It’s the Keep Writing Maternity Leave Special!
An abundance of listings to see you through the worst of winter.
As winter descends on the northern hemisphere, we here at Keep Writing are furiously waving our handkerchiefs as our exceedingly pregnant ship prepares to disembark into the seas of new parenthood. Think fondly of us as you snuggle into your pillow for eight beautiful hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, won’t you?
But as promised last month, we have no intention of leaving you empty-handed before we depart on maternity leave. Below you’ll find a long list of upcoming deadlines to occupy your time and attention this winter until we return to our desks. And as an added bonus, we have three exciting things from friends of Keep Writing to tell you about in the meantime:
The first is that Yi Shun Lai, author, essayist, and educator extraordinaire, has a NEW BOOK coming out and it looks so fantastic I cannot stand it. It’s called A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic and it’ll be released on Feb. 13, 2024. The book is a Junior Library Guild Selection and has already netted a starred review from Kirkus. You can preorder it at Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and Amazon. I have, and I cannot wait to devour it the minute it arrives.
The second is that Jaron Cote, former designer of The Writer and all-around terrific human, has the most delightful Etsy shop of cards and stationery for all your holiday and non-holiday needs. If you liked his designs in The Writer, you’ll love his work on Etsy.
And the third is that author Anica Mrose Rissi has an essay in Honeyguide Literary Magazine after spotting Honeyguide’s call for submissions in a former edition of Keep Writing. The piece is an absolute delight, and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did.
Readers, thank you so much for allowing Keep Writing this season of maternity hibernation. I’ll be back to resume our traditional monthly format come springtime. Until then, happy submitting, dear hearts. I can’t wait to hear about all your successes when I return.
Until next time—
Keep writing,
Nicki
Upcoming calls for submissions
Deep Wild Journal: Writing about “journeys to places where there are no roads”
Et Alia Press: Stories from those who live in their grandparents’ homes
AGNI: Portfolio of Central American and Mexican Diaspora Writing
EastOver Press: Submissions from BIPOC writers from rural or semi-rural U.S. locations
Apex Book Company: Stories about “Places where weird things happen”
Blue Cubicle Press: Fiction and poem from the office worker’s POV
A Plate of Pandemic: Submissions “about life in a pandemic-inflicted world”
Thinking Ink Press: Fiction & poetry about neurodivergent people and neurodivergent aliens
Full Bleed: “Home” submissions from writers who identify as parents or grandparents
Ploughshares: Essays about underappreciated or overlooked writers
Chicken Soup for the Soul: True stories and poems about cats and dogs
Deep Wild Journal: Writing about “journeys to places where there are no roads”
Each annual print issue of Deep Wild Journal: Writing from the Backcountry publishes “work in all genres infused and informed by journeys to places where there are no roads.” Send up to three poems or one or more prose pieces up to about 3,000 words total, although editors will “consider longer prose pieces of exceptional merit.” Writers are free to submit work that has been previously published elsewhere.
Deadline: Dec. 1 for free submissions or until Dec. 31 with a $4 submission fee
the engine(idling: “Wild Abandon” poetry
This brand-new “infant literary journal” is looking for poems that meet its first issue’s theme, “Wild Abandon.” “What sends you? Which way doth the wind blow? We want reckless literature with heart,” the engine(idling’s editors urge. Send one to four poems. No submission fees, no payments. Note that the December 1 deadline is a tentative one; if the issue is not filled by that date, submissions will remain open until it is filled.
Deadline: Dec. 1
Et Alia Press: Stories from those who live in their grandparents’ homes
For an upcoming coffee table book, Et Alia Press seeks stories and photographs from those who have chosen to live in their grandparents’ house or the house of a partner’s grandparents. Contributors may either fill out a questionnaire about their home or submit a creative nonfiction piece about it (max word count: 2,000 words). Final selections will be made in early 2024 with the book slated for publication in late summer 2024.
