These are themed calls and contests for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Some of the call themes are: the uncanny; cryptids; numerical; birds; train; it was paradise; best dressed; sweet hereafter; science; and stories of galactic pest control.
THEMED CALLS
Talk Vomit: The uncanny
“Our summer edition theme is the uncanny, however you interpret that. What happens when settings look fine — happy, even — on the surface, only for a distortion to be lurking just out of sight? What can the uncanny help us understand about ourselves, our relationships, our communities?” They have detailed guidelines, including a section on the kind of work they like. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 7 June 2025
Length: Up to 4,000 words for nonfiction, up to 2,000 words for fiction, up to 2 poems
Pay: $10-30 for prose, $5-15 for poetry
Details here.
Encounters With Cryptids Anthology
The editor wants horror stories about cryptids. All cryptid stories are welcome.
Deadline: 9 June 2025
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here (see the Bluesky thread)
Mslexia: Blue
They accept submissions from women-identified authors only (see Eligibility here), of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, pitches, and fun projects. For fiction and poetry, they want work on their showcase themes: the upcoming theme is Blue. They also have interesting sections in each genre, Some of their submission sections are for subscribers only, and a few are occasionally closed, but many of them are open to all writers. Their deadlines vary, please check the guidelines for details.
Deadline: 9 June 2025 for the Blue theme
Length: Varies (see guidelines)
Pay: Start at £30 (see here, under Payment)
Details here (scroll down and click on various sections/genres).
Vellum Mortis: Gods of the Gutter
Vellum Mortis is a project of Crystal Lake Publishing. They publish a prompt each month and invite readers to send a flash fiction submission as response. For June, the theme is Gods of the Gutter. They want “Grungy takes on mythology, saints, or fallen angels.”
Deadline: 10 June 2025
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $5
Details here.
Thread Litmag: Numerical
Thread is an alternative magazine from ChillSubs – it is hosted entirely on social media, and they publish micro fiction and poetry. They’re reading submissions on the ‘Numerical’ theme – see the theme details here. They accept submissions of 500 characters (not words) or fewer; send them an Instagram direct message, or reply to their submissions call on Threads.
Deadline: 13 June 2025
Length: Up to 500 characters
Pay: $85
Details here and here.
Baffling Magazine: mecha vs kaiju
Their tagline is, ‘speculative flash fiction with a queer bent’. Their general guidelines say, “We are looking for speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want aro/ace stories. We want indefinable stories. We welcome weird, slipstream, and interstitial writing.” They’re accepting submissions on the mecha vs kaiju theme, as well as unthemed submissions. Baffling Magazine is a project of Neon Hemlock Press.
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
(Neon Hemlock, which publishes queer speculative fiction, will open for their novella series submissions from June 15 to 30 2025 for trans women and writers of color only, and then October 15-30 2025 from all writers; see the announcement here.)
The Quarter(ly): What We Do With the Ashes
They want fiction, poetry, art, graphic stories, as well as analysis/interviews/reviews. Their upcoming theme is, What We Do With the Ashes. Please note, they pay $5 for contributions but in some instances, for shorter works, payment is a digital contributor copy only (see guidelines).
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: No length guidelines for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: See above
Details here
Eye to the Telescope: Birds
They’re reading speculative poetry on the birds theme. “The endless diversity of birds is one of the great marvels of our world. Migration patterns, flight mechanics, song, life cycle, and more—it’s a diverse pool to draw from, with deeper potential with the addition of speculative layers.
Guest Editor Maria Schrater has been fascinated by birds since she was a child, learning to imitate their calls and identify local species just by a flash of color. She has rescued baby birds, carefully viewed delicate nests, and watched majestic waterfowl take flight. … Schrater adores out-of-the-box forms. You could even send a poem shaped as a bird. If you pick a traditional form, please name the form in the cover letter so it can be evaluated with that in mind. A generous interpretation will be applied to the definition of bird, but this call is not intended to include dinosaurs unless modern birds are also discussed.” They also accept translations. Submission is via a form. Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.04/word (up to $25)
Details here.
