These are themed calls and contests for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Some of the call themes are: Cottage Crimes; Here Be Monsters; folk horror; Tales of Cryptid Chaos; Vampire Hunters – An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts; We Are Not Going Back!; Illumination; Fresh Starts; Modern Mummies; Eco – ; and Joy.
THEMED CALLS
The Suburban Review: Bottom
The Suburban Review is an Australian literary magazines, and they want submissions on the Bottom theme. “The start of a new year can feel like a rabbit hole, so journey with us to find the gems down below.
We are ready to dive in deeper than ever before, so send us stories that make us hold our breath. BOTTOM invites us to follow those scratches leading to the basement or crack open a cold case. We want work fit for a smoky room and a deep bass rhythm, where the glasses are drained and secrets are slurred. Or maybe a meet-cute reaching for the lowest shelf at the supermarket. Cold, dusty, empty, or deep— we want it all!” They also take comics and art.
Deadline: 9th February 2025 (11:59 p.m. AEDT)
Length: 1,250-2,000 words for nonfiction, 500-2,500 words for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: AUD400 for nonfiction, up to AUD450 for fiction, up to AUD550 for poetry
Details here and here.
Unnerving Books: Cottage Crimes Anthology
The editor wants “crime and mystery stories (no horror and nothing speculative for this one) that take place at a private vacation property. Many possibilities here, but I don’t want stories about ski chalets, timeshares, or a character’s permanent residence unless it shares property lines with vacation property. Most anything else should work … but there’s the usual stuff I don’t publish: copaganda, religious stories, anything right-wing. For this title, I’m leaning a touch softer than typical; I don’t mean cozy, but it can get close, as long as there’s still suspense. The stories I pick will be suspense heavy, for the most part.”
Deadline: 14 February 2025
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: 1.5c (CAD) per word
Details here (scroll down) (And their magazine, Unnerving Magazine, will open for horror fiction submissions on 14th February – see here.)
Saros Speculative Fiction
They have detailed guidelines for the science fiction they want, including, “For Saros #3, we are less interested in characters literally crying in the rain and more interested in stories that examine the ephemeral, the transition from old to new–cyberpunk to postcyberpunk–and the duality within said transitions. What lessons are learned? What technology survives? What precious things are lost and what corruption purified? Whether told by characters living through the collapse of a classic cyberpunk world or reflecting on a digital past thousands of years after, we want drabbles and flash fiction that pack big punches in small packages.” They accept flash fiction and drabbles, including thematically-linked drabbles. They welcome both hard and soft science fiction stories.
Deadline: 15 February 2025
Length: 500-1,500 words; drabbles of 100 words
Pay: CAD4 per 100-word drabble, CAD20 per 5-drabble set, CAD40 for flash fiction
Details here.
Zooscape
They publish anthropomorphic fiction; “All stories must be furry. That means an anthropomorphic animal figure should be significantly featured in your story — it could be anthropomorphic in body or only intelligence. We’ll consider any type of furry fiction from secret life of animals to fox in Starbucks. We love science-fiction with animal-like aliens and fantasy with talking dragons, unicorns, or witch familiars.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 15 February 2025
Length: Up to 10,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for original stories up to 1,000 words, and $80 for longer
Details here.
Griffith Review: Here Be Monsters
This is an Australian literary magazine and they want nonfiction submissions that respond to the theme, ‘Here Be Monsters’. “Portent, symbol, metaphor: from the Bunyip of Aboriginal folklore to the Slenderman of social media, from Count Dracula to the (far more sinister) emotional vampire, monsters of all forms have offered us ways to express and exorcise our fears for thousands of years.
This edition of Griffith Review surveys beasts and bogeymen past and present, real and imagined, to peel back the layers of our social and cultural anxieties. What are we most afraid of? When is monstrosity alluring rather than frightening? And what form might the monsters of the future take?” Do not send fiction or poetry. They mostly accept work from writers in Australia, and some work from overseas writers.
Deadline: 16 February 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 4,000 words
Pay: AUD$0.75/word print prose (see guidelines)
Details here.
Worlds of Possibility
This call is for works of speculative fiction, poetry, and art. “Worlds of Possibility is a bimonthly ebook magazine of uplifting science fiction and fantasy. Issues started in August of 2022 and will end in June of 2025 for a total of a three year run of issues. For this project, I am especially excited for works that leave the reader feeling hopeful, peaceful, or happy.” See their website here and read the December 2023 issue here.
