Call for Submissions to Anthology: We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident

We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident Anthology

In times of uncertainty, what truths do you hold closely?

Women Writing for (a) Change is calling for submissions for our 2026 community anthology: We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident, a collection of pieces from diverse writers and poets speaking to their truths in the stark light of the modern world.

We're looking for material that reaches deep, challenges, and bleeds. What truth hurts you before it heals? What truth raises up not just your voice, but the voices of others? What truth do you have now that you wish you had before? What truth sets you free?

Who can Submit:

We invite submissions from all communities and genders to engage with our theme. We especially encourage writers from historically marginalized communities and among underrepresented voices, such as Appalachian, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, elders, and people living with disability, to submit their work.

What to Submit:

We are seeking submissions of poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, or personal essays relating to the title theme of the anthology. We do not accept previously published submissions. Fiction, creative non-fiction, and essays should be between 500-1,250 words. Poetry should not exceed three double-spaced pages.

A writer may submit only once, but may include multiple pieces in their submission. Writers can submit pieces in multiple genres.

When to Submit:

We will accept submissions between December 13th, 2025 – February 16th, 2026. After our jury of readers makes our selections, writers will be informed of their acceptance into the anthology by April 15th, 2026.

How to Submit:
A single document containing your submissions must be submitted in .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf format.

Every submission may include brief biographical information about the writer, to be included at the conclusion of their piece.

Submit Your Writing Here! 

Writing and Artist's Residency: The Edwin Way Teale Artists in Residence Program

2026 Trail Wood Artist-In-Residence Program

Applications accepted until March 1, 2026

The Edwin Way Teale Artists in Residence Program was started at Trail Wood in 2012. The Connecticut Audubon Society invites writers and visual artists to spend a week of creative solitude in residence in the historic home of Pulitzer-prize-winning naturalist writer and photographer Edwin Way Teale and his wife and collaborator Nellie Donovan Teale.

While in residence, artists are encouraged to practice their craft in a way that is inspired both by the site’s natural beauty and its important role in American natural history writing. Enhancing the experience, visiting artists are provided with access to Edwin’s writing study in the main house which is preserved as it was at the time of his death in 1980 and to his rustic writing cabin.

What kind of creativity does Trail Wood inspire? Check out the work in Trail Wood Reflections, a commemorative publication available in pdf and in paperback at the Center at Pomfret.

Residencies are offered for six weeks in July and August to three writers and three visual artists. Applications are accepted from early January until March 1 for the upcoming summer’s residencies. Finalists are chosen through a juried process. All applicants are notified by the mid-April.

There is a $25.00 application fee. If chosen, accepted applicants are asked to pay a $100.00 donation to defray costs of running the property, the Teale’s historic 1806 farmhouse.

Application form and more information here. 

Call for Submissions on Theme of "A Wish": The Shallot

We are currently open for submissions from January 19-March 2 2025.

WINTER/SPRING 2025

Theme: A Wish

2026. Can you believe it? A quarter of the way into the 21st century and it is going a bit differently than we pictured. We'd like to see a world at peace, working together within our counties, states, provinces, countries towards a future where both we and the planet can thrive together.

Let's make a wish together using art. What would you wish for? Through art perhaps we can manifest it - or move closer in the direction to it. So much intention goes into creative practice.

In visual art - line after line of painstaking brushstrokes, putting our desires into our paintings which each motion, each thought. Feeling with the piece what feels right and bringing it to life.

In culinary art - the thought behind which ingredients to use and how they will complement each other in the overall flavor of the dish; the practice of
perfecting a recipe until it is just right.

Intentionality behind every action, with an unspoken wish to create a dish that
makes those who eat it pause and savor it. That's magic being born.

In writing - words flow forth, sometimes in organized sentences, sometimes in
staccato phrases or unexpected flow. Each word means something to the sentence, to the whole, to the reader, to the world. Intention behind everything. Words leap off the page with the life of their own.