Deadline: Dec. 1
Parabola: “Freedom” submissions
Parabola, “a quarterly journal devoted to the exploration of the quest for meaning as it is expressed in the world’s myths, symbols, and religious traditions,” is calling for submissions for its spring issue, which will have a theme of “Freedom.” Send “well-researched, objective, and unsentimental” articles or translations (1,000 to 3,000 words) or up to five poems. No submission fees.
Deadline: Dec. 1
Superpresent: “Provocations/Instigations”
For its Winter 2024 issue, the quarterly magazine Superpresent seeks submissions that have to do with its chosen theme of “Provocations/Instigations.” Send up to three poems (one per page) or 500-2,000 words of prose (essays or short stories). No submission fees.
Deadline: Dec. 1
Undertow Publications: Horror from Canadian authors
For an upcoming anthology, Undertow Publications seeks “horror and horror-adjacent dark weird fiction, ideally set in Canada and incorporating a motif of night / nighttime / dusk/ darkness.” Authors must reside within lands claimed by Canada or be a Canadian expat. Send stories between 500 and 5,000 words. Payment is $.10 CAD per word as well as a contributor copy. Editor-in-Chief and owner of Undertow Publications Michael Kelly will edit.
Deadline: Dec. 1
The Bad Day Book: Humorous stories about bad days
Submissions are now open for a variety of topics for The Bad Day Book’s “anti-motivational, motivational book series.” Editors are looking for true stories that “should be about bad things, but that are still funny...this book is to get others to laugh, gasp, or cringe.” Send family-friendly pieces in 1500 words or less, although submissions under 1200 words are preferred. Poems that tell a story are also accepted. Submissions under 199 words will receive $40; submissions over 200 words will receive $75. Upcoming themes and deadlines include At Work (Dec. 5); Sports (Dec. 5); Love (Jan. 5); Medical Caregivers (Jan. 15); Holidays (March 1); Bad Days Gone Good (March 1); Friendship (March 15). Younger writers may be interested in the “Teenage Years” (written by teens, for teens) or “Kids” (written by kids, for kids) editions, both due on Feb. 1.
Deadline: Dec. 5 for “At Work” and “Sports”, others as listed above
The Nassau Review: “I’ve Got a Secret” Submissions
The Nassau Review, a literary journal based out of Nassau Community College, seeks fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry that deal with the theme “I’ve Got a Secret.” Editors encourage submitters to “send us your secrets or the aftermath of revealing them. Define and redefine what a secret is or can be.” Send one piece of prose (creative nonfiction or fiction) up to 3,000 words, one to three pieces of flash (up to 100 words and “pieces should be connected in some way”), or one to three poems (50 lines max). No submission fees, no payments.
Deadline: Dec. 5
The Other Stories: “The End” dark fiction
This horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast, billed as “a modern take on The Twilight Zone,” is seeking submissions centered around “The End” for their 100th volume. Send stories that are roughly 2,000 words (no need to record them – the podcast has its own narration team for accepted stories). Payment is £15.
Deadline: Dec. 9
AGNI: Portfolio of Central American and Mexican Diaspora Writing
Central American and Mexican poets and writers as well as their descendants are invited to submit to this portfolio collected and published by Boston University’s AGNI. “This portfolio will seek work that addresses migration, diaspora, identity, and how one comes to terms with traumas, triumphs, and uncertainties,” editors write. “In addition to fiction, poetry, essays, and hybrid pieces written in English, we welcome translations, including from indigenous languages and from earlier writers who, in the words of Salvadoran poet Javier Zamora, ‘Make it easier / to never have to risk our lives.’” No submission fees.
Deadline: Dec. 15
EastOver Press: Submissions from BIPOC writers from rural or semi-rural U.S. locations
EastOver Press welcomes previously published works of short fiction for the second edition of its annual anthology series, The EastOver Anthology of Rural Stories: Writers of Color. “The anthology will focus on BIPOC writers who live in or hail from rural or semi-rural locales in the United States and whose short stories feature characters living and/or working in rural or semi-rural spaces,” editors say. “In addition, we’ll also accept work from BIPOC writers who’ve spent a significant amount of time in rural or semi-rural locales and whose work might reflect those spaces.” Stories should have been published in 2021 or 2022 and should be no more than 7,500 words. Send up to three submissions. Erika T. Wurth will serve as the guest editor. Payment is $100 to $300.