Deadline: 17 February 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction; poetry of any length
Pay: $0.10/word for fiction, $50 for poetry
Details here.
Sinister Smile Press: If I Die Before I Wake – Tales of Cryptid Chaos
This is a horror fiction anthology, and volume 10 of their ‘If I Die Before I Wake’ anthology series. “Step into the shadows where legend meets reality. We’re seeking original horror stories featuring cryptids – those elusive creatures that lurk in the darkness of human imagination and perhaps… in reality. From the depths of murky lakes to the densest forests, from urban legends to ancient tribal warnings, we want your most terrifying takes on cryptid encounters. …
Your story must feature a cryptid as a central element of the narrative. While well-known creatures like Bigfoot or the Mothman are welcome, we strongly encourage submissions featuring lesser-known cryptids from various cultures and folklores. The story must be firmly rooted in horror – we’re looking for genuine terror, not just mysterious encounters.”
Deadline: 20 February 2025
Length: 4,000 – 10,000 words
Pay: $40
Details here and here.
The Slab Press: Hiding Under the Leaves – A Folk-Horror Anthology
They want folk-horror short stories for this anthology. “Think curses and cunning folk; superstitions and the old ways; twisted rural landscapes and dark, creeping woodlands.” They also accept translations and some reprints (see guidelines). They will soon open for submissions. Please send your work only during the reading period.
Reading period: 9th to 23rd February 2025
Length: 2,000-9,000 words (“Longer or shorter stories may be considered but will be a harder sell.)
Pay: £0.01 a word to a maximum of £50
Details here (scroll down).
Speculation Publications: Vampire Hunters – An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts
This is a fiction anthology. “Vampire Hunters: An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts will be a collection of found diary/journal entries from vampire hunters through out history. … (Send) 1000 – 5000 word Diary/Journal Entry type stories from vampire hunters throughout history. These can be based off real people and characters or entirely made up but the history should be more or less sound. Be mindful of copy protected characters and material. Stories should be formatted like a journal or diary, with a date. There can be one or several telling a story.
We would also prefer a line or two (up to a paragraph) of context that would head each story in the anthology as to why this entry is included in the incomplete record.”
Deadline: 25 February 2025
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Harvest the Night: An Anthology of Folk Horror
The editor is accepting short stories for an anthology of folk horror.
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: $10 per 1,000 words
Details here.
Exist Otherwise: We Are Not Going Back!
This journal is interested in work about identity, gender, trauma & recovery, as well as intuition & dreams. They’re currently accepting work on the theme, ‘We Are Not Going Back!’ – “Issue 14 will be a reaction, a declaration of resistance, a doubling down of queer and trans voices. Claude Cahun and her partner, Marcel Moore, were strident anti-fascists. They were so active in the resistance that they were captured, imprisoned, and sentenced to death. They only escaped that fate by the end of the war. So here’s the … theme for 14: We Are Not Going Back!” You can read more about the theme here. They accept “any kind of written work: poetry, prose, essays, fiction, creative nonfiction, scripts, hybrid, experimental writing, whatever.” There is no photography prompt for Issue 14.
Deadline: 28 February 2025 (see here – for Issue 14)
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $15
Details here (general guidelines), here (theme), here (editorial calendar), here (submission form).
In Another Time: Illumination
In Another Time is a speculative fiction magazine, and they’re reading submissions for their third issue. “The optional theme is ‘illumination’. The theme this year is inspired by illuminated manuscripts. So we’re looking for both the awe inspiring and the quirky. We’re open to broad definitions, and look forward to seeing different interpretations!
Also looking for non-fiction topics such as discussions of the writing/publishing process, current science topics, scholarly pieces on other sci-fi/fantasy works, or real tales from the past.” They also accept translations.
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction, $5 for poetry up to 500 words (see guidelines)
Details here.
The Scythian Wolf: This World of Vile Wonder – Horror Tales of the Scientific Revolution
The Scythian Wolf is a publisher of historical horror fiction. They’re currently open for an anthology, This World of Vile Wonder – Horror Tales of the Scientific Revolution. “Story must be set between the years 1500 and 1700 ce
Any category of science from the period welcome
With setting and details, historical accuracy is vital
All subgenres of horror welcome”
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Length: 5,000 to 10,000 words
Pay: $75
Details here.
