporter Rob Copeland, Aftershocks by Biden officials Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright, Profit and Punishment by 2019 Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Messenger, among others. Some notable authors he's worked with include Olivia Laing, Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Safron Foer, Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, Lucia Berlin, Daryl Pickney, Andre Aciman, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, economist Linda Yueh, diplomat Phillip Gordon, Eric Posner, Edmund Richardson, playwright Andre Gregory, and the Wu-Tang Clan. He's also held jobs at Picador US and Simon & Schuster.

What he is seeking: He is interested in bold, ambitious, and conversation shifting projects across a range of areas, including history, biography, popular science, politics and current affairs, economics/law, high concept/big think, investigative journalism, culture, and paradigm-defining works focused on feminism, race, sexuality, and the intersections thereof. Also, cultural tastemakers and critics with fresh perspectives and points of view.

How to submit: Use his querytracker form HERE.

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Erika Staiger of Spencerhill Associates

Erika Staiger re-joined Spencerhill as an assistant in 2024, following a semester-long internship in 2018. She holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of South Florida, where she also taught creative writing and worked as a writing tutor. After graduation, she worked in higher education at the University of Central Florida and as a trivia writer for Rez Events. At Spencerhill, Erika is primarily responsible for reading and responding to query submissions. Her greatest ambition in life is to turn her house into the library from Beauty and the Beast.

What she is seeking: Erika is interested in a wide range of popular fiction for adults, especially fantasy, romantasy, dystopian, horror, and all sub-genres of romance except for inspirational romance. She is also open to select science fiction projects, but only if the aliens are hot. While you are welcome to kill all the human characters you like, if you have any dogs, cats, or other animal friends in your books, they have to live happily ever after. Erika is particularly excited to work with authors with a background in writing fanfiction who are now seeking to publish original work.

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.

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Sarah Kelleher of The Seymour Agency


A former book scout turned book agent, Sarah loves nothing more than getting lost in a great read! After thirteen years at the preeminent Maria B. Campbell Associates, where she served as the Vice President and Director of Young Adult & Children’s Scouting, she is thrilled to work on the flip side of the industry, representing authors from a multitude of backgrounds. 

What she is seeking: She is open to working with authors in the Adult, New Adult, and Young Adult fiction spaces, across many genres! A big Romantasy reader, she is particularly drawn to epic world building, spicy plot lines, and plenty of witty repartee. She likes both feel-good and heart-wrenching Romance - it’s all about the right mood. In the Dark Romance arena she is a devotee of morally grey protagonists and satisfying cat-and-mouse dynamics, and of course a HEA is a must. Bonus points if there are vampires! She is also a fan of the college setting for New Adult relationships, with a strong coming of age element and a will-they-won’t-they storyline with plenty of emotional angst. Horror is also a new addition to her TBR pile and she is eager to see more of it come her way. Genre mashups that include any or all of the above are also most welcome!

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.

Wikimedia This August there are more than five dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

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The First Line Journal. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry using the line provided. (See theme) Payment: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

We'Moon Lunar Calendar. Restrictions: Open to women only. Genre: Art, poetry and prose, 350 words maximum. Payment: Small honorarium; art up to $500. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

ryga. Genre: Poetry, prose and short plays. Payment: $50. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: August 1, 2026. Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached. 

Starship Blunder Anthology 3: Mission Hospitality. Genre: Speculative fiction. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

After Happy Hour. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, comics. Payment: $2.50 per printed page, with a minimum of $15 and a maximum of $50, on publication ($25 for the cover artist). Deadline: Opens August 1, 2026. Free submissions are capped at 300, so submit early.

Saddlebag Dispatches. Genre: Short stories, poetry, and non-fiction articles about the West. Payment: $10 - $20. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

Dark Waters. Genre: Dark fiction. See theme. Payment: Up to $25. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

IHRAM Press. Genre: Poetry, fiction, esssays, art. Theme:We are opening submissions for an issue dedicated to amplifying the voices of women of colour, including transgender women and women living across cultures as expats, migrants, or in diasporic communities. Payment: $50 for writing, $25 for art. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

Queer Little Daydreams. Restrictions: Contributors must identify as LGBTQIA2S+. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction that purposefully play with the speculative, strange, and surreal from a uniquely queer perspective. Payment: Honorarium. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

Witch House. Genre: Cosmic horror. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 2, 2026.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: August 2, 2026. Opens August 1.


