THEMED CALLS

Space & Time Magazine: Rest is Resistance
Space & Time publishes speculative flash fiction and poetry. They now have monthly themes, and you can submit during the first week of every month. During the April submission period, the theme is Rest is Resistance. “We seek boundary-breaking speculative work with fiction and poetry that disrupts, illuminates, and transforms. We welcome genre-blending stories that combine horror, science fiction, and fantasy into a compelling whole.
We also accept submissions in Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Italian for translation into English.”
Deadline: 7 April 2026
Length: Up to 1,000 words for fiction, up to 35 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction, $5 for poetry
Details here and here.

Wild Greens: Fledgling
The theme for their May issue is Fledgling. “The flight of a little bird from the nest. The promising beginning of a new relationship. Learning a new art form. Our May theme is “Fledgling.”
Venture forth, start small, make mistakes. The stutter steps and set backs are all a part of the journey. One day, you will soar!” And, “For writing, we accept poetry, short fiction, cultural commentary, and personal essays. For art, we accept traditional artworks (paintings, sketches, inked work, etc.) and digital art. We also accept photography, photos of handcrafted items, and music.”
Deadline: 8 April 2026
Length: One poem; up to 1,000 words for fiction; up to 2,000 words for essays and cultural commentary
Pay: “At this time, we can offer accepted artists and contributors a small tip for their published work from our reader-donated “tip pool.” 
Details here.

Solarpunk Magazine
They want hopeful climate fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. “Our fiction editors are interested in works that stir readers with themes of defiance, change, and achievement. This effect isn’t likely to come via high concept utopias alone, but rather, from vibrant characters whose struggles affect the reader. Speculative elements should be apparent but not dominating; our disbelief suspended not by necessity, but immersion. Any genre of science fiction, interstitial fiction, magic realism, or fantasy has potential as a solarpunk forum—we welcome robots and elves with equal excitement.” Apart from general Solarpunk work, they are also reading submissions on Solarpunk Horror during this submission window. Submission is via their Moksha portal.
Deadline: 14 April 2026
Length: 1,500-7,500 for fiction (prefer 1,500-4,000); 1,000-2,000 words for nonfiction; up to 5 poems or 5 pages of poems, whichever is shorter
Pay: 0.10/word for fiction; $100 for nonfiction; $$50 for poems
Details here.

Shacklebound Books: Wired Hearts – Robots and AI
They want previously published stories on the theme, Robots and AI. “Each story must use the “Robots and AI” theme in some meaningful way to the story. We’re looking for robots and AI stories in both a positive and negative light in the finished anthology.” Please note, the stories must be reprints.
Deadline: 15 April 2026, or until filled
Length: 500-2,000 words
Pay: $5-10
Details here. 
(Also see their call for 100-word drabbles on the Witches & Warlocks theme, details here – scroll down, deadline 31 May 2026.)

Neon Hemlock Press: What Elegant Stars – Queer Tales of Impossible Style
Neon Hemlock Press publishes queer speculative fiction. They want space opera stories involving style, fashion and society for this anthology.  “Swordspoint meets Star Wars
Ninefox Gambit meets The Devil Wears Prada
Ancillary Justice + An Unkindness of Ghosts + Pattern RecognitionGive us stories of satellites and sewists, terminals and tailors, dandies and dying stars. 
Give us gossip wicked and vital, dinner parties salacious and droll, debutantes vile and intrepid. 
Give us unforgivable rudeness and oppressive etiquette, scathing asides and dire gaffes.” Submissions are open to all writers, and they specially welcome submissions from underrepresented writers.
Deadline: 15 April 2026
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here and here.

Eye to the Telescope: Paying Tribute
They want speculative poetry on the Paying Tribute theme. “The Zeitpyramide in Germany gains a new block every decade to mark the passage of time until the year 3183. Will future humans remember this art installation, or will it cease to have any meaning by the next millennium?
Paying tribute has come a long way from its ancient origins of paying a ruler or group for safety. We now have tribute concerts, tribute poetry readings, cosplay tributes to anime characters, and all sorts of fan memorabilia. When faced with the reality of the human condition and our own mortality, tributes help convey the love, honor, and complicated emotions we feel towards our elders, ancestors, and famous figures. Stories are passed down through legends and oral histories, becoming the named stars that form constellations that guide land, sea, and space voyagers alike. We may soon pay tribute to the Earth itself from many lightyears away.
From the Voyager missions and the Lunar Codex to U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa” heading to the icy moon, humans have started leaving records of our artistic and technological achievements well beyond Earth’s orbit. What epics, statues, and memorials await us in the distant past, changing present, and far future? I welcome all types of tributes to humans, posthumans, terrestrial and xenobiological life, and matter large and small, from a single bacterium that could reside on Europa to red giant stars. Geek out about your favorite science fiction and fantasy fandoms, show some love for your favorite scientists and mathematicians, or show how technology and AI might change how history is told. Your tribute might even take issue with the process of memorialization itself, seeking instead to deconstruct and even reject tributes altogether.
Don’t just pay tribute to the greats; write an ode to your favorite cryptid, a song for a forgotten realm, or dedicate a poem to the first exoplanetary explorers. Be bold and play with tribute’s cousins: parody, pastiche, and satire. I’d be delighted to read a tribute that has intentional historical inaccuracies or one written for a favorite Star Trek or Star Wars character. Give me a time capsule of speculative poems (rhyming, free verse, scifaiku, prose, and more) from the year 2026.” They also accept translations. Deadline: 15 April 2026
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.05/word (up to $25)
Details here.

