April 17, 2025

The Medley: Now Seeking Submissions

The Medley is a biannual online journal produced by the students of Hansraj College at the University of Delhi in India. They showcase fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and photography from around the world. You can get a sense of what they publish by reading the journal online. The Medley has been published twice a year…

95 Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers (April 2025)

This list of publishers meet our guiding principles, but are only open to free submissions from historically underrepresented writers or focus on publishing content produced by historically underrepresented writers. Some of these publications are open to a wide range of writers including writers of color, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ writers, and those living with disabilities….

Lessons From a Writer and Her Rejections

By Melissa Witcher With over 100 literary magazine rejections in the past two years, I am quite familiar with being not quite the right fit. I’ve always been a misfit so it makes sense that my writing career would follow suit. Many famous people, quite successful, have written about rejection in poetic and useful ways….

April 14, 2025

56 Traditional Children’s Book Publishers Seeking Submissions (No Agent Required)

All of the publishers on this list publish children’s books. Some just publish picture books, some publish only middle-grade fiction, and some publish a wide variety of genres aimed at adults as well. Some are looking for educational work, others are open to anything. A number of these publishers are large and established. Others are…

April 10, 2025

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in April 2025

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all are open through the month. CutleafThis is the journal of EastOver Press. They are open now for literary fiction (including excerpts) and nonfiction. Poetry is closed.Deadline: 15 April 2025 for fiction and nonfictionLength: Up to 4,000 words…

Folklore Review—Now Seeking Submissions

Folklore Review is an online journal of speculative fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art, all inspired by folklore. They like magical writing with real weight, even if it exists within a fantasy realm: “We reject the stance that speculative fiction lacks the quality of realism. That stories about gnomes, fairies, and fauns don’t hold substance.”…

How to Play The Subtext Game with Your Dialogue

By Sabyasachi Roy Writing dialogue can feel like a balancing act. If you use too much, you run the risk of overloading the reader. Too little leaves them perplexed. Finding the sweet spot where something magical occurs is difficult, and frequently it all comes down to what you choose not to say. Subtext—those delicious layers…

April 7, 2025

32 Themed Submission Calls and Contests for April 2025

These are themed calls and contests for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Some of the call themes are: solarpunk; seaside gothic; witchcraft; tributes to late bloomers; epiphany; where legends walk (superhero stories); creature feature; women of the weird west; feast or famine?; (sub)liminal; and eldritch. THEMED CALLS Solarpunk MagazineThis is a magazine of solarpunk fiction; they…

April 3, 2025

10 Manuscript Publishers Open to Direct Submissions in April, 2025

This list focuses on ten publishers that we are excited about that are open to submissions this month. Some are only open for a short period of time, others will be open the whole month and beyond. At least four of these are presses we have not covered previously. Please note that if a publisher…

Merganser Magazine: Now Seeking Submissions

Merganser Magazine is a new online journal of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. They accept all genres of poetry and prose: “We’re eager to find strong, well-written pieces across a wide range of material.” That said, they seem to favor science fiction and fantasy themes, as the visual aesthetic of the journal suggests. Merganser Magazine…

No-Fee Contests for Published Books (So You Can Become an Award Winning Author)

If you’ve recently published a book, you can leverage no-fee contests to get more visibility for your work. Even writers who forego the traditional publication route are not always disqualified from entering their books into these contests. Fee-free contests can offer everything from extra promotion and notoriety to monetary awards or invitations to read at…