Stone’s Throw. Genre: "We're looking for dark fiction, crime and noir, length between 1,000 and 2,000 words." Payment: $25. Deadline: August 4, 2026. Open to submissions the first three days of every month.

Crimeucopia. Genre: Crime fiction. See theme. Payment: £4 per 1,000 words. Deadline: August 4, 2026.

. Genre: Short stories. See theme. Payment: €200. Deadline: August 4, 2026. 

Adventitious. Genre: Speculative, surreal, and literary fiction. Length: Flash Fiction (including Micro): Up to 1,000 words; Fiction: 1,000 – 6,000 words. Novelette: 6,000 – 17,000 words. Payment: $0.08 USD per word. Deadline: August 5, 2026.

Cozy Fantasy Anthology. Genre: Cozy Fantasy. Length: 1500-4500 words. Payment: USD $0.02/word; Reprints $0.01/word. Deadline: August 6, 2026.

Black Inc. Restrictions: Open to Australians. Genre: Full-length general, literary and commercial non-fiction – including history, current affairs, memoir and biography. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 7, 2026. This is a monthly call.

Abyss and Apex. Genre: Speculative fiction. No horror. Payment: USD $.08/word (eight cents a word) up to 1,000 words, and a flat payment of $80.00 for longer stories. Deadline: August 7, 2026.

University of Queensland Press. Restrictions: Open to Australian citizens or permanent residents. Genre: Full-length nonfiction manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 7, 2026.

Flame Tree: Cosmic Horror Short Stories. Genre: Cosmic Horror. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: August 9, 2026.

Flame Tree: Zombie World. Genre: Zombies! Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: August 9, 2026.


Poetry Sango-Ota. Restrictions: Open to African poets. Genre: Poetry. "We are interested in poems with a keen connection to a sense of place, nature, or otherworldly geographies." Payment: N10,000 (ten thousand naira) per poem. Deadline: August 10, 2026. Open from the 1st to the 10th of every month. 

Sparks. Restrictions: Open to residents on the island of Ireland. Genre: Fiction, flash fiction, poetry. Payment: €20 for a Short Story, €15 for Flash Fiction and €10 for a Poem. Deadline: August 10, 2026.


Crimeucopia. Genre: Crime fiction. See theme. Payment: £4 per 1,000 words. Deadline: August 11, 2026.

Pseudopod. Genre: Horror. Payment: USD $0.08 per word for original fiction. USD $100 per story for reprint fiction. Deadline: August 11, 2026.

Raconteur Press: Hold-My-Beer Heroes. Genre: Short stories. Hold-My-Beer Heroes plays with the "superiority theory" concept of comedy. The author and the reader are in on the joke of the overconfident everyman thrust into a situation they have no business surviving, but somehow manage to end up winning the day. The ever- predictable train-wreck unfolds in real time. Length: 5,000 to 8,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 14, 2026.

Manuscrypt Magazine. Genre: Horror. See theme. Payment: $50. Deadline: August 14, 2026.


Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: August 14, 2026.

Luna Station Quarterly. Restrictions: Open to women writers only. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 15, 2026. 

Grimalkin Press: Sweet Screams – A Taste of Darkness. Restrictions: Open to women writers and gender diverse people only. Genre: Horror stories centered around themes of sweetness, baking, cooking, desserts, and the unsettling things that can exist beneath comfort, nostalgia, celebration, or indulgence. Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: August 15, 2026. 


Chicken Soup for the Soul: Star Wars 50th anniversary book. Genre: True stories. How has Star Wars affected you? And not just the movies. The brand has expanded to books, video games, TV shows, theme parks, toys, clothes, board games and more. Payment: $200. Deadline: August 15, 2026. 

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings. Genre: Nonfiction. One of the most important keys to contentment and happiness is the ability to count your blessings. Even during the toughest times, if we can find gratitude and count our blessings we feel better. Each day holds something to be thankful for and it could be just as simple as having the sun shine or having food on the table. Payment: $200. Deadline: August 15, 2026. 

Inkd Publishing: Cthulu: Awakens. Genre: Lovecraftian horror. Word Limit: 2,000 to 6,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 15, 2026. 

In a Flash: Recipes. Genre: Creative nonfiction of 500 words or less. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 15, 2026.