Consequence Magazine
They publish work “that addresses the human experiences, realities, and consequences of war and geopolitical violence through literature and art.” They accept fiction (including flash and excerpts), non-fiction (interviews, essays, and narrative non-fiction), poetry, translations, and art. All works will be considered for online and print.
Deadline: 15^th April 2026
Length: Varies
Pay: $30-50 for prose, $20/poem for print poetry, $30-50 for online poetry
Details here and here.

Quest Magazine: Power
They want submissions for their second issue. The theme is Power. “Quest is an online magazine using science fiction and fantasy to examine the systems shaping the present day.
We’re inviting writers, artists, and collaborators to help shape Issue 02, exploring the theme: Power — arcane, technological, institutional, intimate.” They want science fiction and fantasy, as well as adjacent genres – including magical realism, slipstream, and fabulism. They accept fiction, serialized fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art, as well as music and videos. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 15^th April 2026
Length: Minimum 2,000 words for fiction, minimum 1,500 words per instalment for serialized fiction, up to 3 poems, minimum 1,000 words for nonfiction
Pay: $250 for prose (or per story instalment), $100 for poetry
Details here and here.

Whisper House Press: Doom Scroll Anthology
They want social media horror fiction. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Think of the influencer grind forced on (or volunteered into?) creators for video apps, the performative nightmare of business-oriented sites, the curated perfection of photo-sharing sites, the niche obsession of sub-reddits, or the high-stakes world of dating apps.” While their general submissions (for all writers) is over now, their extended submission window is open till mid-April for underrepresented writers. Please see their submission requirements/options before you begin work, to ensure the recipient can see the document history, to ensure the no-AI rule.
Deadline: 15 April 2026 (writers from diaspora communities, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and/or Autistic writers only)
Length: 200 to 2,000 words
Pay: $30
Details here.

Rattle: Tribute to the Future
This poetry journal has slots for general submissions, regular online poetry sections, as well as special submission calls. They are open now for poems on Tribute to the Futurefor their next print issue. “Our Fall 2026 issue will be dedicated to poems about the future—what it might look like, feel like, or become. Whether speculative, surreal, hopeful, or dire, we’re looking for poems that imagine what lies ahead, for the world or the self. The future can be political, ecological, technological, spiritual, or deeply personal. However you interpret the idea, we want to see how poetry can be a vehicle for foresight, fantasy, or reflection on what comes next.
Include a contributor's note about how your poem envisions the future—what inspired your approach, and how you're using poetry to stretch into what’s possible. We don’t publish essays, but always include a contributor notes section, which functions as a series of micro-essays around the theme. You may submit up to four previously uncurated poems (or pages of short poems) at the same time”.
Deadline: 15^th April 2026 for Tribute to the Future poems
Length: Varies (see guidelines)
Pay: $100 for online poetry and $200 for print
Details here and here.

Rough Cut Press: Speed
They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have occasional themed submission calls. Send short poetry or prose of up to 650 words on the Speed theme.
Deadline: 27 April 2026
Length: Up to 650 words
Pay: $25
Details here (see ‘what we look for’) and here.

Pseudopod: Writers from the Antarctic: special 20th anniversary call
Pseudopod is a horror magazine in audio and online format, from the Escape Artists suite. They’ve issued a call for stories from Antartica. “PseudoPod celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026. Over the years, we have published stories from writers from all the continents of the world, except Antarctica. We would like to... fill that hole.
Therefore, this portal is SPECIFICALLY for writers who are currently in, have recently been to, or have plans to visit Antarctica in the near future. We are looking for horror stories of between 2,000 and 6,000 words. The story does not have to be wholly set in Antarctica, but should preferably contain elements inspired by that location. We are most interested in original pieces, but we will also consider reprints.
PLEASE NOTE: you must include details of your link with Antarctica in your cover letter. If you do not, your story will be automatically rejected.” They will open for general submissions later this year.
Deadline: 29 April (11 PM UTC)
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here (themed call details – see the relevant section) and here (general guidelines).
(Pseudopod is also open for an unthemed reprint call, specifically for stories published, or due to be published, in Anthology or Collection books in 2026 – see the note on their schedule page and their Moksha portal.)

