86 Calls for Submissions in July 2025

This July there are more than seven dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

Happy submitting!

Note: I update this list continually throughout the month, so check back frequently for new submission calls.

(Image: Flickr)

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Thema. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: I Wish I'd Said That. Payment:  $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: July 1, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Podcastle. Genre: Fantasy podcast. Length: Up to 6,000 words. Payment: $0.06/word for original; $100 for reprints, $20 for flash fiction reprints. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2025.

Okay Donkey. Genre: One flash fiction OR one poem per author, per submission period. See website for details. Payment: $20. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2025 and closes when cap is reached.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words but will consider up to 5,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2025 Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached.

The Paris Review. Genres: Poetry. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2025, and closes when they reach capacity.

Headland. Genre: Short fiction and creative nonfiction. Payment: $50. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

IHRAM Press: America's Slide Toward Authoritarianism Genre: Fiction, essays, poetry, art. "It is clear that the American political class has all the tensile strength of tissue paper in a summer storm, and that our court system is porous, offering a weak and possibly irrelevant backstop to what was once the strongest democracy in the world. So, as in all authoritarian states, it is left to the artists and creators to hold the line, to stand up for what is right and just, and to safeguard the republic. Only the creators have the courage to resist." Payment: $50. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

It Came from the Trailer Park. Genre: Horror/Comedy. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Phi Kappa Phi Forum. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Payment: $4/ line. Deadline: July 2, 2025.

The Fabulist. Genre: Fantastical flash fiction. Payment: $100. Deadline: July 2, 2025. Opens July 1.

Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 4, 2025. Note: This is a monthly call.

Notch. Genre: All genres–from operatic scores to tattoos to sonnets. See theme. Payment: Not specified.  Deadline: July 6, 2025.

Affirm Press Restrictions: They only accept Australians. Genre: All literary and genre fiction. For non-fiction, they are interested in most subjects that have an author or authors based in Australia, and only manuscripts that haven’t been previously published. They only accept submissions on the first Monday of each month and twice yearly on their children’s & teen list. Read their submission guidelines here. Deadline: July 6, 2025.

Daikaijuzine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $10.00 for each short story, and $5.00 for each poem and flash fiction piece. Deadline: July 6, 2025.

Cosmic Horror Monthly. Genre: Weird and cosmic fiction under 5,000 words. Payment: 3 cents (USD) per word. Deadline: July 7, 2025.

Mslexia. Restrictions: Open to women. Genre: Fiction poetry, nonfiction. See theme. Payment: £30. Deadline: July 7, 2025.

Black Inc. Restrictions: Open to Australians. Genre: Full-length general, literary and commercial non-fiction – including history, current affairs, memoir and biography. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 7, 2025. This is a monthly call.

Vellum Mortis. Genre: Horror. Length: 1000 words max. See theme. Payment: $5. Deadline: July 10, 2025.

The Book of Jobs: An Anthology of Poems About Work. Genre: Poems about work. Payment: $10. Deadline: July 12, 2025.

Hub City Press. Genre: Single-narrative nonfiction books. "We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 13, 2025.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. Payment: $0.08/word for fiction, $40/poem, and $75/essay, $100 for reprint cover art, $200 for original unpublished cover art, $50 for reprint interior art, $100 for original unpublished interior art  Deadline: July 14, 2025.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: July 14, 2025 for members of marginalised groups only.

Mulberry. Genre: All creative media—from prose, flash, poetry, script, and comics, to film, music, visual art, dance, and everything in-between. Cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid work are always welcome, as well as excerpts of longer pieces. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 14, 2025.

Cast of Wonders. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. See themes. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: July 14, 2025.

The Orange & Bee. Genre: Original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales. Payment: Poetry: flat rate $US50.00 per poem; Flash fiction/non-fiction: flat rate $US80.00 per story (max 1000 words); Short fiction/non-fiction: $US0.08 per word (max 4000 words). Deadline: July 14, 2025.

Able Muse is a small literary press. They publish poetry and fiction. Most of the fiction they publish is short story collections. They have one free reading period every year, from May 1 through July 15. Read submission guidelines HERE. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Scuppernong. Genre: Hybrid memoir, as well as books on social justice issues in North Carolina. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

The Margins: Imagined Histories: A Folio for The Margins.  Restrictions: Open to Asian American and diasporic poets. Genre: Poems (ghazals, free verse, sonnets, prose poems, hybrid forms, all styles welcome) or visual art (think photo essays, maps, collages, drawings). Experimental and hybrid works are welcome as are traditional forms. Payment: $50 to $90 (USD) for original and translated poetry; the fee varies based on the number and length of poems. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Ink Nest Poetry. Genre: Poetry, fiction, art. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

If There's Anyone Left. Restrictions: Open to people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, members of marginalized genders, and disabled people. Genre: Speculative fiction. Length: 1000 words max. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

A Long House: Chronic. Genre: Poetry, nonfiction/essays, and hybrid work on chronic illness in all its forms—diagnosed, undiagnosed, physical, mental, visible, invisible. Payment: $50. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Humans and Nature Press. Genre: Nonfiction, poetry, art. "We accept essays, book reviews, poems, and artwork, including comic art. Our readership is interested in discussions that bear, directly or indirectly, on the areas of conservation, evolutionary biology and ecology, environmental ethics, environmental philosophy, law, and policy, and the environmental humanities." Payment: $500. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Electric Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grandmothers. Genre: Nonfiction. We view this book as a wonderful gift for grandmothers of all ages. And what makes this topic so much fun is that the moment a grandchild is born, a grandmother is born too! And what an amazing experience it is. Everyone has a great story about the unconditional love between grandmothers and their grandchildren. We are looking for heartwarming, insightful, and humorous stories celebrating grandmothers. Payment: $200. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Slugger. Genre: Horror. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Timber Ghost Press. Genre: Novels and novellas, including cosmic horror, weird horror, sci-fi/horror, gothic, and contemporary. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 15, 2025. Extended Period for authors who are BIPOC, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized communities

Sunlight Press. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and essays. Payment: $30 - $50. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: July 18, 2025.

The Shallot: Journal of Mental Health, Art, and Literature. Genre: Poetry, prose, art. See theme. Payment: $15 or a copy of the journal. Deadline: July 19, 2025.

Astrolabe. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography & art. Payment: $50. Deadline: July 20, 2025.

Seaside Gothic. Genre: Seaside gothic fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or a collection of photographs or illustrations. Payment: £0.01 per word. Deadline: July 20, 2025.

Diabolical Plots. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy and horror up to 3,500 words. Payment: 10 cents/word. Deadline: July 21, 2025.

Tractor Beam. Genre: Speculative fiction dedicated to soil punk. Payment: $1000. Deadline: July 21, 2025.

Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: July 25, 2025.

Stygian Lepus Magazine. Genre: Dark speculative fiction. Payment: $5. Deadline: July 25, 2025. This is a monthly call.

Flame Tree: Best Served Cold. Genre: Crime fiction. Theme: Revenge. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word. Deadline: July 27, 2025.

Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Deadline: July 30, 2025.

Baubles From Bones. Genre: Science fiction and fantasy. Length: All stories must be between 1,000 to 8,000 words. Payment: $.01/word. Deadline: July 30, 2025.