100-Foot Crow: Train
They want speculative fiction drabbles, of exactly 100 words, on the Train theme. “We will allow one themed and one un-themed submission per writer. The current theme is TRAIN. All definitions of “train” work. Train your zebra, crash the train, step on her train, etc.” Submission is via a form. See the kind of stories they do not want, and they also list their hard sells.
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: 100 words
Pay: $8
Details here.
Plott Hound Magazine
This is “An e-zine for speculative fiction starring animals”. They also accept speculative poetry and essays on these themes. They want
“-Stories with anthropomorphized animals as protagonists
-Animal-centric speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror)
-Underrepresented voices (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent) that engage with animal myths, tales, and futures
-Stories with uncommonly written about animals as protagonists-Stories that dig deep into the senses and experience of animals
-Stories that explore the cultures and societies of animals, not just cultures and societies with animals. Think of rabbit language and warren infrastructure in Watership Down, or the clans and warrior code of feral cats in Warriors.” They also accept translations. They are open once a quarter / season.
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction (prefer 3,000-4,000 words), up to 5 poems, 1,000-2,500 words for nonfiction
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $50 for poems, $100 for nonfiction
Details here and here.
Underland Press: Kozy Krampus – The Cosmic Horror of the Holiday Sweater
This is a cosmic horror fiction and poetry anthology; they will “explore the cosmic horror inherent in the holiday season with Kozy Krampus, a collection of stories merry and monstrous, cozy and cosmic. The gothic nightmares and horrific haunts of our forebears persist in our fever-fueled dreams. Some monsters are never vanquished; they merely find new shapes. Slip into the dark shadows behind the million flickering holiday lights. Stare down the prehistoric fruit log in which lurks something truly eldritch and batrachian. Hark to the songs sung after midnight by carolers with extra-long tongues and extra-sharp teeth. This is the holiday season with the masks ripped off. Remember: not all gifts are good, and if you open it, you have to keep it . . .” They will soon open for submissions.
Reading period: 15th t0 30th June 2025
Length: A few lines for poetry, up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
IHRAM Publishes: Two themes
They’re open for two anthologies with upcoming deadlines: Today’s Pressured Youth (will amplify youth voices; submissions open to writers of all ages, deadline extended to 21st June 2025), and America’s Slide Toward Authoritarianism, deadline 1st July 2025. Please see the guidelines for details on the themes. They accept fiction, essays, poetry, and visual art.
Deadlines: See above
Length: Up to 2,500 words for prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: $50
Details here.
(And, Memezine is open for a Kakistocracy-themed call until 21st June. They will pay approximately $20 – see guidelines. Details here.)
Reckoning: It Was Paradise
Reckoning is an annual magazine that publishes speculative works on environmental justice. Apart from their regular submissions (with a later deadline and a different theme), they’re also accepting works for a special theme, It Was Paradise. For this theme, they say, “In a world devastated by catastrophes, we need stories that confront these horrors. This is all out war on the planet, on life itself. War and conflict as viewed through the lens of environmental justice, are the themes for this volume of Reckoning. Probe into the heart of extinction, genocide, and climate crisis. Expose the exploitation of the earth. Show us how the world could be on the other side. Send us your stories of violence, imperialism, fascism, and resistance, of destruction, survival, and of triumph. Send us your creative writing about war and environmental justice. It Was Paradise is open for submissions now through the summer solstice, June 22, 2025, with tentative release scheduled for October. … As always, we’re seeking submissions from Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent, imprisoned, impoverished, and otherwise marginalized human beings from everywhere, but in particular for this issue, we will be prioritizing work by people with lived experience of war and conflict.”
Deadline: 22 June 2025
Length: Varies
Pay: $0.15/word for prose, $75/page for poetry and art
Details here (theme) and here.
(Apart from the above issue, Reckoning is also accepting regular submissions for their 10th issue themed around communication, deadline 22nd September 2025.)