Flash Fiction Online: Paranormal Noir
They want speculative flash fiction on the Paranormal Noir theme, stories “that marry the noir and paranormal aesthetic in any speculative genre. … “Isn’t Paranormal Noir just a subset of Urban Fantasy?”
It can be, but we’d love to see a new, fresh take on old themes. 

• Vampires in space, doing crime? Sure! 
• Far-future consciousness transfer-hauntings? Send them our way! 
• Sad wizard investigates a murder in LA? Okay, sounds cool, submit that, but also what if he were on Mars instead?
• A group of West Virginia moonshiners firebombing a haunted A.I. data center?”

They also welcome stories from unique points of view. Also see the kind of stories they do not want.
Deadline: 30 April 2026, or until filled
Length: 500-1,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.

Scryptid Games: Tales from the Cryptids Anthology
This is a games, fiction, poetry, and ephemera anthology. “From Scryptid Games, this anthology of games, fiction, poetry, and other ephemera flips the lens on conventional cryptid lore. In this book, cryptids are beings with vivid lives, goals, and stories of their own to share. We are more interested in thoughtful tales of transformation, self-discovery, and embedded interrogation than stories centering cryptid hunting, categorization, or collection. … For the purpose of this anthology, cryptids are beings of real or imagined folklore who “could be real” and exist on the fringes of our world. We welcome thoughtful submissions featuring documented cryptids like Bigfoot, Mothman, and Nessie, and we also love new takes on cryptids and creative reflections on the wondrous in the everyday. Could a cryptid be a song, a memory, an entire town? We are excited to read expansive, imaginative perspectives on this theme.”
And, “we are keen to acquire TTRPGs and other narrative games that embody a sense of the liminal. … For fiction and poetry, we want cryptid content that prioritizes the agency of liminal beings, places, and experiences. Your work does not need to feature a cryptid protagonist or an optimistic point-of-view, but your monsters must have agency and depth. 
We are also interested in micro-submissions of uncanny ephemera to literally occupy the margins of this book. Send us cryptid scribbles, doodles, haikus, photographs, and other 2D marginalia. Even we don’t quite know what we want in this category. Surprise us.” They also accept reprints. They will stay open until the deadline, or till they hit a submission cap in each category. The anthology has been funded on BackerKit.
Deadline: 30 April 2026, or until filled
Length: Up to 1,000 words for fiction and games, up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.10/word for original fiction and games, $50 for original poems, $25 for ephemera
Details here and here.

Dread House Publishing: Folk horror anthology
This is a fiction anthology. “Dread House Publishing will be accepting submissions for a twisted little folk horror anthology (title TBD) … Any folk horror themed submissions are welcome. Bonus points if your story contains a twist on a known folk tale or fairy tale. Feel free to get obscure and weird with it.”
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Length: Up to 8,000 words
Pay: $20
Details here (scroll down to Open Call).

​AAW: The Margins – Creative Nonfiction
“The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is a nonprofit dedicated to publishing and amplifying Asian diasporic literary culture. The Margins is our award-winning magazine of arts and ideas dedicated to charting the rise of the Asian American creative class through essays, interviews, and creative writing. 
We publish: 1) original creative writing, … 2) essays on literature and politics by sophisticated thinkers who can speak to a general audience about race, gender, sexuality, immigration, postcolonialism, pop culture, and diaspora; 3) reportage about immigrant communities in the United States by narrative storytellers who can set a scene with rich imagery and descriptive detail.” And, “The Margins is open for creative nonfiction submissions, with a particular interest in lyric essays and pieces that incorporate historical and/or cultural analysis. We’re also interested in essays that play with genre, such as zuihitsu and flash essays.” They’re open for creative nonfiction till end-April; do not send work in other genres.
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Pay: $60-450
Details here (see the relevant category) and rates here. (They also accept pitches, for which there is no deadline; details here. And they’re also open for a residency, and applications are due 13^th April 2026, see details on their Submittable. Also see their pitch call for Open City, for journalism pitches for work on Asian immigrant and Muslim communities, details here.)
 

FurPlanet Productions: Claw Vol 2 – Women in Power
They publish furry fiction. They want work from women and nonbinary authors only. “The F/F erotic furry anthology returns, rejoining the ROAR and FANG anthologies. CLAW! seeks to showcase the sapphic works of women and nonbinary authors, and is fully trans-inclusive.
The theme for the second volume will be “Women In Power.” We will be accepting a wide variety of submissions that play with this theme across multiple genres. This will be a mature audience short story collection. While erotica is preferred, sex is not required.”
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Length: 4,000-10,000 words
Pay: Half a cent per word
Details here.