Beyond the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Genre: Fiction. Sherlock Holmes themes. Payment: $100. Deadline: August 15, 2026. 

The Lorelei Signal. Genre: Fantasy short stories, flash fiction, and poetry with strong female characters. Payment: $15 for short stories, $5 for poems and flash (<1000 wds) fiction pieces, $5 for reprints. Deadline: August 15, 2026. Accepts reprints.

The Fairy Tale Magazine. Genre: Fairy-tale inspired stories/poems. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 21, 2026.


Griffith Review. Genre: Nonfiction and fiction. See theme. Payment: AUD$0.75 per word. Deadline: August 23, 2026.

Augur Press. Genre: Speculative literature that breaks down walls between literary and sci-fi/fantasy spaces. We seek work across genres: poignant dark fantasy, crisp science fiction, lush secondary world adventures, contemporary gothic, quiet myth-building, and dreamy realism. Length: Novellas and novelettes. Payment: Advance and royalties. Deadline: August 30, 2026.

Carmen et Error. Genre: Poems, 40(ish) lines max. Fiction, 400(ish) words max. Payment: £5. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Saraband: Inklings. Genre: Narrative non-fiction. "The Inklings is a series of pocket-sized pop culture books that introduce readers to a wide range of topics they might only have an inkling about!" Pitches only. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2026.


Nonbinary Review. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry. See theme. Payment: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry. $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Accepts reprints.

Ampersand Review. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews. Payment: Poetry: $50 per poem/page to a maximum of $100. Fiction: $100 per story. Non-fiction: $100 per piece. Reviews: $100 per piece. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Event Magazine. Genre: Poetry, fiction. Payment: CAD $40/page for poetry and $35/page for prose, up to a maximum of $500. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Note: Closes when cap is reached.
​
JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ stories, 5,000 - 9,500 words. See themes. Payment: $30. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Escape Pod. Genre: Science fiction (Audio and written format). Payment: USD $0.08 per word for original fiction. USD $100 per story for reprint fiction. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Reprints accepted.

Passing Strange: Queer Weird Arthurian Tales. Genre: Queer Arthuran stories. Word count: Between 3,000 and 10,000 words. Payment: A rate of $0.05 USD per word to a maximum of $500 USD will be offered. $200 for art. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Broken Sleep Books. Genre: Non-fiction prose pamphets (up to 150 pages). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2026.


Hellbound Books Anthology of Body Horror. Genre: Body Horror. Payment: $5. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Hellbound Books Anthology of Found Footage Horror. Genre: Found Footage Horror. Payment: $5. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Hellbound Books Anthology of Technological Horror. Genre: Technological Horror. Payment: $5. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Propel Disability Poetry Book Series. Restrictions: Open to disabled poets. Genre: Poetry. Payment: Royalties. One poet wins a $2000 prize. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Cast of Wonders. Restrictions: Open to young authors. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Dragon Soul Press: ONCE UPON A TALE. Genre: Fairytale retellings across all genres. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Dragon Soul Press: CURSES & CRYSTALS. Genre: Witch-themed stories across all genres. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Chicken Soup for the Soul. Genre: True humorous stories. "Share your funny stories about something that happened to you in your life – in your relationship with a partner or spouse, a parent or child, a family member or friend, at work or at home – that made you and the people around you laugh out loud. Did you mean for it to be funny? Did the other person mean to make you laugh? Did a situation just get out of control? Did a misunderstanding turn into a comedy of errors?" Payment: $200. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Slapshots in Space & Magical Marathons: A Speculative Sports Anthology. Genre: Speculative fiction on theme: Sports. Payment: $50/story, flat rate. $20 per poem. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Manawaker Studio: 100 Word Project. Genre: Speculative fiction of exactly 100 words. See theme. Payment: $1. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Sundress. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Submission fee is waived for all BIPOC writers.


Heartlines Spec. Restrictions: "Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Our goal for each issue is to publish at least 50% Canadian content." Genre: Short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. "We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules." Payment: $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction and $80 CAD flat for poetry. Deadline: Early submission period for equity-deserving groups August 24-31.


AND A FEW MORE...

Philadelphia Stories. Restrictions: Open to authors living in, or originally from, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art. Payment: $50. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

“Psycho Pulp” Anthology. Genre: Crime, horror, psychological thriller, western, science fiction, or any sub-genre or blend of these. Payment: $20. Deadline: September 1, 2026.


