Erica Verrillo's Blog

Easy-Peasy.AI This December 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.
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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.

Happy submitting!

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Eternal Haunted Summer. Genre: Poetry, short fiction. See theme. Payment: $5. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Fractured Mirror Publishing. Genre: Full-length speculative fiction. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

McGovern Center Writing Awards in Fiction. Restrictions: Open to anyone in the U.S., 18 years or older. Genre: Fiction, 5000 words max. Work must be medical or healthcare related in theme or focus. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

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: December 1, 2025. Note: Opens on the first day of the month and closes once they hit the submissions cap.

Breath and Shadow  Genre: Writing on any topic for poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama; these pieces do not have to be "about" disability. However nonfiction, academic, and similar articles (profiles, interviews, opinion pieces) do have to relate to disability in some way. Payment: $25 for poetry, $40 for fiction, and $40 for nonfiction. In addition to publication and payment, Breath & Shadow will post links to contributors' work on other sites and to their Web site or e-mail address. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Weird Christmas Flash Anthology. Genre: Weird flash fiction, 350 words max, that’s both about Christmas (or any other winter holiday) and simultaneously weird. Payment: $35. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Bold Strokes Books: Gender Ever After – Gender-Affirming Sapphic Romance Stories. Genre: Sapphic Romance. Payment: $50. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Extremities: Choose Your Own Death. Genre: Queer adult horror novellas. Novella length: 30K–40K words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Wallstrait. Genre: Flash fiction, longer stories, hybrid, and experimental stuff you can't quite define. Length: Up to 5,000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: December 1, 2025. 

IHRAM Publishes. Genre: Poetry, fiction, esssays, art. Theme: Echoes from the Street: Homelessness and the Unhoused. Payment: $50 for writing, $25 for art. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: December 1, 2025. See themes.

Lycan Valley. Genre: Modern day reimagining of the Medusa story. "We want to see a strong bipoc woman* deeply rooted in culture. And, regardless of how she gets there, Medusa should be victorious and win in the end." Novella length (between 17,000 and 30,000 words) is preferred, but will consider both novellas and full-length novels for this project. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 1, 2025. Read guidelines HERE.

Eldritch Cat Press: The Lantern Keepers. Genre: Speculative short stories “We’re looking for tales that include characters who serve as guides, guardians, or messengers between the threshold of the living and the dead, lost or otherworldly. We want stories with haunting, dreadful, eerie, creeping or even sorrowful vibes." Payment: $10. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Rooted Literary Magazine: Home. Genre: Poems, fiction (including flash), nonfiction (including reviews), visual art, audio, and video on theme: Home. Payment: $10. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: December 2, 2025. Opens December 1. This is a monthly call.


Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: December 3, 2025. Note: This is a monthly call.

Variant Lit. Genre: Poetry, fiction, flash fiction, art. Payment: $10. Deadline: December 4, 2025.

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: December 5, 2025.

Carte Blanche (Canada). Genre: Poetry, fiction, CNF, translations. comics, photography. Payment: $75 CAD. Deadline: December 7, 2025.

Sine Theta Magazine. Restrictions: Open to people of Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, or Macau heritage, who live anywhere away from the original 'homeland' of that heritage. Genre: All genres of visual and literary work as long as they relate to the current theme. (See theme) Payment: $10. Deadline: December 7, 2025.

Samjoko Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, play, screenplay. Payment: $20. Deadline: December 10, 2025.

Island. Restrictions: Open to Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents only. Genre: Fiction and Nonfiction. Payment: 40 cents per word for print fiction and nonfiction, with a minimum of $600 and a maximum of $1500. Fees for print are less the cost of a 4-issue subscription if you are not a current subscriber. Deadline: December 12, 2025.

Quarter Press: Quarter(ly). Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. See themes. Payment: $5. Deadline: December 14, 2025.

Buckman Journal. Restrictions: Open to Portland and Pacific Northwest creatives. Genre: Fiction and creative non-fiction. See theme. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: December 14, 2025.

Electric Literature. Genre: Personal Narrative. Payment: $100. Deadline: December 14, 2025. Closes when cap is reached.

Plott Hound. Genre: Speculative fiction starring animals. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Brazenhead Review. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $200. Deadline: December 15, 2025. Note: Closes when cap is reached.

Propagule. Genre: Short stories that are intrepid with regard to experimentation and oddity; the strange, the surreal, the atypical, the unexpected. Payment: Up to $30. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Big Score Lit. Genre: Poetry. Payment:  $100 per accepted poem. Deadline: December 15, 2025. Closes when cap is reached.

ellipsis… literature & art. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, drama, and creative non-fiction. Payment: $3 per page for prose. $10 for poetry. Deadline: December 15, 2025. (Only pays American writers.)

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, "and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way.” Payment: $50. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Whytaker Lyon Press: Virginia Fantastic Anthology. Genre: Speculative fiction that reimagines the Commonwealth of Virginia as a land of mystery, magic, and the unexpected. Payment: $5 for stories of 700-1,000 words. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Fantabulosa! Restrictions: Open to trans and BIPOC Queer writers. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art. Payment: $0.08/word for prose, and $50 for poetry. Deadline: December 15, 2025. [Extended deadline for trans and BIPOC writers]

Words Without Borders. Genre: Original translations into English of contemporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and interviews, and related multimedia. They also publish critical essays, book reviews, and interviews written in English. Payment: $50 - $150. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Litmag. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. "What We Look For: Work that moves and amazes us.We are drawn to big minds, large hearts, sharp pens." Length: Print: 15,000 words; Online: 4,000 words. Payment: Print: $300 for full-length fiction or nonfiction (5,000+ words); $150 for fiction or nonfiction (2,500-4,999 words); $100 for a short short (flash); $100 for a poem or group of short poems. LitMag Online: Upon acceptance, $100. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Baffling. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Length: Under 1200 words. See themes. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Home on the Range: Poems of the Queer Pastoral. Genre: Poetry. "The anthology will celebrate and complicate a poetics of queer nature, from redefining the boundaries between the urban, the rural, and the wilderness, to rendering the ways in which queer people make their homes in the pastoral traditions which have so often excluded them." Payment: £30. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Book XI. Genre: Personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry with philosophical themes. See theme. Payment: $200 for prose; $50 for poetry. Deadline: December 15, 2025. Closes when cap is reached so submit early.

B Cubed Press: More Alternative Liberties. Genre: Stories, poems, and esssays about the potential consequences of the 2024 Presidential election told in current, near future or even similar situations where such a leader is in power. Payment: $0.10/word + royalties. Deadline: December 20, 2025.


The Aesthete. Genre: Short stories, flash fiction, poetry. Payment: $5. Deadline: December 21, 2025.

The Ex-Puritan. Genres: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Payment: $100 per nonfiction piece, $50 fiction, $15 per poem. Deadline: December 25, 2025.

Deadset Press: Rebels and Rainbows. Restrictions: Open to all Australian and New Zealand authors who identify as LGBTIQA+, from any gender identity, and ally authors. Genre: Stories that feature LGBTIQA+ characters of any gender identity across the wide universes of speculative fiction. Swashbuckling pirates, mischievous necromancers, charming elder gods, dashing bounty hunters, anything goes! Payment: $25. Deadline: December 30, 2025.
foofaraw zine. Genre: Speculative and literary fiction. Payment: Fiction: $0.01 per word. Poetry: $5.00. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Meadowlark Reader. Genre: Personal essays, interviews, journalistic pieces. “True stories about Kansas written by Kansans." Payment: $10 plus one contributor copy. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Burial Books. Genre: Westerns of at least 60,000 words. No fantasy or weird westerns. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Burial Books. Genre: Crime fiction of at least 60,000 words. No fantasy. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Best American. Genre: Published short stories, essays, food writing, mystery and suspense, nature writing, science fiction and fantasy. Payment: ? Deadline: December 31, 2025.


Dracula Beyond Stoker. Genre: Fiction based on Stoker’s characters. See theme. Payment: 5 cents/word. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Mayday. Genre: Translations, art, poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Payment: $10 - $50. Deadline: December 31, 2025. No submission fee during the month of December.


Arc Poetry Magazine. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $50 per page. Deadline: December 31, 2025. Free submissions for Canadians only.

DreamForge. Genre: Science fiction and fantasy short fiction and poetry. Payment: $0.08/word. Payment for reprints is $0.04/word. Poems are paid at the rate of $25 to $100. Deadline: December 31, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Workers Write!. Genre: "We're looking for fiction and poetry about the people who work in airports and for airlines, such as passenger service agents, ramp agents, TSA agents, airport engineers, baggage handlers, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, pilots, and so on." Payment: $10 - $50. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Oddity Prodigy Productions: Tales of Steel and Sorcery. Genre: Epic fantasy. Payment: $10 minimum. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Fun in the Dark Anthology. Genre: Any genre short story. Story length: 2000-5000 words. See theme. Payment: £20.  Deadline: December 31, 2025.

We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction. Genre: Queer speculative fiction. Submissions are open for all speculative work published in 2025 under 17,500 words that deals either implicitly or explicitly with queerness. Payment: $0.01/word. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Black Hare Press. Genre: Dark stories, in any genre. Length: 5,000 - 50,000 words. Payment: $20 - $50, depending on length. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Allegory. Genre: Speculative Fiction and nonfiction. Payment: $15. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Black Hare Press. Genre: Dark stories, in any genre. Payment: 5,000 to 10,000 words  – $20 USD, 10,000 to 17,000 words– $30 USD.. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Howdy Dude. Genre: Western and crime novels. Payment: Royalities. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Freeze Frame Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. "Any genre, no content restrictions. We want your science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, drama, literary works, satire, bizarre fiction, or anything else you can come up with or mix together. The more original, the better. The weirder, the better.” Payment: $10. Deadline: December 31, 2025.
Dragon Soul Press: Fallen in Love. Genre: All romantic stories involving angels, nephilim, etc. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Dragon Soul Press: Curse of the Sword. Genre: All fairytale retellings. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Black Beacon Book of Horror 2. Genre: Horror. Preferred word count between 3,000 and 9,000 words. Payment: $30 USD for original stories and $10 for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Tenebrous Press. Genre: New Weird Horror novels and novellas. Length: 20,000 - 120,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Midnight and Indigo. Genre: Short Stories, Speculative Fiction, and Personal Essays written by Black women writers. See theme. Payment:  $0.07 per word for Short Stories and $150 for personal essays. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

The New York Times: Modern Love. Genre: Essay on modern love. Payment: Not Specified. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ stories, 12,000 words minimum. See themes. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Chestnut Review. Genre: Poetry, flash fiction, short fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, visual media (art/photography). Payment: $120. Deadline: December 31, 2025. Submit early in the month to avoid submission fee.