Terrain.org
They accept work on place, climate, and justice. Submissions for non-fiction (up to 5,000 words) and fiction are open till end-April. Poetry submissions are closed. They accept other formats as well, including interviews and videos. ARTerrain and Letter to America submissions are open and are accepted year-round. Writers are paid $50. Also, “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 for this prize.)
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here and here (see the relevant category).

Android Press: The Cookout Anthology
Submissions to this anthology are open only to Black individuals of the African Diaspora (see guidelines). Android Press publishes science fiction, fantasy, horror, and the various -punk subgenres. “We love stories that are full of hope and optimism. We also love stories that hold up a mirror to our society and force us reexamine our past and our values in order to move forward and build a better future.” For The Cookout Anthology, “YOUR CHARACTER HAS BEEN INVITED TO THE COOKOUT, A GATHERING OF FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND FOES FROM DIFFERENT TIMES, SPACES, AND GENRES. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?” 
They want speculative fiction that is  generally uplifting, and centered around the culture of The Cookout from some point in the African Diaspora. 
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here, here and here.

FIYAH: Black Kishōtenketsu
They accept Black speculative fiction and poetry. They feature stories by and about Black people of the African Diaspora. This definition is globally inclusive (Black anywhere in the world) and also applies to mixed/biracial and Afro-appended people. For the Black Kishōtenketsu theme, “All stories are the same: we meet our characters, a conflict arises, and our crew journeys to set things right. Correct? Well, allow us to introduce another tradition: kishōtenketsu.
Ki = Introduction | Shō = Development | Ten = Complication | Ketsu = Reconciliation
Henry Lien’s SFWA article is particularly insightful: “The Asian four-act structure is not necessarily based on conflict, tension, and resolution. It is more interested in exploring the unseen relationships among the story’s elements than in pitting them against each other. It is also not symmetrical. The first two acts [Ki, sho]are characterized by a gradual buildup. A radical twist appears in the third act [ten]that introduces a new element. The fourth act [ketsu] “harmonizes” all the elements that came before. By ‘harmonize,’ I don’t necessarily mean a peaceful resolution. I mean that the fourth act contains a revelation about the relationships among the elements that often feels like a new element in itself.”
We’re eager to see submissions without the confines of Western three-act (or five-act) story structure. What could that look like? Films like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Parasite, and even Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” are cited as great examples.”
Also their notes on preferred genre and story length for this issue.
Length: Short fiction 2,000 – 7,000 words and novelettes up to 15,000 words; up to 1,000 words for poetry
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $50 for poetry
Details here.

Harbor Review: Savagery
Harbor Review publishes poetry and art. The theme for their next issue is Savagery. “This summer marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document that describes Indigenous peoples as “merciless Indian savages.” That phrase still echoes as a reminder of how language can wound, distort, and justify violence, and how the label savage has long been used to mark peoples, cultures, and lands as less than human.

For this issue, we invite you to enter the word savagery from any direction it calls to you. It might mean exploring the word as it has been used politically. Savagery might mean brutality, survival, or the flux and flex power. It might point to what is wild, untamed, instinctive, feral, lush, or ungovernable. It could live in the natural world, in desire, in grief, in joy too large to be polite. It might name what society tries to civilize out of us, or what refuses containment in bodies, landscapes, histories, or hearts. We welcome work that questions who or what gets called savage, who does the naming, and what happens when the word is rejected, reshaped, or reclaimed.

Connections to the Declaration or to Indigenous histories are welcome but not required. We are equally interested in personal, ecological, political, mythic, or metaphorical interpretations. Take us somewhere unruly, take us down desire trails to history, bring us to the now, to the future.”
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Length: Up to 3 poems
Pay: $10 per poem
Details here and here.  

Iron Fang Press: Wish You Were Here Anthology
“We want your horrifying/spooky/unsettling short stories with the theme of vacations. Stories about packing up the family to drive across country to your favorite childhood theme park. Stories about a trip to a tropical beach or a tour across Europe. Maybe even a lakeside cottage retreat to get away from it all. Or anything else that you would consider a vacation.”
Deadline: 1 May 2026
Length: Up to 7,000 words
Pay: CAD30
Details here.

The First Line Journal
They want fiction (any genre) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For non-fiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, the first line for the Summer issue is:
‘The summer between [his/her/their] junior and senior years, Alex worked as a server at Wharf Mountain.’
Deadline: 1 May 2026 for the Summer issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for non-fiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international contributors – see guidelines)
Details here.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Two themes
They want nonfiction prose and nonfiction poetry. They have detailed guidelines as well as several suggested topics for each theme. Two of their upcoming themes are:
-- Stories about November & December holidays: (“Please submit your true stories about the entire December holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Year's festivities too. Remember that these holiday titles do make wonderful gifts for everyone on your list!”). Deadline: 1 May 2026 
-- Miracles, messages from heaven & angels (“We are now accepting stories for another book about unexplained happenings and occurrences. Stories about miracles, angels, messages from heaven, premonitions, amazing coincidences and other unexplainable but good events! … We are looking for powerful, astounding, stories that will make people say "wow" or give them chills. This book is for everyone, whether religious or non-religious.”). Deadline: 15 May 2026
They have other themes listed too, with later deadlines.
Deadlines: See above
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $250
Details here and here (also see other tabs on this page, including FAQ).