For this edition, make a wish with us! Imagine the power that a wish can have
combined with the practice and dedication of you the artist. Put that energy and desire into your piece and let's see if we can manifest good in the world. Share your wish through writing, visual art, or creative recipes. You may submit 2 recipes or poems or visual art pieces or short stories in each
category.

How

On our submission page via Duosuma: here. It will open for submissions on the date listed above (as open calls go live).
The Shallot is open to artists with lived mental and emotional health experiences. Artists in all locations/countries are invited to apply.

What we publish

Submit a piece of work inspired by or related to this edition’s prompt. 

Types of Submissions

• Nonfiction

• Poetry

• Drama

• Experimental

• Creative Recipes

• Visual Art

Other Information/Rights
Writers and artists retain copyright, but The Layered Onion requests that you ask us before republishing your content. If it is republished, please ensure the second publication provides credit and links back to The Layered Onion, indicating that TLO was the first to publish.

Payment

Accepted artists will choose between an honorarium (currently $15) or an artist’s copy of the journal.

Sharing Your Work in The Shallot

Your work may be included in promotional material on TLO social media, always giving you credit. The Layered Onion collection may be sold in the TLO shop. 

More information here. 

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Reverse Evaluation": MIDLVLMAG

 

Each issue of MIDLVLMAG is thematic. Your work should be inspired by that theme, but does not have to follow it precisely. Upcoming themes will be announced first on our social media sites and then here on the website. If you’re unsure of the tone of MIDLVLMAG and whether or not your work will fit in with what we publish, read our issues and follow us online. We publish issues twice a year, with potential for other features and articles on an ongoing basis.

Submission Windows

Follow us on Social Media for the fastest updates on when we open up for submissions. Upon announcement of submissions being open, the period for acceptance is typically two months (8 weeks) in length. This is subject to change as needed.

Current Theme: Reverse Evaluation

Reverse Evaluation is, on its most basic level, when employees have the opportunity to review the performance of their supervisors, managers etc. That only begins to scratch the surface…

Reverse Evaluation is the tide turning, the game played fairly, and lost dignity regained. It is when we take back what is ours, show mercy we were never given, build the vision of ourselves we know to be true.

Reverse Evaluation is justice, equity, in the now and the future. It is vengeance, revenge, the long built hurts washed away. It is the shovel, the spade, burying burdens, and unearthing lost treasures.

Reverse Evaluation is freedom from the cruelty of history, institution, and tradition.

Let them know what’s on your mind.
Submissions are currently OPEN
Submissions open: January 4th, 2026
Submissions close: March 7th, 2026
Reading / Acceptance period: January 5th, 2026 – April 30th 2026

Suggested Word Counts:

Poetry: Up to three poems
No word count limit
Short Fiction: 1500 – 4500 words
CNF: 1500 – 4500 words

Response Time

Times vary, but typically we do our best to respond within 30 days of the date of submission. If you haven’t heard from us within that timeframe, please write to us in a reply email from your original submission.

Simultaneous submissions

Yes! Just let us know if you’ve got your work out to other publications so we don’t step on any toes in the process.

Payments

Beginning in 2026, MIDLVLMAG will pay $25 USD per accepted piece, published in our twice yearly issues.

Rights

If accepted for publication, you grant us first electronic rights and non-exclusive archival rights. All submissions remain the intellectual property of the author. Rights revert back to the author upon publication.

MIDLVLMAG would love a shoutout if your work is republished in the future. If your work is rejected, we ask that you wait until the next open submission period before sending us something new.

Submission Criteria

MIDLVLMAG publishes Short Fiction, Poetry, and CNF (Creative Non-Fiction).

Your submission email subject line must include the following:

MIDLVLMAG + CURRENT SUBMISSION THEME + STYLE OF WRITING + LAST NAME, FIRST NAME
e.g. “MIDLVLMAG – Snacks – Flash Fiction – Carver, Raymond”

If you’re submitting multiple styles of writing, each submission must be sent in separate emails.