Spoon Knife. Genre: Short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $30. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Horror on the Range. Genre: Western horror. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Pink Hydra. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: Stories and poetry contributions under 5,500 words will receive $3, with longer stories receiving more, up to a maximum of $17. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Redacted: What Divorced Women Aren't Telling You. Genre: Personal essays about the author's experience with divorce as well as shorter form stories. Payment: $125. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Ampersand Review. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews. Payment: Poetry: $50 per poem/page to a maximum of $100. Fiction: $100 per story. Non-fiction: $100 per piece. Reviews: $100 per piece. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Flash Frog. Genre: Flash fiction ghost stories. 1,000 words max. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Short Story Substack accepts one short story every month. Genre: All genres. Word count 6,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Reprints accepted. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Flash Point Science Fiction. Genre: Speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. "Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short." Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Pseudopod. Genre: Horror Anthologies and Collections of stories that have been or will be published in 2025. Payment: USD $0.08 per word for original fiction. USD $100 per story for reprint fiction. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

parABnormal. Genre: Nonfiction, poetry on the paranormal. "For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores." Payment: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints.$6.00 for each poem. $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Nonbinary Review. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Theme: Solarpunk. Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry. Payment: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry. $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Accepts reprints.

The London Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Payment: Not specified. Only pays for their print publication. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Closes when cap is reached, so submit early in the month.

Worldsmyths: Dark Fantasy Short Stories. Genre: Dark Fantasy Short Stories. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

THREE COUSINS PUBLISHING: Family, Fae, Fiend, Friend, and Foe. Genre: Speculative stories featuring a family with at least one type of supernatural family member. Payment: $10. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Gaudy Boy. Restrictions: Authors of Asian heritage residing anywhere in the world. Genre: Full-length poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Payment: Advance of USD1,500. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

khōréō. Restrictions: Open to writers who identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. "This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, transnational/transracial adoptees, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. We especially encourage BIPOC creators who identify as the above to submit their work." Genre: Stories, art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Payment: 10 cents/word for fiction, and $100- $400 for art. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Dragon Soul Press: Terror Reigns. Genre: All horror stories are welcome. All genres accepted. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Bateman Books. Restrictions: The books they publish must have some connection to Aotearoa New Zealand, whether it’s theme, content, setting or author. Genre: A select range of high-quality books, specialising in illustrated non-fiction, commercial fiction and children’s/YA books. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Haven Speculative. Restrictions: Open to submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Marrow. Genre: Poetry written in, or translated into, English, from Australian and international poets. Payment: AU$40. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Only Poems. Genre: Poetry. "We love prose poems, traditional forms (ghazals, villanelles, sestinas), love poems, sex poems, and experimental questionnaires, but we are not married to a style or genre. We are welcoming of anything you think is your most exciting work. Ultimately, we want poems that move us or make us go: “God, I wish I had written this!” Payment: $77. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Clare Songbirds. Genre: Full-length poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, messages from heaven, angels. Genre: True stories about miracles, angels, messages from heaven, premonitions, amazing coincidences and other unexplainable but good events! Payment: $200. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Brink. Genre: Hybrid, cross-genre fiction, nonfiction poetry. See theme. Payment: $25 Poem; $50 Work (less than 1500 words); $50 Art (1-3 Images); $100 Art (4+ Images); $100 Work (more than 1501 words). Deadline: July 31, 2025.

New Myths. Genre: Speculative fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry; $50 for book reviews; $80 for art. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Payment: $100. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Gwyllion. Restrictions: Writers living in Wales and writers who identify (fully, in part, or by ancestry) as Welsh. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Welsh themes. Payment: £15 per accepted story or poem. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Inkd Publishing: Cthulu: Dreams. Genre: Horror. Incorporate the Lovecraftian theme as you will into your horror story. Word Limit: 2,000 to 7,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Taco Bell Quarterly. Genre: Short stories, non-fiction, prose, essays, poetry, art, comics, flash, films, "undefinable auras, experiments, and completely ordinary shit." "We are looking for innovative ways to lower the bar. We are looking for ways to degrade ourselves with flair. We are looking for universes that could be extremely traumatizing if the writers weren’t cowards. We are looking for ways to address the nightmares more directly." Payment: $150. Deadline: July 31, 2025. (Closes when cap is reached so submit early.)

Space and Time. Genre: Speculative fiction. "We welcome poetry, art and fiction that bend rules, transcend genre and break stereotypes." Submissions accepted in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Italian. See theme. Payment: 1 cent/word for prose, $5 for poetry. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Weird West Anthology. Genre: Western genre with a speculative bend. Wordcount: <1000 words. Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Anstruther Books. Genre: Poetry "that takes risks and represents a diverse cross-section of the Canadian literary community." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Three Cousins Publishing: Family, Fae, Fiend, Friend, and Foe. Genre: Submissions must be speculative and feature a family with some type of supernatural family member or members. Vampires and fairies, gnomes and zombies, leprechauns, bigfeet, ghouls, and poltergeists are all welcome. Horror, humor, fantasy, science fiction, or even an entertaining, but bizarre mashup of genres that we haven’t considered.Stories must be between 4,000 and 5,000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: July 31, 2025. 

Hashtag Press. Genre: Full-length children's and YA books. All books must be diverse or inclusive. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Spook Hollow: Tales of Ozark Horror. Genre: Horror set in the Ozarks. Word Count: 3,000 to 6,000 words. Payment: $50 plus a contributor’s copy.  Deadline: July 31, 2025.

AND A FEW MORE...

The First Line Journal. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry using the line provided. (See theme) Payment: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

BOA Editions — Blessing the Boats Selections. Genre: Book of poetry by Women of Color. Payment: $1500 + Publication. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Dark Waters. Genre: Dark fiction up to 7,000 words. See theme. Payment: Up to $25. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Fearmoji: Queer Emoji Horror. Genre: Adult queer horror. Word Count: 4000–7500. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Burial Books: Science Fiction Short Stories. Genre: Science fiction short stories between 2000 and 8,000 words in length. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Burial Books: Sword and Sorcery Short Stories. Genre: Sword and sorcery fantasy short stories between 2000 and 8,000 words in length. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Howdy Dude. Genre: Western stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 1.5 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Saddlebag Dispatches. Genre: Short stories, poetry, and non-fiction articles about the West. Payment: $10 - $20. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

48 Writing Contests in July 2025 - No entry fees

This July there are four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $100,000 to publication. None charge entry fees.

Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

If you want to get a jump on next month's contests go to Free Contests. Many of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.

Good luck! 