Lucky Jefferson: Paradox
Lucky Jefferson is a “literary and arts organization that publishes social change”. For the upcoming issue of their print magazine, they want fiction, nonfiction, hybrid work, and poetry on the Paradox theme. “What happens when you look closely at the strangeness of daily life? Paradox is an exploration of the everyday. It is a place where curiosities, absurdities, social tensions, and impossible what‑ifs sit side by side. It is a way of looking closely at the bizarre logic of our all‑encompassing reality and translating that attention into writing or art. 
Inspired by the work of our Summer 2022 Literary Illustrators, this issue invites you to examine the contradictions that shape daily life and respond with work that questions, unsettles, delights, or reveals something true.”
Deadline: 3 May 2026
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $25-35 for writing
Details here (see the relevant category).

Liars’ League: Above & Below
They want themed short fiction in any genre – flash fiction, short stories. and novel extracts (so long as they can stand alone). One of their upcoming themes is Above & Below:“Lofty or lying low, your stories can fly high in the clouds or drag us down to hell, literally or metaphorically…. Go above or below, to deep-sea trenches & radio-towers, mineshafts & Alpine peaks & don’t forget the social stratospheres, from high & mighty monarchs to the downtrodden & penniless”.  Apart from cash payment, Liars’ League offers reading of your story by a professional actor, as well as podcast, video and online publication of your work.
Deadline: 3^rd May 2026
Length: 800-2,000 words
Pay: £20
Details here and here.
(Liars’ League has other themes listed too, with later deadlines, including Women & Girls – MURDER & MISCHIEF: “Only 1/3 of our submissions come from female authors, so our annual Women & Girls theme celebrates stories written & performed by women – and this is its 10th anniversary! To commemorate 50 years since the death of Agatha Christie, the Grande Dame of Crime, the theme for this event in 2026 is Murder & Mischief (which could include robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, burglary, fraud, theft & any other criminal-adjacent capers). The only restriction is that both the story’s author & the protagonist(s) should be women.” Deadline: 5 July 2026, details here and here.)

Flame Tree: Climbing High – Speculative Stories of Female Ambition 
This anthology is part of their Beyond & Within anthology series. “Women’s ambition is not always welcomed, let alone encouraged. Speculative fiction is a context that offers other possibilities (and worlds), where writers and readers imagine what could be. Climbing High: Speculative Stories of Female Ambition will feature stories exploring contexts where female ambition is treated differently, aspiration and achievement in the face of adversity, and ambitions that extend beyond what’s possible in our contemporary world. This anthology takes an empowering stance of embracing ambition while being unafraid to explore the costs and consequences that characters may face in doing so and the impacts of ambitions pursued or fulfilled.
Stories may engage with the question of navigating disparate values and commitments (the often-asked and often-sexist question of “How do you balance x and y?”), or they may abandon all that, with characters who prioritise their desires above all else. Whether characters are reshaping the world(s), themselves, or aiming to brew the best cup of tea, their drives are the driving force of their stories.” They are looking for four stories via this open call.
Deadline: 3 May 2026
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Prairie Fire: Lost and Found – Things Forgotten, Things Remembered
Prairie Fire is a Canadian literary magazine, and they also welcome international submissions. They want creative nonfiction submissions on the theme, ‘Lost and Found: Things Forgotten, Things Remembered’ for their fall 2026 issue. “Our survival and growth have always depended on both. Memory helps shape who we are and how we understand our connection to others—personally, culturally, historically. Some memories bring comfort and joy; others are confusing, painful, even traumatic. Beyond individual experience, there are ancestral, familial, and collective memories that require unearthing, remaking, and re-examining. What has been buried? What has been reshaped over time? What needs to be remembered now, and what might need to be released?
We welcome work that explores the tension between holding on and letting go, and the ways remembering and forgetting shape healing, identity, and transformation.” They also say, “Sorry, poets and fiction writers, we have enough work on this topic in the queue that we do not require additional poetry or fiction for this issue. However, we are still accepting poetry and fiction for regular submission”.
Deadline: 4 May 2026
Length: Up to 5,000 words for creative nonfiction
Pay: CAD0.10/word up to CAD250 for prose (see payment rates here) Details here.

• The monstrous transformations—physical, psychological, spiritual—that
  revolution demands.
• Ghosts of failed uprisings, reborn.
• The tormentor becoming the tormented.