Humor Me Magazine: Fresh Starts
They want humorous short stories, and the theme is ‘Fresh Starts’. “We are happy to accept all types of humour, from sharp satire to slapstick. While humour is subjective, we will not tolerate any form of bigotry or discrimination toward any ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality or disability.”
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Length: 500-3,000 words
Pay: £12.50
Details here.
Haven Speculative
They are open for speculative fiction and poetry submissions from all writers in February; they’re resuming their alternate reading periods – one month for submissions from all writers, the next month from underrepresented writers only, and so on. See their X thread here. They are also reading submissions for their climate crisis focused Dry (usually published March, might be published in May this year; looking for content that focuses on the dry aspects of climate change—desertification and falling reservoirs, rising temperatures and endless droughts—we’ll center stories by authors directly affected by the climate crisis”) and Wet (published September; “we focus on stories of water—monsoons and the rising tides, hurricanes and the disappearing coast—we’ll center stories by authors directly affected by the climate crisis”) issues. Scroll down on the guidelines page for the themes.
Deadline: 28 February 2025 for general submissions (from all writers)
Length: Up to 6,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $20/poem
Details here and here.
IHRAM Publishes: The Evolving Gaze – Society’s Voice for Masculinity
This is the International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM’s) literary magazine. “Exploring society’s voice for masculinity, this edition examines the evolving discourse around emotion, identity, and the male experience. From breaking down the stereotypes of toxic masculinity to embracing emotional vulnerability, it highlights the intersection of language, culture, and societal expectations surrounding what is deemed “masculine” and “feminine.”
We are eager to publish firsthand experiences by men, factual retellings of stories told by men in the author’s life, and reflections of the author’s personal experiences with emotion, identity, and the male experience. We encourage submissions from all over the world, regardless of gender or identity.”
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Length: Up to 2,500 words for essays, unspecified for stories, up to 5 poems
Pay: $50
Details here.
Cat Eye Press: Modern Mummies Anthology
This is a fiction anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Modern Mummies is a new horror anthology looking to update the “mummy genre.” The anthology’s title has several possible interpretations to help guide submissions. First and foremost, it means stories that take place in the reasonably understood present day. That means a world in which the internet, social media, industrialization, urbanization, etc. exist. Sure, some elements can be fictionalized to make a story work, but we don’t want period pieces that take place in the 1920s or in the far-flung past. … Modern mummies could also mean a modern-day person being mummified and its ramifications. We’d like you to think about how social media or our politics might react to a “new wave” of mummification. And what does that say about death in the modern era?” Their general submission window is end-February and they have an extended submission window for underrepresented voices.
Deadline: 28 February for general submissions; 15 March 2025 for BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, Disabled, Neurodiverse, and other underrepresented voices
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.
Singapore Unbound: Suspect – Eco-
Suspect is Singapore Unbound’s journal, and they want submissions for their Eco- themed call. Please note, they only accept work by Asian writers; for collaborations, at least one writer must be Asian. They have detailed guidelines, including, “We invite writing that engages with the powerful tensions and dimensions within the word “eco-”. We want nature writing grounded in physical and social contexts; writing that imagines how economies could center ecologies; writing on the work of becoming and belonging together with others. Works might highlight unappreciated labour (both human and otherwise), demand labour, address land and labour issues; might delve into ecological concepts from edge effects to metabolic rifts; might address houses, homes, displacement, and “homing” back to places like pigeons or salmon.” They accept essays, fiction, poetry, and translations.
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Length: Prose up to 6,500 words, poetry up to 10 pages
Pay: $100
Details here.
Book XI: A Journal of Literary Philosophy – Things
Book XI is a journal dedicated to publishing personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry with philosophical themes. The journal is affiliated with Hamilton College’s Arthur Levitt Center for Public Affairs. They recently opened for submissions on the ‘Things’ theme. All submissions should be made through Submittable.
Deadline: 1 March 2025, or until filled (see guidelines)
Length: 1,000-5,000 words for prose
Pay: $200 for prose, and $50 per poem
Details here and here.
Microcosm Publishing: Disability & Bikes in Space Anthology
This is an annual anthology of bicycle-themed speculative fiction; for this cycle, they only want stories from writers who are disabled. “We are seeking speculative feminist fiction about disability and bicycles for the 14th anthology in the Bikes In Space series of books…! We want feminist stories about the intersection of bicycling and disability, in any speculative fiction genre. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird western… combinations of genres are also welcome! No poetry, erotica, fanfic, or gore for this series.