The Cincinnati Review. Genre: Literary nonfiction (up to 20 pages), fiction (up to 40 pages), poetry, poetry translations, drama, and art. Payment: $25/page for prose in the journal, $30/page for poetry, $25 for miCRo posts or special features. Deadline: Opens September 1, 2026. Note: Opens on the first day of the month and closes once they hit the submissions cap.

Pacific Northwest Gothic. Restrictions: Open to current residents of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art "that explore the region’s shadowed forests, coastal fog, urban isolation, and the quiet unease that lingers beneath its natural beauty." Payment: $25. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

Teach. Write. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, flash fiction, poetry, CNF. "I prefer writing that is either written by composition teachers and writing students OR about teaching and learning." Payment: $15. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

University of Wisconsin Press. Genre: Novels, short story collections, and works in translation. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: September 1, 2026.

Deviant Art This August there are more than three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $100,000 to publication. None charge entry fees.Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

If you want to get a jump on next month's contests go to Free Contests. Many of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.

Good luck!  

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Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Authors must be Singaporean, Singaporean permanent resident or Singapore-born. Genre: A full-length, original and unpublished novel written in the English language. Prize: $20,000. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

Iron Horse Prize. Genre: First book of collected prose. Prize: $1000, and the collection will be published by Texas Tech University Press. Deadline: August 1, 2026. Free submissions on August 1, 2026 only.

Iron Horse Photofinish. Genre: Brief ekphrastic work that pushes beyond an absolute litera.l read of a photo prompt. "We're looking for work that recognizes what's hidden in the world we see, responding to the physical details that the picture offers or what emotion it conveys or both. We provide the photo on our website and social media platforms every mid-May. Responses should be no longer than 500 words for prose or 15 lines for poetry. Prize:  Winner receives $250. The finalists receive: $75. Deadline: August 1, 2026. Free submissions on August 1, 2026 only.

Granum Foundation Prize helps U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs—or to help launch these works. Additionally, a Granum Foundation Translation Prize will be awarded to support the completion of a work translated by a U.S.-based writer. Prize: One winner will receive $5,000; up to three finalists will be awarded $500 or more; $500 or more will be awarded to one writer working in translation. Deadline: August 1, 2026. Closes when cap is reached so submit early.

NOMAD Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual art, industry specials, and criticism/reviews/interviews on theme. See website. Prize: $75. Deadline: August 1, 2026.

Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships. Restrictions: Delaware poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in Delaware for at least one year prior to application and who are not enrolled in a degree-granting program. Genres: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. Prize: Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each. Deadline: August 3, 2026.

Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grants. Restrictions: Open to women and trans artists in Greater Philadelphia to fund art for social change projects. People living in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties Delaware who are 18 years of age or older and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Genre: Art in traditional or nontraditional modes, mediums or disciplines. Prize: $2500. Deadline: August 3, 2026.

Oregon Literary Fellowships. Two fellowships (one $10,000 grant and one $3,500 grant) are reserved specifically for writers of color. There are also fellowships for women/gender-nonconforming writers as well as special fellowships for fiction writers who have lived in Oregon over the past 5 years. Deadline: August 7, 2026.

Only Poems Poem of the Month. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Prize: $40. Deadline: August 7, 2026.

Giller Prize. Restrictions: Open to books published in Canada in English between  July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026. Must  be nominated by publisher. Genre: Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize: $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline: August 14, 2026.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $25 - $50 via PayPal for one story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: August 14, 2026.

Waterford Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to residents of Ireland. Genre: Poem. Prize: First prize is €400 plus attendance at a designated writing course. Deadline: August 14, 2026.

Ligonier Valley Writers. Genre: Flash fiction on theme;1000 words max. Prize: The first prize winner will receive $50, second prize $25, and third prize $15. Deadline: August 15, 2026.

The Gotham Publish a Book Scholarship. Restrictions: Open to people of color who have completed a book manuscript (or nonfiction book proposal) and are ready to go to market with their book. Three fellowships will be offered every year. Prize: Admittance to a Gotham Writers Conference—the panels and presentations as well as a seat at a pitching roundtable with two agents in your genre. The Gotham course How to Get Published or Nonfiction Book Proposal. A one-on-one Agent Evaluation session and  a Query Letter Coaching session, both with a literary agent. Deadline: August 15, 2026.

