Each month, the Ashland MFA Program receives calls for submissions and contest deadlines, which it publicizes in its monthly newsletter. Listed below are this month's calls for submissions.
Journal Submissions
Barely South Review is now accepting submissions for our Spring 2016 Reading Period. We welcome submissions of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art, and short essays on craft. Deadline is April 1, 2016. http://barelysouthreview.digitalodu.com/submission-guidelines/
Hippocampus magazine is seeking works of creative nonfiction on “firsts” for
their 2016
theme issue, which will be available in July. Submissions should be up to
3,500 words. Deadline April 15.
Barking Sycamores is a literary journal publishing poetry, short fiction,
creative nonfiction, hybrid genre works, and art by neurodivergent (autistic, ADHD, bipolar, dyslexic, etc.)
writers and artists. They seek work for an unthemed Issue 9 (Spring/Summer
2016). The journal also accepts essays on the impact of neurodivergence
on the creation of literary works. Submission period opens January 20 and
closes March 19, 2016. Due to the unique nature of this journal, interested
creatives should consult our submission guidelines before sending work.
Creative Nonfiction is seeking new essays about Learning
from Nature for an upcoming issue. The Biomimicry Center at Arizona State
University will award $5,000 for the best essay and Creative Nonfiction will
award $1,000 to the runner-up. All submissions will be considered for
publication in the magazines fall 2016 issues. Deadline is February 1, 2016.
https://creativenonfiction.submittable.com/submit/48472
Black Cat Moon Literary Journal is now open to submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for their first quarterly issue (slated for spring 2016). Reading fees will be waived for the month of January 2016! The press is also seeking manuscripts for its Nine Lives Collection of poetry books.
http://www.blackcatmoonpress.com/submissions.html
Trigger Warning is now accepting submissions for its first edition. This new literary magazine will focus on works that convey what it is to overcome personal struggles and which accurately illustrate the nature of the human experience. We accept personal essays, memoir, fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and hybrid works. We read year round and publish our journal three times per year. Reading fee is $5. Accepted writers receive $25.
http://www.triggerwarninglit.com/
Small Po[r]tions is accepting submissions for Issue 6! We aim to curate cross-genre, experimental and multi/intermedia work and hope to offer a shared space for experimental creative fiction and nonfiction, lyrical fiction, poetry, and multimedia pieces. Small Po[r]tions issues have a print component with a focus on book arts and an online component featuring selections from the print issue along with media work. You can view work from our previous issues at smallportionsjournal.com/issues. Please submit up to 1000 words [up to 5 pages] or one multimedia work.
submissions@smallportionsjournal.com
Found Polaroids is looking for flash fiction to accompany their collection of “found polaroids.” While submitted stories are unpaid writing projects, the exposure that students would gain from their stories is widespread. Found Polaroids has been featured on such news outlets as BBC World Radio, The Guardian.com, Dazed Magazine, CBC Radio 'As It Happens’, MutantSpace.com, The Plaid Zebra, and many more.
http://www.foundpolaroids.com/
Temporal Discombobulations calls for original contemporary fiction that pays homage to the Gothic with 'time' as the theme. This anthology is in conjunction with the ‘Temporal Discombobulations: Time and the Experience of the Gothic’ conference at the University of Surrey from 22-24 August 2016, and we are accepting submissions for short fiction from new writers, scholars, and seasoned authors. Deadline is February 15, 2016.
https://temporaldiscombobulations.wordpress.com/
Belmont Story Review invites submissions of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction for its spring issue. Deadline is April 1. To submit, send an email to BSRsubmissions@gmail.com with the genre of your work in the subject line and attach a Word document. In the body, please include a brief bio. Honorariums provided for accepted work.
https://creativenonfiction.submittable.com/submit/48472
Black Cat Moon Literary Journal is now open to submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for their first quarterly issue (slated for spring 2016). Reading fees will be waived for the month of January 2016! The press is also seeking manuscripts for its Nine Lives Collection of poetry books.
http://www.blackcatmoonpress.com/submissions.html
Trigger Warning is now accepting submissions for its first edition. This new literary magazine will focus on works that convey what it is to overcome personal struggles and which accurately illustrate the nature of the human experience. We accept personal essays, memoir, fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and hybrid works. We read year round and publish our journal three times per year. Reading fee is $5. Accepted writers receive $25.
http://www.triggerwarninglit.com/
Small Po[r]tions is accepting submissions for Issue 6! We aim to curate cross-genre, experimental and multi/intermedia work and hope to offer a shared space for experimental creative fiction and nonfiction, lyrical fiction, poetry, and multimedia pieces. Small Po[r]tions issues have a print component with a focus on book arts and an online component featuring selections from the print issue along with media work. You can view work from our previous issues at smallportionsjournal.com/issues. Please submit up to 1000 words [up to 5 pages] or one multimedia work.
