Children's picture books, middle-grade books, YA books. Not a huge fan of issue books, preachy stories, gay lit, or sexual content. Supernatural books, with angels, demons, or any mix thereof, will probably not catch my fancy. I’m not salivating for werewolves, vampires, ghosts, fairies, or zombies. (Orcs, hobbits, and dragons are what I love.) I’m not into dark and angsty books, and I really like ending...

What if we had a chosen a different path in life? What if history had taken a different turn? What reality was radically different because of a change in our environment, background, or other element which affected our world’s development?

Our second short story contest is focused around the topic of “What if…?” The theme is open to interpretation, and we are looking for unusual voices or creative interpre...

Established in 1998, The X. J. Kennedy Prize seeks to publish one full-length collection of poetry per year. Starting in 2019 the Prize comes with a $10,000 advance, a standard royalty contract, and 20 copies of the published book.

Submissions open each year on July 1 and close on September 30. Submissions are open July 1 – September 30. A fee of $28 must be paid at the tim...

The San Antonio Writers’ Guild Annual Contest features categories in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The contest is open to all writers, both SAWG members and non-members.

Contest Categories:

     Novel: First chapter or up to the first 5,000 words

     Short Story: limit of 4,000 wo...

Post Mark Deadline:  September 30, 2019

7 categories to enter, including Falling for Autumn, Cool, Crisp Days, Football, Harvesting, Autumn Roads, Pumpkins, and Crackling Fires. Line limit 40 lines Prizes $10 - $50.

Entry Fee: $3.00 per category or $15.00 if all categories are entered.

9 categories to enter. Entry fee is $3. Prizes: $50, $30, $20.

Deadline: poems must be received by September 30, 2019.

Original, unpublished poems not currently submitted to other contests. First, second, and third prize-winning poems will be read at the Annual Fall Conference of the Arizona State Poetry Society and published in the ASPS journal, Sandcutters.

The California State Poetry Society offers monthly poetry contests. This contest is open to all poets, whether or not they are members of the CSPS. Reading fees are $1.50 per poem with a $3.00 minimum for members and $3.00 per poem with a $6.00 minimum for non-members. Entries must be submitted through the website or postmarked during the month of the contest in which the...

10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, September 28, 2019

Texas Writes is a statewide program that brings accomplished authors to rural libraries for a half day of presentations and panel discussions. Each event is free and open to the public.

Featured authors: Donna M. Johnson and Naomi Shihab Nye. If you're interested in attending, please contact the library to pre-reg...

10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, September 21, 2019

Texas Writes is a statewide program that brings accomplished authors to rural libraries for a half day of presentations and panel discussions. Each event is free and open to the public.

Featured authors: Meg Gardiner and Rachel Starnes. If you're interested in attending, please contact the library to pre-regis...

Enchanted Conversations: Spooky & Spellbinding Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

https://enchantedconversationmag.blogspot.com/p/submissions-guidelines.html

Deadline: September 20, 2019
For: October 2019 Issue
Theme: Spooky & Spellbinding Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

Enchanted Conversation is looking for spooky and spellbinding fairy tales, folktales, or myths for the October issue. Work can either be re-tellings of established stories or use original characters as long as they are set with...

DEADLINE: September 16, 2019

Submit your best short stories in the 15th Annual Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards for a chance to win $2,500 in cash, a featured interview in Writer’s Digest magazine, and a paid trip to the ever-popular Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in New York City.

If you’re ready to take the next step in your writing career, choose your favor...

Welcome to Passager! We publish two issues a year, an Open Issue (fall/winter), and a Poetry Contest issue (spring/summer). We urge you to become familiar with Passager before submitting work. Browse some previously published work, or order sample copies.

#PitMad is a pitch party on Twitter where writers tweet a 280-character pitch for their completed, polished, unpublished manuscripts. Agents and editors make requests by liking/favoriting the tweeted pitch.

Every unagented writer is welcome to pitch. All genres/categories are welcomed.

September 5, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)

“Portland Review is excited to welcome submissions of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and mixed-genre works for its 2020 themed anthology, LABOR." About the theme: "We are thinking about labor as work or employment, and how it relates to the body and the self. But we don’t just want stories about working; we want to read about labor in all its forms: physical, emotional, invisible, and theoretical. How d...