(Image: Pickpik)

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Embracing Our Differences Quotation Contest. Genre: An original quotation to accompany a piece of artwork. Length: 20 words max. Prize: $2000. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Richard J. Margolis Award. Genre: Journalism. Prize is awarded annually to a promising new journalist or essayist whose work combines warmth, humor, wisdom and concern with social justice. Prize: $5,000 and one month of residency at Blue Mountain Center. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

ALCS Award for Educational Writers. Genre: The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) Educational Writers’ Award is awarded to an outstanding example of traditionally published non-fiction that stimulates and enhances learning. The total prize money is £2,000, shared between author and illustrator. The ALCS Educational Writers’ Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and the Society of Authors, “to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity, encourages students to read widely and builds up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications. Prize: £2,000.00. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Sponsored by Claremont Graduate University. Restrictions: Poets must be citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States. Genre: Poetry. Book must be author's first full-length book of poetry, published between between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. Self-published books are accepted. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest (BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize and BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean). Restrictions: All entrants must be of Caribbean heritage/of Caribbean descent or writers who were born/raised and holding nationality in the Caribbean. Genre: Unpublished short fiction (3000 words max). Prize: US$1750 for each contest. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards. Genre: Poetry. "The awards contest is an annual series of awards to encourage poets to explore and illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit." Prize: $200. Deadline: July 1, 2025. Free entry for poets age 12 and under.

Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Sponsored by Claremont Graduate University. Restrictions: Poets must be citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States. Genre: Poetry. The work submitted must be a first book of poetry published between between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. Manuscripts, CDs, and chapbooks are not accepted. Prize: $100,000. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Emmy Awards - Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award. Restrictions: Non-US citizens under the age of 30 only. Prize: $2,500, a trip to New York City, and an invitation to the International Emmy® Awards Gala in November. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative. Restrictions: Applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. Prize: Grant, amount not specified. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Mountain Book Competition. Genre: Mountain literature. Prize: Over $29,000 in cash is awarded annually with 8 awards selected by an international jury of writers, adventurers and editors. Deadline: July 3, 2025.

Hubert Butler Essay Prize. Restrictions: Open to European Union citizens aged 18+. Genre: Essay on theme ‘With narratives of conflict currently distorted by misinformation and the substitution of memory for history, what are the chances of reconciliation?’ 3,000 words max. Prize: First prize of €1,500 and two second prizes of €500. Deadline: July 4, 2025.

Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards. Restrictions: Open to U.S. military service members and veterans and their immediate families. Genre: Prose and poetry. Prize: $250, $150, and $100. Deadline: July 4, 2025.

The Republic of Letters. Genre: CNF (?)"Character identification week. You may well at some point in your life have had the experience of overly identifying with a fictional character in something you read or watched. Tell that story! — about how you thought you were Captain Nemo or Maid Marian or whatever it was." Prize: $50. Deadline: July 6, 2025.

HG Wells Short Story Competition. Genre: Short story on theme. See site. Length: 1,500 to 5,000 words. Prize: £1,000 and publication in the annual HG Wells Short Story Competition Anthology.  Deadline: July 8, 2025. No fee for writers under the age of 21. Those over 21 can enter for a fee.

The Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism. Restrictions: Open to women and nonbinary journalists. Genre: Narrative Journalism. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: July 13, 2025.

Palette Poetry Free Challenge. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500 and publication. Deadline: July 13, 2025.

Stony Brook Short Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Only undergraduates enrolled full time in United States and Canadian universities and colleges are eligible. Genre: Fiction of no more than 7,500 words. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: July 14, 2025.

Women on the Ground: Reporting from Ukraine’s Unseen Frontlines. Restrictions: Open to women journalists. Genre: Reportage. This program supports journalists from local and regional outlets in the U.S., France and Germany in producing in-depth projects or underreported stories from Ukraine that will resonate with their respective home communities. Grant: $8000. Deadline: July 14, 2025. 

Boardman Tasker Prize. Restrictions: The prize will be awarded for a work first published or distributed in the United Kingdom between July 15, 2024 and July 15, 2025. Genre: Books with a mountain, not necessarily mountaineering, theme whether fiction, non-fiction, drama or poetry, written in the English language. Prize: £3,000.00. Deadline: July 14, 2025.

The Burlington Contemporary Art Writing Prize. Restrictions: Entrants must have published no more than six pieces of writing in print or online prior to their submission. Genre: Review of a contemporary art exhibition. Prize: £1,000. Deadline: July 14, 2025. 

Donn Goodwin and Joseph Gahagen Poetry Prizes: Milwaukee Irish Fest. Genre: Poetry. Entries should have a culture/literary relation to either Ireland, Irish-America, or to Irish poetry. Prize: $100. Deadline: July 14, 2025.

Books Like Us. Genre: First novel. "The Simon & Schuster adult trade imprint is pleased to announce the fourth BOOKS LIKE US First Novel Contest to facilitate accessibility to underrepresented writers and celebrate the diversity of readers across the United States. As the nation continues to strive for progress, Simon & Schuster aims to help catalyze that change by amplifying voices that represent us, by publishing books like us. A two-week entry period will begin on June 30. At that time, writers are invited and encouraged to submit 25 pages of an original adult novel via the form on this page. The publisher welcomes inclusive, entertaining, and groundbreaking reads with expert pacing, depth, heart, and irresistible characters who leap from the page. At the end of the submission period, the editorial, marketing, and publicity teams at Simon & Schuster will review all submissions for originality, relevance to today’s publishing climate, and writing quality." Prize: In November 2025, the author of the selected novel will be awarded the opportunity to enter into a $50,000 book deal with Avid Reader Press." Deadline: July 14, 2025.

Iron Horse Prize. Genre: First book of collected prose. Prize: $1000, and the collection will be published in the summer of 2025 by Texas Tech University Press. Deadline: July 15, 2025. Free submissions on July 15 only.

Iron Horse Photofinish. Genre: Brief ekphrastic work that pushes beyond an absolute litera.l read of a photo prompt. "We're looking for work that recognizes what's hidden in the world we see, responding to the physical details that the picture offers or what emotion it conveys or both. We provide the photo on our website and social media platforms every mid-May. Responses should be no longer than 500 words for prose or 15 lines for poetry. Prize:  Winner receives $250. The finalists receive: $50. Deadline: July 15, 2025. Free submissions on July 15 only.

The Governor General’s Literary Awards. Restrictions: Books must have been written, translated or illustrated by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Genre: Best English-language and the best French-language book will be chosen in each of the seven categories of Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Children’s Literature (text), Children’s Literature (illustrated books) and Translation (from French to English). Prize: $25,000. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Apex: Weird West Flash Fiction Contest. Genre: Flash fiction: Weird West theme. 1000 words max. Prize: $100. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Stone Canoe. Restrictions: Open to people who live or have lived in Upstate New York (not New York City). Genre: Fiction. Prize: $250 and publication. Deadline: July 15, 2025. (It is difficult to find this information on their website.) 

Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest. Genre: Poetry. Categories: #1 Traditional Sonnet – Shakespearean or Petrarchan; #2 Modern Sonnet. Prize: $50, 2nd Prize $30, 3rd Prize $20, three Honorable Mentions, three Special Recognitions. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Young Scots Writer of the Year Award. Restrictions: You must be aged 11–18 to enter as an individual. Genre: Stories, poems, spoken word pieces, comics, videos or other pieces of writing. "We want to see it all, as long as it's in Scots and under 2500 words or up to ten minutes." Prize: £100 book token. Deadline: July 16, 2025. 

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for one story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: July 18, 2025.