Griffith Review: Best Dressed
This magazine accepts work mostly from Australian writers, and also some international submissions. They are open for poetry on the Best Dressed theme for their next print issue – do not send work in other genres. “No matter how much or how little you care about what you wear, your sartorial choices are inextricably stitched into your social, cultural and personal identities. Clothing not only dictates how we define ourselves and relate to others – throughout history, it’s also been a mode of expression, resistance, revolution and disruption. Put on your Sunday best for this edition of Griffith Review, which goes behind the seams to unpick the many paradoxes of fashion.”
Deadline: 22 June 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 4 poems
Pay: AUD200/poem
Details here and here.
Shooter Literary Magazine: Sweet Hereafter
They want submissions on the ‘Sweet Hereafter’ theme. “We’re looking for stories, essays, memoir and poetry to do with afterlives: life after death, life after work, life after having a baby, life after divorce… Anything to do with what follows a major change in life, when someone or something ends and significant adjustment occurs. Pieces that treat heavy subject matter – grief, heartbreak, loss, bereavement, ageing, death – with a light or humorous touch would be especially welcome. A positive (or wild, or bizarre, or comic) spin on what comes after a difficult ending or change would be in keeping with both parts of the theme.”
Deadline: 22 June 2025
Length: 2,000-6,000 words for short prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: £25 for short prose, and £5 for flash prose and poetry
Details here.
Sliced Up Press: Saturday Mourning Television
This is a fiction and poetry anthology. They want “horror fiction inspired by early morning kids TV for our next anthology, Saturday Mourning Television. Tune us in to something scary based on any decade you like: the educational/bizarre 1960’s & 70’s, the advert-packed 80’s, the radical 90’s, the wayward & wacky 2000’s or anything beyond. Even web-based entertainment is fair game. And don’t limit yourself to tales involving kids, what about parents, or performers & hosts, workers behind the scenes, even animated creations.” All submissions must be in the horror genre. Bizarro, splatterpunk and extreme horror are welcome. Preference will be given to submissions from LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC authors.Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 1,000-4,000 words for prose, no length guidelines for poetry
Pay: $35
Details here.
DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker – Mina Harker
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about the magazine here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on Mina Harker. “Mina is teacher, a wife, and the heart and the hero of the novel. Her spirit and intelligence keep her resilient even when darkness closes in. But who is Mina beneath the surface? Did her experiences leave her haunted? How did her connection to Dracula affect her view of the world or her family? Whether it’s before, during, or after the events of the novel, let’s explore her strength, her struggles, and her secrets.” They also say, “We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines – unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting.”
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.
Inked in Gray: Stellar Parallax – Human Hope In Grimdark Worlds
This is a fiction anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Let’s not sugarcoat it — things are rough, and we don’t know what the next year or even month will bring. This is why we need stories in which hope shines through the darkness. Give us your grimdark in space, in a near-future dystopia, in a far-future galaxy, or in a sci-fi version of the present day. This anthology will feature gritty sci-fi in which the personal message is hopeful while the external world is dark. … STELLAR PARALLAX will sit at the place where seemingly impossible circumstances meet the inventiveness of human agency”. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 2,000-7,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.
Infernal Museum: Galactic Mindsea Empire – Bioids
This is a shared-world anthology. Infernal Museum only publishes work set in the Galactic Mindsea Empire (get an overview about the Empire here). They want submissions on the Bioids theme for the current anthology. “The Empire has already suffered one war over the status of bioids, but will the matter ever truly be settled? Bioids mimic living beings so perfectly that, if their warning marks are removed, no one except a mindsea can spot one without sophisticated scientific testing. Bioids are designed to be without self-will, but a mutation or a shifty bioid-maker could change that…”
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: Up to 10,000 words
Pay: $0.04/word
Details here.
The New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column of the New York Times. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, March through June, and September through December. Writers are paid. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: 1,500-1,700 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
(Also see their Tiny Love Stories column; these are also personal essays similar in theme to Modern Love, but much shorter, of 100 words.)