Deadline: Dec. 15
Jelly Bucket: Submissions from neurodivergent writers
Jelly Bucket’s 14th issue will feature a special section entirely comprised of neurodivergent voices that will be guest edited by Nathan Spoon. Send one piece of prose up to 5,000 words or up to three shorter pieces (less than 1,000 words each). Writers may also send up to five poems or one 10-minute play (no musicals or children’s plays). There is no submission fee for special section submissions.
Deadline: Dec. 15
Apex Book Company: Stories about “places where weird things happen”
For an upcoming anthology, The Map of Lost Places, editors seek stories about “places that have strange histories, their own traditions and customs, their own dangers. These can be based off real folk tales or old wives tales—think the Mothman in Point Pleasant, WV—or ones that you come up with all on your own.” (See the press’ submission call for a list of places already chosen by the anthology’s featured authors.) Send stories up to 5,000 words. Payment is $.08/word plus a copy of the anthology. Note: Submissions will not open until Dec. 1.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Black Beacon Books: Pirate tales and ghost stories
This press is currently accepting submissions for two forthcoming anthologies: The Black Beacon Book of Pirate Tales and The Black Beacon Book of Ghost Stories. For the former, editors are preferably looking for stories “about pirates and buccaneers from the 16th to 18th centuries.” All genres welcome, but sci-fi/futuristic and stories set in purely fantasy worlds “are likely to be a hard sell.” For the latter ghost anthology, send “subtle and atmospheric ghost stories that gave the reader a chill.” The preferred word count for both anthologies is 3,000 to 9,000 words and payment is $25 per original story and $10 for reprints.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Blue Cubicle Press: Fiction and poem from the office worker’s POV
To celebrate 20 years of publishing workplace fiction beginning with their very first issue, Tales from the Cubicle, Blue Cubicle Press is planning to release Further Tales from the Cubicle for their 20th issue. This anthology “will contain fiction and poems from the office worker's point of view – we're especially interested to see how the home office has taken on a new meaning because of Covid and what it's been like for those of us who have returned to the annoying commutes and communal bathrooms,” editors note. Send stories between 500 and 5,000 words. No submission fees. Payment is between $5 and $50, “depending on length and rights requested.” Previously published stories will be considered.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Exposition Review: “POP!” submissions
“Whether it’s a bang from a child squeezing a balloon too tightly, the disgusting ooze of a burst pimple, or a hit song that sets hips swaying, ‘POP!’ demands a reaction,” editors of Exposition Review write. “For Vol. IX, we’re seeking that surprise inherent in a “POP!” and the conflict that arises from it, characters and ideas that burst off the page, in language that crackles and snaps.” Send prose (short stories, stand-alone novel excerpts, memoir, essay, etc.) up to 5,000 words or flash (fiction or nonfiction) up to 1,000 words. Poets can send up to three poems and playwrights/screenwriters may send up to 15 pages of one-act plays, scenes, or screenplay excerpts. Experimental narratives and comics are also welcome. Payment is $50 per accepted work. Submission fee: $3.50.
Deadline: Dec. 31
A Plate of Pandemic: Submissions “about life in a pandemic-inflicted world”
This quarterly journal promises “creativity in times of crisis” specifically regarding pandemics, which it defines as “a large-scale affliction, whether a disease like Covid, or other public health threats, like gun violence, war, genocide, famine, suppression of human rights, domestic violence, drug addiction, and so forth.” Send up to 3 poems or up to 2500 words of prose. No “children’s literature, science fiction, religious material, erotica, pornography, or grammatically-challenged writing.” Submission fee: $4.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Redactions: Adoption poems and poetics essays
“We seek poems revolving around adoption and short essays (500-2000 words) on adoption poetics from adoptees, birth parents, and adoption parents,” write the editors of Redactions. “We are especially interested in transnational and transracial adoption poems and adoption poetic essays.” Send one to five poems or one essay. No submission fees, no payments.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Spectrum: Submissions on existence and nonexistence
For its 67th volume, Spectrum asks writers to consider and respond to an excerpted passage from Tao Te Ching. Find the journal’s full call for this particular issue here. Send one piece of prose up to 5,000 words or up to five poems. Hybrid works are also welcome up to 15 pages, and contributors should not feel limited by genre: “If it can be printed in two dimensions, we will consider it for publication,” editors say. No submission fees, no payments.