53-Word Story Contest. Genre: Flash fiction of exactly 53 words based on monthly theme. Prize: Publication and a free book. Deadline: August 15, 2026. (Note: This is a monthly contest)

Berggruen Prize Essay Competition. Genre: Essay. "We are inviting essays that follow in the tradition of renowned thinkers such as Rousseau, Michel de Montaigne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Submissions should present novel ideas and be clearly argued in compelling ways for intellectually serious readers." Prize: $50,000 USD for essays submitted in English and $50,000 USD for essays submitted in Chinese. Deadline: August 17, 2026.

Collaborature. Restrictions: Submissions must be written by more than one author or include a collaboration of two people (i.e., art and poetry). Genre: Poetry, fiction. Prize: $20. Deadline: August 17, 2026. Note: This is a monthly contest.

Stone Canoe. Restrictions: Open to people who live or have lived in Upstate New York (not New York City). Genre: Poetry. Prize: $250 and publication. Deadline: August 18, 2026. (It is difficult to find this information on their website.) 

Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative Grant. Genre: Investigative journalism addressing hate and prejudice. Prize: $2000 - $5,000 grant. Deadline: August 20, 2026. Note: There are two dates listed on the website, June 1 and August 20, 2026.

John Glassco Translation Prize. Sponsored by Literary Translators' Association of Canada. Restrictions: Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents only. Genre: The work submitted must be the translator's first published book-length translation into English or French. Prize: $1000. Deadline: August 21, 2026.

Faber Children’s: Faber and Andlyn BAME (FAB) Prize. Restrictions: Open to undiscovered BAME writers and illustrators; entrants must be of black, Asian or minority ethnic background, and UK- or Ireland-based. Genre: Text or artwork for children. Prize: £1,500 and £500 each for a writer and an illustrator. Deadline: August 21, 2026.

Penguin UK: Merky Books New Writers’ Prize. Restrictions: Open to Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic writers who are aged between 18 and 35 and residing in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Applicants will need to be unpublished and un-agented in order to apply. Genre: Unpublished manuscript. Prize: Publishing contract with #Merky Books. All shortlisted writers will also be invited to our Writers’ Camp, where they will get the chance to participate in writing workshops, panel talks, editorial one-to-ones and meet the #Merky Books team. Deadline: August 24, 2026.

Coppercoat Brian Black Memorial Award. Genre: The judges are looking for article and photographs that capture an inspiring encounter that you have had with marine wildlife or the marine environment more generally that impacted, inspired and changed you in some way. The photo competition is open to adults with a separate category for young people aged 16 or under.. Prize: £3,000. Deadline: August 30, 2026.

Katherine Mansfield Society Essay Prize 2026. Genre: Essays that address any aspect of the theme of Katherine Mansfield. Prize: £200 and the winning essay will be considered for publication in Katherine Mansfield Studies. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Propel Disability Poetry Book Series. Restrictions: Open to disabled poets. Genre: Poetry. Payment: Royalties. One poet wins a $2000 prize. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Preservation Foundation Biographical Nonfiction Contest. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $250 in any single year. Genre: Biographical Nonfiction. Prize: First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Finalists will receive $50. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

PADIBA Awards 2027. Genre: Traditionally published PB/GN and MG/YA novel that features intersectional protagonists. Prize: $1500. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry collection (in English), at least 48 pages long, published between July 1 of the previous year and June 30 of the deadline year by an upstate New York author. Prize: $2000. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Iowa Short Fiction and John Simmons Short Fiction Awards. Restrictions: Any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction is eligible to enter the competition. Genre: Short story collection. The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages. Prize: Publication by the University of Iowa Press, royalties.  Deadline: August 31, 2026.

“Kusamakura” Haiku Competition. Genre: Haiku. Prize: (Grand Prize) to one winner : goods worthy of ￥20,000. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing. Genre: Short story with an overall word-count of 1500 on theme. Prize: £100. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Morioka International Haiku Contest. Genre: Haiku. Prize: Not specified. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing. Genre: Scholarly essay. All work submitted must have been written or published within the last year. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Debra E. Bernhardt Labor Journalism Prize. Genre: Article that furthers the understanding of the history of working people. Articles focused on historical events AND articles about current issues (work, housing, organizing, health, education) that include historical context are both welcome. The work must be published in print or online between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2026. Prize: $1000. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Kindle Storyteller Award (UK). Restrictions: The prize is open to all authors who publish their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk. Genre: Book. Prize: £20,000. Deadline: August 31, 2026.

