42 Recently Opened Submission Calls, Upcoming Deadlines, Contests, Theme Calls, and More
Where to Submit This Week (06.16.25) | Plus handpicked favorite calls for paid subscribers!
Where to Submit is free. But paid subscribers get WTS+ which lives below the paywall—with a curated selection from this list, extra stats-based recommendations, and a full spreadsheet download of all opportunities.
Welcome to another Where To Submit Monday, friends. This is an eventful one, becauseee—drum roll, please—we’re recombining WTS and WTS+!
& We’ve got some exciting news + updates!
First, Some Good News
We’re now the #2 Bestselling Substack in Literature!
George Saunders, we’re comin for ya!
And as if that alone didn’t make our week, we were also (finally) listed as one (well, two if you also consider Chill Subs, our parent company, and come on why wouldn’t you!) of the 101 Websites for Writers in Writer’s Digest! 🎉 👯 🍻
Updates & Changes
So, we’ve been hearing from many of you that splitting this newsletter up into two was kind of confusing. And the things our paid readers really wanted could be more easily delivered in the regular WTS, after the paywall. Plus, all other tagged mags like Highest Paying, Sweet Spot, Award-Winning is still available in the Glorious Ultra-Amazing Spreadsheet (more on that, again, below).
he most loved feature of WTS+ was the Favorite Calls, which are:
Handpicked favorites from our team:
Crème de la crème of lit mags open for submissions every week.
Because not everyone can sort through 100s of opportunities and figure out which is the best place to submit to or to find time to submit to most of them, this curated selection will feature what I consider are the first 5 mags you should submit to when you get the time this week (to really get you off to a good start and keep you in the submission flow). I’ll make sure there’s a good mix of genre and vibes here as well as the practical stuff like fee/pay/sim subs, etc.
Besides having the usual basic information about each mag, I’ll also include why I picked each mag specifically and a pro tip to submit to that particular mag.
Here’s an example from a previous WTS+:
Yolk Literary → Deadline: May 31 | Fee: CA$3 | Pay: $100–$200 flat | Open for Multimedia, Poetry, Nonfiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | Under 100 followers | Canada — "Montreal-Based Literary Journal publishing fine work by established and emerging artists"
Reasoning: When I first stumbled across this mag, as I was randomly flitting through filters in Chill Subs Browse, I immediately fell in love with the Yolk’s lush prose and clean aesthetic. Since then, I’ve had the honor of being published with them. I can guarantee that they value their writers and will treat you with all the care you and your words deserve.
Pro Tip: I subbed to Yolk several times before an acceptance came through, and my take is that this is not the place to send your “almost.” If you’re sitting on a story that’s still wobbling a little in the middle, or a poem that relies on its vibes to carry the weight, don’t send it here yet. This editorial team loves formal risk, but not if it’s hiding an empty center. For fiction, avoid the sentimental wrap-up and the flashy-but-flat concept piece; they’re more interested in work that lingers through voice, movement, and restraint. For poetry, every line has to do something: evoke, provoke, turn. Ask yourself, if I stripped this down to just the language, no tricks, would it still hold?
Today, you’ll get 6 favorites instead of the usual 5 and going forward, we’ll feature anywhere from 5-15 depending on how many open calls there are for that week.
The Glorious Ultra-Amazing Spreadsheet
As a refresher, the spreadsheet is a powerful tool. Here’s what makes it worth opening:
Includes every open opportunity we found this week
Lets you filter by genre, theme, deadline, reading fee, and more
You can sort by what’s closing soonest, what pays, or what’s fee-free
You can search by keyword to find calls that match your exact project
And it’s an easy way to track your submissions, add notes, or build your own shortlist right in the sheet
Alright, now let’s get into it!
→ Have a question about the writing or publishing world? Join our susbcriber chat & ask away + hang out with a community of other active submitters!