FSG Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to emerging writers from an underrepresented community. US resident or citizen. Genre: Debut work  of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. Submit work samples as part of the application: 8-12 pages for poetry, and 40-50 pages for prose. Work samples can include previously published work and need not be from a single selection of the work. Prize: Stipend of $15,000 and mentorship. Note: Farrar, Straus & Giroux is part of Macmillan. Deadline: July 18, 2025.

Lauren Brown Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to women and nonbinary journalists from underrepresented backgrounds. Journalists must be based in the U.S. Genre: Journalism. Prize: $2000. Deadline: July 20, 2025.

Black Voices in Children's Literature Writing Contest. Restrictions: The contest is open to Black authors who at the time of entry are at least 18 years of age and residing anywhere in the United States. Genre: Original children’s books for ages 0–4 (50–125 words) or for ages 4–8 (300–800 words) featuring authentic, realistic Black characters and culture and focusing on one or more of the following topics: character development, self-esteem, identity, diversity, getting along with others, engaging with family and community, or other topics related to positive childhood development. Religious and fantasy themes will not be considered. Prize: First Place: $1000. Second Place: $500 cash prize. Third Place: $250 cash prize. Deadline: July 22, 2025.

Faber Children’s: Faber and Andlyn BAME (FAB) Prize. Restrictions: Open to undiscovered BAME writers and illustrators; entrants must be of black, Asian or minority ethnic background, and UK- or Ireland-based. Genre: Text or artwork for children. Prize: £1,500 and £500 each for a writer and an illustrator. Deadline: July 25, 2025.

Nakata Brophy Short Fiction Prize for Young Indigenous Writers. Restrictions: The prize is open to Indigenous Australian writers who are 35 years or younger at the closing date of the competition. Genre: Short fiction. Prize: First prize includes $5000, an optional writing residency at Trinity College, and publication of the successful piece in Overland. Deadline: July 27, 2025.

2025 BCSA Writing Competition. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction. See theme. Entries must deal with either (1) the links between Britain and the Czech and/or Slovak Republics, at any time in their history, or (2) society in those Republics since 1989. Entries should be in English and not more than 2,000 words long. Prize: First prize £400, second prize £150. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Briefly Write. Genre: Poetry up to 10 lines. Prize: Total prize fund - £80. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

SLF Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants. Restrictions: Open to writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, etc. -- those whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing / publishing process. Genres: Book-length works (novels, collections of short stories) of speculative fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Berggruen Prize Essay Competition. Genre: Essay. "We are inviting essays that follow in the tradition of renowned thinkers such as Rousseau, Michel de Montaigne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Submissions should present novel ideas and be clearly argued in compelling ways for intellectually serious readers." Prize: $50,000 USD for essays submitted in English and $50,000 USD for essays submitted in Chinese. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Blessing the Boats. Restrictions: Open to all women poets of color in the U.S., including poets who identify as cis, trans, and non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers on women’s experiences, regardless of citizenship and publication history. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscript. Prize: $2,500 honorarium and book publication by BOA Editions, Ltd. Deadline: July 31, 2025. 

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. Restrictions: Open to young poets age 11 - 17. Genre: Poetry. Prize: Publication. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Polar Expressions Publications Short Story and Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to Canadians only. Genre: Short story, poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Stephen Spender Prize. Restrictions: Open to UK or Irish citizens, or pupils at a British School overseas. Genre: Translated poetry from Portuguese to English. Prize: £50-£100. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

What’s Your Story? Restrictions: Open to Victorian residents. (Australia) Genre: Poetry, short stories, CNF. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Pride Award for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers. Genre: An unpublished work of crime fiction, aimed at readers from children’s chapter books through adults. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress of 2,500 to 5,000 words. Prize: $2,000. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Washburn Chapbook Prize. Restrictions: Open to women or non-binary writers. Genre: Chapbook exactly 10 poems long. Prize: $200 and publication of their micro chapbook online at Harbor Review. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Fees are waived for BIPOC identifying writers only.

Biopage. Genre: "Inspiring, uplifting, and heartwarming stories." Prizes: Up to $300. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Registration required.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

35 Great Writing Conferences and Workshops in July 2025

This July there are more than two dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most will be held in person or use a hybrid format.

These writing events offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, how to market your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.

If you miss an application deadline, put it on your calendar for next year. Quite a few conferences offer scholarships, so apply early. Plan ahead!

For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences.

Be sure to check out Highlights list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year. 

(Image: Napa: Flickr)

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Summer Camp in Illustration: Intensive Artistic Inspiration. July 6 - 9, 2025: Boyds Mills, PA. At the Highlights Foundation, “summer camp” is different than s’mores by the fire and hiking in the woods. (Though we do that, too.) Get away for four days at our Summer Camp in Illustration for inspiration, guidance, support, community, fun, creativity, and growth. 

Young Writers Workshop. July 6 - 26, 2025: Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Restrictions: For students completing grades 9, 10, 11. Three 90-minute workshop sessions daily, including imaginative writing activities and discussion of readings. Weekly individual meetings with workshop instructor. Focus is on using various forms of creative writing to develop language and thinking skills. 

Traveling Light: Writing the Uncertain with Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams. July 6 - August 24, 2025: Online. To be skilled writers, we must be skilled noticers. Taking that concept as genesis, our workshop will begin with what the eye can hold: landscape, season, weather, gesture—the observable light. Then, we’ll look harder, study what isn’t so easy to perceive: inheritance and loss, grief and resilience. Janet Frame says we are exiles, but she also gestures toward home. The trick is in the paradox. Using memory, language, and research, we will write to hold that tension, to write between the lines of the known and unknown world. To decenter ourselves, if need be. This nonfiction workshop is part of that lifelong journey—one we’ll travel together for a time, though I suspect it won’t end with the last class, setting down what the world contains, so we might better understand—or even transcend—it. Application deadline June 5.

Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers. July 7 - 13, 2025: Wallowa Lake, Oregon. Take a weeklong writing workshop in your favorite genre: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, or short story. Each workshop is limited to no more than 13 participants, giving you the opportunity to build connections with a world-class instructor and your fellow writers. Throughout the week, we’ll bring the best of Summer Fishtrap to you through craft talks, discussions, open mics, readings, and a special 35th Anniversary Celebration.

Community of Writers Workshop in Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, and Memoir. July 7 - 14, 2025: Olympic Valley, California. These workshops assist serious writers by exploring the art and craft as well as the business of writing. The week offers daily morning workshops, craft lectures, panel discussions on editing and publishing, staff readings, as well as brief individual conferences. The morning workshops are led by staff writer-teachers, editors, or agents. There are separate morning workshops for Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction/ Memoir. In addition to their workshop manuscript, participants may have a second manuscript read by a staff member who meets with them in an individual conference. During the week, a portion of our workshops is devoted exclusively to nonfiction. Memoir, narrative nonfiction, and essays are invited. Literary criticism and scholarly work will not be considered. Nonfiction applicants can use the same general form for submission. Application deadline March 10. 

ASLE Biennial Conference. July 8 - 11, 2025: University of Maryland, College Park. "ASLE seeks to inspire and promote intellectual work in the environmental humanities and arts. Our vision is an inclusive community whose members are committed to environmental research, education, literature, art and service, environmental justice, and ecological sustainability.