AND A FEW MORE...

Litmosphere. Genre: Art, flash (fiction and nonfiction), poetry, and short prose (fiction and literary nonfiction). Payment: $50 per accepted poem, flash fiction and nonfiction; $100 per short fiction and literary nonfiction; $250 for non-exclusive online use of 15-30 images. Deadline: Opens January 1, 2026.

Cafe Irreal. Genre: Magical realism. Length: Up to 2,000 words. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: January 1, 2026.

Pickpik This December there are more than three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $130,000 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! 
__________________


The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry. Restrictions: Open to African poets who have not yet published a collection of poetry. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Neville Dawes First Book Prize for Emerging Caribbean Poets. Restrictions: Open to Caribbean writers who have not published a book-length poetry collection. Genre: Poetry collection. Prize: $1000. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

After the End Poetry Competition. Genre: Poetry. “This poetry competition invites creative responses from poets that critically engage with ideas of time and temporality and the question of who gets to say that something has ended. Work from poets at every stage of their writing careers is welcome." Prize: First prize is £200, second and third place winners will be offered £100 each. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

The Pushcart Prize honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in small presses and literary magazines. Magazine and small press editors may nominate up to six works. Pushcart Press publishes yearly anthologies of the winning submissions. Prize: Publication and enormous prestige. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

The Schneider Family Book Award is sponsored by the American Library Association. The award honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Prize: Three annual awards each consisting of $5000 and a framed plaque, will be given annually in each of the following categories: birth through grade school (age 0-10), middle school (age 11-13) and teens (age 13-18). (Age groupings are approximations). Genre: May be fiction, biography, or other form of nonfiction. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing. Restrictions: Open to published writers who are writing from the region. Genres: All. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2025. 

Ezra Jack Keats Children's Book Award. Genre: Published or self-published picture books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

McGovern Center Writing Awards in Fiction. Restrictions: Open to anyone in the 50 U.S. states and affiliated territories. Genre: Unpublished fiction that is medical or healthcare-related in theme or focus. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Tony Quagliano Poetry Fund, International Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to poets who have a published body of work over a period of years. Poems must be in English. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 1, 2025. (Biennial award) 

One Teen Story. Restrictions: Open to writers age 13 -19. Genre: Short story between 2,000 to 4,500 words. Prize: $500 upon publication and 25 copies of the magazine. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Poetry Center at Smith College Prize. Restrictions: Open to sophomore or junior high school girls in New England. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Charlotte and Wilbur Award For Compassion for Animals. Genre: Picture book, chapter book, middle-grade book (or graphic novel), or young adult book traditionally or self- published in 2025. Books in translation are welcome. The Charlotte and Wilbur Award for Compassion for Animals will award one winning book and one honor book for their dedication to promoting compassion and respect for animals in their readers. Prize: The winning book will receive a prize of $2,500 and the honor book will receive $1,000. If the winning or honor book is a picture book, the prize will be split between the author and illustrator. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Jane Martin Poetry Prize (UK). Restrictions: Open to UK residents between 18 and 30 years of age. Genre: Poetry. Prize: First prize £1000, second prize, £500. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

The Association of Jewish Libraries Jewish Fiction Award. Genre: All works of fiction with significant Jewish thematic content written in English–novels, short story and flash fiction collections–by a single author published and available for purchase in the United States during 2022 are eligible for the award. Jewish thematic content means an extended grappling with Jewish themes throughout the book, including Judaism, Jewish history and culture, Jewish identity, etc. Prize: The award will include a $1,000 cash prize as well as support to attend the AJL conference to receive the award. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: Candidates must be: A Canadian citizen or permanent resident; Under the age of 35; Unpublished in book form and without a book contract. Genre: Poetry and fiction. Prizes: Up to C$10,000. Deadline: December 2, 2025.

J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. Genre: Nonfiction book. Applicants for the award must already have a contract with a U.S.-based publisher to write a nonfiction book. Award: $25,000. Deadline: December 4, 2025.

RSL Christopher Bland Prize. Restrictions: Writers must be a citizen of, or resident in, the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. Books must have been published for the first time in the UK or RoI within the 2023 calendar year. Books must be entered by trade publishers or agents based in the UK or RoI; each publisher, imprint of a publisher, or agent may enter two books only. Genre: Debut novel or non-fiction book first published by a writer aged 50 or over. Prize: £10,000. Deadline: December 5, 2025. 

The Republic of Letters. Genre: Tell us the story of a wrong turning, a mistake you can’t undo, a decision you can’t have back that led to whatever searing regret you have at this moment in time. Prize: $25 - $75. Deadline: December 6, 2025. 

Kim Wall Memorial Fund. Restrictions: Open to "journalists whose work embodies the spirit of Kim’s reporting. The grant will fund women or non-binary reporters covering subculture, broadly defined, and what Kim liked to call “the undercurrents of rebellion.” Kim wanted more women to be out in the world, brushing up against life, and the Kim Wall Memorial Fund honors this legacy.” Genre: Journalism. Prize: $5,000 grants. Deadline: December 7, 2025.

Friends of American Writers. Restrictions: The author must be a resident (or previously have been a resident for approximately five years) of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota or Wisconsin; or the locale of the book must be in a region identified above. The author must not have published more than three books under his/her own pen name. Genres: Books can be fiction or creative non-fiction and published in 2025. Self-published and e-Books are not eligible. Prize: $500 - $2000. Deadline: December 13, 2025.

Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel Competition. Restrictions: The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, aged 18 or older, who has never been the author of any published novel (except that authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work) and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a novel. Genre: Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: December 14, 2025.

THE GEORGE ELIOT FELLOWSHIP ESSAY PRIZE. Genre: Paper on George Eliot's life or work. Prize: £500. Deadline: December 15, 2025. (Deadline is "middle of December")

Folk Tales/Faux Tales/Fox Tales. Genre: Three faux-tales: one science fiction, one fantasy, one horror. These folk-tails might emerge from any culture, any history, any landscape, but they should inform South Asian experiences. Prize: CAD150 each. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Leave Your Mark: Teen Contest. Restrictions: open to writers ages 13-18 years old. Genre: Write about a scar. Physical or invisible. This could be a scar you have, or one for a character you make up. You can do this in any form you like: story, song, script, or poem, as long as it's 250 words or fewer. Prize: 400 Gotham credit, a $50 gift certificate to Bookshop, and publication. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Smokelong Fellowship for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: All writers previously unpublished in SmokeLong Quarterly and who do not have a published chapbook or book-length work in any genre (or are not under contract for such) are eligible to apply. Genre: Flash fiction (1000 words max). Prize: $500. Deadline: December 15, 2025. 

Massachusetts Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Massachusetts residents. Genre: (1) fiction, (2) nonfiction, (3) poetry, (4) children’s picture books/early readers, (5) middle-grade/young adult literature, (6) translated literature, and (7) graphic novel/memoir published in 2025. Additionally, the Notable Contribution to Publishing award recognizes the exceptional output of the Massachusetts publishing community. Prize: Prestige. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

The Four Quartets Prize. Genre: Unified and complete sequence of poems published in America in a print or online journal, chapbook. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were brought together and they form a complete sequence. Prize: Three finalists will receive $1,000 each. The winner will receive an additional $20,000. Deadline: December 15, 2025.

Eggtooth Editions Chapbook Contest. Restrictions: Open to writers who have not previously published a full-length book. Genre: Chapbook in any genre. Prize: $250 and 20 copies of the chapbook. Deadline: December 15, 2025. Closes when cap is reached.

Griffin Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry. To be eligible for the prize, a book of poetry must be a published first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English, or translated into English, by a poet/translator from any part of the world, including Canada. Entries must come from publishers only. Inquiries about entries must also come from publishers only. Prize: The winner will receive C$130,000 and the other shortlisted poets will each receive C$10,000. Deadline: December 19, 2025, for books published between July 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.

VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Genre: First novel published in 2025. No self-published books. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 30, 2025.

Black Caucus of the American Library Association. BCALA presents four awards to an African American writer published in the United States during the previous year: one for adult fiction, one for nonfiction, one for a first novelist and one for poetry. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora. Prize: Four $1,000 awards. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Ludington Writers: Making Waves. Genre: "We invite poets, fiction, and non-fiction authors, and visual artists to submit works uplifting voices and experiences from the LGBTQ+ community and about it." Prize: Four (4) $50 awards. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is held four times a year. Restrictions: The Contest is open only to those who have not professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium. Professional publication is deemed to be payment of at least six cents per word, and at least 5,000 copies, or 5,000 hits. Genre: Short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. Prizes: $1,000, $750, $500, Annual Grand Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Lilith Magazine Fiction Competition. Genre: Fiction. Short story of interest to Jewish women. Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Prize: $500 and publication in Meridians Journal: feminism, race, transnationalism. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

William Carlos Williams Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to students enrolled in M.D. and D.O. programs in the US, Puerto Rico, or Canada, and a physician category, open to any rank of physician (M.D. or D.O.) at any career stage, from residency to retirement, in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or Canada. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

The Lyric College Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to undergraduates enrolled full time in an American or Canadian college or university. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Hooks Institute National Book Award. Genre: Nonfiction book that best furthers understanding of the American Civil Rights Movement and its legacy. Prize: $1000. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

The W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. It recognizes the service of American veterans and military personnel and encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding war-related fiction. Genre: Military fiction. Prize: $5000. Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Maureen Seaton Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to persons who reside, either full or part-time, in South Florida. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2025. Closes when cap is reached.