Stories must include intrinsic themes or elements of disability as well as bicycles (or tricycles, or other nonmotorized wheeled conveyance). We take a broad view of feminism, but avoiding unreflective sexist tropes is always a green flag, as is queering things up.
“Disability” here includes physical disabilities as well as cognitive and invisible, all flavors of neurodivergent, mental illness, chronic pain and fatigue, and any other conditions that you have experienced.” Authors do not need to disclose or “prove” their disabilities, but should identify as disabled.”
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Length: 500-6,000 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here and here.
Thema: The Lost Sock
They publish three themed issues a year. They accept short stories, essays, poetry, and art. Their upcoming theme is ‘The Lost Sock’, and the deadline is 1 March 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 March 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 20 pages for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $10-25
Details here.
Mslexia
They accept submissions by women-identified authors only (see Eligibility here), of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, pitches, and fun projects. Their deadlines vary, please check the guidelines for details. For fiction and poetry, they want work on their showcase themes: Snakes (deadline: 10 March) and Blue (deadline: 9 June 2025) themes. They also have interesting sections in each genre; in fiction, for instance, they have a section called The World’s Wife, in which they want a fictional prose monologue in the voice of the wife, mistress, sister, daughter, mother of a famous real or fictional person; for nonfiction, there’s #amwriting, which ispitches – not submissions – from writers who manage to continue with their creative work despite a particular challenge; for poetry, they have a Poet Laureate feature – “Imagine you are the Poet Laureate whose task it is to respond poetically to news items and issues of topical importance. The subject matter is up to you, though we encourage you to think outside the box – local news as well as world news. No more than 14 lines”; for fun stuff, they have “Bear necessities – Tell us about an object, ritual or creature that helps with your writing: e.g. teddy, terrier or tea in your lucky mug” (text up to 50 words for Bear necessities). Some of their submission sections are for subscribers only, and a few are occasionally closed, but many of them are open to all writers.
Deadline: 10 March 2025 for Snakes theme
Length: Varies (see guidelines)
Pay: Start at £30 (see here, under Payment)
Details here (scroll down and click on various sections/genres).
Rainy Weather Days: Joy
Their tagline is, A defiant literary magazine. They’re reading submissions for issues 4 and 5 now. “Theme for this submission period—Joy! For this period, we would like to see more works focusing on joy, particularly POC and/or queer joy. This is also an act of protest. If submitting a work on this theme, please be a part of the community you are representing. … We are looking for works of protest that challenge our current status quo. This can be fictional prose of any genre, poetry, or nonfiction essays.
To be clear, the ideology of the work should oppose right-wing ideology, Nazism, Authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, white supremacy, etc. or uplift voices of dissent or marginalized voices.” Please note, they have a submission cap, and will close when this is reached.
Deadline: 20 March 2025, or until filled
Length: 1,500-15,000 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: $25 per prose piece, $10/poem
Details here, here, and here.
Cupids Arrow Publishing: Dalliances Anthologies
They publish themed anthologies of romance fiction. “Dalliances is our short fiction program for when a novel just won’t do. A Dalliance can be a standalone short story or a collection of short romantic tales around a general theme. … We are also currently open for submissions to these Dalliances anthologies:
Second Chances (second-chance romances)
Good Sports (sports-related romances)
For the Uniform (military romances)”.
Submission is via a form on their website. They posted in late December that they were still open for submissions, see the post here. Their submission form has a drop-down menu which lets you know which submissions are open currently, as well.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 5,000 – 12,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here, here, here.
THEMED CONTESTS
(There are also some unthemed contests this month, including:
— Poetry Northwest: James Welch Prize for Indigenous Writers, a poetry prize for Indigenous writers in the US (see guidelines); submit up to three poems; apart from cash prizes of $1,000 each, two poets will also be invited to read at a literary venue, deadline 15 February 2025, details here (scroll down), here, and here.
— The Island Prize, for a debut novel from an African writer regardless of the country of residence, for a novel of 35,000-100,000 words; send the first three chapters, or 10,000 words, anything from literary fiction to crime thriller is welcome; longlisted authors will be invited to submit the full manuscript; winner gets feedback and support/help creating a submission package and £500, deadline 16 February 2025, details here.