Make us scream. Make us think. Make us dream--for better, or worse.” And for nonfiction, “We want personal essays that examine how regime change, foreign interference, displacement, or conflict shape a writer’s perspective, craft, or voice. Share critical reflections on these forces.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 12 May 2026
Length: 100-1,200 words for fiction, 800-1,000 words for nonfiction, 100-150 words for poetry
Pay: $5-25; they also offer a $50 prize for the best story
Details here.

Kirby: Reborn
This is a new second-world fantasy fiction magazine. The editor wants “Immersive, fully realised worlds shaped by original histories, mythologies, cultures, and internal logic. I am particularly drawn to: Strong narrative voice / Emotional consequence / Worldbuilding that feels lived-in / Stories that trust the reader”. They are reading submissions for their first issue, and the theme is Reborn. The editor is a filmmaker. Works can also be potentially adapted and released as a podcast narration. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 31 May 2026
Length: 300–1,000 words for flash fiction; 2,500–7,500 words for short fiction
Pay: £0.05/word and “Further royalties if adapted/Industry norms”Details here and here.

Zombies Need Brains: Were-2 Anthology
This is a fiction anthology. “It’s the night of the full moon, but there are more than mere werewolves skulking the streets. In WERE-2, we return to the back alleys in the dead of night to discover what other were-creatures might see you as prey. A were-raven? Were-squirrel? Were-octopus? You won’t know until you hear that rustle of feathers next to your ear or smell the brine of the sea in that gust of wind from the window. Writers are asked to give us their most creative were-creature, with only one rule: No werewolves allowed!” And, “WERE-2 is to feature urban fantasy stories where the story revolves around were-creatures other than werewolves. Werewolves are permitted in the story, but they cannot be the main focus of the story. We are open to other genres involving were-creatures, such as science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, etc., although the main focus will be urban fantasy. As always, we are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.”
Deadline: 31 May 2026
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.  

Myth & Legends: The Gren-Wode Anthology
This is a submission call from Myth & Legends, an anthology imprint of Hearth Stories. For this anthology, they want “stories based in the world and legends of Robin Hood. The stories do not have to feature Robin Hood, but should be firmly set within the world and time period of the legend, using any existing characters you like, or adding your own.
If you are only loosely aware of the Robin Hood legends: no worries! The Robin Hood Wikipedia article has a lot of great information that can get you going. You don't have to be a historian, British cultural expert, or Robin Hood super-fan to participate. If you have an inclination to give a story or poem a whirl, we would love to hear from you!
Submissions are open from March 1^st, 2026–September 30^th, 2026. We intend to accept works along the way, and not wait until the end to send responses to authors.” They want fiction and poetry, and also accept reprints.
Deadline: 30 September 2026
Length: 2,000-15,000 words for fiction, up to 1,000 words for poetry (see their note on longer poems)
Pay: $50 for original fiction, $10 for poetry
Details here.  

Biome
Biome is a speculative fiction podcast. They want “anything from hard SciFi to Cozy Fantasy to Alternate History”. Regarding their theme, “Biome wants stories that center on life, ecosystems, and organisms in all their dazzling variety – on Earth or beyond it. The “weirder” the better. You’re welcome to approach this idea in the broadest possible sense, just make sure the biological element is key (and not incidental) to the story.” They also say, “As a podcast, we are looking for stories that sound good when they are read out loud. A strong hook or compelling opening is a must for this format. We are open to structurally unique and experimental pieces, but we find the pieces that succeed best often have a strong conflict, build tension, and develop memorable characters.” Submission is via a form. Please read their Rights section carefully.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,800-2,500 words
Pay: $10
Details here and here.

Room Magazine: No Canada
This Canadian magazine only accepts submissions from women (cis and trans), trans men, Two-Spirit and non-binary writers. “For Room 49.3 “No Canada,” we are looking for poetry, prose, and art that offers a critical or alternate lens in this time of sentimental patriotism. For local stories, national anxieties, mixed feelings, and alienated identities. For writing and thinking in conversation with dissenting voices past and present: #IdleNoMore, Gidimt'en Checkpoint, Black Lives Matter, #StopTheStack, No Arms in the Arts, #CanLit Responds, the Postal Workers' strike. … In creative non-fiction, we hope to read researched essays that look outward and inward. Across genres, we would be very interested in multilingual and/or fragmented forms that refuse the colonial primacy of English-language work in Canadian literary journals. 
International writers and artists: we welcome writing and art about borders, national identity, liberalism, liberation, and related struggles—from the psychological to the revolutionary—and we are especially keen on transnational thinking and Third World perspectives. 
Underrepresented writers—including but not exclusive to women (cis and trans), trans men, Two-Spirit and non-binary writers who are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, queer, and/or disabled—are particularly encouraged to submit. We publish everyone but cis men; if you are a cis man, please do not submit.”
They have different submission categories for Canadian and international writers on their Submittable page. They opened for submissions on 11^th March, and will close by category when filled. And, please see their note regarding submission fees, in future submission periods.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Prose up to 3,500 words,
Pay: CAD50 per page up to CAD200 for fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry
Details here, here, and here.