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 laws regulating climate change and the environment support economic development?Prize: $500 scholarship. Deadline: December 31, 2025. (Registration deadline October 31)

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: December 31, 2025. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

Pexels Because of the holidays, writing conferences are sparse in December. That doesn't mean there are none worth attending.

The Write to Pitch Conference is well worth attending if you are ready to publish a book. This conference draws editors from all the major publishing houses, as well as agents who want to hear your pitch. If you write commercial fiction or nonfiction, this conference is a career starter. Please note: This conference is held every December, but it is limited to 65 participants, so you have to apply early. 

For a month-by-month list of conferences throughout the year see: Writing Conferences. (You will also find links to resources that can help you find conferences in your area on that page.)

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Pitch Perfect: Finding Your Novel’s Theme and Crafting the Pitch. December 2 @ 7:00 pm - December 4 @ 7:00 pm, 2025: Online. Struggling to capture the heart of your novel? Join award-winning authors Jennifer Gennari and Lisa Moore Ramée and explore ways to uncover your story’s theme—and turn it into a clear, compelling pitch that guides your draft, fuels your revisions, and grabs the attention of agents and editors.

How to Build a Seed: Designing Your Own Writing Prompts.  December 5, 2025: Online. In this workshop, writers will plan ahead for the days when we need to grow new work but all our creative soil feels bone-dry and chock full of rocks. Bring 3-4 favorite poems (by other poets) that you find especially effective to use as nourishment. We’ll use the materials we always have on hand to consider what a new literary creation needs in order to break open and throw roots. Plan to leave with a small collection of prompts to use in any upcoming winters of the mind.

Online Writing Workshop of Chicago. December 5 - 6, 2025: Online. "This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” online 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." 

The Mesa Book Festival. December 6, 2025: Mesa, Arizona. The festival features presentations, readings, visits with authors, and a poetry open mic. "Everyone! Authors, Publishers, and Book Sellers are invited to  register for space to showcase, promote, and sell their books. Readers are invited to come and buy their books direct. We're encouraging a wide variety of literary arts purveyors to share their work to create a bigger audience for everyone." All events are free and open to the public.

Word/Play: A Generative Poetry Workshop. December 10th, 2025, 6:00-7:30PM EST: Online. Wordplay is time traveling: it is an opportunity to explore the history of words and languages while also crafting new futures and directions for words and language. Wordplay can bring fun and pleasure back into the craft of writing. Words can also enact dramatic plays, exploring the nuances of language using sound and employing multiple meanings at once.

WTP 2025. December 11 - 14, 2025: NY. NY. "The goal of this conference, and all its companion editorial and development programs, is to set you on a realistic path not only to publication, but to becoming a career author. The Write to Pitch utilizes a time-tested methodology that works to get writers published. Pitching TV/Film pros, literary agents, and publishing house acquisition editors is a vital component (see the Schedule), of course, but when asked what specific elements make the event unique and better than other writer conferences, our response lists a number of game-changing factors, both major and minor."

Camille Burns New literary agencies are started by established agents with considerable experience in the publishing industry. They have reliable contacts in publishing houses and a roster of successes getting writers published. New agencies are looking to expand, and are eager to take on prospective clients.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. 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. 
​
You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients. 
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Solas Literary Agency

Solas Literary Agency was founded by Camille Burns in 2025. Camille’s career in publishing has spanned more than 10 years and many places across the UK, thus far. She started as an office assistant at the Scottish schools publishing division of Hodder Education, based in Paisley, and spent more than three years as Editorial Assistant on the Language Learning list at Routledge (Didcot). She was Rights Executive and Digital Content Editor at the audio publisher, Bolinda (Newbury) before being selected for the Felicity Bryan Agency internship in 2019 (Oxford). She worked at one of the leading London literary agencies, David Higham Associates, as Agent’s Assistant to Jane Gregory and within the Children’s Translation Rights team for more than three years. In 2023, Camille joined Diamond Kahn and Woods Literary Agency as Junior Agent.  

Camille has an MSc in Publishing from Edinburgh Napier University and an MA in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. She was Secretary of the Association of Authors’ Agents, as well as co-founder and Co-Chair for the AAA’s Bridge Committee for early career agents and assistants, from late 2021 to early 2024. 

What she is seeking: My taste is broad across middle grade, YA, adult, and select non-fiction, but the common thread is always atmosphere, emotional intensity, and unforgettable relationships. I’m especially drawn to stories with strong voices, heartfelt drama, and a sense of place or magic that lingers after reading. If you’d like more detail on my taste, you can find it on my website and MSWL.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
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Neighborhood Literary 

Founded in 2025, Neighborhood Literary is a boutique agency based in Philadelphia. Dedicated to working with a diverse roster of authors and championing unique, out-of-the-box books, Neighborhood Literary brings over fifteen years of publishing experience into everything we do.

There are four agents on the Neighborhood Literary team: 

Eric Smith is currently looking for Middle Grade and Young Adult projects (fiction and non-fiction), adult genre-blending upmarket and literary fiction, accessible sci-fi and fantasy, high concept rom-coms, and memoir, essays, and wellness titles in the non-fiction space. 

Rebecca Podos is looking for Young adult and Adult genre fiction, with select non-fiction projects considered. Of particular interest in fiction right now: Character-driven fantasy rooted in folklore and culture; horror as a vehicle exploring otherness, identity, and trauma; fresh genre crossovers (cozy sci-fi, horror romance, etc.); queer contemporary and historical fiction; Romance and romcom with a strong commercial hook and upmarket prose. Of interest in non-fiction: Deep dives into nerdy topics (TTRPG's, cosplay, fandoms, etc.); a strong narrative voice paired with expertise, as in Why Fish Don't Exist; kid lit centering queer history.

Donovan Levine is looking for genre fiction, such as Mystery/Thriller, Historical, YA contemporary, and New Adult, as well as Narrative Nonfiction and Memoir, with a particular interest in underrepresented voices, untold multicultural stories, and any high concept or genre-bending works.

Aashna Avachat is currently building a list focused on authors of color and is looking for kidlit, commercial adult fiction, select non-fiction, and illustrators. 

How to submit: See submission guidelines HERE.

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Children’s Books North Agency (UK)

Children’s Books North Agency (CBNA) was established in 2024 by Emma Layfield. Based in Manchester, CBNA is a children’s literary agency representing authors and illustrators of picture books, fiction and non-fiction. Our tagline is ‘reaching and representing’ and we’re so excited to work with amazing talent across the North and Scotland.

We only represent a small number of clients so that we can offer hands on development work and the best author/illustrator care. We aim to hold all of our author/illustrator meetings in person so that we build strong relationships with our clients. We might be small, but we are mighty!

Emma has 25 years of children’s publishing experience. She worked at Hachette Children’s Group as Group Picture Book Publisher where she commissioned the bestselling Oi Frog! series by Kes Gray and Jim Field, launched Steve Antony’s career with the international hit Please Mr Panda and published Alex T. Smith’s Claude. 

Emma is Co-founder of Children’s Books North Network, which connects published authors, illustrators and publishers in the North. She is also a board trustee at Seven Stories in Newcastle and mentors with the AOI and SYP North.
Emma works with authors and illustrators from all backgrounds and listens, supports, encourages and includes to ensure everyone she represents stands out in the children’s book market. 

Children’s Books North Agency works with all major publishing houses and attends industry events, including Bologna and London book fairs. 

What they are seeking: CBNA represents authors, illustrators and author-illustrators, and specialises in picture books, pre-school, illustrated non-fiction, young fiction and graphic novels.

How to submit: Children’s Books North Agency (CBNA) opens its doors widely to submissions from debut and established authors and illustrators. We are focused on working with creatives who are based in the north of England (North West, North East and Yorkshire) and Scotland.

We welcome submissions from authors and illustrators from all backgrounds that are inclusive and representative of the diverse identities of young readers across the UK.
​
Please send all submissions to: submissions@childrensbooksnorthagency.co.uk
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The Caldwell Agency 

Queer and Black woman-owned, The Caldwell Agency specializes in literary representation and management with a personal touch. We combine passion with strategy and transparency with partnership to build careers that honor our clients’ whole selves.

Patrice Caldwell is the Founder & CEO of The Caldwell Agency, which she launched in 2025. A former children’s book editor turned literary agent and author, Patrice was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. She has been named one of Forbes’s “30 Under 30” as well as a Publishers Weekly Star Watch honoree. Her list is focused on adult (fiction & nonfiction), YA, and select children’s.

Frannie Dove is looking for historical fiction, narrative history, historical fantasy, comedic mystery, book club fiction, genre bended and blended fiction (especially with some history), science for the non-scientist, essays with wisdom to share, and memoir with a strong narrative arc.

Victoria Harris is primarily seeking literary fiction, upmarket fiction, and queer romance. She is also open to literary-leaning sci-fi (grounded, set in the near future) and historical fiction (set in the recent past). When it comes to nonfiction, she is interested in memoirs.

Darryl Oliver specializes in adult science fiction and fantasy, historical fiction, speculative fiction, and select literary fiction. In the nonfiction space, he’s also interested in narrative history and narrative nonfiction.

Nour Sallam represents adult fiction and nonfiction.

How to submit: See individual agents.

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Apple Tree Literary (UK)

Apple Tree Literary represents a diverse range of authors writing non-fiction and fiction. The agency is run by Max Edwards, a hands-on, creative and energetic agent with a decade of experience in agenting. Having worked at agencies including RCW, United Agents, and David Higham Associates, Max was a founding agent at Aevitas Creative Management UK, working as agent there for five years prior to founding Apple Tree Literary.

What they are seeking: We represent a range of brilliant fiction and non-fiction, across multiple genres. In fiction, we are particularly interested in literary and speculative fiction of all types — particularly where the two overlap. We are, however, interested in all adult and YA fiction — you never know, we may just fall in love with it. Please note we do not represent children’s fiction below Young Adult.

Apple Tree Literary has an outstanding list of non-fiction authors across academics, journalists, memoirists, experts and high-profile names. We are particularly keen to hear from those telling untold or unknown stories, and experts writing about fascinating new ways of understanding our world.