— The Springtime on Story Street Flash Fiction Contest, an unthemed 100-word story contest, top prize $100, contest open from 14th until 28th February or until they reach a submission cap, details here.
— Lunch Ticket’s Diana Woods Award in Creative Nonfiction for a creative nonfiction piece of up to 3,500 words on any subject, prize $250, reading period February 2025, details here.
— Lunch Ticket’s Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts for translators and authors of multilingual texts, you can send poetry or prose, prize $200, reading period February 2025, details here.
— Words Without Borders’ Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators; literary fiction and nonfiction for a trade audience are eligible genres, for an individual translator who has not yet received a book-length contract for translation work into English; prize $3,000, deadline 28 February 2025, details here and here.
— Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA) Self-Publishing Literary Awards for the best self-published ebooks by an African American author in the U.S. in both fiction and poetry genres, prizes $2,500 in each genre, deadline: 28 February 2025, details here.
— Poetry Foundation: Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships for US poets ages 21-31 years, prize $27,000, deadline 3 March 2025 (virtual information session, deadline to request alternative application formats, and cut off to submit application portal registration for first time applicants are earlier – see guidelines), details here.)
Narrative ‘Tell Me a Story’ High School Contest
They want a poem, story, or essay, on a theme by students in grades 9-12 all over the world – see guidelines for suggestions on what the theme can entail, and length guidelines. The work must be submitted by the student’s English teacher. The prompt is, “What I Cannot Say, I’ll Say Here”.
Value: $500, $200, $100; $50 for finalists
Deadline: 5 February 2025
Open for: High school students
Details here.
University of Pittsburgh: The CAAPP Book Prize
This is “a publishing partnership between the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics and Autumn House Press with the goal of publishing and promoting a writer of African descent. The prize is awarded annually to a first or second book by a writer of African descent and is open to the full range of writers embodying African American, African, or African diasporic experiences. The book can be of any genre that is, or intersects with, poetry, including poetry, hybrid work, speculative prose, and/or translation. The winning manuscript will be published by Autumn House Press and its author will be awarded $3,000.” Send a manuscript of 48-168 pages.
Value: $3,000
Deadline: 15 February 2025
Open for: A writer of African descent
Details here.
Syracuse University Press: Veterans Writing Award
“The mission of the Veterans Writing Award is to recognize the contributions of veterans to the literary arts, shine a light on the multivalent veteran experience, and provide a platform for unrecognized military writers.” The award alternates between fiction and non-fiction. For this cycle, they are taking fiction manuscripts of up to 90,000 words. Submit a full-length novel, novella, or collection of short stories in manuscript form. “The award is open to U.S. veterans and active duty personnel in any branch of the U.S. military and their immediate family members. This includes spouses, domestic partners, siblings, parents, and children. … Although work submitted for the contest need not be about direct military experience, we seek original voices and fresh perspectives that will expand and challenge readers’ understanding of the lives of veterans and their families. Posthumous submissions are eligible.” There is a cash prize and a publishing contract with Syracuse University Press.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 15 February 2025
Open for: U.S. veterans and active duty personnel in any branch of the U.S. military, their immediate family members
Details here.
West Chester University: Five contests
They run some contests, five of which are free to enter, and offer cash prizes.
— Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award: This contest is for undergraduate poets enrolled in a US college or university for poems composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme and received forms. Prizes are $1,500, and $500.
— Sonnet Award: This is a contest for undergraduate poets in the US, for sonnets. The prize is $1,000.
— The Villanelle Award: This contest is for undergraduate poets enrolled in a US college or university, for villanelles. The prize is $1,000.
— Myong Cha Son Haiku Award: This contest is for undergraduate poets enrolled in a US college or university for unpublished, original haiku. The prizes are $1,500, and $500.
— Rhina P. Espaillat Award: This contest is for undergraduate poets enrolled in a US college or university for original poems written in Spanish, and translations of English poems to Spanish. The prize is $500.
Deadline: 17 February 2025 for all West Chester University contests
Open for: Undergraduate poets in the US
Details here (scroll down) for all the West Chester University poetry awards; click on each contest name for details.
NYU Journalism: Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award
The Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award is “to provide the means for promising early-career, creative nonfiction writers to report on an untold story that uncovers truths about the human condition”. Writers can apply for one of the institute’s awards per year. (Their other award is The Reporting Award, for a significant work of journalism, in any medium, on an under-reported subject in the public interest. Their other grants / scholarships are here.)
