Submissions accepted year-round.
John Updike once said, “Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.” At Driftwood Press, we are actively searching for artists who care about doing it right, or better. We are excited to receive your submissions and will diligently work to bring you the best in full poetry collections, novellas, graphic novels, short fiction, poetry, graphic narrative, photography, art, interviews, and contests. We also offer our submitters a premium option to receive an acceptance or rejection letter within one week of submission; many authors are offered editorships and interviews. To polish your fiction, note our editing services and seminars, too. www.driftwoodpress.net
Poetry
Sponsor Spotlight :: Rockvale Review: Bold & Vulnerable Poetry
Rockvale Review was founded in 2017 as an online journal devoted to “bold and vulnerable poetry.” They publish work from new, emerging, and established writers and feature image-driven poems that are hard-edged and finely crafted. They do offer optional print editions of their issues which are released in May and November of each year.
They have a unique feature where every poem accepted for publication is paired with a piece of art created by a Featured Artist. A Featured Musician will also craft music to respond to several of the poems in each issue. In doing so, Rockvale Review produces a journal that speaks beyond words, moving into the visual and auditory layers of the human spirit.
Their sixth issue was published in May 2020 and features work by Travis Stephens, Ivo Drury, Kate Deimling, Shannon Wolf, M.G. Hofmann, Wendy Drexler, and more. Stop by their listing at NewPages to learn more.
Black Warrior Review Now Offering No-Fee Contest Submissions to Black Writers
Black Warrior Review is a biannual print literary magazine that has been publishing exciting established and emerging literary talents since 1974. The journal is published by the students in The University of Alabama’s MFA Program in Creative Writing.
In an effort to do their part and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, they have gathered donations to launch an effort to provide free contest submissions for up to 400 Black writers to their annual writing contest. This will not be a one-off initiative, but a sustained effort they will continue into the future. In their July 28 announcement, the BWR staff stated “This is part of a much larger effort/wish of the BWR staff to do away with contest fees, but an undertaking such as this has to start somewhere, and in this pivotal moment this is our focus.”
They recognize this effort alone is not enough and are doing their best to continue to prioritize ways in which they can make their journal a more equitable place where all Writers of Color can feel welcomed and supported.
The 2020 contest judges are Paul Tran, Lucy Corin, Mayukh Sen, and C Pam Zhang. Categories are Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Flash. The winners of Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry will receive $1,000 and publication in the Spring 2021 issue. The Flash winner will receive $500 and publication in the Spring 2021 issue. Deadline to submit is September 1.
Call :: Grand Little Things Seeks Formal Poetry
Deadline: Rolling
Grand Little Things is open for submissions! Visit us at grand-little-things.com/submission-information/ for more info! GLT is looking for formal poetry (think sonnets, villanelles, etc.) or blank/free verse that uses traditional poetic techniques. Open to never-been-published-writers and up and comers, as well as established writers. No fee required.
Witness. Vulnerable. Mystery.
Guest Post by Susan Kay Anderson
Witness.
Fred Marchant views the inexplicable and gives us the air it breathed in his poems in Said Not Said. I have been looking at this book, reading it, studying with Marchant, and looking at it again for the past three years. Most of that time I worked as a graveyard-shift custodian cleaning university buildings. Now, I live at my parents’ and take care of the both of them during the days of the pandemic. What Marchant sees in his life is revealed in this book. He sees what is not fair. He sees reality but events he cannot control. Here we are in 2020: sitting ducks. Marchant’s poems get into the feeling of this but also access the profound stability of peace and understanding. In “Fennel” he writes:
At the end maybe you were thinking
of Whitman and his claim that dying
was luckier than we had supposed.
Or not. Or not. Here is the bee . . .
Marchant shows us that nature with a capital N intercedes, maybe not to change the course of events he witnesses, but to carry an event to another place, a different emotion. [Read more…] about Witness. Vulnerable. Mystery.
Weekly Roundup for Calls & Contests :: July 31, 2020
Today is the last day of July…again it doesn’t seem possible, does it? Don’t let the end-of-summer doldrums creep up on you and hinder your submission goals! To help, browse through these new and featured opportunities and don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter if you haven’t already to get an early peek at ads before they are posted to our site.