How to submit: For fiction, send a covering email outlining your book, why it has a place on the bookshelf and why you are qualified to write it. If you have a proposal or a sample chapter, or the whole work, if it is completed, please include these alongside the query as an attachment. For nonfiction send a covering email outlining your book, why it has a place on the bookshelf and why you are qualified to write it. If you have a proposal or a sample chapter, or the whole work, if it is completed, please include these alongside the query as an attachment.


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 Alicia Brooks Literary Agency

Alicia Brooks began her publishing career over twenty-five years ago as an editorial assistant at Penguin USA (Dutton/Plume). She advanced to an assistant editor position at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday where she worked with groundbreaking authors, including Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, and Ian McEwan. She then became an editor at Picador/St. Martin’s Press where she edited over 40 hardcover titles and several trade paper original titles, including Good Morning America Book Club Pick Noelle Howey’s Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods–My Mother’s, My Father’s, and Mine, Nega Mezlekia’s award-winning Notes from the Hyena’s Belly, and Jaclyn Moriarty’s FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA, an ALA Best Book of the Year and YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

She became a literary agent at The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency in 2019. Her client list included categories such as Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse backgrounds, Self-Help, Pop Culture, Literary Fiction, Book Club Fiction, YA Fiction, Horror, and Historical Fiction.

What she is seeking: Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse voicesMemoir with big conceptsSelf-HelpPop CultureSocial JusticeLiterary FictionBook Club FictionThrillersHistorical FictionHorrorJewish IssuesYA Fiction and Nonfiction How to submit: Use her form HERE.

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Katie Reed Literary

Katie Reed began her career in publishing with Andrea Hurst Literary Management while pursuing her B.A. in English at Sacramento State University and has worked in the publishing field for over a decade. Katie, a senior literary agent and skilled developmental editor, is actively building her client list, working with authors to shape and strengthen their stories for publication. She lives in Lewiston, Idaho with her husband, three children, a Bichon Frise, a Golden Retriever, and two obstinate cats. In the summer you can find her on the beach upriver in Hells Canyon, preferably with a good book.

What she is seeking: Across all generes, I am looking for what all readers want in a good story: characters that leap off the page, conflict and tension that grips me in the storyk, and string prose that can compete with similar titles in that space. Bring me stories with a marketable hook and fresh perspectives, especially those that elevate underrepresented voices. 

How to submit: Please  use her form HERE.

Freepik This November 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.

Happy submitting!

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Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 1.5 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Little Key Press: Clocks. Genre: Dark fiction, speculative fiction, near sci-fi, strange, wondrous stories. See theme. Payment: $40. Deadline: November 1, 2025. Closes when cap is reached, except for disabled writers.

Bloodletter. Genre: Feminist horror. Fiction and nonfiction. See theme. Payment: $250. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

The Iowa Review. Genre: Nonfiction. comics. Payment: $0.08 per word for prose ($100 minimum). $40/page for visual literature. Deadline: November 1, 2025. No fee for snail mail submissions. $4 fee for online submissions.

Frost Zone. Genre: Dark literary fiction, 1800 - 3800 words. Payment: $15 CAD. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

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: Opens November 1, 2025.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Fiction, flash fiction, micro-fiction. Length: Under 3,000 words preferred. Payment: $75. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2025. They open to fee-free submissions on the first of each month and close when they reach their quota.

One Story. Genre: Short fiction between 3,000 and 8,000 words. Payment: $500. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2025. They open on the first of the month and close when they reach their quota.

FIYAH. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to people of the African Diaspora. Genre: Speculative fiction, art, and poetry about African Diaspora. Length: Short fiction 2,000 – 7,000 words and novelettes up to 15,000 words. Payment: 8 cents/word per story or novelette. $50 per poem. 10 cents/word for nonfiction. $400 for art. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Full Bleed. Genre: Prose, poetry, art. See theme. Payment: $25 - $50. Deadline: November 1, 2025. 

Podcastle. Genre: Fantasy podcast. Length: Up to 6,000 words. Payment: $0.06/word for original; $100 for reprints, $20 for flash fiction reprints. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2025.

Clocks. Genre: Dark fiction, speculative fiction, near sci-fi, strange, wondrous. Payment: $40. Deadline: November 1, 2025. Closes when cap is reached, so submit early.

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: $50. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Ninth Letter Web Edition. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $25 per poem and $75 for prose. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: November 1, 2025. See themes.

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, 2025.

Utopia Science Fiction: Alien Celebrations. Genre: Speculative fiction. See theme. Payment: 8 cents/word for fiction, $30 for nonfiction, $30 per poem. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Adroit Journal. Genre: Fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $50 - $100. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Thema. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: Today's Onerous Task. Payment:  $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: November 1, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: November 2, 2025. Opens November 1. This is a monthly call.

Flame Tree: Afrofuturism Short Stories. Genre: Afrofuturism SFF. "Authors must be writing from an authentic perspective of the Black experience, whether based in the diaspora or in Africa." Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: November 2, 2025.

Raconteur Press. Genre: Short stories. "The ladies have had their turn. Now it’s time for stories about those fellas who place themselves between the hazard and the helpless. Reluctantly or not, they’ll uphold their moral code, even if it costs them." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 2, 2025.

Cordite. Genre: Poetry. Payment: Not specified. Payment is available for Australian contributors only. Deadline: November 2, 2025.

Strange Horizons. Restrictions: Open to indigenous writers. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: 10 cents/word. Deadline: Opens November 3, 2025. Closes when cap is reached.

Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: November 3, 2025. Note: This is a monthly call.

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: November 7, 2025. This is a monthly call.

Write or Die. Genre: Short fiction. Length: Up to 4000 words. Payment: $200. Deadline: November 7, 2025. No fee to submit the first week of the month.


Crimeucopia. Genre: Crime fiction. See theme. Payment: £4/US$4 per 1000 words. Reprints pay up to a maximum of - £7.00. Deadline: November 8, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Flame Tree: Gilgamesh. Genre: SFF stories that really interrogate Gilgamesh and all his flaws, traits and relationships. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: November 9, 2025.

Flame Tree: Helen of Troy. Genre: Stories that delve deeper into the character and backstory of Helen, to shine a light on more than her immediate link to the Trojan War. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: November 9, 2025.

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: November 10, 2025. Open from the 1st to the 10th of every month. 

Ornithopter Press. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 12, 2025.

Luna Station Quarterly. Restrictions: Open to women writers only. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $10. Deadline: November 15, 2025. 

Crimson Quill Quarterly. Genre: Sword & sorcery, dark fantasy, and grimdark subgenres of fantasy fiction. Length: Up to 10,000 words. Payment: $35. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

The Blue Route. Restrictions: Only the work of current undergraduate writers will be considered. Genres: Fiction, or creative nonfiction totaling no more than 3000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Revolute. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Payment: $50. Only pays writers based in the US. Deadline: November 15, 2025. 

Mascara Review. Genre: Nonfiction, reviews, poetry, fiction. Payment: Poems $100; Fiction and essays $200; Reviews $200. Only pays Australian writers. Deadline: November 15, 2025. 

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Funny stories. Genre: Nonfiction. We are looking for 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? Payment: $200. Deadline: November 15, 2025. 

These Dreaming Hills. Restrictions: Open to writers with strong connections to Appalachia. Genre: Speculative fiction rooted in central Appalachia between 1,000-6,000 words. Payment: US $.08/word. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

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: November 15, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Sublimation. Genre: Speculative poetry and art. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

Raconteur Press. Genre: Short stories. "Robots, androids, drones. Stories about life with our synthetic helpers. Does artificial intelligence lead to artificial emotions? What happens when your kid wants to grow up to be just like his droid? Automatons with attitude." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 16, 2025.

Meetinghouse. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, art. Payment: $40 for digital content, $100 for prose published in print, and $50 for each poem published in print. Deadline: November 16, 2025.

The Stinging Fly. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Payment: Fiction and nonfiction: €30 per magazine page; Poetry: €50 per poem; Featured Poet: €250. Deadline: November 18, 2025.


Farmer-ish. Genre: Nonfiction, CNF, poetry related to farming (including recipes). Payment: $25 for print journal. Deadline: November 21, 2025. See themes.

The Deadlands. Genre: Fiction. "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: 10 cents/word for fiction. Deadline: November 21, 2025. Accepts reprints. 

Fashionably Late. Genre: Nonfiction anthology featuring LQBTQIA+ people who came out later in life. “We want to hear about the challenges and joys you faced as part of your journey.” Payment: $50. Deadline: November 28, 2025.


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: November 30, 2025. Closes when they reach capacity, so submit early.

The Inspector Pooh Case Files. Genre: Private investigator stories based on Pooh characters. Stories must be novelette or novella length, 18,000 – to 40,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

parABnormal. Genre: Nonfiction, poetry on the paranormal. "For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores." Payment: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints. $10.00 for each poem. $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Griffith Review. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Payment: AUD $200. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Strange Pilgrims. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. “We’re not married to any genre, structure, or subject. We love surreal, speculative, and fabulist stories; unhinged, lyric, and fragmented essays; voice-driven experimental narratives and slow-burn realism; cultural and literary criticism; hyper-intellectual riffs and children’s stories — so long as they move." Payment: $50 for flash prose, $200 for longer works. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Small Robin Press. Genre: Creative Nonfiction. Theme: Walls — real, imagined, perceived, constructed, demolished, and rebuilt. Payment: $50. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Manawaker Studio: 100 Word Project. Genre: Speculative fiction of exactly 100 words. See theme. Payment: $1. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

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: November 30, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Baltimore Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, videos (including poetry), and cross-genre work. Payment: $50. Deadline: November 30, 2025. May close early if they reach their cap.