submissions@smallportionsjournal.com
Found Polaroids is looking for flash fiction to accompany their collection of “found polaroids.” While submitted stories are unpaid writing projects, the exposure that students would gain from their stories is widespread. Found Polaroids has been featured on such news outlets as BBC World Radio, The Guardian.com, Dazed Magazine, CBC Radio 'As It Happens’, MutantSpace.com, The Plaid Zebra, and many more.
http://www.foundpolaroids.com/
Temporal Discombobulations calls for original contemporary fiction that pays homage to the Gothic with 'time' as the theme. This anthology is in conjunction with the ‘Temporal Discombobulations: Time and the Experience of the Gothic’ conference at the University of Surrey from 22-24 August 2016, and we are accepting submissions for short fiction from new writers, scholars, and seasoned authors. Deadline is February 15, 2016.
https://temporaldiscombobulations.wordpress.com/
Belmont Story Review invites submissions of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction for its spring issue. Deadline is April 1. To submit, send an email to BSRsubmissions@gmail.com with the genre of your work in the subject line and attach a Word document. In the body, please include a brief bio. Honorariums provided for accepted work.
www.belmontstoryreview.com.
Fiction International is accepting submissions for its annual print journal during the period October 1, 2015 - February 15, 2016. The theme this year is Taboo. Interested writers are invited to visit our submission guidelines page at: http://fictioninternational.sdsu.edu/wordpress/submit/ Fiction International publishes an award winning annual journal that encourages formal innovation and social activism. We are located on the campus of San Diego State University, and the journal is edited by Harold Jaffe. Each issue revolves around a theme and features a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, indeterminate prose, and visuals by leading writers and artists from around the world. We generally publish between 25 to 30 texts and visuals with each journal. To get an idea of what we are looking for, please visit our catalog page for sample texts: http://fictioninternational.sdsu.edu/wordpress/catalog/
Glassworks publishes nonfiction, fiction, poetry, hybrid pieces, craft essays, new media, and art both digitally and in print. We also publish flash fiction, prose poetry, and micro essays in our online edition Flash Glass monthly. Submissions for Flash Glass are accepted on a year-round, rolling basis. www.rowanglassworks.org
Lumen is a project for (and by!) cis women, trans-women, and non-binary people. We are interested in poetry, fiction, personal essays, and interviews that examine how we move through the world, both as complex individuals and as members of larger communities. The conversations we are interested in are those that shed light on our stories—on our struggles, our triumphs, and all the in-betweens. New reading period will start later this month. Blogs may be submitted anytime.
https://lumen.submittable.com/submit
Southern Review is open to submissions in poetry through February 1. For mailing address and other guidelines visit their website:
http://thesouthernreview.org/submissions
Fiction International is accepting submissions for its annual print journal during the period October 1, 2015 - February 15, 2016. The theme this year is Taboo. Interested writers are invited to visit our submission guidelines page at: http://fictioninternational.sdsu.edu/wordpress/submit/ Fiction International publishes an award winning annual journal that encourages formal innovation and social activism. We are located on the campus of San Diego State University, and the journal is edited by Harold Jaffe. Each issue revolves around a theme and features a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, indeterminate prose, and visuals by leading writers and artists from around the world. We generally publish between 25 to 30 texts and visuals with each journal. To get an idea of what we are looking for, please visit our catalog page for sample texts: http://fictioninternational.sdsu.edu/wordpress/catalog/
Glassworks publishes nonfiction, fiction, poetry, hybrid pieces, craft essays, new media, and art both digitally and in print. We also publish flash fiction, prose poetry, and micro essays in our online edition Flash Glass monthly. Submissions for Flash Glass are accepted on a year-round, rolling basis. www.rowanglassworks.org
Lumen is a project for (and by!) cis women, trans-women, and non-binary people. We are interested in poetry, fiction, personal essays, and interviews that examine how we move through the world, both as complex individuals and as members of larger communities. The conversations we are interested in are those that shed light on our stories—on our struggles, our triumphs, and all the in-betweens. New reading period will start later this month. Blogs may be submitted anytime.
https://lumen.submittable.com/submit
Southern Review is open to submissions in poetry through February 1. For mailing address and other guidelines visit their website:
http://thesouthernreview.org/submissions
Graduate Student Poetry Only. We invite graduate students to submit to Claremont Graduate University's Foothill: a journal of poetry. Foothill is the first and only literary journal that exclusively publishes graduate student poetry. Sign up for an online subscription or learn more: http://www.cgu.edu/pages/9078.asp
Contests
The Turnip Truck(s) is interested in publishing essays, poems, and stories that redefine the image of “The Road.” Whether the road is metaphorical or physical, we welcome work that addresses anything from a traditional hero’s journey to learning to traverse a foreign land, embrace a new perspective, or navigate the Internet super highway. Two $500 prizes will be awarded for the poem and essay or story that best embody the spirit of this significant image. Enter one essay or story or up to five poems. There is a $12 entry fee, which comes with an electronic subscription to The Turnip Truck(s) journal. Deadline for submission is March 1, 2016.