Deadline: 19 February 2025
Value: Up to $12,500
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
The Academy of American Poets: Guggenheim Poet-in-Residence This is for those currently authorized to work in the U.S. for any employer; have published a poetry book/s or have a track of spoken-word poetry performance, and are able to commute to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City throughout the residency. “The Poet-in-Residence at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is an annual position created in collaboration with the Academy of American Poets that specifically focuses on poetry and public space. The Poet-in-Residence will work together with the Guggenheim and Academy of American Poets to design and create a project that takes poetry beyond the page and enlivens the museum experience for visitors. Through their residency, the selected candidate will consider how the Guggenheim may serve as an active public space for visionary ideas and community.” There are various requirements and responsibilities, including co-conceiveing/designing a project centering the museum experience and architecture; participating in public programs at the Guggenheim copresented by the museum and the Academy of American Poet; and visiting the Academy of American Poets to discuss their project, produce a 1,000-word essay on the intersection of poetry and art, and more. See the post about the 2025 residency on the Guggenheim website here.
Value: $20,000
Deadline: 19 February 2025
Open for: US poets
Details here (scroll down)
(Also see other awards by the Academy of American Poets that are open now, including fee-free ones; see their Submittable here for details.)
Christopher Tower Poetry Competition
This is for young poets studying in the UK, aged 16-18 years. Submit a poem of up to 48 lines. The theme for 2025 is ‘Roots’.
Value: £5,000, £3000, £1500; £500 for runners-up
Deadline: 20 February 2025
Open for: Young poets studying in the UK
Details here.
Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships
These are fellowships for US poets laureate. They are for poets of literary merit appointed to serve in civic positions and to support them in creating new work, as well as to enable them to undertake projects that enrich the lives of their neighbors, including youth, through poetry activities. There are some eligibility requirements, including: appointed as an official poet laureate of a state, city, county, U.S. territory, or Tribal nation by a Governor, State Arts or Humanities Council, State Poet Laureate Commission, Tribe President, Mayor, City Council, City Poet Laureate Commission, City Arts Board, County Arts Board, or a city’s public library system; your service as poet laureate, carried out in good community standing, occurring sometime between January 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025; and published one or more full-length poetry collection(s) and/or chapbook(s) or substantial history of public spoken word performances. Some of the submission requirements are a poetry sample, and a description of your proposed civic project(s), including a timeline for the project(s) you would conduct, that engages youth and/or addresses important statewide or local issues.
Value: $50,000 (see guidelines)
Deadline: 24 February 2024
Open for: US poets laureate
Details here, here, and here.
(Also see other awards by the Academy of American Poets that are open now, including fee-free ones; see their Submittable here for details.)
Front Strike Press: Post Election Emotional Turmoil
Front Strike Press is a new micropress/ magazine, and this is their inaugural contest. “Our theme is temporarily called “post election emotional turmoil.” If you went into a depressive spiral in November, you’re not alone. Share your grief, your rage, your feelings of helplessness with us.” They accept poetry, micro non/fiction, flash non/fiction, and art – see their Duosuma page for specifics in each genre.
Value: $50 (1 written piece and 1 image which will be the cover art), $20 for shortlisted works (2-5 written pieces and 2-5 images), and $10 for longlisted works; all contributors will receive 2 complimentary physical copies once we sort out publication
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
The Sejong Cultural Society Writing Contests
This is only for US and Canadian writers. The Sejong Writing Competition aims to introduce young adults to Korean culture through literature and poetry. They are currently open for themed contests in two genres. There is a poetry contest (a sijo contest) – you can enter in the adult division (age 19 and older) and pre-college division (age 18 and younger – see guidelines). There is also a themed essay contest – you can enter in the adult division (age 19-30 years), senior division (grade 9th – 12th) or junior essay division (grade 8 and younger). They have set themes and detailed guidelines, please read them carefully.