Deadline: September 1, 2019 (postmarked)

Contest welcomes submissions in two categories: traditional sonnet (Shakespearean or Petrarchan) and modern sonnet. Prizes for both categories: "First Prize: $50. Second Prize: $35. Third Prize: $15. Three Honorable Mentions, Unranked."

from: https://www.erikadreifus.com/blogs/practicing-writing/

Golden Wheat Literary is a faith-based literary agency with a little bit of a twist. Manuscripts that are submitted do not need to be overtly Christian but must exist within the realities of Christian faith. If your manuscript's elements can all be true without any part of God's Word needing to step aside or be discounted, it is acceptable for submission. We have sold books to both secular and Christian publishers. Our agents repr...

Categories: Poet’s Choice, Members Only, New Poets, Traditional Form – Blank Verse, Theme: Our Common Life

Awards: Poet’s Choice: 1st $100; 2nd $50; 3rd $30; 3 HMs.

All other categories: 1st $50; 2nd $30; 3rd $20; 3 HMs.

OPA Members—Flat rate of $8 for up to five poems (limit of one poem per category).

Non-members—Flat rate of $15 for up to four poems (limit of one poem per category).

Deadline:...

from: https://www.erikadreifus.com/blogs/practicing-writing/

Deadline: September 1, 2019

PRIZES: $50, $30, $20 and three HMs in each category. Non-members may enter all open categories (1 poem per category) for $15; members may enter for $12. Each additional poem $2 ($1 for members).

14 categories open to all include: Religious Poem, Humorous Poem, Formal Verse, Free Verse, Social Conscience, Miniature Poem, Nature, Midwest theme, Shakespeare, Love, Speculati...

The War Cry, now in its 137th year, represents the Salvation Army’s mission through news, profiles, commentaries and stories. It looks to bring people to Christ, help believers grow in faith and character, and promotes redemptive cultural practices from the perspective of Salvation Army programs, ministries and doctrines. Readership consists of those in and involved with The Salvation Army as well...

"Poetry on Planes is a project currently in progress, the first in a series of anthologies that will feature the work of 99 poets -- both established and emerging -- from around the world. We are soliciting original works that were, ideally, written while the author was travelling on a commercial airliner. And each work -- be it serious or whimsical -- should reflect the sort of thoughts people have while looking out the window at clouds an...

Readers Write column asks readers to address subjects on which they're the only authorities. Topics are intentionally broad in order to give room for expression. Writing style isn't as important as thoughtfulness and sincerity.

Deadline: August 31, 2019

Contest for unpublished poetry (no simultaneous submissions). Prizes: "3 WINNERS will receive $250 each, plus publication. 6 FINALISTS will receive $75 each, plus publication."

from: https://www.erikadreifus.com/blogs/practicing-writing/

HEART POETRY AWARD - $500.00 & Publication in HEART 14

$10 covers 3 poems. Fee Reserves your copy of HEART 14.

Unpublished prose poems. Review previous issues online for preference.

Include name, address, phone, Email each page.

Website announces winners or send SASE if you wish a list

Deadline postmark August 31, 2019

Our target reader is an 18- to 35- year-old urbanite who may not be religious but is seeking spiritual fulfillment and answers to life’s dilemmas. We love compelling comeback stories, inspirational and captivating profiles, well-crafted, timely features and insightful Biblical analysis. Health, financial, professional, and relationship stories with a strong Biblical foundation will always be considered. Pays roughly 30 cents/word.

4 categories including: rhymed or blank verse, free verse, humorous verse, and summer poems. Entry fee $2 per poem, prizes $10-$25.

Poems may be 40 or fewer lines. They may be unpublished or previously published if the poet retains the rights to the poem. Poets may enter each category as many times as they wish. No poems will be returned.

Deadline: August 17, 2019

Deadline: August 15, 2019

"We are pleased to announce that submissions are now open for our second writing contest. The winter contest was such a success that we have decided to make this a biannual event! For round two, we're introducing a twist. Entries should explore the theme of color--whatever that means to you--but should also be limited to 350 words in length. All genres welcome. We're excited to see what ...