Fahmidan Publishing is a publisher for all POC & Women ardent in battle against subjugation. Genre: Poetry or fiction chapbook. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

The Fiddlehead. Genre: Fiction, including excerpts from novels, creative nonfiction, art, poetry. Payment: $65 CAD per published page. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Claudine. Genre: Fiction, CNF, micros. " We like fairy tales, magical realism, hauntings, but more than any genre, we love prose that makes us ache and images that linger. (Sea creatures, always a plus.)" Payment: $25. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Contemporary Verse 2. Genre: Poetry and critical writing about poetry, including interviews, articles, essays, and reviews. Payment: $35 - $150. Deadline: November 30, 2025. Free submissions for Canadians only.

The Hudson Review. Genre: Fiction. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Dragon Soul Press: Forever Yours. Genre: All love stories with a happily ever after. All genres accepted.  Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Nimrod. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Payment: $10 per page, with a $200 maximum. Deadline: November 30, 2025. Fee to submit online; no fee for postal submissions.

Broken Sleep Books. Genre: Poetry collections (40+ pages). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Black Fox Literary Magazine. Genre: Fiction, CNF, poetry, art. Payment: $20. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Poet Lore. Genre: Poetry and poetry translations. Payment: $50. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Inkd Publishing: Phantom Dusk. Genre: Speculative fiction. See theme. Payment: Minimum $10. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

New Orleans Review. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: $300 for prose, $100 for poetry. Deadline: November 30, 2025. In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, there are no submission fees during the month of November for all Indigenous writers, not limited to those living in/born the US.

AND A FEW MORE...

Eternal Haunted Summer. Genre: Poetry, short fiction. See theme. Payment: $5. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Breath and Shadow  Genre: Writing on any topic for poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama; these pieces do not have to be "about" disability. However nonfiction, academic, and similar articles (profiles, interviews, opinion pieces) do have to relate to disability in some way. Payment: $25 for poetry, $40 for fiction, and $40 for nonfiction. In addition to publication and payment, Breath & Shadow will post links to contributors' work on other sites and to their Web site or e-mail address. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Bold Strokes Books: Gender Ever After – Gender-Affirming Sapphic Romance Stories. Genre: Sapphic Romance. Payment: $50. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Extremities: Choose Your Own Death. Genre: Queer adult horror novellas. Novella length: 30K–40K words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Wallstrait. Genre: Flash fiction, longer stories, hybrid, and experimental stuff you can't quite define. Length: Up to 5,000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: December 1, 2025. 

IHRAM Publishes. Genre: Poetry, fiction, esssays, art. Theme: Echoes from the Street: Homelessness and the Unhoused. Payment: $50 for writing, $25 for art. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: December 1, 2025. See themes.

Lycan Valley. Genre: Modern day reimagining of the Medusa story. "We want to see a strong bipoc woman* deeply rooted in culture. And, regardless of how she gets there, Medusa should be victorious and win in the end." Novella length (between 17,000 and 30,000 words) is preferred, but will consider both novellas and full-length novels for this project. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 1, 2025. Read guidelines HERE.

Eldritch Cat Press: The Lantern Keepers. Genre: Speculative short stories “We’re looking for tales that include characters who serve as guides, guardians, or messengers between the threshold of the living and the dead, lost or otherworldly. We want stories with haunting, dreadful, eerie, creeping or even sorrowful vibes." Payment: $10. Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Pexels This November there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $10,000 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! 

__________________

The Russell Freedman Award for Nonfiction for a Better World. Genre: Any nonfiction book published for children or young adults, released between January 1 and December 31, 2025, is eligible. If both an author and illustrator are listed on the book cover, the prize will be split between them. Prize: $2500. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Reedsy Novel Sprint 2025. Genre: Write a 50,000-word novel in the month of November. Prize: 1st prize - $5000 and an intro to an agent; 2nd prize - $2500 and an intro to an agent; 3rd prize - $1000 and an intro to an agent. Deadline: Opens November 1, ends November 30, 2025.

Quarterly West.  Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: November 1, 2025. No fee for writers of color.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Restrictions: Open to citizens of the British Commonwealth. Genre: Unpublished short fiction (2,000-5,000 words) in English. Short stories translated into English from other languages are also eligible. Prize: Regional winners receive £2,500 (US$3,835) and the overall winner will receive £5,000 (US$7,670). Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Natan Notable Books Award. Genre: Recen­t­­ly pub­­lished or soon to be pub­lished nonfic­­tion book on Jew­ish themes. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

ILA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction English-language books for children in grades pre-K to 12 and published for the first time during the year preceding the deadline year. Must be the author's first or second book. Prize: $800. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

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: November 1, 2025.

William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grants Program for Unpublished Writers. Restrictions: Writers must not have published a book, short story, or dramatic work in the mystery field, either in print, electronic, or audio form. Genre: Mystery stories of the Agatha Christie type—i.e., “traditional mysteries.” These works usually feature no excessive gore, gratuitous violence, or explicit sex. Prize: Each grant may be used to offset registration, travel, or other expenses related to attendance at a writers' conference or workshop within a year of the date of the award. In the case of nonfiction, the grant may be used to offset research expenses. Each grant currently includes a $1,500 award plus a comprehensive registration for the following year's convention and two nights' lodging at the convention hotel, but does not include travel to the convention or meals. Deadline: November 1, 2025. 

Evaristo Prize for African Poetry. Restrictions: The Prize is open to poets who were born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African. It is for ten poems exactly in order to encourage serious poets. These poems may, however, have already been published. Only poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published are eligible. Poets who have self-published poetry books or had chapbooks and pamphlets published are allowed to submit for this prize. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1500. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Bennington Young Writers Awards. Restrictions: Open to students in the 9th-12th grades. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Prize: First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000; second-place winners receive $500; third-place winners receive $250. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Prism: Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,500 grand prize, $600 runner-up, $400 2nd runner-up. Deadline: November 1, 2025. 

Stowe Prize. Restrictions: US authors only. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction or body of work that "makes a tangible impact on a social justice issue critical to contemporary society." Prize: $10,000. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

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: November 3, 2025.

Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize. Restrictions: Open to Black poets. Genre: Chapbook-length poetry manuscript. Prize: $1000 and publication. Deadline: November 3, 2025.

Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship. Restrictions: Established and recognized authors are being sought, but emerging and mid-career writers are also encouraged to apply. Genre: Seeking creative writers (poetry, fiction, nonfiction), or those in the field of journalism (writer, photojournalist, videographer, documentary filmmaker, online or print media) who demonstrate serious inquiry and dedication to the Greater Yellowstone region through their work. Fellowship: $3,500. Deadline: November 4, 2025.

Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing. Genre: Book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence thinking on contemporary Canadian political life. Book must be published in Canada. Prize: CAN $25,000. Deadline: November 5, 2025. (For books published between Sept 1, 2025 and Oct 31, 2025)

Jewish Children’s Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Jewish children’s book authors and illustrators living in Europe and the UK. Genre: Jewish children's book. Submissions are accepted in English, French, German, Italian, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish and Yiddish. Prize: £1,000 to the winners of the story and illustration categories. All entries will be considered for publication by Green Bean Books. Deadline: November 5, 2025. 

Dylan Thomas Prize. Restrictions: Authors must be aged 39 or under. Eligible books must have been commercially published for the first time in the English language between January 1 and December 31 of the year in which the deadline falls. Genre: Published books of poetry, fiction (novel, novella, or short story collection), radio scripts, or screenplays. Prize: 30,000 pounds, plus 1,000 pounds for shortlisted authors. Deadline: November 7, 2025.

Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. "On the first Friday of every month, a new set of story prompts will be revealed. You will have 55 hours to submit your best 500-word (or fewer) story." Prize: $500AUD. Deadline: November 9, 2025. Opens November 7.

Defenestration Flash Suite Contest. Genre: Flash suite. "A series of at least three flash fiction works that correlate, and build to something greater. Recurring characters, extended motifs, harmonious subject matters, and/or sustained narrative are such correlations– but we encourage innovation and new ideas." See theme. Prize: $75. Deadline: November 10, 2025.

Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition. Genre: Poetry. “We are looking for poems that capture the spirit of a certain place, its texture and histories, that consider water pollution in local/global environments and the damage done to our rivers, or which focus in on the grandeur of an old oak tree, aware of its subterranean network of roots and mycelial webs speaking to other organisms in the forest.” 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: November 14, 2025.

Happiful Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to writers based in the UK or Northern Ireland. Genre: Poems that explore the topic of mental health and wellbeing in unique, engaging, and empowering ways. Prize: £100. Deadline: November 14, 2025.

Otherwise Award. Genre: Work that is changing the way we think about gender through speculative narrative. (Works can be books, stories, music, video, fanfic, social-media posts, or any other form of speculative fiction.) Prize: $500. Deadline: Recommendations for this year’s award close November 14, 2025.

Washington State Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Washington State writers. Genre: Published book, fiction, nonfiction, poetry: adults or children. Prize: Recognition (?) Deadline: November 15, 2025. (For books published Aug. 16 - Oct. 15, 2025.)

Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize is sponsored by the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival. Genre: Non-fiction essay between 4 to 10 pages, set in Brooklyn about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. (Up to 2500 words). Prize: $500. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize. Restrictions: Open to US poets for previously unpublished poems of any length that "help make real for readers the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment at present." Genre: Poetry. Prize: Up to $1,000. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

Stephen Fraser Encouragement Fund. “The Impact and Legacy Fund of SCBWI is thrilled to announce the establishment of a brand new grant program, the Stephen Fraser Encouragement Fund. Genre: Children's book. Prize: A $2,000 grant will be awarded to three children’s book authors, artists or translators who have traditionally published at least one book. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

Perugia Press Prize. Restrictions: Poets must be women with more than one previously published full-length book. Genre: Poetry. Prize: Book publication and $1,000. Deadline: November 15, 2025. No fee for poets who are Black, Indigenous, and women of color.

Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to residents of California. Genre: Book of poetry, fiction or nonfiction. Prize: Gold medal. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

Neltje Blanchan/Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Awards. Restrictions: Wyoming writers. Genres: The Frank Nelson Doubleday Award is given for the best poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or script written by a woman writer. The Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award is given annually for the best poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or script which is informed by a relationship with the natural world. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: November 17, 2025. 