Deadline: Dec. 31
SPOOKY: Playful, approachable, plot-driven horror
“Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror?” That’s what the editors of this new magazine are looking for as they seek vintage-style horror fiction that is “dark and scary, but playful and approachable with an emphasis on plot.” See SPOOKY’s submission guidelines for a more robust list of content “do’s and don’ts” from the editors. Send stories in 5,000 words or less, with a sweet spot of 2,500 to 3,000 words. No submission fees. Payment is $.01 per word.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Thinking Ink Press: Fiction & poetry “exploring encounters between neurodivergent people and neurodivergent aliens”
“Would neurodivergent folks find themselves at an advantage in dealing with aliens? Let’s find out,” encourage the editors of the forthcoming The Neurodiversiverse Anthology. Send short stories up to 6,000 words, flash fiction up to 1,000 words, or poetry up to 100 lines. Payment is $100 for short stories and $50 for flash and poems.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Underdog Press: Space exploration or horror stories
There are two anthology calls currently open at Underdog Press. The first, The Way of Worlds, will feature stories about space exploration/colonization. “The focus of this anthology is space but it doesn't have to be hard science fiction. Show us what is happening in the galaxy next door,” editors urge. The second, Nightmares Before Bed, will be a horror anthology, with fantasy horror and sci-fi horror welcome. “No sexual violence, abuse of children, overly disturbing images and ideas, or gore will be published. We want horror, we want to be scared, but let's do it in a way that is respectful,” editors clarify. Send fiction between 3,500 and 12,000 words ( which aren’t “hard cut-offs, but not too much under/over please”) in standard Shunn format. No submission fee. Payment is $.03/word plus a print contributor copy.
Deadline: Dec. 31 for The Way of Worlds; Jan. 31 for Nightmares Before Bed
Hiraeth Publishing: Fiction and poetry featuring dragons
For an upcoming anthology, Here There Be Dragons, Hiraeth Books seeks stories and poems about dragons. Send fiction from 3,000 to 6,000 words or up to 5 poems from 10 to 24 lines that are “as explicit about the dragon(s) as possible.” No submission fees. For fiction, payment is $.08/word for the first 3,000 words and then .$03/word after the first 3,000; for poetry, payment is $1 per line. Note: Submissions may close early if the anthology is filled, so don’t wait to submit if you have something in mind.
Deadline: Jan. 1 or until filled
Full Bleed: “Home” submissions from writers who identify as parents or grandparents
The annual print journal Full Bleed has partnered with Pen Parentis to provide payments of $100 per prose piece and $50 per poem for a special issue centered around the theme of “home.” While all contributors must identify as parents or grandparents, submissions do not have to deal with parenting-related topics to be eligible for consideration. At least one-third of the issue will also feature rural or non-urban in subject or theme. “For issue seven, we are especially, though not exclusively, interested in work that explores the meaning of home (or habitat), for human and non-human life, at a time of rapid ecological change, and in an era of acute, ongoing refugee and humanitarian crises,” editors explain. “We’d also welcome work that considers the aesthetics of home, the discovery or creation of new homes, homesickness, working from home, chosen families, home-in-exile, housing insecurity, and any other angles on the theme that attract your curiosity.” Send feature-length essays or short stories up to 7,000 words (no genre fiction) or up to 5 poems. Comics and graphic essays are also welcome. Submitters will receive a response by March 15.
Deadline: Jan. 10
Palette Poetry: The Previously Published Poem Prize
“Our landscape has exploded with presses and magazines in recent years with the advent of digital publications—so many great poems have been circulated and celebrated, but others have been forgotten, overlooked, and deserve a new life,” write the editors of Palette Poetry. “We want to shine a light upon the poems that you love but feel are no longer receiving the attention or recognition they deserve.” Submissions for the Previously Published Poem Prize will open on November 15.