Children's picture books, middle-grade books, YA books. Not a huge fan of issue books, preachy stories, gay lit, or sexual content. Supernatural books, with angels, demons, or any mix thereof, will probably not catch my fancy. I’m not salivating for werewolves, vampires, ghosts, fairies, or zombies. (Orcs, hobbits, and dragons are what I love.) I’m not into dark and angsty books, and I really like ending...

What if we had a chosen a different path in life? What if history had taken a different turn? What reality was radically different because of a change in our environment, background, or other element which affected our world’s development?

Our second short story contest is focused around the topic of “What if…?” The theme is open to interpretation, and we are looking for unusual voices or creative interpre...

Established in 1998, The X. J. Kennedy Prize seeks to publish one full-length collection of poetry per year. Starting in 2019 the Prize comes with a $10,000 advance, a standard royalty contract, and 20 copies of the published book.

Submissions open each year on July 1 and close on September 30. Submissions are open July 1 – September 30. A fee of $28 must be paid at the tim...

The San Antonio Writers’ Guild Annual Contest features categories in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The contest is open to all writers, both SAWG members and non-members.

Contest Categories:

     Novel: First chapter or up to the first 5,000 words

     Short Story: limit of 4,000 wo...

Post Mark Deadline:  September 30, 2019

7 categories to enter, including Falling for Autumn, Cool, Crisp Days, Football, Harvesting, Autumn Roads, Pumpkins, and Crackling Fires. Line limit 40 lines Prizes $10 - $50.

Entry Fee: $3.00 per category or $15.00 if all categories are entered.

9 categories to enter. Entry fee is $3. Prizes: $50, $30, $20.

Deadline: poems must be received by September 30, 2019.

Original, unpublished poems not currently submitted to other contests. First, second, and third prize-winning poems will be read at the Annual Fall Conference of the Arizona State Poetry Society and published in the ASPS journal, Sandcutters.

The California State Poetry Society offers monthly poetry contests. This contest is open to all poets, whether or not they are members of the CSPS. Reading fees are $1.50 per poem with a $3.00 minimum for members and $3.00 per poem with a $6.00 minimum for non-members. Entries must be submitted through the website or postmarked during the month of the contest in which the...

10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, September 28, 2019

Texas Writes is a statewide program that brings accomplished authors to rural libraries for a half day of presentations and panel discussions. Each event is free and open to the public.

Featured authors: Donna M. Johnson and Naomi Shihab Nye. If you're interested in attending, please contact the library to pre-reg...

10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, September 21, 2019

Texas Writes is a statewide program that brings accomplished authors to rural libraries for a half day of presentations and panel discussions. Each event is free and open to the public.

Featured authors: Meg Gardiner and Rachel Starnes. If you're interested in attending, please contact the library to pre-regis...

Enchanted Conversations: Spooky & Spellbinding Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

https://enchantedconversationmag.blogspot.com/p/submissions-guidelines.html

Deadline: September 20, 2019
For: October 2019 Issue
Theme: Spooky & Spellbinding Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

Enchanted Conversation is looking for spooky and spellbinding fairy tales, folktales, or myths for the October issue. Work can either be re-tellings of established stories or use original characters as long as they are set with...

DEADLINE: September 16, 2019

Submit your best short stories in the 15th Annual Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards for a chance to win $2,500 in cash, a featured interview in Writer’s Digest magazine, and a paid trip to the ever-popular Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in New York City.

If you’re ready to take the next step in your writing career, choose your favor...

Welcome to Passager! We publish two issues a year, an Open Issue (fall/winter), and a Poetry Contest issue (spring/summer). We urge you to become familiar with Passager before submitting work. Browse some previously published work, or order sample copies.

#PitMad is a pitch party on Twitter where writers tweet a 280-character pitch for their completed, polished, unpublished manuscripts. Agents and editors make requests by liking/favoriting the tweeted pitch.

Every unagented writer is welcome to pitch. All genres/categories are welcomed.

September 5, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)

“Portland Review is excited to welcome submissions of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and mixed-genre works for its 2020 themed anthology, LABOR." About the theme: "We are thinking about labor as work or employment, and how it relates to the body and the self. But we don’t just want stories about working; we want to read about labor in all its forms: physical, emotional, invisible, and theoretical. How d...