Zombies Need Brains: Skull x Bones Anthology
This is a speculative fiction anthology. “Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It’s time to plunder! Pirates have enchanted and haunted readers for generations, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to the ill-fated Firefly. Whether it’s Blackbeard, Mal, or Han Solo, we love our swashbucklers, our One-Eyed Willies, and our scruffy-looking nerfherders. In SKULL X BONES, we want writers to give us their best science fiction or fantasy pirates, whether they be on the sailing ships of the deep wide ocean or the spaceships of the black void!” Please note, the Kickstarter for this project has been funded.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
Thema: I Wish I’d Said That
They publish three themed issues a year. They accept short stories, essays, poetry, and art. Their upcoming theme is ‘I Wish I’d Said That, and the deadline is 1 July 2025; they have other themes too, with other deadlines. They also accept reprints. Only writers outside of the US can submit by email, US-based writers have to post their submissions.
Deadline: 1 July 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 20 pages for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $10-25
Details here.
Sally Port Magazine: Not (quite) of this world…
They accept fantasy fiction only – for a general, as well as mid-grade and YA audiences. You can read about them here. Their upcoming theme is ‘Not (quite) of this world…’ for publishing in October 2025. Though there is no deadline given, they do say decisions for this issue will be made in early June 2025.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Varies (see Fabulous Fantasy Fiction section here.)
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here, here, here, and here.
The Winged Moon: Biophilia
Their general guidelines say, “we love daring and experimental writing that seeks to explore the intersections of the human experience, ecology, metaphysics, spirituality and folklore. We embrace work which is transcendent in quality, which pays tribute to our origins and heritage, whilst also having a meaningful stake in contemporary world concerns. We hope to showcase work which speaks from a place of embodiment – surreal writing and artworks which reimagine our complex relationships with the world, pushing against conventional boundaries of knowledge and philosophy. We also seek to publish work with a strong sense of place, that surveys the landscapes of belonging and displacement.” Regarding genre, they’re reading poetry and prose poetry submissions for their Biophilia theme, according to their submission form. You can read their extensive guidelines on the theme here.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 30 lines for poetry, up to 300 words for prose poetry
Pay: €20 (see here)
Details here, here, and here.
Room Magazine: Science
This Canadian magazine accepts work by persons of marginalized genders only, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They want submissions on the Science theme. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Science is both a lexicon for what we know and a field of exploration for what we don’t know yet. In Room Magazine’s Science, as in science, we will savour curiosity, question orthodoxy, dig into hidden histories and understudied areas, and titrate, examine, hypothesize, collaborate, queer, and dream our way to wilder futures. How do we come about and decide what is knowledge? What knowledge is accessible, credible/sanctioned, or forbidden? What pseudo-sciences shaped society in the past, and are doing so now? What does it mean to have nonhuman teachers during the Anthropocene?” They have separate submission categories for Canadian and international writers. They are open now, and will close by category as they reach their submission quota.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 3,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: CAD50-200 for writing
Details here and here.
Amazing Stories: Tales of Galactic Pest Control
This is a speculative fiction anthology from Amazing Stories magazine. “We’re seeking original short stories that explore the theme of pest control in creative, unexpected, and engaging ways. However, don’t be misled by the title—this is not a shared-universe project, nor does your story have to be set in space or on an alien world. Your tale can take place anywhere—on a starship, in a medieval village, deep in the jungle, or even within the microcosm of a single human body. The crucial element is the struggle against some form of infestation, nuisance, or destructive force.
Your protagonist might be a seasoned exterminator, a desperate homeowner battling an alien infestation, or even the pest itself, trying to survive against overwhelming odds. We welcome a wide range of tones, from serious and thought-provoking explorations of ethical dilemmas to lighthearted, comedic takes on interstellar vermin problems. Whether your story leans toward hard science fiction, space opera, fantasy, horror, or slipstream, as long as it aligns with the pest control theme, we want to see it!”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Unspecified
Pay: A minimum of $100
Details here.
(Amazing Stories also publishes unthemed science fiction stories and poetry weekly online, and pays $10-20 for these – details here. The print magazine is currently on hiatus.)
THEMED CONTESTS
(There are also some non-themed contests open now, including:
— BBC World Service’s International Audio Drama Competition for writers from outside the UK to use audio drama to tell stories for an international audience; there are two categories: English as a First Language and English as a Second Language. Winners will receive £2,500, and be invited to attend an award ceremony in the UK in 2026; deadline 4 June 2025, details here, here, and here.
