Calls for submissions with April and May deadlines

A number of editors and contest organisers have reached out to us over the past couple of months for help getting the word out to our community and we added a few more we thought would be appealing.

You can find details below or go straight to their websites to submit. As always, we recommend you check out an issue of their journal or magazine if possible to make sure your work would be a good fit—don’t waste their time or yours.

We are not affiliated with any of these publications so please don’t send us your work :).

 

SAND

Our friends over at Berlin-based literary journal SAND are accepting submissions for their 23rd issue. They’re looking for poetry, fiction, and translated work that pushes against the boundaries of form, message, and voice. Check their website for guidelines and information on how to submit. They do not charge submissions fees and offer a token payment upon acceptance. Deadline: 10 April 2021

 

Live Canon poetry competitions

Live Canon 2021 Pamphlet Competition for pamphlets of between 18 and 35 poems. (This is based on average length poems – if your poems are much longer or shorter, please use your judgment and feel free to submit more or less.) Entry fee is £10. Three winners will receive a publication contract with Live Canon. Closes 9 April 2021.

Poetry Collection Competition for collections of over 40 A5 pages and 35+ poems, but if the poems are particularly long (or short) please use your judgment. Entry fee is £12. Three winners will receive a publication contract with Live Canon. Closes 14 May 2021.

International Poetry Competition for a single poem of any length. Entry fee is dependent on the number of poems submitted, from £6.50 for a single poem. Top prize is £1,000. Closes 21 May 2021

 

Pure Slush

This print publisher is looking for poetry (between 80 to 1000 words) and fiction and non-fiction, stories and essays (between 150 to 1000 words) for their volume on the theme of conversations. The main focus of your submission must be a conversation. It does not have to only be speech, but a conversation between two or more beings must be its main point. See their website for details. Deadline: 6 April.

 

Capsule Stories

This quarterly print publisher accepts poems and stories and essays of up to 3000 words. See their website for details. The editors are currently reading for two upcoming editions:

Second Isolation Edition, which will capture stories and feelings during the yearlong coronavirus pandemic and the isolating social measures that come with it. Deadline: 1 May 2021

Autumn 2021 Dancing with Ghosts, which will include poems, stories, essays that feel autumn-y and grapple with home, history, and identity. Deadline: 31 May 2021

 

Halfway Down the Stairs

This quarterly online magazine accepts poetry, short stories (up to 5000 words) and creative nonfiction (up to 3000). The editors are currently reading for their June issue on the theme of Love and War. See their website for details. Deadline: 1 May 2021