Value: For the sijo contest – adult division: $1,000, $750, $500; pre-college division: $500, $400, $300, and $50 each for honorable mentions
For the essay contest – adult division $1,000, $750, $500; senior division: $500, $400, $300; junior division: $300, $200, $100; and $50 each for honorable mentions
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Open for: Young US and Canadian writers (see guidelines)
Details here (click on individual categories)
Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest
This is a short fiction contest run by the Little Tokyo Historical Society in Los Angeles. Stories must take place in Little Tokyo, and can be set in the past, present, or future. Stories can be in Japanese (5,000 ji or fewer) or English (up to 2,500 words). There are three categories: Youth (under 18s), Japanese, and English. They want fictional stories set in Little Tokyo. And, “Contest winners will be invited and encouraged to attend an awards ceremony in Little Tokyo to be held in summer 2025.”
Value: $500 in each category
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (download the guidelines and agreement form).
The Orwell Society Dystopian Fiction Prize
The Orwell Society is organising its annual short story competition for current students (both BA and MA) at British universities. They want dystopian narratives of up to 3,000 words. The judges will be looking for the narrative which best follows in the tradition set by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four and which Orwell is most likely to have admired.
Value: £750
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Open for: Current students (both BA and MA) at British universities, who are permanent UK citizens
Details here.
The Kelpies Prize for Writing
This is for Scotland-based writers, for writers who want to start a career in children’s books. A couple of the submission requirements are the first five chapters of a book for children, either fiction or non-fiction, or a whole picture book story (see guidelines); as well as “A short piece of writing (1,000–3,000 words) for children that begins with: “It seemed like such an ordinary day…” OR “I opened the door and found…”. They are looking for work for children ages 3 to 13. They do not want works for young adults.
Value: £500, mentorship
Deadline: 28 February 2025
Open for: Scotland-based writers
Details here and here (you can download the guidelines).
(They also have a prize for illustration.)
Baltimore Science Fiction Society Poetry Contest
For this contest, poets are required to submit poetry on science fiction/fantasy/horror/science themes. Send poems up to 60 lines. Winners will receive a cash prize, convention membership and be invited to read their winning entries at Balticon. Attendance at Balticon is not required to win. Their submission form also says, entries received after 1 March will be automatically entered in the following year’s contest.
Value: $100, $75, $50Deadline: 1 March 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here.
Deep Wild Graduate Student Prose Contest
This is an international contest from Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry magazine – they want students currently enrolled in graduate studies to submit work for their Graduate Student Contest and for this cycle, they are accepting work in prose (fiction or non-fiction, entries of up to 3,000 words), and poetry (up to 4 pages). “We seek work that conjures the experiences, observations, and insights of backcountry journeys. By “backcountry,” we mean away from roads, on journeys undertaken by foot, skis, snowshoes, kayak, canoe, horse, or any other non-motorized means of conveyance.” For 2025, the contest theme is “Waking to the Wild.” “We seek work in any genre that conveys the awe, the gratitude, the passion to protect, and/or any other feelings and thoughts that arise when you awaken to the wild world.”
Value: $200, $100, and $50
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Open for: Students enrolled in graduate studies
Details here (scroll down) and here.
(Their Submittable is also open for other submissions; please be sure to submit in the correct category.)
(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:
— Alpine Fellowship Prizes: They have a Poetry Prize, a Writing Prize, a Theatre Prize, as well as Music, Philosophy, Refugee Scholar, and Visual Arts prizes. Please read the guidelines for each genre carefully. The contest theme is Fear; the work must address that theme. Winner receives a cash prize in each category. The prizes are £3,000, and two runner-up prizes of £1,000 each in creative writing categories – poetry, writing, theatre; the deadline is 1 April 2025, and it is open to all writers. Details here – click on individual tabs for various genres.
— National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Writing Fellowships for US writers – they are accepting applications for prose this year, awards are up to $50,000, and the deadline is 12 March 2025, details here.
— Terrain.org Editor’s Prize: They welcome submissions on place, climate, and justice – fiction (short story, flash fiction series, novel excerpt, radio play, or other fiction piece), non-fiction, and poetry. They also accept translations, and art. Payment for general submissions is a minimum of $50. And, “All accepted submissions by writers of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, and/or other marginalized communities whose contributions explore place particularly in the context of social, environmental, or climate justice are considered for our annual Editor’s Prize of $500 per genre.” There is no separate submission process or entry fee for this contest; they have other, fee-based contests too. Certain sections, like Letter to America and ArTerrain, are open year-round, and other sections have submission periods, or are open periodically. Submissions close on 31st March poetry, and on 30 April 2025 for fiction and nonfiction. The Editor’s Prize for underrepresented writers is $500 per genre. Details here.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
