Submission Sunday 9.1.24
Brevity, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Ghost Story, Ecotone, carte blanche, Them, Lascaux Review, and Art Omi: Writers
Happy Sunday, writers! Thank you for subscribing. Every other Sunday, you’ll receive eight literary submission opportunities, varying in audience and genre, that have been selected for quality and relevance.
Three notes: 1) There will be no Submission Sunday post next week because I’ll be traveling. We’ll be back in action on September 15. 2) If you’re teaching a writing workshop anytime soon, I have a few free classifieds spaces that are yours for the taking. Just get in touch here. 3) I’m also booking website design clients for September and October. Today is the last day to get 10% off. Enjoy your Sunday!
Submission Sunday relies on the support of paying subscribers. If you enjoy this newsletter, please consider an upgrade! Paid subscribers receive an invitation to the Submission Sunday private chat, craft essays by writers, interviews with published authors about their submission process, interviews with editors about what they’re looking for, round-ups of articles about submitting and writing in general, and full access to the archives.
This edition of Submission Sunday has calls and contests from Brevity, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Ghost Story, Ecotone, carte blanche, Them, Lascaux Review, and Art Omi: Writers. More details below.
Brevity publishes well-known and emerging writers working in the extremely brief (750 words or fewer) essay form. In his preface to In Short, Bernard Cooper suggests that flash nonfiction “requires an alertness to detail, a quickening of the senses, a focusing of the literary lens ... until one has magnified some small aspect of what it means to be human.” We fully agree. We are looking for essays with vivid detail, strong voice, and no wasted words.
We have featured work from Pulitzer prize winners, NEA fellows, Pushcart winners, Best American authors, and writers from India, Egypt, The Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Malaysia, Qatar, and Japan. We have also featured many previously-unpublished authors, and take a special joy in helping to launch a new literary career. Over the past year, Brevity has averaged more than 10,000 unique visitors per month.
Alaska Quarterly Review Call for Nonfiction Submissions (Deadline September 15)
Alaska Quarterly Review is one of America’s premier literary magazines and a source of powerful, new voices. It is published twice a year in both print and digital editions and maintains partnerships with the Center for the Narrative and Lyric Arts and the Anchorage Museum. Founded in 1980 by Ronald Spatz and James Jacob Liszka, its mission is to discover, nurture and present eclectic and innovative literary works by a diverse range of new and emerging writers, and the non-commercial work of established writers, in print and digital formats, and in online and live public forums. We use the power of literary art to promote empathy, truth, and learning in service of positive change. Our features empower artists and writers to develop broader questions and difficult conversations including works focusing on gender, race, ethnicity, the environment, and social justice.
The Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award (Deadline September 30)
Twice each year, The Ghost Story will award $1,500 and publication to the winner of our short story competition. Two other writers will receive Honorable Mentions that include publication and a $300 cash award. Winning stories and Honorable Mentions will be published on The Ghost Story website on June 1 and October 31.
Ghost stories are welcome, of course—but your submission may involve any paranormal or supernatural theme. What we’re looking for is fine writing, fresh perspectives, and maybe a few surprises in the field of supernatural fiction. Story length should run between 1,500 and 10,000 words.
Ecotone Call for Rondeaux et al. (Deadline September 30)
We’re opening a special window for fee-free submissions of poems in the French repeating forms, from now through September 30. These will be considered for all our upcoming issues.
We’re interested in the ways work in these forms born out of song, with their repeating lines, repetends, intense rhyme schemes, and wild meters, can speak to place, environment, and the climate crisis. For this call, we’re especially interested in seeing rondeaux, rondels, rondelets, ballades, and similar. (We love villanelles and triolets too, but for this window we are most interested in the less frequently employed French forms.)
We are agnostic about which meter you use—truly! and we love noniambic meters—but would prefer to see work that employs some particular meter, whichever you choose.
One-on-One Novel Coaching with Scott O’Connor
Starting a novel? Finishing one? Trying to navigate the mid-draft wilderness? Scott's one-on-one novel coaching approach focuses on encouragement and accountability, balancing inspiration and craft, and a dedication to helping you find your distinct voice. Tailored packages include conversation and feedback to develop your ideas and motivate your writing, craft discussions, notes on chapters and complete drafts, macro and micro edits, and Zoom meetings or phone calls to talk through your work and help you move to the finish.