— Associates of the Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence for US writers, for an emerging children’s/YA writer in many formats/genres (see guidelines); the year-long fellowship also entails working at the library; prize $70,000, can request an additional $2,500 for training or hiring a professional (see guidelines); use of a private office (see guidelines), deadline 6 June 2025, details here and here.
— Anne Brown Essay Prize, an essay prize for Scottish writers, prize £1,500, deadline: 6 June 2025, details here.
— The Norton Writer’s Prize, a nonfiction prize for undergraduates in the US, who are enrolled in an accredited 2- or 4-year college or university (see guidelines), three prizes of $1,000 each, deadline: 15 June 2025, details here (you can download rules).
–– Raleigh Review Flash Fiction Prize for those in the US, for stories up to 1,000 words, fee-free option available through 30 June 2025, prize $300 and runners-up receive $15, details here and here.
— Drue Heinz Literature Prize, for previously published writers, for a short story collection, or two or more novellas. Translations eligible if done by the author. Prize $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press under its standard contract, deadline: 30 June 2025, details here, here, and here.
— PEN America: US Writers Aid Initiative for US writers and journalists, to help with an emergency situation, deadline 1 July 2025, details here.
— The International Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation: Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award, for non-American TV scriptwriters under age 30, for a half-hour to one-hour TV drama script; entries from Russia are ineligible this year. Winner gets $2,500 and invited to take part in the Emmy Awards gala in New York, deadline: 1 July 2025, details here.
— The Orchards Poetry Journal’s Grantchester Award. In each issue, two poems will be eligible for The Grantchester Award. They don’t have a deadline listed, but they do say, “We are now OPEN for submissions for the Summer 2025 issue. The journal is released biannually (usually in July and December), in print and online.” Prizes $50, $30; details here.)
Fraser Institute Student Essay Contest
This is for Canadian students. For this year’s essay contest, the theme is, “What would the Essential Scholars say about Canadian economic prosperity today?” (See their guidelines for details). Essays should be 1,000-1,500 words. The contest is open for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students studying in Canada and Canadian students studying abroad.
Value: Prizes ranging from CAD1,500 to CAD250 each in high school, undergraduate, and graduate categories
Deadline: 5 June 2025
Open for: Canadian students
Details here (download rules and FAQ) and here.
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest
This is for junior and senior division (11-14 and 15-18) students worldwide. The theme for this ocean awareness contest is Connections to Nature: Looking Inside, Going Outside (see guidelines). There are various categories: Visual Art (handcrafted and digital); Poetry & Spoken Word; Creative Writing; Film; Performing Arts: Music & Dance; and Interactive & Multimedia. Please also see their various special awards, including (but not limited to) the We All Rise Prize – five prizes of $500 each, in each category – for young underrepresented writers in the US.
Value: Awards ranging from $1,000 to $100 in each category; various special prizes (see here)
Deadline: 9 June 2025
Open for: All students ages 11-18
Details here.
(They also have a True Blue Fellowship – where they provide funding and mentorship for emerging youth creative leaders worldwide, ages 13-24, to utilize creative arts as the primary method for awareness and/or action; the awards are $2,500 each, deadline is 1 September, details here and here.)
Preservation Foundation Contest: General nonfiction
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). Their upcoming deadline is for the general nonfictioncategory: “Any appropriate nonfiction topic is eligible. Stories must be true, not semi-fictional accounts. So-called “creative nonfiction” will not be considered.” Entries should be 1,000-5,000 words. Please note, they want all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, to be on their website for as long as the foundation exists (see guidelines). Also see contests in other genres, which have deadlines later in the year.
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here (scroll down).
The Writers College: My Writing Journey Competition
This is an international contest, open to all writers. They want a 600-word essay on the theme, The worst writing mistake I’ve ever made.
Value: NZ$200 (R2000 or £100)
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.