THEMED CONTESTS

Apart from the themed contests, there are also some unthemed ones open now.

Verity Bargate Award
For emerging playwrights in UK/Ireland; it is “Soho Theatre’s flagship new writing award with the winning play produced in a full production on our stages.” You must have had fewer than three professional productions.
Value: £12,000
Deadline: 13^th April 2026
Details here and here.

The Cave Canem Prize
A prize for a debut poetry collection (60-75 pages) by a Black poet.
Value: $10,000 and publication
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Details here.

Whiting Foundation’s Creative Nonfiction Grants
Up to 10 grants of $40,000 each for those in the process of writing a creative non-fiction book (a multi-year project) — for history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories. Projects must be under contract with a publisher in the US, UK, or Canada.
Value: Up to $40,000 each (10 grants)
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Details here.

O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants
For people in various disciplines worldwide, including creative ones; this includes writers and journalists. “The Fellowships and Grants empower individuals of the highest caliber whose work positively impacts the world, from scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations to enduring artistic and cultural contributions.” Fellowships are $100,000; there’s also a sister grants program, which awards $10,000 each (no separate application process). There are 10 fellowships and 20 grants each year.
Value: $100,000 fellowships; $10,000 grants
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Details here and here.

League of Canadian Poets: Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize
A poetry prize for Canadian youth; there are two categories, the Junior (grades 7-9) and Senior (grades 10-12), with three prizes in each category. Writers can submit one poem, up to one page long. Homeschooled students welcome.
Value: CAD450, CAD400, CAD350 (see here)
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Details here and here (this page also has details of all the League of Canadian Poets’ prizes).

Molly Keane Creative Writing Award
A contest for people resident on the island of Ireland for a short story of up to 2,000 words. No age limit (see guidelines).
Value: €500
Deadline: 1 May 2026
Details here.

CINTAS Foundation: Fellowship in Creative Writing
A creative writing fellowship of $25,000 for writers having Cuban citizenship or direct lineage. Applications can be in English or Spanish. Fellows who are not U.S. citizens and who are living abroad must provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment. The foundation also offers fellowships for other disciplines.
Value: $25,000
Deadline: 1 May 2026
Details here (scroll down), here (work sample form), here (application form).

The Mike Resnick Memorial Award
This award is sponsored by Galaxy’s Edge magazine and Dragon Con. They want a science fiction story by a new writer (who has not been paid a per-word rate of 6 cents a word or more or received a payment for any single work of fiction totaling more than $50). Send stories up to 7,499 words. Writers do not need to be members of Dragon Con.
Value: $250, $100, $50
Deadline: 15 April 2026
Details here (scroll down) and here.

Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation: Author of Tomorrow Award
This international contest is designed to find the adventure writers of the future. Writers must enter a piece of short fiction. The work must fall within what can be defined as adventure writing (see guidelines). There are three categories: for writers ages 16-21, 12-15, and under 11.
Value: £1,000 in the 16-21 group, £250 in the 12-15 group, £100 in the under-11 group
Deadline: 19 April 2026
Open for: All writers ages 21 and under
Details here and here.
(They also have a New Voices award, for which they charge a submission fee.)

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) and non-fiction; they are not open for poetry in 2026. They also accept translations, and art. Payment for general submissions is $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.
Value: $500 per genre
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Details here.

Baen Fantasy Adventure Award
“Write and submit a short story of no more than 8,000 words. It must be a work of fantasy, though all fantasy genres are open, e.g. epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, contemporary fantasy, etc.” Also see the kind of stories they want to see: “Adventure fantasy with heroes you want to root for. Warriors either modern or medieval, who solve problems with their wits or with their weapons—and we have nothing against dragons, elves, dwarves, castles under siege, urban fantasy, damsels in distress, or damsels who inflict distress.” They offer “industry-standard rates” as well as non-cash prizes. Also, “The winners will be officially announced during the Baen Traveling Roadshow at Dragon Con, in Atlanta, Georgia. (We would prefer the winners attend the convention, but it is not required.)”
Value: “industry standard rates”
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here  (click on contest rules)

 
Preservation Foundation Contest: Non-fictional Animal Stories
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). Their upcoming deadline is for the non-fiction animal stories category: “Stories should be factual and true accounts of an encounter or encounters by the author with a wild animal or animals. These include, but are not limited to, birds, fish, butterflies, snails, lions, bears, turtles, wombats, etc., as long as it is not a pet.” Entries should be 1,000-5,000 words. They want all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, to be on their website as long as the Foundation exists (see guidelines). Also see contests in other genres, which will have deadlines later in the year. 
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here.