Writing the Unseen: Multi-genre workshop with Laura Marris. July 8–August 12, 2025: Online. Places are almost always more than they appear. Beneath the surface of familiar, local landscapes lie vast environmental histories, some shaped by people, and others by living communities that are invisible to the human eye. In this generative, multi-genre workshop, we will approach the literature of the unseen through buried environmental changes, like stories of toxicity, underground rivers, or animal routes beneath highways; as well as through the stories of other species whose presences are often camouflaged, secret, or otherwise hidden from view. How can writers attend to what has been erased, ignored, or buried? How can we unfurl a landscape’s memory, or evoke the invisible traces of place we all carry in our bodies? Together we’ll explore examples from writers and artists working with the flight paths of birds, the former meanders of the Mississippi River, as well as personal ways memory, psychogeography, and emotional resonance can mark a place. In each session, we’ll combine readings with writing prompts and exercises designed to bring the unseen onto the page. Application deadline June 5.

Southampton Writers Conference. July 9 - 13, 2025: Long Island, NY. The conference features workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and publishing, as well as readings, lectures, and a master class series. Creative writing workshops are the heart and soul of the summer experience, meeting four afternoons or mornings throughout the session. Enrollment is limited to 13 lucky writers who have applied with writing samples. Those accepted have the privilege of sharing their work in an intimate, rigorous and friendly setting. 

Midwest Writers Workshop. July 10- 12, 2025: Muncie, Indiana. Craft and business sessions, agent pitches, manuscript evaluations. MWW includes quality instruction by a faculty of authors, agents, editors, and specialists. Will be held online and in person.

Intro to Novels in Verse: Drafting and Deepening Your Story. July 10 - 31, 2025. Novels in verse are a celebrated storytelling form. They are packed with emotion, alongside a tight pace and deeply resonating character arcs. If you are just beginning on your journey into novels in verse and wonder how to get your idea into a first draft, this course is for you. 24 participants max. 

Cascade Three-day Critique Workshop. July 11 – 13, 2025: Bremerton, WA. "Our Three-Day Critique Workshop is an opportunity for you to submit the first 4000 words of your novel, short story, or whatever project you are working on, for critique in a group of up to 8 peers led by an industry professional. This is a great way to polish up those first pages and first chapter. Submissions are due six weeks before the event via our Discord Channel. Registrants will receive login information a few weeks before submissions are due. There will also be one-hour workshops and panel presentations on craft, querying, the publishing industry, and more. Optional casual gatherings provide opportunities to get to know other writers as well as authors, editors, and agents." 

Sundress Academy: Trans/Nonbinary Writing Retreat. July 12 - 13, 2025: Via Zoom. The event will be open to trans and nonbinary writers of all backgrounds and experience levels and provide an opportunity to work with many talented authors and poets from around the country, including workshop leaders Joy Ladin and SG Huerta, and keynote speaker Dani Putney, whose address is titled “A Stake through the Heart: On Duende, Vulnerability, and the Self in Creative Writing.” Cost $75. Sold out.

Getting Into Your Story: An Editor’s Perspective. July 13, 2025: Online. The editor of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine shares her observations of common problems she sees in the stories that get rejected and discusses one technique to address some of those problems. Free.

Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. July 13 - 20, 2025: Port Townsend, Washington. workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as craft lectures, readings, open mics, and time to write. "The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference has been since 1974 at the wild heart of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene. With a focus on community and rigorous attention to craft, the Conference offers morning workshops, afternoon workshops, residencies, guided freewrites, and a vibrant readings and lectures series presented by vital, contemporary writers."

Summer Camp in Writing: Create and Dream! July 13 -17, 2025: Boyds Mills, PA. Our Summer Camp in Writing is a time to find the kind of encouragement for your stories that only a generous mentor can provide. To find inspiration and support. To be with a community that understands the long process of turning dreams into books for children. To work 1:1 and fine-tune your words and pitches while you have some fun. Waitlisted.

First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Cliff Taylor Author of "The Shining Hands of My Ponca Ancestors." July 14, 2025: via Zoom.

Picture Book Essentials: A Two-Night Mini for Picture Book Writers. July 15 - 17, 2025: Online. Picture books may be short, but writing them is no small task! Join award-winning author Darcy Pattison and author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski for a two-session deep dive into the essential elements that turn your ideas into engaging picture books!

Sewanee Writers’ Conference. July 15 -  27, 2025: Sewanee, TN. Faculty will give readings and provide instruction and criticism through workshops and craft lectures, as well as meet individually with participants to discuss their manuscripts. The Conference will offer five fiction workshops, four poetry workshops, and a playwriting workshop supported by two professional actors. In addition, a substantial number of literary agents will attend. Application deadline March 1.

Romance Writers of America. July 16 - 19, 2025: Niagara Falls, Ontario (CANADA). Whether you're new to romance writing, an established author, or anywhere in between, there’s something for everyone—dynamic workshops, exciting community activities, and much more to elevate your career and connect with fellow writers.

Writercon Retreat. July 16 - 20, 2025: Wagoner, OK. Join us for a five-day, small-group writing retreat at the 300-acre Canebrake Resort in Wagoner, OK, on Ft. Gibson lake. Our retreat group will have the resort to ourselves with paths to hike, a pool to enjoy, bikes to ride and much more! 

Saskatchewan Festival of Words. July 17 - 20, 2025: Moose Jaw, Canada. Workshops for all ages, reading sessions, concerts, film, panel discussions, interviews, music, theatre, a slam poetry competition as well as workshops and author readings.

Imaginarium. July 18 - 20, 2025: Louisville KY. A three day annual event held in Louisville, Kentucky centered entirely around creative writing, including the worlds of books, movies, gaming, music, and comics/graphic novels. Imaginarium Convention features extensive programming content, with panels and workshops presented by over 150 professional guests covering everything from the craft of writing to various genres, industry-specific topics, publishing, and social media/publicity. The convention features a film festival with a full array of awards, a masquerade/costume contest, live music, gaming, an expo open to the general public, an awards banquet, a series of literary awards called the Imadjinns, and many more activities, creating a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere that is content-rich and ideal for networking, promotion and personal development. 

Mystery Writers Conference.  July 18 - 20, 2025: Corte Madera, CA. In this conference, mystery writers learn the clues to a successful writing career. Editors, agents, and publishers tell participants what they need to know to get published. Authors offer classes on setting, dialogue, suspense, point of view, and openings. They tell how to write about private eyes, amateur sleuths, and police protagonists, and how to create thrillers and historical mysteries. Panels of detectives, forensic experts, police, and other crime-fighting professionals provide information that allows crime fiction writers to put realism in their work. 

Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. July 20 - 25, 2025: Napa, California. While conference lectures and readings are open to the public, the heart of the experience — the daily workshop, with the opportunity to give and receive feedback on work in progress — is available only to participants. It’s through this intense process that new and established writers interact most meaningfully and forge the bonds that give the conference community life beyond the annual conference week.

Taylor's Professional Writers Conference. July 24 - 26, 2025: Upland, Indiana. Sponsored by Taylor University's nationally recognized Professional Writing major, this conference stresses tools and tips for getting your writing into print. You'll learn from professional writers and network with agents and editors who can take you to the next level in your writing.