Deadline: September 1, 2019 (postmarked)

Contest welcomes submissions in two categories: traditional sonnet (Shakespearean or Petrarchan) and modern sonnet. Prizes for both categories: "First Prize: $50. Second Prize: $35. Third Prize: $15. Three Honorable Mentions, Unranked."

from: https://www.erikadreifus.com/blogs/practicing-writing/

Golden Wheat Literary is a faith-based literary agency with a little bit of a twist. Manuscripts that are submitted do not need to be overtly Christian but must exist within the realities of Christian faith. If your manuscript's elements can all be true without any part of God's Word needing to step aside or be discounted, it is acceptable for submission. We have sold books to both secular and Christian publishers. Our agents repr...

Categories: Poet’s Choice, Members Only, New Poets, Traditional Form – Blank Verse, Theme: Our Common Life

Awards: Poet’s Choice: 1st $100; 2nd $50; 3rd $30; 3 HMs.

All other categories: 1st $50; 2nd $30; 3rd $20; 3 HMs.

OPA Members—Flat rate of $8 for up to five poems (limit of one poem per category).

Non-members—Flat rate of $15 for up to four poems (limit of one poem per category).

Deadline:...

from: https://www.erikadreifus.com/blogs/practicing-writing/

Deadline: September 1, 2019

PRIZES: $50, $30, $20 and three HMs in each category. Non-members may enter all open categories (1 poem per category) for $15; members may enter for $12. Each additional poem $2 ($1 for members).

14 categories open to all include: Religious Poem, Humorous Poem, Formal Verse, Free Verse, Social Conscience, Miniature Poem, Nature, Midwest theme, Shakespeare, Love, Speculati...

The War Cry, now in its 137th year, represents the Salvation Army’s mission through news, profiles, commentaries and stories. It looks to bring people to Christ, help believers grow in faith and character, and promotes redemptive cultural practices from the perspective of Salvation Army programs, ministries and doctrines. Readership consists of those in and involved with The Salvation Army as well...

"Poetry on Planes is a project currently in progress, the first in a series of anthologies that will feature the work of 99 poets -- both established and emerging -- from around the world. We are soliciting original works that were, ideally, written while the author was travelling on a commercial airliner. And each work -- be it serious or whimsical -- should reflect the sort of thoughts people have while looking out the window at clouds an...

Readers Write column asks readers to address subjects on which they're the only authorities. Topics are intentionally broad in order to give room for expression. Writing style isn't as important as thoughtfulness and sincerity.

Deadline: August 31, 2019

Contest for unpublished poetry (no simultaneous submissions). Prizes: "3 WINNERS will receive $250 each, plus publication. 6 FINALISTS will receive $75 each, plus publication."

from: https://www.erikadreifus.com/blogs/practicing-writing/

HEART POETRY AWARD - $500.00 & Publication in HEART 14

$10 covers 3 poems. Fee Reserves your copy of HEART 14.

Unpublished prose poems. Review previous issues online for preference.

Include name, address, phone, Email each page.

Website announces winners or send SASE if you wish a list

Deadline postmark August 31, 2019

Our target reader is an 18- to 35- year-old urbanite who may not be religious but is seeking spiritual fulfillment and answers to life’s dilemmas. We love compelling comeback stories, inspirational and captivating profiles, well-crafted, timely features and insightful Biblical analysis. Health, financial, professional, and relationship stories with a strong Biblical foundation will always be considered. Pays roughly 30 cents/word.

4 categories including: rhymed or blank verse, free verse, humorous verse, and summer poems. Entry fee $2 per poem, prizes $10-$25.

Poems may be 40 or fewer lines. They may be unpublished or previously published if the poet retains the rights to the poem. Poets may enter each category as many times as they wish. No poems will be returned.

Deadline: August 17, 2019

Deadline: August 15, 2019

"We are pleased to announce that submissions are now open for our second writing contest. The winter contest was such a success that we have decided to make this a biannual event! For round two, we're introducing a twist. Entries should explore the theme of color--whatever that means to you--but should also be limited to 350 words in length. All genres welcome. We're excited to see what ...