Last week, we published →
Prof. A. Burack: 12 of my poems were published as an author feature in ucity review, Issue 30 on June 8, 2025
Alan Perry: My new chapbook "The Heart of It" was just published by Kelsay Books
Vinita Agrawal: My essay titled Stork Sister about a woman who saved the Greater Adjutant was published in The Chakkar
Jen Hallaman: My essay "Citrus Greening" was published in Pithead Chapel!
Want to show up in our success stories? Drop a quick one-line comment about a piece you’ve had published in the past week or two—like, “My story ‘Dogs on a Cold Copper Floor’ was published in The Paris Review!” Feel free to include a link. Just one line, please.
This week, we’ve got →
7 Recently Opened Submission Calls
12 Last Chance to Submit
10 Theme Calls to Inspire You!
10 Lit Mags That Are Always Open for Submissions
3 Contests Closing This Week
5 Favorite Opportunities, Handpicked with Love!
🔑 Quick key:
A - Acceptance rate
R - Response time |
☑︎ - Yes
✖️ - No
For even more details, click on a lit mag’s name to be redirected to their Chill Subs listing page or sign up for a paid subscription to download the spreadsheet.
DISCLAIMER: We take great pains to ensure our data is accurate. However, depending on when you see this, some mags might have closed—especially if they have submission caps!
storySouth → Deadline: Jul 15 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 180 days | A: 7.14% | 2K+ followers | United States | 2001 — "storySouth’s most important mission is to showcase the best fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry that writers from the new south have to offer. Special emphasis is given to finding and promoting the works of promising new writers."
Muzzle Magazine → Deadline: Jul 15 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 111 days | A: 1.84% | 6K+ followers | United States | 2010 — "Muzzle Magazine has published writing of revolution and revelation, and in 2020, on the precipice of a new decade, we will continue seeking submissions that move us not just in feeling, but also in intention."
Ink and Marrow → Deadline: Jul 25 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 5% | 1.5K+ followers | United States | 2023 — "Ink & Marrow was brought forth out of the idea that creativity is carved on our bones and channeled deep in our marrow through a dark, painful, elusive force."
Luna Station Quarterly → Deadline: Aug 15 | Fee: No | Pay: $10/piece | Open for Fiction | ✖️ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 90 days | A: 10% | 3K+ followers | United States | 2010 — "Stellar Short Fiction by Women-Identified Writers Since 2010"
Encyclopedia Prismatica → Deadline: Aug 15 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Nonfiction, Poetry, Fiction, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | R: 20 days | Under 100 followers | United States | 2025 — "A philosophical and literary journal, ENPRI revives the spirit of existential engagement, combined with artistic experimentation. The editorial vision draws inspiration from modern existential thought and the humanist tradition of Les Temps Modernes."
South 85 Journal → Deadline: Aug 31 | Fee: $3 | Pay: No | Open for Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 90 days | A: 20.00% | 500+ followers | United States | 2012 — "The official literary journal of the Converse University low-res MFA program. We publish fiction, flash, CNF, poetry, blog posts, and interviews."
Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine → Deadline: Sep 15 | Fee: No | Pay: From $10/piece | Open for Multimedia, Fiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 10.63% | Under 100 followers | United States — "An online magazine dedicated to riding that ever-changing edge of new and original fiction and art and sound and everything into tomorrow, to being a conduit for the voices that speak along that edge, to helping in some way those voices to move the world forward"
Barrelhouse → Deadline: Jun 16 | Fee: No | Pay: $50 flat | Open for Nonfiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 180 days | A: 1% | 20K+ followers | United States | 2004 — "Barrelhouse bridges the gap between serious art and pop culture. It's an annual print journal featuring fiction, poetry, interviews, and essays. Barrelhouse Books publishes 2 books (1 poetry, 1 NF) per year. "
Epiphany → Deadline: Jun 16 | Fee: Yes | Pay: $0–$25 flat | Open for Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 120 days | A: 25% | 10K+ followers | United States | 2001 — "Epiphany is a semiannual print and online literary journal and an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) that supports practicing writers at every stage of their careers."