Writer's Digest Annual Conference. July 24 - 27, 2025: Baltimore, MD. Writer's Digest Annual Conference offers everything you need to advance your writing career creatively and professionally. Gain invaluable tips to improve your craft, explore publishing options and learn how to establish a sustainable career—all while being inspired by successful authors and your fellow attendees. It’s all brought to you by Writer’s Digest, the experts at nurturing and developing writers at every stage of their career for over 100 years.

North Carolina Writers' Network Squire Summer Writing Workshops. July 24 - 27, 2025: Davidson, North Carolina. The Squire Workshops offer four days of deep dives into your chosen genre, along with an opportunity to form close bonds with writers from across the state and beyond. Maddie Norris will lead the Creative Nonfiction workshop, “Writing the Body: Embodied Creative Nonfiction.” Bryn Chancellor will lead the Fiction workshop, “The Non-Human World: How Fauna, Flora, and Materials Animate Fiction.” Junious Ward will lead the Poetry workshop, “The Alchemist’s Guide: Poems Into Gold.”

The 2025 New England Writing Workshop. July 25 - 26, 2025: Online. This writing event is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited online “seats” at the event (200 total).

Confluence-SFF. July 25 - 27, 2025: Coraopolis, PA. Located at the birthplace of the Ohio River, Confluence is Pittsburgh’s longest-running literary conference with a strong focus on science fiction, fantasy and horror. Award-winning authors, editors, artists and song-writers gather for three full days.

Colrain Classic. July 25 - 28, 2025. "The Colrain Manuscript Classic is a highly focused, 3-day conference designed for poets with manuscripts in progress. The Classic features in-depth pre-conference work and candid, realistic evaluation and feedback from nationally-known poets, editors and publishers. In preparation, participants work at home on pre-conference assignments and then, in the workshop, review, arrange, and winnow their work based on the pre-conference work. In addition to the manuscript preparation workshop, manuscript workshop and editorial sessions, there will be an editorial Q&A, and an after-conference strategy session." On Zoom.

Willamette Writers Conference. July 30 - August 3, 2025: Portland, Oregon. Three full days of classes, workshops, keynotes, critiques, and events. There are also Master Classes with industry professionals in which you can learn from top instructors in a small group setting and many options for one on one critique, including On the Spot Critiques and Advance Manuscript Critique. As always, they will have a roster of agents, editors and film executives ready to hear about your project. 

Mendocino Coast Writers Conference. July 31 - August 2, 2025: Mendocino, California. The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference is a vibrant gathering that offers Morning Workshops in a wide range of genres. Afternoons are packed with craft seminars, panels, one-on-one consultations, and open mics; and every evening offers an opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie and connection that make this conference, in the words of one participant, “life changing.” The registration deadline is June 30.

The Creativity Workshop in New York. July 31 - August 3, 2025: New York, New York. "The Creativity Workshops take away the fear of writing and open the way to new ideas. They are especially helpful for writers in fiction, poetry, memoir, theatre and film to get over writing blocks. In our Creativity Workshop Retreats you will generate both new work and ideas for the work you are in the midst of creating. We use many different techniques to help you find your way through the novel, essay, poem, memoir, or script you are writing or hope to write. In The Creativity Workshop you will be doing free writing, writing from guided visualizations, collaborative writing, journaling and memoir work and even some rudimentary drawing, collage and photography."

Cape Cod Writers Center Conference. July 31 -  August 3, 2025: Hyannis, Massachusetts. Supporting published and aspiring writers. Featuring distinguished authors, editors and agents in workshops on fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, poetry, mysteries and thrillers, social media, promotion and more! 

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Annual Conference. July 31 - August 3, 2025: Via Zoom. More than 100 writers, editors, illustrators, & agents. Workshops, breakout sessions, manuscript and portfolio consultations, panels, discussions. Will be held online.

Events with application deadlines in July

Frost Place Poetry Seminar. August 3 - 7, 2025: Online. The Seminar schedule features a daily presentation/discussion exploring aspects of craft and technique, an afternoon workshop of participants’ poems or individual, virtual meetings with faculty, and an evening reading, some by faculty poets and others featuring participants. The application deadline is July 1, 2025. Will be held online.

Hold Space Retreat for Artists of Color. September 15 - 23, 2025: Saugatuck, Michigan. Participants who qualify for a Hold Space Retreat can enjoy communal living, making, and opportunities to organize on Ox-Bow’s campus in Saugatuck, Michigan. Lodging, three meals per day, and access to Ox-Bow studios and spaces are provided. People of color across the creative spectrum including artists of any discipline, writers, curators, teachers, and Ox-Bow Alumni are encouraged to apply. The retreat supports individuals or groups of up to twenty for any length from one to seven nights. Application deadline: July 6, 2025.

10 New Agents seeking Kidlit, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Memoir, Nonfiction and more

Here are ten new literary agents actively seeking clients. New agents are a boon to writers. They are actively building their lists, and will go the extra mile for their clients.

All of these agents work for established agencies with good track records. They are looking for all genres.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change. 

NOTE: Don't submit to several agents at the same agency simultaneously. If one rejects you, you may then submit to another. (Some small agencies share. Be alert to a notice that "a no from one is a no from all.")

You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients.

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Haley Warrington of The Booker Albert Literary Agency

Haley is newly embarking on an agenting role at the Booker Albert Literary Agency. On top of having two romance novels slated for publication by Lake Country Press, she has completed an internship at Booker Albert.

What she is seeking: She is a fan of all things romance—bring the heat or leave it at the door, she’s interested in representing Adult or New Adult fiction. Some of her favorite novels include The Match by Sarah Adams, Wildfire by Hannah Grace, and anything Emily Henry. She would love a story that could comp shows like Gossip Girl, Reign, or You.

Across the genres Haley would like to represent, she is overall looking for great storytelling. Any piece that brings emotion to the front and center and evokes reactions. Make her laugh, make her cry, make her think about it for weeks after the initial read (emphasis on the crying aspect…she likes sad stories).

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.

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Ashlee MacCallum of Howland Literary

Ashlee MacCallum joined Howland Literary after interning at Triada US. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies and a master’s in Education.

Ashlee lives in Nevada with her husband and two children. By day, she’s a high school English teacher who assigns cool books, reads powerful essays, and makes her students dramatically reenact Macbeth. Outside the classroom, Ashlee writes picture books, chapter books, and middle grade novels. She is represented by Amanda Carbonell at Belcastro Agency.

When she’s not lost in a book or spinning one of her own, Ashlee is probably mapping out her next Disney adventure, binging a true crime podcast, or humming show tunes in the kitchen. She’s fueled by caffeine, charmed by ghost stories, and fluent in banned books.

What she is seeking: Ashlee represents picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult fiction.

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.

Marina Green of P. S. Literary Agency (CANADA)

Marina Green is an associate agent at PSLA representing fiction and non-fiction. After completing a BA and post-grad in publishing and spending half a decade as a bookseller, Marina began her career as an editor at a small indie publisher in Montréal before moving to Harlequin’s Trade division as an acquiring editor. Marina has always had an eclectic taste in books and is always looking for atmospheric, diverse, and inclusive stories rooted in cultural identity and belonging—and magic when she can get it. When Marina isn’t immersing herself in books and words and magical worlds, you can find her with a cup of tea in hand, trying a new yoga asana—never at the same time—or practicing Armenian, the language of her ancestors.