Arts & Letters Awards. Restrictions: Open to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Genres: poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, dramatic script, art, music, and French language. Entries must be unpublished and completed during the previous 12 months. Prizes: C$1,000 and C$250. Deadline: November 19, 2025.

The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize. Restrictions: Entrants must be aged 18-25 years and living in the UK. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. Each year a question or quote exploring Franklin’s relevance in our time is open for interpretation in 1000-1500 words. (See website for quote.) Prize: First prize of £750, second prize of £500. Winning entries will be posted on the website and also published online by The Telegraph. Deadline: November 19, 2025.

Polar Expressions Publications Competition. Restrictions: Open to Canadian students in kindergarten through grade twelve. Genre: Short Story. Prize: $300, $200, $100. Deadline: November 21, 2025.

Polar Expressions Publications Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to Canadian students in kindergarten through grade twelve. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $300, $200, $100. Deadline: November 21, 2025.

Renee Duke Youth Award Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to poets 19 years old and younger. Prize: $100. Deadline: November 22, 2025.

C Magazine: Indigenous Art Writing Award. Restrictions: Open to Indigenous writers all over the world. Genre: Art writing. Prize: $1,500 CAD; editorial support to prepare their article for publication in a future issue of C Magazine. Deadline: November 24, 2025.

The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: PEN America will only accept submissions from editors of eligible publications. Authors may not submit their own short story for this award. Genre: First published short story. Prize: $2000 and publication in Catapult Best Debut Short Stories. Deadline: November 25, 2025.

Women's Prize for Fiction. Genre: Published novel by a woman. Entrants must be writing in English and must be published in the UK. All subject matters and women of any age, from any nationality or country of residence are eligible. Prize: £30,000.00. Deadline: November 28, 2025. (For books published between 1 December 2025 and 31 March 2026.)

Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers' Prize. Restrictions: Open to unagented and uncontracted UK or Republic of Ireland residents age 18+ who self-identify as a writer from a working-class background. Genre: Unpublished work-in-progress. Prize: 200 pounds prize, mentoring sessions, networking event opportunities, a complimentary one-year membership to The Society of Authors, and various Bloomsbury books. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

#GWstorieseverywhere: Future First Line Contest. Genre: Most intriguing first line about their near-future. Your story must be no longer than 25 words.  Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

The Drabble Harvest Cntest. Genre: Drabble on theme of "Alien Guide Book for Visitors" A "drabble" is defined as a short story containing exactly precisely no more and no fewer than 100 words. It has a title, which can be from 1 to 15 words-- but no more than 15. Prize: $5. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Servicescape. Genre: Short story or nonfiction up to 5,000 words. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

UNT Rilke Prize. Restrictions: US citizens or residents. Open to authors with at least two prior published books of poetry. Genre: Book of poetry published between November 2024 and October 2025. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

AVBOB Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to any citizen of South Africa. Genre: Poetry. Prize: R10,000. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

2025 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition. Restrictions: Open to writers who have never been the author of any published mystery novel. Genre: Mystery novel. Prize: $10,000 advance against royalties, Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers. Restrictions: Open to writers aged 16-18. Genre: Poem. Prize: Full scholarship to The Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop, an intensive two-week summer seminar for writers aged 16-18. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

The Gulliver Travel Grant. The Gulliver Travel Grant is awarded annually to assist writers of speculative literature in their non-academic research. These funds are used to cover airfare, lodging, and other travel expenses. Travel may be domestic or international. You may apply for travel to take place at any point in the following year. Grant: $1000. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

J. F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction. Genre: Short fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: November 30, 2025. 

USNI Leadership Essay Contest. Genre: Essay. "The Leadership Essay Contest focuses on the roles of leadership and character in the U.S. Sea Services from the perspective of tomorrow's leaders. Junior officers (LCDR/Major and below) from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are eligible to participate." Prize: $5,000. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

The Caribbean Writer Prizes. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays or one act plays which explore the ideas resonating within the region and its diaspora, written by a US or UK Virgin Islands resident accepted for publication by The Caribbean Writer during the deadline year. See theme. Prize: $300 - $600. Deadline: November 30, 2025.

Hudson Review Short Story Contest. Genre: Short story up to 10,000 words. Prize: First prize is $1000. Second and third prizes are $500. Winning stories will be published in The Hudson Review. All entries will be considered for publication. Payment at regular rates. Deadline: November 30, 2025. Biennial prize.

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: November 30, 2025. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

Sanibel Island: Flickr This November 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 Highlights list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year. 

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Kentucky State Poetry Society. November 1 - 2, 2025: Lexington, KY and Online. "Each year, KSPS hosts a poetry conference open to both members and nonmembers, bringing together poets of all levels to learn, share, and connect. The conference features panels, workshops, readings, and a keynote address, offering a rich opportunity to engage with the poetry community."

Poetry Palooza! A Workshop for Poetry Lovers. November 1 - 4, 2025: Boyds Mills, PA. Imagine four days of poetry-themed activities with poetry enthusiasts, alongside the dynamic team: Charles Waters, Irene Latham, Rebecca Kai Dotlitch, Georgia Heard, and their guests. Waitlisted.

Marketing Opportunities for Storytellers: A Two Night Mini. November 3 - 5, 2025: Online. The story is at the heart of all we do, even when we switch from crafting the story to getting the story to readers.  Join award-winning writers Valerie Bolling and Janae Marks to engage and build your knowledge of marketing and promotional opportunities that you can do as a book creator in order to get your book to kids.


Medical Writing and Communication Conference. November 5 - 8, 2025: Phoenix, AZ. Workshops in medical writing, designing materials for patients, analysis, clinical reports, and more.

American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) Conference. November 5 - 8, 2025: 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." 

Revising Your Novel in Verse: An Online Course. November 5 - December 17, 2025: 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!

Writing Through Trauma to Empower Readers: A Working In-Community Retreat for Storytellers. November 6 - 9, 2025: Boyds Mills, PA. A 3-night/4-day writing retreat for authors who are crafting books for kids and teens that center their lived experiences in areas of trauma, mental health, grief, and beyond.

All Write, Columbia – Writers Conference. November 6 - 9, 2025: Spencertown, NY. A five day intensive writing conference focused on nonfiction and memoir. The conference is open to all levels of writers, from beginners to more advanced writers with a manuscript or publications. Open to writers who are at least 18 years old. Just 20 writers will be accepted. Application deadline October 2, 2025.

The 2025 Online Seattle Writing Workshop. November  7 - 8, 2025: 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 “Seattle” 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.

Wright Women Writers Conference. November 7 - 8, 2025: University of Central Arkansas. "The mission of the C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference is to recognize, promote, and encourage women writers with special emphasis given to writing inspired by or written in the south. Keynote presentations, panel discussions, craft talks, publishing advice, readings, a book fair, and workshops led by contemporary authors provide a venue for participants to explore opportunities, challenges, and trends specific to women writers. The conference seeks to offer writers a space to gather for inspiration, further education, support, and networking."

Sanibel Island Writers Conference. November 7 - 8, 2025: Sanibel Island, Florida. Participants at all stages of development — from notebook scribblers to published novelists — are invited to view a variety of discussions and panels on fiction, poetry, songwriting, YA literature, screenwriting, creative nonfiction, and publishing and editing. 

North Carolina Writers’ Network Fall Conference. November 7 - 9, 2025: Wrightsville Beach, NC. The WSOC will feature classes and conversations on the craft and business of writing. 

2025 Kauai Writers Festival. November 10 – 16, 2025, Master Classes: November 10th-13th, 2025.
Conference: November 14th-16th, 2025 Kalapaki Bay, Lihue, Kauai, HI. Join bestselling authors and agents in an intimate, oceanfront setting, with an emphasis on fiction, memoir, thrillers, and screenwriting. Includes in-depth sessions on craft, publishing, and the writing life, with opportunities for agent/editor feedback. 

Breakout Novel Intensive. November 11 - December 16, 2025: Online. Included are new or revised units on story discovery, strong voice, standout characters, the inner journey, compelling story worlds, beautiful writing, creating resonance and finding meaning in both story and process. Breakout fundamentals are also covered: strong characters, inner conflict, personal stakes, plot layers, powerful scenes, micro-tension, practical theme techniques and much more. Instructor: Donald Maass.

The Intersection of Religion and Mental Health in Poetry. November 12th, 2025, 6:00-7:30PM EST: Online. Regardless of the religious, nonreligious, irreligious, or spiritual worldview we identify with, the culture of religion continues to be an influence on people’s mental health. We will look at poetry by Adrienne Novy, Eugenia Leigh, and Maya Williams to learn how suicidality, spiritual bypassing, and religious related trauma in poetics can impact us. We will also make time to write in response to prompts inspired by the poems.

Clearwater Writers Women's Writing Retreat. November 14 - 20, 2025: Clottonwood, Idaho. 
Now in its twelfth year, Clearwater Writers is a series of writing retreat and workshop programs facilitated by poet and author Paula Coomer. Previously hosted by now-retired innkeepers Jim and Ruth May at Reflections Inn on the Clearwater River in North Central Idaho, our program has found a new home at the magnificent Monastery of St. Gertrude outside Cottonwood, Idaho, on the rolling hills of the Camas Prairie. The Spirit Center is a contemporary facility with private suites, several kitchens, and meeting rooms large enough to accommodate our daily yoga classes.

Pittsburgh Writing Workshop. November 15, 2025: Pittsburgh, PA. "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 “Pittsburgh” 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."

Pacific University Master of Fine Arts in Writing Residency Writers Conference.  Application deadline: November 15, 2025.  January 8 - 18, 2026: Seaside, Oregon. Writers seeking to deepen their craft and expand their professional community are invited to attend the Residency Writers Conference together with MFA students, faculty and guest speakers. Join us for 10 full days of craft talks, workshops, panels, classes, readings and more featuring some of the best minds of the literary world. This residency is a rare opportunity to engage in sustained and meaningful conversation with others who share your passion for the art of writing. 

Monterey Writer Retreat. November 18 - 22, 2025: Pacific Grove, CA. "Join us on the wondrously scenic Monterey Peninsula for a writer retreat like no other. Know that writers of every kind have journeyed for over a century to this same location on the California west coast. They've come in search of inspiration, individuality, purpose and vision, but more importantly, to share an understanding that art has preceded their arrival in the form of a brutally beautiful sea and windswept shore."
 