Voice.club. Genre: Flash fiction, 350 words max. See theme. Prize: $25 Amazon gift card. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Note: You have to join in order to enter. See themes.

Apex Flash Fiction Contest. Genre: Speculative fiction, 1000 words max. Prize: 8 cents/word or $10, which ever is greater. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Note: Apex Magazine’s Flash Fiction Contest is open from the 7th until the final day of each month. The contest is themed.

PolyPolyphony Lit Summer Contest 2026. Restrictions: Open to High school students (aged 14-18) from anywhere in the world. Genre: Fiction and poetry on theme Home. Prize: Publication. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Free submissions cap of 200.


Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge. Genre: Poem inspired by artwork. (See site for image.) Prize: $100. Deadline: August 31, 2026. This is a monthly contest.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: August 31, 2026. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

Derry, NH: Wikimedia This August there are more than a dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most will be held in person or use a hybrid format.

These writing events offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, how to market your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.

I have included conferences with deadlines that have already passed on this list to give you advance notice. If you miss an application deadline, put it on your calendar for next year. Quite a few conferences offer scholarships, so apply early. Plan ahead!

For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences.

Be sure to check out Boyds Mills list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year.

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Frost Place Poetry Seminar. August 2 - 6, 2026: Online. The Seminar schedule features a daily presentation/discussion exploring aspects of craft and technique, an afternoon workshop of participants’ poems or individual, virtual meetings with faculty, and an evening reading, some by faculty poets and others featuring participants. Will be held online.

First Friday Book Talk & Reading Series. August 7, 2025: Zoom. First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Lisa Knopp, Author of Ravelings: Essays on Love, Loss, and Wonder.

Into the Springs Writers Workshop. August 7 - 9, 2026: Yellow Springs, OH. Into the Springs is a full weekend of shared sessions, events and lunch, making your interaction with featured guest instructors and writer participants easily accessible.

Travel Writers & Photographers Conference. August 7 – 9, 2026: Corte Madera, Calif. Writing and photography workshops in the morning, a full afternoon of panels and discussions, and evening faculty presentations. There are optional, working field trips to explore the resources of the Bay Area. The faculty includes publishers, magazine editors, photographers, travel essayists, food writers, restaurateurs, guidebook writers, and more. 

VCFA Writers' Conference. August 8 - 14, 2026: Valencia, CA. At the heart of the conference is its distinctive workshop model—intimate groups of six writers led by a member of our acclaimed faculty. This structure allows for sustained, in-depth engagement with each participant's manuscript. In addition to daily workshops, every writer receives an individual, hour-long consultation with their instructor, ensuring focused, one-on-one attention. The conference includes workshops in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, romance, young adult, and writing for the screen, guided by four pillars: Community (building lasting creative relationships), Inspiration (renewing artistic energy and vision), Craft (deep, rigorous engagement with the work itself), and Industry (practical insight into publishing and professional pathways).

The Writing Shorter Retreat: Why (and How) Less Can Be More. August 9 - 12, 2026: Boyds Mills Campus, PA. Discover how “writing short” might be exactly what your story needs. Join this retreat to learn practical tools to build a shorter narrative while staying true to your voice.

Get Away to Write - Vermont. August 9 - 14, 2026: Grafton, VT. Combine an extended writing retreat with a relaxing summer vacation in the picturesque mountains of Vermont. This getaway blends our trademark challenging and supportive workshop experience with plenty of free time for you to write and bask in the refreshing New England summer. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced writer, you will return home energized by the tranquil setting and excited to continue writing.

Odyssey Writing Workshop. August 10, 2026 (12 weeks): Online. Since its inception in 1996, Odyssey has become one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Will be held online. Application deadline April 10.

Picture Book Essentials: A Two-Night Mini for Picture Book Writers. August 11 - August 13, 2026: Online. Picture books may be short, but writing them is no small task! Join award-winning author Darcy Pattison and author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski for a two-session deep dive into the essential elements that turn your ideas into engaging picture books!