Your submission(s) must be included as an attachment (.DOC .DOCX file types).

Your submission(s) must include a header with the following information: Last name, first name – title of piece – MIDLVLMAG – submission theme – form of writing
e.g. Krinkle, Henry – hot dogs: a discourse – MIDLVLMAG – Snacks – CNF)

Please include an author bio with your submission email. We’d love to know about your managerial experience, your time in the trenches of the stock room, the unspoken dignity in slinging fast food to make ends meet. In your bio, please also include any previous publications, forthcoming work and any of your social media accounts or websites you feel comfortable sharing with our readers.

Send your submissions to:

info@midlvlmag.com

Call for Submissions: The Good Life Review

 

Work must be original and previously uncurated. We gladly accept pieces that have previously only appeared on personal blogs and/or social media. Please reference this thoughtful article by Tim Green on the term curation.

We pay $60 per piece for writing published in seasonal issues and $25 for pieces appearing in our “Micro Monday” segment. We also pay $25 for artwork that is used on the cover of a seasonal issue. For international submissions, we are only able to send money via PayPal.

There is a $4 fee for submissions for our short prose and $2.50 for flash prose. The fee for our annual HoneyBee Poetry Prize is $18, which is used to support payment to contributors. Details about the contest can be found here. Info and results from the latest contest are here.

There is currently no fee for submitting artwork.

We will respond to all submitted work. It may take from one to three months, depending on when in the reading period the work is submitted. Artwork may remain open for the duration of a calendar year. Thank you in advance for your patience.

We accept submissions via Submittable. Any received via email or post will not make it into the queue of our editorial teams.

If you have an issue with the fee because of financial hardship or difficulties with the submission platform, please send a message to:

editors@thegoodlifereview.com

Note: Current UNO MFA students and recent (within the last 3 years) UNO MFA graduates/affiliates are not eligible.

General Guidelines:

Simultaneous submissions are cool, cool. If accepted elsewhere, please withdraw in Submittable.

The Good Life Review acquires First North American Serial Rights and the right to maintain an archive copy of the work online. All other rights revert to the author upon publication, with a request that if the work is reprinted, appropriate acknowledgment to The Good Life Review is made.

We do not publish offensive work or pieces that exhibit hatred directed toward a particular gender, race, ethnicity, ability, sexual identity, socioeconomic class, or disability. In other words, if you are an asshole, we don’t want your writing or your money.

If there are content warnings, please include those in the submitted document(s) preceding the piece(s).

We prefer to read blind, so please remove your name from the submitted document.

Your submission will not be disqualified if it was submitted incorrectly. If we have a question or concern about your submission, we will contact you. Please know that we are on your side. Thank you for trusting us with your work.

Again, work must be original and absolutely fabulous! We want your very best!!

Genre-specific goodies are below.

Poetry

We are interested in work that pushes boundaries, both in content and form. Poems should emanate from textured, evocative images, use language with an awareness of how words sound and mean, and have a definite sense of voice. Each line should help carry the poem from the first line to the last. We are open to experimentation, traditional form, and free verse. 

• Whatever shape it takes, we want exciting work that thinks through or challenges poetic traditions. There is no length limit on individual poems, but please send no more than 5 poems per submission and no more than 10 pages in total in a single text file.

• Poems should be typed with at least one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.

• Longer lines and unique formatting are fine; the presentation of these may be altered as text could wrap to a newline based on the display media/window size being used. We do our best to maintain the poet’s vision.

• Begin each new poem on a new page.

• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

Flash and Micro

• Flash should yield quick transformations and revelations, have compelling characters, and a narrative that provokes thought in a voice that urges us forward and carries us past the last line. Flash is 500 to 1,000 words. Micro is max 500 words. For pieces over 1,000 words, we encourage you to submit via our fiction or creative nonfiction categories.

