Submission Opportunities: May 2025

What‘s better than your favorite sandwich for lunch? Eating it while knocking out submission goals. Each month, Story Street shares open or upcoming submission opportunities we’re looking at to get you hungry for publication. Grab a sandwich, be a grinder, and sink your teeth into those subs!  subs! 

Story Street is going to be hosting our next live submission party on our YouTube live stream. Monday, May 5 starting at 2pm EST. Join the chat, follow along while you eat your lunch and submit some kick-butt writing along with us!

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Writer’s Digest |Deadline: June 2

Annual writing competition offering prizes across the following categories: Inspirational/Spiritual, Memoirs/Personal Essay, Non-Fiction Essay or Article, Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.), Mainstream/Literary Short Story, Rhyming Poetry, Non-Rhyming Poetry, Humor, Children’s/Young Adult Fiction.

Fee: Poetry $25 first entry/$20 each additional poetry entry; Manuscript $35 first entry/$30 each additional manuscript entry. ($5 off each fee if entered by May 5.)

Prizes: 1st place in each category wins $1,000 plus publication in WritersDigest.com. 2nd place in each category wins $500. 3rd place in each category wins $250. 4th place in each category wins $100. 5th place in each category wins $50. 6th-10th place in each category wins a $25 gift certificate for writersdigestshop.com.

All winners will also receive additional prizes. See their website for the details.

Notes: Top award winners will be notified on or before October 17, 2025.

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Gramercy Review| Deadline: May 11

Gramercy Review is a literary magazine based in New York City that welcomes original, unpublished work in three categories: poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.

Fee: $5 | Pay: At this time, Gramercy Review is unable to pay contributors.

Type: Fiction/Nonfiction/Poems

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The Bridport Prize| Deadline: May 31

International competition. Prizes are awarded in the categories of poetry, short story, flash fiction, novel, and memoir, as well as special categories such as the Young Writer Award, the Never Too Late Award, and Dorset Award.

Poetry Up to 42 lines.

Short Story 5,000 words or less. 

Flash Fiction 250 words or less. 

Novel 8,000 words and a synopsis – initially.

Memoir 5,000 to 8,000 words plus a 300-word overview – to begin with.

See The Contest Website for details on the categories and prizes.

Fee: Between 11 and 24 British pounds. Varies depending on the category

Pay: Prizes range between £100 and £5000. Prize varies depending on category.

Notes: All winning poetry, short story, flash fiction, and novel pieces are featured in the anthology, opening doors with literary agents and publishers, and giving access to other competitions not available to the public.

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New Letters Awards for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry| Deadline: May 19

New Letters accepts submissions year-round. They also select winners for the Conger Beasley Award for Nonfiction, the Robert Day Award for Fiction, and the Patricia Cleary Miller Award for Poetry.

Fee: $24 | Pay: $2,500 for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry

Type: Fiction/Nonfiction/Poetry

Notes: The mission of New Letters magazine is to discover, publish and promote the best and most exciting literary writing, wherever it might be found.  We publish and serve readers and writers worldwide.  In recent years, New Letters has won a National Magazine Award, the industry’s highest honor, plus multiple Pushcart Prizes, and is reprinted often in the Best American anthology series.

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Griffith Review | Deadline: May 18 AEST

Fee: n/a | Pay: AUD$0.75 per word

Type: Fiction/Nonfiction – Poetry to open separately in June

Notes: They are looking for fiction and non-fiction that relates to theme “Best Dressed.” Pieces should be a maximum of 4,000 words.

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100 Word Project from Manawaker Studio | Deadline: May 31

Fee: n/a | Pay: $1

Type: Story of exactly 100 words

Notes: Open to submissions until the last day of the month of every month except June and December. The theme for May is “Troll”

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SmokeLong Quarterly| Deadline: May 10

The SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction (The Smokey) is an annual competition that celebrates and compensates excellence in flash. Your entry must be 1000 words or fewer, excluding the title. There is no minimum word count requirement, but keep in mind there’s an annual competition focused on micros of 250 words or fewer later in the year.

Fee: One entry: $16 Up to two entries: $24 Up to four entries: $39 (Includes a coupon for $25 off A SmokeLong Summer 25) | Pay: $Grand Prize: $2500 Second Prize: $1000 Third Prize: $500 Finalists: $150

Type: Fiction

Notes: All finalists and placers will be published in the June 2025 issue of SmokeLong Quarterly.

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Does it have pockets?| Deadline: Rolling

They are seeking submissions in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. They also welcome interviews, book reviews, and other literary adjacent projects. Of particular interest are digital art, hybrid, and cross-genre works that straddle the lines of classification. 

Poetry: a minimum of 3 poems and a maximum of 5 poems. Note: rarely publish poems that run over three typed pages.

Creative Nonfiction: up to 5K words.

Fiction: up to 5K words. We welcome flash fiction up to 1,000 words. You may send 5 flash pieces (up to 5K words) in a single document.

Artwork: 6 -10 images sized 1080×1080 pixels submitted as a JPEG.

Fee: $3 | Pay: $10 per piece

Type: Fiction/Nonfiction/Essays

Notes: Their team meets weekly to discuss each submission. Response times may vary depending on the volume of submissions in the queue. Please feel free to query if you have not received a decision within 90 days. 

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The Masters Review |Deadline: June 8, 2025

Contest to select 10 winners to be published in The Masters Review Best Emerging Writers 2025 Anthology. For fiction and creative non-fiction works under 8,000 words. As the contest is for emerging writers, the author must not have published a novel or memoir with a major press. Submitted work must not have been previously published. Winners will receive $700 each plus one printed copy of the book.

Fee: $20 per submission (multiple and simultaneous submissions allowed)

Notes: Every submission will receive a response by the end of September 2025. The winners will be announced in October 2025.

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Narrative|Deadline: June 15, 2025

The $5,000 Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary non-fiction by a new or emerging writer. See website for submission guidelines.

Fee: $27

Notes: The prize is announced in October. The Narrative Prize is an award not a contest. The magazine accepts general submissions year round. See website for submission category details.

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Patterns by Bag of Bones Press|Deadline: May 31, 2025

Looking for dark stories on the theme of patterns for their anthology. They say to interpret that however you like. Could even use the pattern of your story structure to meet the theme. No poetry.

Fee: $27 | Pay: ¢1/word and a copy of anthology

Type: Dark Fiction

Notes: 2k – 4k words. If your story is rejected within the submission window they will allow another submission.

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Baltimore Review 2025 Short Forms Contests|Deadline: May 31, 2025

In their contest guidelines, the Baltimore Review editors say, “Surprise us. Make us wonder how you abracadabra meaning into such a small space.” A $400 prize is awarded in each category (prose poem, flash fiction, flash creative nonfiction). 1,000-word limit. (Up to three flash fiction pieces may be entered in one Word document, but total word count cannot exceed 1,000.) No theme! See Baltimore Review’s blog for complete rules and details.

Fee: $8 | Pay: $400 and publication in their summer issue. (All entries are considered for publication with payment at their regular rate of $50.)

Type: Prose Poem, Flash Fiction, Flash Creative Nonfiction

Notes:  Final judge is Pamela Painter. Submissions must be blind.