Graphic Novel Storytelling: Where Words Meet Pictures Meet Readers. August 11 - August 13, 2026: Online. Your entry point into graphic novels. Two nights of expert craft, hands-on exercises, and a clear path forward for your story ideas.

Sundress Academy: Giving Shape: Retrospection & Projection in Personal Essays. August 12, 2026: Online. We’ll use four essay excerpts to study how authors have used retrospection and projection in their work, then we’ll practice those same moves through guided prompts. Students will come away with a new or renewed understanding of specific craft mechanics and new angles to approach their own ideas.

Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. August 12 - 22, 2026: Ripton, VT. Workshops in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction are at the core of the conference. Each faculty member conducts a workshop that meets for five two-hour sessions over the course of the 10 days. Groups are kept small to facilitate discussion, and all participants meet individually with their faculty leaders to elaborate on workshop comments. Faculty members also offer lectures on issues around literary writing and one-hour classes on specific aspects of the craft. Readings by the faculty, conference participants, and guests take place throughout the day and into the night. Participants meet with visiting editors, literary agents, and publishers who provide information and answer questions, individually or in small groups. Application deadline March 15.

3rd Annual Idlewild Writers Conference. August 14 - 15, 2026: Idlewild, MI. Returning for its third year, the Idlewild Writers Conference brings together poets and writers from across the country for a relaxing and inspiring experience in the beautiful historic resort community of Idlewild, MI.

Poetry at the Frost Farm. August 14 - 16, 2026:  Derry, New Hampshire. The retreat offers workshops, readings, and one-on-one consultations for formalist poets. "Join a small community of people at the historic Robert Frost Farm learning, reading and writing formal poetry with contemporary award-winning poets. Choose your focus from a series of offerings designed to provide tools for beginning poets as well as perfect the mastery of published poets." 

Whole Novel Workshop: An In-Person Retreat for Novelists. August 15 - 20, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. This intensive, transformative Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 85,000 words) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided.

Building Your Plot: Structures and Strategies. August 18 - 20, 2026. Online. Stop guessing what happens next and start building the architecture of your story with this two-night workshop on plotting techniques.

​Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference. August 20 - 23, 2026: Nashville, TN. The Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference was created in 2006 by author/filmmaker Clay Stafford in an effort to bring together forensic experts, writers, and fans of crime and thriller literature. "At the conference, we try diligently to ensure that the weekend has something for every writer and lover of literature, and our sessions are structured to assist writers on multiple career levels. Our learning tracks tackle the craft of writing, business of writing, marketing, and forensics. Killer Nashville features nine breakout sessions for intense smaller group interaction, an authors’ bar (free for hotel guests), a moonshine and wine tasting, free agent/editor roundtable pitch sessions, a mock crime scene designed by special agents and other law enforcement professionals, cocktail receptions, the Guest of Honor Dinner and Awards Banquet, film previews, live music performances and—of course—all the great activities one can enjoy in downtown Nashville."

Community Retreat with Grace Lin and Debbi Michiko Florence: Celebrating Asian and Asian American Stories. August 27 -  August 30, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. Work alongside community members and spend time creating, dreaming, and discovering the many beautiful contributions made by Asian and Asian American voices in the children’s book field.

Bookgardan: A Year's Sustenance for Women Writers. August 2026 to August 2027. "Bring your book project and your literary practice to full fruition in Bookgardan, a year-long program of sustained, one-on-one mentorship and advanced craft curriculum created by an acclaimed writer, seasoned editor, and devoted & inspiring literary mentor, shared with an intimate cohort of like-minded literary artists. Hone your work-in-progress, develop your technical expertise, and refine your inimitable artistic process over twelve months bookended by two full retreat weeks as fall writers-in-residence at Craigardan, an interdisciplinary mountainside residency program for artists in the majestic Adirondacks of upstate New York. Now enrolling its fifth cohort, Bookgardan is unlike any other writing program, book incubator, or literary mentorship. Designed for women writers with book-length, literary fiction and creative nonfiction projects, created in partnership with a residential artists’ program that fosters collaboration and cross-fertilization among artists, and intentional in its goal of building a lasting, mutually. supportive community of women writers, at Bookgardan’s heart is Kate Moses’ passionate dedication to helping other women writers realize their vision for their work, made manifest in the unstinting one-on-one mentorships she forges with each writer and their book."