Epiphany has opened its annual spring writing contest for
submissions in the categories of Fiction, Non Fiction, Poetry, and Best Prose.
First prize is $400, publication, and five contributor copies. Deadline is February 15, 2016. View
guidelines at
https://epiphanymagazine.submittable.com/submit
https://epiphanymagazine.submittable.com/submit
Blue River, Creighton University’s new literary magazine,
publishes the best writing from current and recent creative writing graduate
students. Their Editor Award offers $500 for the best submission in fiction,
creative nonfiction, and poetry. All entries considered for publication.
Deadline: March 1, 2016; $15 fee.
https://blueriver.submittable.com/submit
Cosmonauts Avenue is holding their inaugural poetry contest, judged by Claudia Rankine. The winner will receive $500 and publication in an upcoming issue. Cosmonauts Avenue publishes poetry, fiction, non-fiction, interviews, reviews, and correspondence by emerging and established writers in English and in translation.
http://www.cosmonautsavenue.com/
https://blueriver.submittable.com/submit
Cosmonauts Avenue is holding their inaugural poetry contest, judged by Claudia Rankine. The winner will receive $500 and publication in an upcoming issue. Cosmonauts Avenue publishes poetry, fiction, non-fiction, interviews, reviews, and correspondence by emerging and established writers in English and in translation.
http://www.cosmonautsavenue.com/
Nazim Hikmet Poetry Competition is
accepting submissions through January 31, 2016. Finalists will receive an award
of $100 and will be invited to read their poems at the 8th Annual Nazim Hikmet
Poetry Festival, which will be held on Sunday, April 10, 2016 at Page-Walker
Arts & History Center in Cary, North Carolina. Winners and honorable
mentions will be published in the festival book and online. http://www.nazimhikmetpoetryfestival.org/index.php?id=4.
Glimmer Train is accepting
submissions for our New Writer Award. Entry fee is $18 per submission. It is
open only to emerging writers whose fiction has not appeared in any print
publication with a circulation over 5,000. The 1st-place winner will be published
in Glimmer Train, will receive 10 copies of that issue, and win $2,500. Second-
and 3rd-place win $500/$300, respectively, or, if accepted for publication,
$700. Deadline is February 29, 2016. For guidelines visit http://www.glimmertrain.com/pages/guidelines/short_story_award_for_new_writers_guidelines.php
Conferences, Workshops, and More
The 5th Annual River Teeth
Nonfiction Conference is now open
for registration! Speakers for this year are Dinty W. Moore, Elena Passarello, Jill
Christman, Hope Edelman, Steve Harvey, Sonya Huber, Tom Larson, Patrick Madden,
Bob Root, Mike Steinberg, Ana Maria Spagna, and of course River Teeth
co-editors Joe Mackall and Dan Lehman.
River Teeth is excited about this group of speakers and we hope you are too!
Information about registration discounts, deadlines, and more can be found on
our website.
AWP Conference Scholarship. AWP
offers three annual scholarships of $500 each to emerging writers who wish to
attend a writers’ conference, center, retreat, festival, or residency. They
encourage writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction to enter. The
scholarships are applied to fees for winners who attend one of the member
programs in AWP’s Directory of Conferences & Centers. Winners and six finalists also receive a one-year
individual membership in AWP. Submissions accepted through
March 30.
https://www.awpwriter.org/contests/wcc_scholarships_overview
https://www.awpwriter.org/contests/wcc_scholarships_overview
Lambda Literary's 2016 Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices is now accepting applications. The Retreat will be held July 24-31, 2016 on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Faculty include Andrew Holleran (Fiction workshop), Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Young Adult Fiction workshop), Joy Ladin (Poetry workshop), Sarah Schulman (Nonfiction workshop), and Robert O’Hara (Playwriting workshop).
http://www.lambdaliterary.org/writers-retreat/application/
Disquiet International Literacy Program is now accepting entries for the 2016 Literary Prize & the Luso/Lusa-American Fellowships, with winning entries receiving full tuition, airfare and accommodations for our sixth annual program in Lisbon, from July 3 to 15, 2016. Deadline is January 31, 2016. http://www.disquietinternational.org
Something to add? Send it to mfa@ashland.edu. We are especially interested in opportunities that cater to emerging writers.