LEON Literary Review → Deadline: Jun 16 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry, Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 60 days | A: 4.46% | 2K+ followers | United States | 2020 — "a bimonthly online publication that honors the memory of Leon N. Shapiro"
The Write Launch → Deadline: Jun 16 | Fee: $5 | Pay: No | Open for Nonfiction, Poetry, Fiction, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 45 days | A: 46.56% | 1K+ followers | United States | 2017 — "Monthly, online literary magazine. Stories, poetry, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction. "
Veritas Journal → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | 300+ followers | United States | 2019 — "Veritas Journal is dedicated to providing a forum for the discussion of education in the highest sense (whether formal or informal) and a regular opportunity for readers to experience in themselves a greater awakening to the true, the good and the beautiful."
Club Chicxulub Journal → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Multimedia, Poetry, Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 8% | 400+ followers | United States | 2021 — "A celebration of fabulist fiction, from sci-fi to slipstream. Our namesake is the asteroid that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs. We choose several pieces per issue to produce with a soundtrack."
Rabbit → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | 3K+ followers | Australia | 2011 — "Rabbit acknowledges the people of the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung language groups of the Kulin nation, the first and continuing custodians of the land upon which we do our work, and pay our respects to their elders, past and present. "
the engine(idling) → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 34.06% | 3K+ followers | United States | 2023 — "the engine(idling is a literary journal seeking poetry and art submissions from the restless."
The Dribble Drabble Review → Deadline: Jun 21 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 60 days | 500+ followers | United States | 2020 — "This carefully curated, biannual (Spring and Fall), online literary e-zine advocates for all things little-ature."
Sine Theta (sinθ) → Deadline: Jun 22 | Fee: No | Pay: $10 flat | Open for Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 12.00% | 7K+ followers | 2016 — "An international print creative arts magazine that connects and empowers members of the Sino diaspora like ourselves. We take submissions of visual art and literature and feature interviews with established and rising creators alike in the magazine."
NUNUM → Deadline: Jun 22 | Fee: CA$3 | Pay: $20 flat | Open for Multimedia, Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 8.46% | 1K+ followers | Canada | 2018 — "A journal dedicated to blending flash fiction and art."
Sunspot Lit → Deadline: Jun 23 | Fee: Yes | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 60 days | A: 6% | 3K+ followers | United States | 2019 — "Since launching in January of 2019, Sunspot Literary Journal has amplified diverse multinational voices. New works have been published in their original language side-by-side with English translations."
The Dewdrop | Theme: dewdrops: Weekly Haiku and Print Anthology - Summer Submissions → Deadline: Jun 16 | Fee: Some | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 32 days | A: 16.67% | Under 100 followers | United States | 2018 — "The Dewdrop welcomes submissions from all writers."
Bloodletter Magazine | Theme: Trans Voices in Horror Poetry Zine → Deadline: Jun 17 | Fee: No | Pay: $250 flat or $50 | Open for Multimedia, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 12.90% | 2K+ followers | United States | 2023 — "Bloodletter is a feminist horror magazine showcasing personal and analytical perspectives on the horrific by women, trans, and non-binary writers."
Cold Signal | Theme: NOVELETTE SUBMISSION → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 60 days | 1K+ followers | 2022 — "Cold Signal is a digital literary magazine publishing the Weird, the beautiful, the mad and the free."
Boomer Lit Mag | Theme: Resilience → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | 100+ followers | United States | 2015 — "While we lean into the experience and lives of Boomers, we happily take any well-written literary prose and poetry. We've published authors from 22 to 94 years old from around the world. "
The Agora Magazine | Theme: Issue 03: Credit and Credibility → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Hybrid | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 20% | 8K+ followers | India — "The Agora Magazine integrates together finance, business and economics with literature, sparking fresh perspectives and meaningful conversations. Submit your work or explore stories that inspire, inform, and ignite curiosity."
Blue Daisies Journal | Theme: Issue IV: Warmtime → Deadline: Jun 22 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 28 days | A: 93% | 700+ followers | 2021 — "This journal aims to be a cozy cot for experimentation with genre aesthetics. Our submission season: MAY-JUN / NOV-DEC."