New England Crime Bake: Al Blanchard Award
This is a short story award. Their guidelines say it must be a crime story, of up to 5,000 words, by a New England author or have a New England setting if the author is not from New England (the New England states are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island). The story may include the following genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror. Apart from the cash award, the winner also gets published in an anthology, and admission to the Crime Bake Conference (conference attendance is not a requirement).
Value: $100
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here.

confluence Poetry Prize: Death and dying
“The 2026 confluence Poetry Prize invites your submission of one Japanese short form poem on the theme of death and dying. We will award $500 in total prize money for the best poems on this theme that expand our capacity for imagining and illuminating this human existence.” They have detailed guidelines, including, “Your poem must be written in a Japanese short form, broadly understood. For example, you may submit a haiku, tanka, haibun, tanka prose, haiga, tanka art, haiku sequence, rengay, split sequence, renku, or any other form that derives organically from the traditions of haiku or tanka in English, Japanese, or other languages. This includes experimental forms.
You may submit a collaborative poem, created together with others. Should you do so, please identify the name and location of each contributor.
Your poem must be in English. You may submit work originally written in a language other than English; in that case, please include both the original and English translation, and credit the translator.” Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 1 May 2026
Length: 1 poem
Pay: Total prize pool of $500
Details here.  

Waterston Desert Writing Prize
This prize is for a proposed book of literary non-fiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy – with the desert both as subject and setting. “It is recommended the writing sample submitted is part of the proposed project or closely represents it in content and style.” Apart from the cash award, there is also a residency at PLAYA in Summer Lake, Oregon, as well as a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon.
Value: $3,000, residency
Deadline: 1 May 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.

Creative Futures Writers’ Award
This is for writers of underrepresented backgrounds (see eligibility here) in the UK. Send one piece of writing - a poem (up to 50 lines), fiction (up to 2,000 words), or creative non-fiction (up to 2,000 words). “The theme for 2026 is ‘Material.’ The theme is a creative prompt, not a requirement.” You can enter online (deadline 5^th May) or if submitting by post, your work must reach by 6^th May 2026.
Value: £75, £50, £25 in each genre 
Deadline: See above
Open for: Underrepresented writers in the UK
Details here.

The British Society of Magazine Editors:  BSME Young Writers’ Prize
This is for UK residents aged 18-25 from across the UK. No previous experience is needed. “Submit a short piece of original writing based on the subject of ‘something you love’. This could be a feature, review, opinion piece, a column, personal essay or a fun piece of creative writing based on your life experience or a news event or a topic that interests you. We are looking for writing that comes from a real place — your experience, your opinion, your obsession with something in the news or just in life. Voice-led, specific, yours.” Apart from a cash prize, winner also gets mentorship and work experience placement with a UK magazine or online publication; top 10 runners-up get work experience opportunity or mentoring; the top 20 runners-up will be invited to an online seminar. Entry is via a form.
Value: £12,000
Deadline: 8 May 2026
Open for: Young UK residents
Details here.

Contests with later deadlines
A few contests with deadlines after the main batch above.

CNO Naval History Essay Contest – Professional Historian
This contest is supported by the US Naval Institute. Their website says, “The CNO invites entrants to submit essays that apply lessons from throughout naval history to solving today's Navy challenges.” See guidelines for details on the theme. Essays have to be up to 3,500 words. This contest is open to: professional historians (including history museum curators, archivists, history teachers/professors, persons with history-related doctoral degrees; authors of books on naval history (not including self-published works); civilians who have published articles in an established historical or naval journal or magazine.
Value: $5,000 and $2,500
Deadline: 30 May 2026
Details here and here.
(They invite essays for various other prizes as well, with different deadlines – see here.)

The Bicoastal Review (non-fiction contest)
They have a fee for other genres, including general submissions, but do not charge a fee for the non-fiction contest. “Any work of nonfiction – critical, creative, experimental, or cross-genre – that fits the vibe of our journal (we often favor writing about literature, art, culture, politics, ecology, love, the body, feminism, and queer identity). We welcome braided essays, reviews, art writing, cultural critique, lyric essays, and everything in between. What we are NOT looking for: short stories, overly academic writing, rants, comedy, purely family-oriented memoirs, anything using AI, or anything too self-absorbed. Your work should be around 1,000 to 3,000 words and can include any art, visuals, and audio you like (as long as we can publish it).”
Deadline: 1^st June 2026
Details here and here – see the relevant category.

ABA Journal / Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction
This is a fiction contest for US writers (see guidelines). The ABA Journal is the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association. Send a story of up to 5,000 words that illuminates the role of the law and/or lawyers in modern society.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 1 June 2026
Details here.