Submission season gears up for real when many journals open their reading periods in August and September. But there’s no need to wait. Here are 10 magazines and presses waiting to read your work today. Good luck!
Codex Journal
Codex Journal accepts poetry that delights and instructs the mind and spirit through language and story. We only offer contributor payment for our special issues. We publish four times a year: March 25, June 25, September 25, & December 25. Our end-of-the-year issue is a special issue of Queer & People of Color (QPOC). Codex Journal welcomes unsolicited poetry year round and accepts simultaneous submissions. We tend to publish shorter poems that fit on a single page (about 32 lines), though we sometimes make exceptions for remarkable work that runs a little longer. Please send no more than five poems in a submission (a single document) and no more than one active submission at a time.
Little Curlew Press
Little Curlew Press is looking for finely tuned, completed fiction manuscripts for publication. Our bend is literary rather than genre. We are currently looking for novels, collections of stories, and nonfiction. Please send query letter, along with the first 10 pages of the manuscript. If we are interested in reading the manuscript, we will get back to you within 30 days.
http://littlecurlewpress.com/submissions/
Cosmonauts Avenue
Cosmonauts Avenue is an online monthly literary magazine. We publish fiction, poetry, nonfiction, interviews, and more, from writers around the world, in English and in translation. Submissions are free and always will be. Please submit stories or novel excerpts of up to 8,000 words. Please submit up to 5 previously unpublished poems in one file. Please pitch us if you are interested in submitting non fiction, interviews, comics, or reviews.
http://www.cosmonautsavenue.com/submit/
Oversound Poetry
Oversound considers submissions year round. Please send three to five poems (of any length) as a single .doc or .pdf attachment to oversoundpoetry at gmail dot com along with a cover letter and short bio.
http://www.oversoundpoetry.com/submissions/
Spelk
Spelk is a new platform for the very best flash fiction on the web. We post three stories a week, from both new and established writers, from the UK and overseas. We have very eclectic tastes, and we don’t like labels. Just send us your best work and we’ll take it from there. We want flash fiction. That’s around 500 words, give or take. We’ll consider just about any genre: we’re not fussy if it’s “literary” or “non-literary.” If we like it, we’ll publish it. We like stories with characters who have something to say. Stories that keep us thinking long after we’ve read them. We don’t publish poetry or non-fiction.
https://spelkfiction.com/submit-2/
Palooka: A Magazine of Underdog Excellence
Palooka is an international nonprofit literary magazine. We publish unique fiction, poetry, nonfiction, artwork, photography, graphic narratives, comic strips, and offer print and electronic versions of the magazine. Submit one short story or one essay (500 – 15,000 words) or up to three flash pieces of at least 500 words each (combine the flash pieces into one document). Send up to five poems (combine into one document).
Palooka Press Chapbook Contest
We consider manuscripts of all types, styles, and genres and aren’t looking for a particular aesthetic; we’re willing to give anything a fair chance. Please send your best fiction, poetry, nonfiction, graphic narrative, or hybrid. Manuscripts should be roughly 35-50 pages, but we’re flexible with this in either direction. There is a $10 entry fee that comes with an electronic issue of Palooka. All pieces within entries are also considered for publication in the magazine. The Winner Receives: publication by Palooka Press (a professionally made perfect-bound book with a glossy color cover), 20 free copies of the book, $200 honorarium, a bio and photo featured on our website. The winning chapbook will be sent out for review and promotion. Deadline: 8/1/2016.
http://palookamag.com/palooka-press
Bosque
Our open submission period is July 1 – August 1 of each year. Send us short stories/novel excerpts and your creative nonfiction/memoir excerpts up to 5000 words. Send up to 4 poems in one document.
http://www.bosquepress.com/2016%20open%20submissions.html
2016 Grayson Books Poetry Prize
Deadline: August 15, 2016. This is open to all poets writing in English. Submit your 50-80 page manuscript electronically or send your work in the mail with two cover pages (one with complete contact info, one with no contact info), reading fee of $25, and SASE for results to Grayson Books, P.O. Box 270549, West Hartford, CT 06127. The winner will be awarded a $1,000 prize, publication, and 10 copies. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if we are notified immediately about an acceptance elsewhere.
https://graysonbooks.submittable.com/submit
Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine
Now & Then is accepting submissions for the upcoming “The Future of Appalachia” issue. Send us fresh, revealing pictures of life in Appalachia, past and present, in the forms of engaging articles, personal essays, fiction, poetry, reviews and photography. Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2016.
Denton Loving 