Shooter Literary Magazine | Theme: Sweet Hereafter → Deadline: Jun 22 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 60 days | A: 1.33% | 6K+ followers | United Kingdom | 2014 — "Shooter publishes themed print issues twice a year, and holds competitions for short stories (annual), poetry (annual), and flash fiction/nonfiction (monthly). We seek compelling literary work that appeals to both the head and the heart."
Notch | Theme: Currents → Deadline: Jul 6 | Fee: No | Pay: $40–$100/piece or $20–$100 | Open for Fiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 38 days | A: 10.00% | 1K+ followers | United States | 2024 — "A literary and arts magazine based in New York and Paris."
Spark Flash Fiction | Theme: STEM → Deadline: Jul 11 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 42 days | 1.5K+ followers | United States | 2014 — "Spark provides flash fiction romance and romance sub-genre stories."
Epistemic Literary | Theme: Nostalgia → Deadline: Jul 15 | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | R: 60 days | A: 10% | 4K+ followers | United States | 2023 — "Epistemic Literary is a fully-digital anthology series celebrating knowledge, connection, and growth through poetry and short fiction."
The Humanist | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Multimedia, Nonfiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | 70K+ followers | United States | 1927 — "The Humanist is a quarterly publication of ideas and action focusing on the philosophy of humanism—a naturalistic and progressive outlook informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion."
PEACHFUZZ Journal | Fee: $5 | Pay: No | Open for Nonfiction, Fiction, Hybrid, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 60 days | Under 100 followers | United States | 2024 — "Atlanta-based literary journal open to all genres."
North of Oxford Journal | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Nonfiction, Poetry | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 60 days | A: 58.33% | Under 100 followers | United States | 2016 — "An international literary journal. Poetry, book reviews, commentary and essays."
Three Fold | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | Under 100 followers | United States | 2019 — "Online journal exploring intersections of writing, visual arts, and music through various creative approaches."
Glass Gates | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | Under 100 followers | 2022 — "Inspired by the desire to provide a contextual platform for all creatives, Glass Gates Publishing, LLC is an up and coming digital publishing house that was established in 2022 in Boston, MA. "
Mobtown Dreams | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, Hybrid, Multimedia | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | Under 100 followers | 2024 — "In the words of Audre Lorde... "I was going to die, if not sooner then later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.""
The Lascaux Review | Fee: No | Pay: Yes | Open for Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | R: 30 days | A: 0.56% | 4K+ followers | United States | 2012 — "The Lascaux Review seeks accessible fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction of literary quality, as well as essays on the craft and business of writing."
Big Whoopie Deal | Fee: $3 | Pay: No | Open for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry | ✖️ Sim Subs | ✖️ Reprints | R: 47 days | A: 1.10% | Under 100 followers | 2020 — "BWD is an aesthetically soothing zone for literature. We are an eclectic mix. "
Midwest Weird | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Fiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | Under 100 followers | United States | 2023 — "Midwest Weird is an audio literary magazine featuring weird fiction and nonfiction by Midwestern writers."
The Redwood Review | Fee: No | Pay: No | Open for Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction | ☑︎ Sim Subs | ☑︎ Some Reprints | 100+ followers — "A tri-annual international literary-arts journal publishing language and art that interrogates the anatomy of customary cogitations on class strata, racialized bodies, anthropogenic destruction, and queer identities"
Omnidawn Poetry Chapbook Contest → Deadline: Jun 16 | Fee: $30 | Prize: $1,000 flat | Open for Poetry — Prize: $1000, publication, and 20 copies
Heartwood Poetry Prize by Heartwood → Deadline: Jun 20 | Fee: $5 | Prize: $200 flat | Open for Poetry — Winner receives: $200, publication in summer issue, and they serve as judge for the following heartwood poetry prize. Finalists receive $50.
A Midsummer Tale Narrative Writing Contest → Deadline: Jun 21 | Fee: No | Prize: $75 flat | Open for Nonfiction, Fiction — Your story must be set during the hot summer months and the theme must play an integral role in the story.