Calls for Submissions
View all calls for submissions in our online Classifieds. Have a young writer? Check out our Young Writers Guide to Publications to help them find a market for their work, too.
July Submission Deadlines
Deadline: July 31, 2020! The Daphne Review is hosting an online mentorship program for talented high school student writers and established writers/teachers acting as their mentors. We’re currently taking applications for both types (students and qualified mentors) until July 31st! To apply, submit a resume and brief cover letter to daphnereview@mail.com. Start Date: August 3-28. Format: online. Classes: flash fiction, poetry. Pay for mentors: $50 per hour for skype or $200; $25 per hour for email or $100; total: $300 via paypal. www.thedaphnereview.org
Deadline: July 31, 2020! Penny Fiction 2020 will showcase exceptionally short stories told in exactly 20 words—no more, no less. There is no fee to submit. Penny Fiction is a regular feature of literary magazine From the Depths. Details: www.hauntedwaterspress.com. [Read more…] about Weekly Roundup for Calls & Contests :: July 31, 2020
Contest :: Tinderbox’s 2020 Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Poetry Prize
Deadline: August 31, 2020
Tinderbox Poetry Journal is pleased to announce its fourth annual contest, the 2020 Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Poetry Prize, judged by torrin a. greathouse! There are no limitations in form or content; we are interested in everything from traditional forms to free verse to lyric essay to flash fiction. The winner will receive $750, and the runner-up will receive $500. All finalists will be published and paid the standard rate of $15/contributor. Semi-finalists will also be considered for publication. Please submit up to three (3) pieces ($15, or $20 with feedback) here: tinderboxpoetryjournal.submittable.com/submit. We look forward to reading your work!
Call :: Superstition Review Issue 26
Deadline: August 31
On behalf of Arizona State University and the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Superstition Review is dedicating Issue 26 to work that promotes inclusion and explores new ways to dismantle racial and social inequality. We have chosen this theme in order to magnify voices that have been traditionally undermined by our histories, institutions, policies, laws, and habits of daily life. Our submissions will be open August 1st-31st. We accept art, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. superstitionreview.asu.edu
Reminder :: Storm Cellar Open to Submissions – Surprise Them!
Deadline: Rolling
Storm Cellar, a journal of safety and danger, seeks amazing, adventurous new writing, art, and photography. Indigenous, Black, POC, gender nonconforming, women, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent, fat, poor, and border-straddling authors encouraged. Midwest connections a plus. Specific, strong, and strange voices welcome: surprise them! Full guidelines at stormcellar.org/submit and submission manager at stormcellar.submittable.com.
Call :: Sky Island Journal Issue 14
Deadline: Midnight (CST) September 30th, 2020
Sky Island Journal is an independent, international, free-access literary journal dedicated to publishing the finest poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction. We publish accomplished, well-established authors—side by side—with fresh, emerging voices. We provide over 70,000 readers in 145 countries with a powerful, focused, advertising-free literary experience that transports them: one that challenges them intellectually and moves them emotionally. We publish quarterly, and our average response time is 9 days. Every submission receives a prompt, respectful, and individualized response detailing what we appreciated. Enjoy our previous issues, and submit for Issue 14 before midnight (CST) on September 30th at www.skyislandjournal.com.
Program :: University of South Alabama’s MA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing
Spring 2021 Application Deadline: December 1
The MA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing offers students an opportunity to develop their writing in a variety of genres (including screenwriting) and to work with the writers sponsored by the Stokes Center for Creative Writing. The Stokes Center enhances the English department’s offerings in creative writing by sponsoring readings, lectures, forums, community projects, and other events that are free and open to the public. It also supports students through its undergraduate and graduate awards in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. A number of competitive scholarships are available to augment the assistantships and tuition waivers such as summer creative writing awards for work on individual projects. For students who enroll full time, the MA in English can be completed in four semesters. Students also have the option of enrolling part time and/or completing the degree through evening coursework. Come develop your craft in a diverse and vibrant city near world-class beaches.