Cleveland Writing Workshop. November 22, 2025: Cleveland, Ohio. This is a special one-day in-person “How to Get Published” writing workshop. In other words, it’s one day 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.

Odyssey Writing Workshop. November 24, 2025 (18 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 1.

Ritu Anand Here are four 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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Ritu Anand of D4EO

Ritu Anand has been a passionate storyteller since childhood. As a writer herself, she is on the same page with other writers and applauds their creativity. Because she believes no good story should ever be filed away in a drawer but be shared with the world, she wishes to represent debut voices as an agent.

What she is seeking: Ritu is looking for: kidlit, literary fiction, general fiction and historical fiction. Kidlit: Picture books, Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels. Literary Fiction: Drama, Fairy Tales and Fiction in Verse. General Fiction: Women's Fiction, Drama, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Satire and Tragedy. Historical Fiction: Women's Historical Fiction, Historical Romantic Fiction and Historical Fantasy. Diverse and Underrepresented Voices are encouraged to submit.

How to submit: Send a query letter and the first twenty pages of your manuscript to ritu@d4eo.com.
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John Meils of DeFiore & Company

John Meils joined DeFiore & Company in 2024 after five years as an editor at Workman Publishing. Previously, he held editor roles at Macmillan, Sterling/Union Square, and award-winning book packager Melcher Media. John has acquired and edited national bestsellers, including most recently Smart Brevity. Other titles of note that John acquired as an editor include: You Are What You Watch, Murderabilia, Brave New You, Patient Zero, How Sex Changed the Internet, and the forthcoming Whiskey Bible. John has also worked as a journalist in Washington, DC, where he covered national politics as well as local issues including cannabis regulation, corruption, and climate change.

As an editor who often came up with his own book ideas and built them from scratch, John is passionate about working with authors to fully realize their own visions and shape them into successful books, beginning with their proposals. He is also expert at guiding first-time authors through the publication process, something he did frequently as an editor.

What he is seeking: John is looking to build a wide-ranging non-fiction list that includes: how-to of all sorts, health & wellness, science (pop, space, biological, and psychological), technology, nature/outdoors, true crime, quirky histories (medical, adventure, offbeat), investigative journalism, international relations, sports, parenting, and business. For prescriptive how-to, John is particularly keen to see books with a clear promise and message, a programmatic approach, and a strong author platform.

John has a deep history of producing illustrated books as an editor and will consider author-artist and visually driven projects with a clear and unique focus. He has also worked extensively helping brands (Nike, InStyle, Harley Davidson, Axios) translate their messages to books and is open to guiding established and emerging brands interested in launching book programs.

How to submit: John accepts only email queries. Send a brief email describing yourself and your project to john@defliterary.com. Please be sure to include the word “QUERY:” at the beginning of your subject line, followed by your book title. Attachments will not be opened unless expressly requested. John’s response time is usually less than two weeks and you need not query him exclusively. If you have not received a response within a month, please check that the defliterary.com domain name is on your email server whitelist, as the response may have been rejected by your server. John does not consider fiction queries of any kind or hard copy submissions.____________________

Barry Harbaugh of Waxman Literary Agency

Barry Harbaugh joined WLA Books in 2025. He was previously an executive editor at Spiegel & Grau, a founding senior editor of Amazon Original Stories, and an editor at Harper, the flagship imprint of HarperCollins, where he debuted writers such as Alexandra Kleeman and Robert Kolker. Books he has acquired and edited have won international awards, become bestsellers, and been adapted into TV/film by HBO (Lovecraft Country), Netflix (Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery), ESPN’s 30-for-30 (When the Garden Was Eden), among others. Originally from Southern Indiana, he started in publishing as an intern, assistant, and fact-checker at Zoetrope: All-Story, The Paris Review, Harper’s Magazine, and Condé Nast Portfolio. 

What he is seeking: He is interested in narrative nonfiction, literary and crime fiction, memoir and first-person hybrids, sports, current events, biography--writing that obsessively entertains, reveals a hidden realm, and broadens our sense of being alive.

How to submit: Please email your query letter and the first ten pages of your project in the body of an email to barry@wlabooks.com

____________________


Josh Foreman of FinePrint Literary Management

Josh Foreman graduated from The Ohio State University in December 2021 with a BA in creative writing. He is from Cleveland, Ohio, and books have always been a huge part of his life. Josh was previously an Assistant Literary Agent at LCS Literary, and he is excited to get back to work expanding his list of talented authors.

What he is seeking: Josh primarily represents works of Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction for YA and adult. He wants forbidden magic, ancient rituals, epic space battles, and everything in between. Gothic fantasy and horroromance are high on Josh’s wishlist, but he is open and interested in all subgenres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Josh has always been drawn to stories with a strong voice and three-dimensional characters. He is a big believer in uplifting and supporting authors from marginalized backgrounds, particularly those with disabilities. If you are blind, in a wheelchair, or have any other disabilities, he would love to see your query in his inbox.

How to submit: Use his querytracker HERE.

Pickpik
This October 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.

Happy submitting!

___________________________


IHRAM Press: Art, Action, Impact: Voices of 21st-century Activism. Genre: "This anthology will explore interventions that have sparked widespread change, highlighting protests and acts of resistance expressed through art, storytelling, and personal activism." Payment: $50. Deadline: October 1, 2025.

Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2025.

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 October 1, 2025.

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, 2025. No fee for snail mail submissions. $4 fee for online submissions.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Fiction, flash fiction, micro-fiction. Length: Under 3,000 words preferred. Payment: $75. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2025. They open to fee-free submissions on the first of each month and close when they reach their quota.

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, 2025.

The Last Line. Genre: Fiction that ends with the last line provided. Payment: $20-$40. Deadline: October 1, 2025.


The Paris Review. Genres: Fiction, poetry. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2025, and closes when they reach capacity.


Sundog. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art. Payment: $50. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2025, and closes when they reach capacity.

Humour Me. Genre: Funny short stories with the theme ‘Autumn.’ Payment: £7.50. Deadline: October 1, 2025.

Flame Tree: Wars in the Stars Short Stories. Genre: Sci-fi on an epic scale. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: October 1, 2025.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: October 2, 2025. Opens October 1. This is a monthly call.


Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: October 3, 2025. Note: This is a monthly call.

Tales from the Moonlit Path. Genre: Dark, eerie speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: $10 for fiction. Deadline: October 4, 2025.

Daikaijuzine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $10.00 for each short story, and $5.00 for each poem and flash fiction piece. Deadline: October 5, 2025.

Shadows in the Ravens Eye: A Reimagining of Poe’s Tales. Genre: Short stories that reinterpret Poe's legends with fresh angles, but keeping with his style and atmosphere. Keep the dread, the obsession, the unreliable minds. Surprise us with setting, voice, or twist. Length: 2,000 to 3,000 words. Payment: 20 cents per book. Deadline: October 5, 2025.

Raconteur Press. Genre: Detective stories. The early pulp magazines and books may have cost a dime, but these detectives need more than that to keep body and soul together. They were the gumshoes, the flat-feet, who used old-fashioned persistence and a healthy dose of common sense to track down clues and close the net on the perpetrators. Read Frederic Brown’s The Fabulous Clipjoint and you’ll have a clue to what we’re looking for. Men whose gruff exterior hid a soft heart and a sharp mind, they were not noir, they were something uniquely American, classless, and driven by a desire for justice—but not at all costs. They got their man, or woman, in the end. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 5, 2025.

Tractor Beam. Genre: Soilpunk speculative fiction. Payment: $1,000 for stories and graphic novellas up to 6,000 words. Deadline: October 6, 2025.

Affirm Press. Restrictions: Open to Australians only. Genre: All literary and genre fiction. For non-fiction, they are interested in most subjects that have a connection to Australia. authors or authors based in Australia, and only manuscripts that haven’t been previously published. They only accept submissions on the first Monday of each month. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 6, 2025.

Trans Survivors Zine. Genre: Trans and nonbinary art. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: October 13, 2025.

Planet Scumm. Genre: Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: October 13, 2025.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. 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, 2025.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: October 14, 2025 for members of marginalised groups only.

The Orange & Bee. Genre: Original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales. Payment: Poetry: flat rate $US50.00 per poem; Flash fiction/non-fiction: flat rate $US80.00 per story (max 1000 words); Short fiction/non-fiction: $US0.08 per word (max 4000 words). Deadline: October 14, 2025.

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: October 15, 2025.

Horror Tree: Trembling With Fear. Genre: Horror short stories. Payment: $5. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

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, 2025. Accepts reprints.

The Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror poetry and fiction on theme: Secret Police, ICE, and the Disappeared. Payment: $0.015/word for fiction, and $10 for poetry. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

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 - $60 for prose and poetry, $150 for art. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

Cutleaf: Literary Nonfiction. Genre: Literarhy nonfiction.. Payment: $100 to $300 for published prose. Deadline: October 15, 2025. Closes when cap is reached.

New Orleans Review. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: $300 for prose, $100 for poetry. Deadline: October 15, 2025. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, there are no submission fees for Latinx writers from September 15th to October 15th.

Rattle: Rebels. Genre: Poetry. "Our Spring 2026 issue will be dedicated to literary rebels—those poets who run counter to the literary mainstream." Payment: $100. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

Into the Deep, Dark Woods Anthology. Genre: Original fiction and poetry in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, suspense, mystery, humor, and romance, appropriate for up to a “PG-13” audience. The setting of “deep, dark woods” must be central to the story. Payment: 6 cents/word. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

Electric Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

Rooted. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, CNF, audio, art. See theme. Payment: $10 for online publication only. No payment for print. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of queer and trans writing. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. "Please submit work that engages with themes that may include gender expression and transition, reproductive justice, disability and chronic illness, surveillance and censorship, body modification culture, fat liberation and anti-ableism, queer desire and sexuality, the racialized body, and performance and protest. We invite works that grapple with the political, personal, and cultural dimensions of the queer body." Payment: $100. Deadline: October 16, 2025.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: October 17, 2025.