What she is seeking: Marina is actively acquiring fiction (adult and YA) and non-fiction (adult). In fiction, she is particularly drawn to speculative, atmospheric, and voice-driven narratives for both adult and young adult audiences. She has a soft spot for hybrid genres, such as horror-romance or speculative thrillers, and books with big hooks. In literary fiction, she is looking for stories that push the boundaries of genre and form. She’d love horror in the vein of an A24 film. When it comes to mysteries and thrillers, she looks for atmospheric stories with unreliable narrators that skew psychological or slowly get under your skin. For romance, she seeks stories with heart and something big to say, or unconventional takes on the genre. In fantasy, she is looking for unique magic systems, strong characters, and stories inspired by myth or folklore, particularly outside the Western canon. While she’s open to romantasy, these submissions need to stand out against the saturated market. On the non-fiction side, she is interested in self-help, spiritual (Marina loves the woo woo!), and the occult. She’s also very keen to find poignant nature memoirs and other nature-based non-fiction. As a child of diaspora herself, across all categories, she is looking for diverse and inclusive stories rooted in the diasporic experience, cultural identity, and belonging. 

How to submit: If you would like to send a query to Marina, please review the agency's submission guidelines HERE. Please use this format in the subject field of your email: “Marina / BOOK TITLE / CREATOR NAME / GENRE”.

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Kaylyn Aldridge of Metamorphosis Literary Agency

Kaylyn Aldridge has been a ferocious reader ever since she learned how to read. Growing up, Kaylyn spent almost all of her free time devouring the stacks of books she would get from the library. When she wasn't deep in a story, she would write her own. Creating worlds and characters was one of the major ways Kaylyn expressed herself.

In her free time, Kaylyn loves to research underground internet subcultures. She believes that diverse perspectives are key to understanding cultures, communities, and nuances of the human experience. When she is not working or reading, she likes to feed the local magpies.

What she is seeking: Romance (ESPECIALLY supernatural, paranormal, contemporary, romcom), Coming of Age, Young Adult, LGBT+

A plus if any of genres listed above feature Black protagonists, and I love characters that feel ALIVE.

How to submit: Use her querytracker form HERE.  (Open to queries December, June, and July)

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Anna Ange of Liza Dawson Associates

Anna graduated from Mount Holyoke in 2022 with B.A. in English and French Literature. She then went on to participate in the Writers House Internship Program. Anna spends her free time scavenging for and tumbling rocks, playing Fire Emblem, organizing independently published zine projects, and, of course, reading. 

What she is seeking:

• Adult literary/genre crossover. Literary forward novels that play with horror, speculative, or “weird” elements.  Interesting prose, mind boggling premises. Satire also welcome.
• Fiction that is not technically horror, but evokes a sense of horror nonetheless.
• True genre horror. No holds barred. 
• Queer historical fiction & historical fantasy, especially set before the year 1900.
• Narrative non-fiction or essays that center on niche and surprising topics. 
• Adult Graphic novels (fiction): Small-scale, intimate but existential stories set against fantastical backgrounds, historical fantasy, horror/gothic/noir with romantic subplots. Unique and inventive art styles.
• Adult Graphic novels (non-fiction): history and memoir.
• Autumnal, spooky/horror-adjacent, middle grade prose or graphic novels that take on complicated, relevant issues.

How to submit: If you are interested in querying Anna, for prose: please send a query in the body of the email, and first three chapters or 25 pages in a word document to queryanna@lizadawson.com. 

For graphic novels, please send a query to queryanna@lizadawson.com, which should include a full story synopsis, rendered character art, and at least five completed spreads, but no more than ten completed spreads. You may also send a general portfolio. Your graphic novel SHOULD NOT be complete at the time of querying.

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Kieron Fairweather of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (UK)

Kieron Fairweather joined PFD in 2021 as Assistant to Caroline Michel, CEO and is now an Associate Agent. After completing a BA and MA in English Literature at Northumbria University, Kieron went on to get his PhD from the same university in 2020, with a thesis focusing on themes of psychogeography, mapping, and the city in the works of Jean Rhys and Djuna Barnes.

What he is seeking: Having worked alongside Caroline and her roster of clients for the past few years, I am now actively looking to build a list across both fiction and non-fiction.

In non-fiction, my taste is for the narrative. I’m interested in writing that blends personal stories with broader cultural, historical, or expert insights, and I’m always fascinated by books that unearth hidden meaning or shed new light on familiar events. Books like Rory Carroll’s Killing Thatcher, Hallie Rubenhold’s The Five, Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing, Ciaran Thapar’s Cut Short, and Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey are good examples of this. I would also love to read submissions that delve into music history from the mid-century onwards (Meet Me In The Bathroom, Our Band Could Be Your Life), provide storied accounts from the world of sport (Barbarian Days, The Takedown podcast), and I would also love to see practical narratives in arts and craft.

I also love writing that examines the emotional and psychological impact of environments, cities, and landscapes, and I’m always looking for works that challenge the quotidian and mapped nature of the city (Lauren Elkin’s Flaneuse, Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust, Robert Macfarlane’s Underland).

In fiction, I am looking for literary and upmarket-commercial crossover. My tastes tend toward the darker side of the spectrum, and I am fascinated by stories that explore unsettling worlds—whether dystopian, speculative, or rooted in gritty realism. Whether this comes in the form of the sharp, atmospheric, weird sci-fi of Jeff Vandermeer or through the emotional intensity and alienation of books like Eileen or Nightcrawling, I always appreciate a novel which challenges me to enter a jarring context or confront unique perspectives.

That said, give me an unconventional, quirky narrator, a healthy dose of horror (or the horrible!), or some gritty urban realism and you’ll have me hooked. Books like Convenience Store Woman, Bear, I Who Have Never Known Men, The Doloriad, Hagstone, Young Mungo, Weird Fucks, Snow Crash, The City & The City, Never Let Me Go, Lapvona, Hummingbird Salamander, and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow have all scratched this itch in some form or another.

I am always looking for stories about and by the working-class and would love to lend volume to regional voices across fiction and non-fiction.

How to submit: Please send the first three chapters (or around fifty pages) of your novel, as well as a full synopsis and a covering letter, with a brief CV of your writing career, if appropriate. For non-fiction projects, please send a detailed proposal, alongside the covering letter and CV.  Send your materials to: Kieron Fairweather kfairweather@pfd.co.uk

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Mr. Carter Hasegawa of Tugeau 2, Inc.

Carter Hasegawa has been in the children’s book world for nearly 20 years—as a book seller for various indies across the US, as an editor at Candlewick Press, and now, as a literary agent. Why kids’ books? It began in the late-90s with Andrew Clement’s Frindle, became a solid go-to genre with Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee, and finally, it became a wished-for career with Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. “The thing I’ve always loved about children’s literature,” he says, “is that beyond the sheer range of incredible stories, it’s always served as a sort of testing ground for me: of new ideas, of new experiences, of new viewpoints, of emotional extremes.”