Deadline: Jan. 15
Ploughshares: Essays about underappreciated or overlooked writers
For their Look2 essay series, Ploughshares is accepting queries for essays about underappreciated writers that “take stock of a writer’s entire oeuvre with the goal of bringing critical attention to the neglected writer and his or her relevance to a contemporary audience.” Send a cover letter as well as a 1- to 2-page query that contains “some details about the subject, how you plan to organize your discussion, and why you are particularly suited to write the piece.” No submission fees.
Deadline: Jan. 15
Rattle: Ghazal poetry
The summer 2024 issue of Rattle will be dedicated to the ghazal form of poetry. Any subject or length is fair game, but all submitted poems must be ghazals. Send up to four poems. Payment for print publication is $200/poem and a one-year subscription to Rattle.
Deadline: Jan. 15
The Cellar Door: “Marshland” horror fiction
For the fifth issue of The Cellar Door, a biannual dark fiction anthology published by Dark Peninsula Press, editors seek horror/suspense tales set in swamps, bayous, and marshlands, with a “special preference for stories with backwater cults/legends, cryptid monsters, and other slimy creatures lurking just below the water.” Send stories from 2,000 to 10,000 words. Payment is $25 plus both a print and digital copy of the finished anthology. No submission fees.
Deadline: Jan. 31
EastOver Press: Submissions inspired by Taylor Swift
Break out the friendship bracelets, my fellow Swifties: A second anthology call from EastOver Press seeks submissions about American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. “Mirrorball: How Taylor Swift Reflects the Loss, Hope & Love of Millions Around the World is an anthology of writings from around the world inspired by Taylor Swift, her music and her call to fans globally to cry and laugh and dance and mourn and grow together,” editors write. “More than anything, the anthology mirrors the joy that has come from sharing our lives with one another the way Taylor’s lyrics of love and loss, of betrayal and of chosen family, have made all the Swifties around the globe feel less alone.” Send prose up to 3,500 words or one to three poems. Pay is $50/poem or $100/prose. Chiwan Choi and Michelle Grondine will edit.
Deadline: Jan. 31
Flash Frog: “The Blue Frog” annual flash fiction contest
Every January, Flash Frog hosts a themed flash fiction contest in celebration of the journal’s anniversary. A total of $700 is awarded in prize money. Details for the 2024 contest theme and judge have yet to be announced; check the Flash Frog website for details in the coming weeks.
Deadline: Jan. 31
NonBinary Review: "Old Friends" prose & poetry
“We're looking for speculative takes on old friends – the weird, the outrageous, the mysterious,” write the editors of NonBinary Review in their latest call for submissions. “We're NOT looking for buddy stories, sweetly nostalgic reunions with childhood school friends, or anything else that might appear on the Hallmark channel.” Send up to 3,000 words for prose or up to three poems. Payment is $.01 per word for prose or a flat $10 for poetry.
Deadline: Jan. 31
Thema: “Bookmarks” submissions
Thema, a theme-centric journal that only accepts printed and mailed submissions, has announced its first theme of 2024. Mail stories and poems relating to “Bookmarks” to editors by March 1 to be considered for the journal’s next issue. Contributors are paid $25 for short stories and $10 for poems and short-short pieces (fewer than 1,000 words).
Deadline: March 1
Chicken Soup for the Soul: True stories and poems about cats and dogs
This popular anthology series says its cat- and dog-themed titles are so popular that the company releases a new one every 18 months. Submit cat/dog-centered stories and poems in 1200 words or less for your chance to be featured in the 2024 versions. Payment is $250 plus ten copies of the published book.
Deadline: March 31
Odessa Collective: Prison anthology submissions
Odessa Collective is seeking submissions from previously or currently incarcerated writers for an upcoming anthology. Mailed and emailed submissions will both be accepted, as will typed or handwritten submissions. Send 2,500 words (typed) or roughly 5 notebook pages of handwriting. No more than 5 poems per submitter.
Deadline: March 31