The Writers College: Short Story Competition
This is a short fiction contest for emerging writers (open to unpublished writers or those with fewer than four publications in any genre, fiction or non-fiction, from any country), and the theme is All the things we didn’t learn. Send a story of up to 2,000 words. Writers are free to interpret the theme as they like; the exact phrase “All the things we didn’t learn” must appear somewhere in the story; and writers must create their own title. They have an early bird deadline at end-June, for which there is no entry fee; if submitting later, there is an entry fee attached.
Value: NZ1,000, NZ500, NZ250
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: Unpublished / emerging writers
Details here.
Last Stanza Poetry Journal
They want poetry on the Conversations theme. “Conversations, painful or joyful discussions, debates, gossip, pillow talks, or conversations you’ve always wished you could have had.” And, a single $100 award will be given for an outstanding poem. Poems can be any style; they prefer non-rhyming. Send up to 3 poems.
Value: $100
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Lee & Low Books: New Voices Award
This award is for writers of color and Native nations who are residents of the US, and have not previously had a children’s picture book published. The work should address the needs of children of color and Native nations, aged 5-12, by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to non-traditional family structures, gender identity, or disabilities may also be included. Manuscripts can be fiction, narrative non-fiction or poetry. Only stories with human protagonists will be considered. “New Voices Award winners receive a standard publication contract, including Lee & Low Books’s basic royalties and an advance in the amount of $5,000. Winners are also given close publishing mentorship as they work to develop their first book for publication.”
Value: $5,000 advance, mentorship
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Open for: US writers of color and Native nations
Details here (also click on the Rules and FAQ tabs) and submit here.
The BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest for Caribbean Writers
This is a short story contest for Caribbean-descended writers, by Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF). For 2025, they say, “This year’s BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest seeks new fiction that speaks to the urgent need for grounding and healing. Whether it is a tale of migration and return, an act of quiet rebellion, an ancestral recipe passed through generations, a rewilding of grief, or the reclaiming of forbidden memory, we are calling for stories that prescribe survival, illuminate resilience, and offer prayers for what endures.” There are two categories, with different eligibility requirements:
— The BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize is open to unpublished writers of Caribbean heritage. Self-published writers may apply. This prize seeks to unearth hidden storytellers in the United States and Canada; Details here and here; and
— BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean is open exclusively to Caribbean writers of all levels who reside and work in the Caribbean or are on temporary assignment overseas.
Writers should send short stories of up to 3,000 words. Details here and here.
Prizes: $1,750 each
Deadline: 1 July 2025
Open for: See above
Details here.
Richard J. Margolis Award
The award is for non-fiction writers of social justice journalism. It is for a promising new journalist or essayist whose work combines warmth, humour, wisdom and concern with social justice. Applications should include 2-3 non-fiction writing samples, up to 30 pages. At least one sample should be non-memoir material. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets residency at Blue Mountain Centre artists’ colony.
Value: $5,000, residency; $1,000 for runners-up
Deadline: 1 July 2025
Open for: Non-fiction writers of social justice journalism
Details here and here.
Hubert Butler Essay Prize
This is a themed essay contest, of up to 3,000 words, for writers who are UK or European Union citizens. “The Hubert Butler Essay Prize is intended to encourage the art of essay-writing with a European dimension and to expand interest in Butler’s work. … The subject for the 2025 essay prize is: ‘‘Men must endure / Their going hence, even as their coming hither’ – King Lear. Have we no more active rights over life, birth and death?’“
Value: €1,500; two second prizes of €500 each
Deadline: 4 July 2025
Open for: UK or EU citizens
Details here – also download the entry form.
(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:– The H G Wells Short Story Competition: This is an international short story contest; they want short fiction of 1,500-5,000 words on this year’s theme, The Middle Ground (see FAQ). There is no fee for The Margaret and Reg Turnill Competition for young writers, i.e. for those under 21 years, and the prize for that is £1,000. The deadline is 8 July 2025. Details here and here.
–Yale Drama Series – David Charles Horn Prize: This international contest is for an full-length play in English, of at least 65 pages, and is meant for emerging playwrights. Translations, musicals, adaptations, and children’s plays are not accepted. Apart from a cash prize, there will be publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event. The prize is $10,000, and the submission period opens on 15th June and closes 8th September 2025. Details here.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here