Carter is incredibly proud of the work he did while at Candlewick, but he’s especially looking forward to finding and developing new talent – authors, author-illustrators, illustrators – and having a hand in crafting some of the best books out there.

When asked what he’s looking for in a book, he compares it to a particular scene from the movie version of The NeverEnding Story: “The main character, Bastian, is so drawn to a book he finds at a used bookstore that he steals away with it and hides out in his school’s attic and begins to read. In that moment, all that matters is the book. To hold it, turn its pages, fall into its story . . . it’s magic.”

In addition to the already-mentioned titles, some of his favorite books include Watercress, My Papi Has a Motorcycle, Big, Tar Beach, Wednesday Wars, Ender’s Game, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Notorious Benedict Arnold, and SO MANY others. Carter is also an active mentor/speaker for SCBWI, The Writing Barn, Inked Voices, and more.

Originally from Seattle, he now lives in Boston with his librarian wife and their two young sons.

What he is seeking: Carter is open to Author, Illustrator and Author-Illustrator submissions: Picture Books, MG, YA (fiction and nonfiction).

How to submit: Use his form HERE.

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Kathy Palokoff of Savvy Literary Services

Kathy Palokoff is an associate literary agent at Savvy Literary where she apprenticed under Leticia Gomez, the founder of the firm and one of the top ranking literary agents in the United States. Kathy has a long career as a storyteller and promoter of storytellers. Her specialty is working with changemakers who want to inspire others and find a broader platform. She is particularly interested in helping authors whose books represent diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Writer, editor, content developer, brand builder, and marketer, her greatest joy is working directly with authors and watching a book come to life. Her clients describe her as highly empathic while being direct and focused on their success.

She is the co-author of Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire Your Own Life and Dismissed: Tackling the Biases That Undermine Our Health Care, a March 2023 release by Kensington Publishing. Kathy has written numerous book proposals that have received publisher offers such as: Brilliance Beyond Borders, More Alike Than Different, and Transforming Your Life Through Self Care.

She has acted as the ghostwriter or editor for multiple authors in memoirs, self-help, business books and novels such as Black Sheep: A Blue-Eyed Negro Speaks of Abandonment, Belonging, Racism and Redemption; Overcoming the Darkness: Shining Light on Mental Illness, Trauma and Suicide in Law Enforcement; People Economics: Defining and Measuring the True Value of Human Capital; You’re Already a Wealth Heiress; It’s Always Your Move: Purposeful Progress for Corporate Career Women; The Amazing Adventures of Anything Boy; and Amazing Grace: How My Father Taught Me to Rejoice in the Word of Our Father.

An active writer and editor for decades, Kathy holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University, a master’s in public administration from SUNY at Brockport, and has completed all doctorate courses from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in technical writing and rhetoric.

What she is seeking: General Fiction, including: Historical. Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror,Mystery/Crime, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense/Thriller.

How to submit: Use the agency form HERE.

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Najla of Savvy Literary Services

Najla is an avid reader and loves great first chapters, immersive world building, deep character profiles, and well-rounded dialogue. She teaches workshops at several writing conferences, including Common Mistakes In First Chapters, Writing Rules That Can Be Broken, Self-Editing Before the Query, Getting The History And Voice Right, and many other topics. She is co-chair of American Association of Literary Agents’ Professional Development committee and member of the People of Publishing planning committee for the AALA’s annual meeting of literary agents, editors, and publishing professionals.

What she is seeeking: In nonfiction, Najla gravitates towards narrative nonfiction, true crime, memoir, biography, business/economics, leadership, and stories inspired by lesser known people, professions and crafts (builders, designers, architects), musicians/artists/creators, daredevils, athletes, etc.

In fiction, Najla is drawn to voice-driven, emotionally immersive historical fiction, cinematic thriller/suspense (with series potential), horror with surprise endings and twists (especially psychological), speculative (such as alternative history), and magical realism (light fantasy or romantasy). She would like to add more new adult to her list as well as older protagonists. She would also like to see a cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth in her inbox. She does not represent children’s books and only occasionally takes on young adult novels.

Tropes she’d like to see more of:

• Complex societal themes and questions, including privilege and wealth, or lack of.
• Themes of rediscovering identity.
• Complex parent/guardian and child relationships, where both are good but deceptive, cruel, etc. in different ways.
• Misunderstandings or misperceptions of marriage, pregnancy, parenting, death, and/or grief.

In all genres, she hopes to see more immigrant, expat, and/or BIPOC/ underrepresented stories. Last, because real life is messy, stories need strong secondary characters, multiple layers, and complications.

She considers full manuscripts between 65,000 and 85,000 words.

How to submit: Use the agency form HERE.

Lee Melillo of Dunham Literary

Lee Melillo (they/she) joined Dunham Literary, Inc. in May 2024 as Jennie Dunham’s assistant, following an internship with Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret LLC. She was made an Associate Literary Agent in June 2025. Lee additionally manages the agency’s social media and website, is a second-reader for queries, handles royalty statements and permissions, and assists on preparing submissions.

Lee graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University in 2022, with departmental honors in English and Theatre Directing. Through her majors, Lee discovered her passion for advocating for writers. She believes literature is one of the most effective ways to gain empathy for and understanding of life experiences outside our own.

Originally from New Haven, Lee now resides in Queens with her cats/office assistants, Meatloaf and Muffin Man. Lee maintains her love of theatre as the Executive Artistic Director of Personal Pizza Party, an indie production company, and by performing full renditions of musical theatre classics on the glorious stage of her shower.

What she is seeking: Lee represents YA, New Adult, and Adult Fiction written by, for, and about marginalized communities in both commercial and literary markets. She looks for high-concept plots, atmospheric prose, and well-drawn universes with commercial hooks that can reel in a wide range of readers and subsequently deliver well-executed, memorable reading experiences on the sentence level. She appreciates elements of mystery or suspense, especially in historical settings; big-hearted, accessible reads that center platonic and/or romantic relationships; and sharp, weird senses of humor that appeals to a generation of readers raised online.

In Adult Fiction, Lee is searching for book club and upmarket fiction from BIPOC women, neurodiverse, and queer authors. She’d like contemporary fiction exploring complex issues that have both personal and societal implications; eclectic rom-coms with strong plots and unique hooks; ensemble-casts, ideally of women and/or queer folk; or cozy slice-of-life centered around a community space. She is also open to contemporary or historical fiction centered around myth, either through retellings of classics or the invention of new mythologies for the modern age; dark magical realism; bubblegum thrillers; and socially-conscious horror. 

In Young and New Adult Fiction, Lee looks for YA that has crossover potential and NA stories set in college or directly post-grad. Her taste in these categories is broad, but she’s mostly looking for stories her 15-year-old self would’ve dedicated a tumblr blog to. Diversity is a must, as are well-developed, loveable (or love-to-hateable) characters. She enjoys meticulously-researched, atmospheric historical fiction with an element of mystery/suspense or other propulsive plot engines. She also loves dystopian fiction, but it must be grounded in real life issues and critique our present-day socio-political systems. For contemporary fiction, she’s open to stories centering queer characters, characters with mental illness and particularly OCD, or rom-com heroines with autism in interesting, off-beat settings.

How to submit: Follow the agency guidelines HERE.