Poetry Generator with Elline Lipkin
Join Elline from September 9 to September 30, 2024. Prompts go out each Monday and the following Sunday, you send back a poem. Elline will send editing suggestions by page and by voice memo. At the end of week four, all participants will meet on Zoom for a convivial gathering during which we read poems, chat, and enjoy a sense of well-earned accomplishment. $175.
📚 Every other week, I’ll be making space for up to three online writing classes or programs (and the occasional retreat or conference) to advertise their upcoming offerings here. Learn more about getting your own classified ad. 📚
carte blanche Call for Submissions (Deadline September 16)
carte blanche is a Quebec-based online literary magazine that presents eclectic narratives in all forms and supports Canadian and international writers and artists, bringing communities of readers new stories and voices to help make sense of life and the world.
We like to say that there’s more than one way to tell a story and want to celebrate carte blanche turning twenty years old with having our 50th issue be open themed. Go with your heart and submit work that you’re really excited to share with us and our readers. Creators are invited to submit previously unpublished pieces in the following genre: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations (French to English), photography, and comics for carte blanche issue 50.
Them is the award-winning authority on what it means to be LGBTQ+ today — and tomorrow. From in-depth storytelling on the fight for LGBTQ+ rights to intimate profiles of queer cultural vanguards, we're a platform for all of the bold and rebellious ways that LGBTQ+ people are reshaping our world every day.
Them is powered by a diverse team of journalists, editors, artists, and creatives. Each of us brings a distinct perspective to the LGBTQ+ stories we tell, and our efforts are strengthened by the wide range of backgrounds and abilities that drive our work. With decades of journalism and artistic experience on staff, we aim to produce the most nuanced, carefully reported, and entertaining LGBTQ+ journalism and content available today.
The Lascaux Review Prize in Creative Nonfiction (Deadline September 30)
Creative nonfiction may include memoirs, chronicles, personal essays, humorous perspectives, literary journalism—anything the author has witnessed, experienced, or discovered. Pieces may be previously published or unpublished, and simultaneous submissions are accepted. Winner receives $1,000, a bronze medallion, and publication in The Lascaux Review.
The Lascaux Review seeks accessible fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction of literary quality. Lascaux has published work by Philip Appleman, Hélène Cardona, Brendan Constantine, Joseph Fasano, Kathy Fish, Tony Hoagland, Lee Martin, Simon Perchik, Maggie Smith, and many other poets and writers.
Art Omi: Writers Residency 2025 Open Call (Deadline October 15)
Art Omi: Writers hosts authors and translators from around the world for residencies throughout the spring and fall. The program’s strong international emphasis provides exposure for global literary voices and reflects the spirit of cultural exchange that is essential to Art Omi’s mission.
Guests may select a residency of one week to two months; about ten writers at a time gather to live and work in a rural setting overlooking the Catskill Mountains. Daytime is reserved for writing and quiet activities, while evenings are more communal. Noted editors, agents and book scouts are invited to share dinner and conversation on both creative and practical subjects, offering insight into the workings of the publishing industry, and introductions to some of its key professionals.
Art Omi: Writers welcomes published writers and translators of every type of literature. All text-based projects—fiction, nonfiction, theater, film, poetry, etc.—are eligible. All residencies are fully funded with accommodations, food, local transport and public programming provided. However, please note that Art Omi: Writers does not provide travel funds.
Here’s a reminder of the deadlines coming up from previous posts. Please note that archived posts might also include calls that are open year-round. If you sign up for Substack Notes, I also post deadline reminders there. If you submit to any of the Submission Sunday calls and publish or win, let me know and I’ll broadcast your success in a future post.
Split/Lip Press Call for Novel/Novella Manuscripts (Deadline September 1)
The Sun “Readers Write” Call for Submissions (“Chores” and “T-Shirts” – Deadline September 1 / October 1)
The Coachella Review Call for Submissions (Deadline September 2)
American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition and Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Competition (Deadine September 4 / October 1)
At Length Call for Submissions (Deadline End of Summer)
River Styx Castro Prize 2025 (Deadline September 30)
The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction, Short Story Collection Competition, and Poetry Collection Prize (Deadline September 30)
Club Plum Call for Literary Horror Submissions (Deadline October 1)
FC2 Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Contest and Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize (Deadline November 1)
BOA Editions 24th Annual A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize (Deadline November 30)
DUM DUM Zine Call for Submissions (Deadline December 1)
The Citron Review Call for Submissions (Deadline December 6)
Copper Nickel Call for Submissions (Deadline December 15)