Seaside Gothic. Genre: Seaside gothic fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or a collection of photographs or illustrations. Payment: £0.01 per word. Deadline: October 19, 2025.

Flame Tree: No Laughing Matter. Genre: Fiction which embraces the horror/thriller genres with elements of bleak, black humour, wry observation, a touch of irony and satire, and hints of the absurd. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: October 19, 2025.

Hub City Press. Restrictions: "We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South." Genre: Debut and second novels. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 19, 2025.

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 20, 2025.

Astrolabe. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography & art. Payment: $50. Deadline: October 22, 2025.

Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Deadline: October 30, 2025.

Neon Hemlock. Genre: Speculative fiction novellas. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 30, 2025.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries. Genre: Heroic fantasy. Payment: £25. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Engen Books. Restrictions: Newfoundland and Labrador writers preferred. Genre: Space Stories. Length: under 7,500 words. Payment: $0.01 CAD per word. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Harbor Review. Genre: Poetry, art. Payment: $10. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Nine Arches. Genre: Poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2025.
​
Tenebrous Press. Restrictions: Open to POC. Genre: New Weird Horror novels and novellas. Length: 20,000 - 120,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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, 2025. Closes when cap is reached, so submit early.

Phylum Press. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. See theme. Payment: $10. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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 31, 2025.

My Galvanized Friend is a new publication focused on highlighting works from those identifying as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, and essays between 500 and 3,500 words as well as works of poetry and original works of art. Payment: $25 per fiction/nonfiction/essay and $10 per page of poetry. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

MetaStellar. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy or horror. 1000 words max. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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, 2025.

Made in L.A. Restrictions: Preference for writers who currently live in and around Los Angeles. Genre: Fiction. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: October 31, 2025. 

Walpurgis Witcheries Anthology. Genre: Sword and sorcery. Length: Between 4,000 and 8,000 words. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: October 31, 2025.


​AfriCANthology II: Strange Truth of Black Canadian Fiction. Restrictions: Open to  writers who live in Canada or are Canadian citizens living outside the country who self-identify as Black. Genre: Short stories (2,500 to 4,000 words) in any genre of fiction that honour the anthology’s themes and relate to the Black experience in Canada.  Payment: $200 CAD. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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, 2025.

Olit. Restrictions: Strong preference for Orlando based writers/submissions about Orlando and surrounding areas. Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Artwork, Photography. "Send us all kinds of stuff. We love the artfully weird." Payment: $10. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Dragon Soul Press: FIRE & ASH. Genre: All dragon-themed stories. All genres accepted.  Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Manawaker Studio: 100 Word Project. Genre: Speculative fiction of exactly 100 words. See theme. Payment: $1. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Anvil Press. Restrictions: Open to writers living in Canada. Genres: Full-length books per year in the following genres:
• literary fiction (short story collections, novels, uncategorizable prose)
• creative nonfiction
• memoir
• essay collections
• poetry
• books about Vancouver history (preferably off-beat or little-known history)
Read submission guidelines here. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Wildhouse Publishing. Genre: Full-length poetry collection. "Wildhouse Publishing curates books for unconventional people with adventurous spirituality." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Midnight Meadow Publishing's goal is to publish engaging and unique LGBTQ+ stories while elevating marginalized voices. They are interested in a wide variety of genres. Read submission guidelines HERE. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Payment: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Glass Poetry Press. Genre: Poetry chapbooks. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Phoenix Poets Series: University of Chicago Press. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Read full guidelines HERE. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

SpecPoVerse. Genre: Speculative poetry. Payment: $5. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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, 2025.

New Writing Scotland. Restrictions: Open to writers resident in Scotland or Scots by birth, upbringing or inclination. Genre: All forms of writing are invited: autobiography and memoirs; creative responses to events and experiences; drama; graphic artwork (monochrome only); poetry; political and cultural commentary and satire; screenplays; short fiction; travel writing or any other creative prose may be submitted. Maximum recommended length of 3,500 words in total. Payment: $25/page. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Spring Into SciFi. Genre: Science fiction short stories. Payment: $15. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

AND A FEW MORE...

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 1.5 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Ninth Letter Web Edition. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $25 per poem and $75 for prose. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

Podcastle. Genre: Fantasy podcast. Length: Up to 6,000 words. Payment: $0.06/word for original; $100 for reprints, $20 for flash fiction reprints. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2025.

Clocks. Genre: Dark fiction, speculative fiction, near sci-fi, strange, wondrous. Payment: $40. Deadline: November 1, 2025. Closes when cap is reached, so submit early.

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: $50. Deadline: November 1, 2025.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: November 1, 2025. See themes.

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, 2025.

Thema. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: Today's Onerous Task. Payment:  $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: November 1, 2025. Accepts reprints.

PxHere This October there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $10,000 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! 

_____________________


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 1, 2025.

Horror Writers Association Diversity Grants. Restrictions: Ppen 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 1, 2025.


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, 2025.

Changes Book Prize. Genre: First or second collection of poems. Prize: $10,000 and publication, Deadline: October 1, 2025.

2025 IHLR Long Story: Nonfiction and Fiction. Genre: Long fiction or CNF. Length: 20 to 40 pages. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 1, 2025. Note: They will accept 25 free submissions on October 1, 2025.

2025 Iron Horse Long Story: NaPoMo Contest. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 1, 2025. Note: They will accept 25 free submissions on October 1, 2025.

The Lindenwood Review Undergraduate Flash Nonfiction Contest. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate students. Genre: Flash Nonfiction. Prize: $50 and publication. Deadline: October 1, 2025.

Sunlight Press. Genre: Flash fiction. Prize: $750. Deadline: October 1, 2025.

Quarterly West.  Genre: Poetry and prose. Prize: $500. Deadline: No fee days: October 1 - 2, 2025. (After that point, submissions for BIPOC writers only will remain free.)

TCU Texas Book Award. Genre: Book of fiction, nonfiction, art or photography about Texas. Books must have been published between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024. Prize: $5000. Deadline: October 3, 2025. 

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 $2,200. Deadline: October 5, 2025.

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 6, 2025.

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 7, 2025.

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 8, 2025.

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 10, 2025.

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 10, 2025.

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 10, 2025.

Money Chronicles: A Story Initiative. Restrictions: Adults aged 18 and up who live in the United States. Genre: Short stories and CNF touching on themes related to money and personal finance. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 12, 2025.

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 13, 2025.

Tales from the Moonlit Path. Genre: Short story on theme of Halloween based on movie quotes (See site); 2000 words max. Prize: $50. Deadline: October 13, 2025.

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, 2025.

Charles Potts Poetry Award. Genre: First book of poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 15, 2025.


Poetic Justice Institute Book Prizes. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to BIPOC Writers. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Prize: $1000 and publication. Deadline: October 15, 2025.

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, 2025.

Waltham Forest Poetry Competition. Genre: Poem on theme: Weather. Prize: 1st £50, 2nd £30, 3rd £20. Deadline: October 20, 2025. No entry fee for writers aged 18 and under.

John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize. Genre: Published book of poems. Publishers may submit four copies of a debut full-length poetry collection (or bound galleys) published originally in the English language. Prize: €10,000 (approximately $11,400) Deadline: October 20, 2025.

International Booker Prize. The International Booker Prize for fiction translated into English is awarded annually by the Booker Prize Foundation to the author of the best (in the opinion of the judges) eligible novel or collection of short stories. The work must be published by a UK or Ireland publishing house. Authors are not permitted to enter their own works. Prize: £50,000 divided equally between the author and the translator. There will be a prize of £2,000 each of the shortlisted titles divided equally between the author and the translator. Deadline: Any imprints that have more than six books to submit to the prize, may nominate the additional titles as call ins. All call-in nomination forms, justification letters, first chapters and full PDFs must be submitted by Thursday, 23 October 2025. If no text is available at the time of call-in, it should be sent as soon as it is available. 

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 30, 2025.

Shady Grove Literary. Genre: Any style, genre, tone of flash fiction. Length: 300 words max. Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Women's Prize for Fiction. Genre: Published novel by a woman. Entrants must be writing in English and must be published between 1 October 2025 and 30 November 2025. All subject matters and women of any age, from any nationality or country of residence are eligible. Prize: £30,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2025. Read submission details HERE.

Graybeal-Gowen Prize for Virginia Poets. Restrictions: Poets living in or born in Virginia, as well as those who have lived in Virginia for two or more years in the past, are eligible. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 31, 2025. (Closes after 500 submissions)

Live Theatre's North East Playwriting Award. Restrictions: Open to playwrights who are either from or based in the North East of England, age 16 and older. Genre: Full-length play. Prize: £10,000 top prize. A second award will be exclusively for young people aged 16 to 25. This will be a commission fee of £7,000 (under 70 minutes) and a commitment to develop the play at Live Theatre. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

IHRAM: African Human Rights Spoken Word Contest. Restrictions: Open to poets and activists from across the African continent. Genre: 1-minute video where you passionately recite a unique and artistic poem crafted by you. Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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, 2025.

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 31, 2025.

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, 2025.

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, 2025.

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, 2025.

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 laws regulating climate change and the environment support economic development? Prize: $500 scholarship. Deadline: Registration deadline October 31, 2025.

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, 2025.

Tom-Gallon Trust Award. Restrictions: Open to citizens of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland with at least one short story published or accepted for publication. Genre: Short story, maximum 5,000 words. May be unpublished. Prize: £2,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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, 2025.

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, 2025.

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, 2025.

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, 2025.

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, 2025.

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, 2025.

Voice.club. Genre: Flash fiction, 350 words max. See theme. Prize: $25 Amazon gift card. Deadline: October 31, 2025. Note: You have to join in order to enter. 

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. $200 cash prize. Publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ award-winning student literary magazine. Ten copies of Cargoes. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

Mikrokosmos Annual Fiction and Poetry Contest. Genre: Fiction and poetry. Prize: First Place Prize: $200; Second Place Prize: $100; Third Place Prize: $50. Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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, 2025. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.