• Pieces should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated with one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.

• Include no more than 3 pieces in a single text file.

• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

Nonfiction

• We want essays that get our minds working and hearts thumping and prose that is artful with voices that are clear and cadent. Whether traditional or experimental, structure and form should enhance the content of a story that is both universal and painfully specific. Essays should not exceed 5,000 words. Include word count at the top of the first page. For pieces under 1,000 words, we encourage you to submit via our flash cnf category.

• Essays should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated with one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.

• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

Fiction

• We want polished, confident, well-developed stories that are engaging from the first word to the last. Experimental fiction is welcome. We consider original, previously unpublished stories up to 5,000 words. Include word count at the top of the first page. For pieces under 1,000 words, we encourage you to submit via our flash category.

• Stories should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated with one-inch margins and a 12-point serif font, preferably Times New Roman.

• Please remove your name from the submitted document.

Spoken Word

• We are seeking poems, brief prose pieces, and mini monologues rendered with passion and flair. We consider original, previously uncurated audio and video files. Live performances and audio/video shared on social media platforms are welcome.

• Send up to 3 pieces, max of 3 minutes each. Either all in the same audio or video file or three separate files. If selected, our AV Editor will work with you to produce files suitable for presentation on the website.

• Please also include a text document with the pieces typed.

• Please remove your name from the submitted document(s).

Art

• Does your original photography or artwork tell a story? We are currently looking for vibrant pieces to feature in our next issue. There are no specific guidelines, and the only requirement is that the artwork must be original. We would encourage you to check out our archive of issues here to see if we would be a good home for your work.

• At this time, we are paying an honorarium of $25 for artwork used on the cover of our seasonal issues. We appreciate the love that goes into every piece and hope that we can pay all artists for their efforts in the future.

* Also of note * We currently don’t require first rights or formal contracts for images and therefore, by submitting, you acknowledge and authorize publication if accepted. The only exception to this is if you explicitly withdraw the entire submission or send a note/email letting us know the piece or pieces that are no longer available.

We will respond to all submitted artwork; however, pieces we have a particular interest in may remain “in process” for the duration of a calendar year. Our aim is to select pieces that visually complement the writing accepted for our seasonal issues, and therefore, we don’t know what might make a good match until the writing is selected. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Translation/Comics/Graphic Narrative/Collaborations/Hybrid/Experimental

Here at The Good Life Review, we recognize that life is complicated, and part of the joy of being an artist is the freedom to explore outside the lines. If you have writing that doesn’t fit neatly into a single genre category, or was written by more than one person, you might find a good home for your work with us! We also support Spanish translations.

Call for Submissions: bioStories

 

bioStories welcomes creativity and originality in your approach to your subject and maintains no conscious editorial biases. We do, however, encourage you to consider that by the inherent nature of written expression, we find that a well-wrought passage that narrates a specific story or a finite moment within a life is far more effective at presenting something essential about that life than volumes of generalizations or summary. Similarly, we encourage you consider the frequent value found in getting out of the way of your subjects and allowing them to speak for themselves. But of course we value your voice and ask that submitting writers honor the uniqueness and innovation of their original, natural narrative voices every bit as much as they strive to present their subjects with honesty and candor. The smell of dishonest representation always penetrates. We react to such smell with the same reprehension as we do to work that appears focused on accomplishing an agenda. Present yourself and your subject as they are, part of the diverse, complex, and unruly citizenry of the universe, complete with warts and moles, hangovers and hangnails. Real life is messy, filled with broken plumbing and coagulating bacon grease, unmade beds and imperfect comebacks. Real biography recalls that sometimes you have to change the dressings on healing wounds and sometimes you have to add a little starch as you iron the shirt. Human nature is idiosyncratic and frequently contradictory, and, quite often, when you look close enough, it is downright graceful.

We welcome your submissions of original work. Please read some of the work we have published to gain a view of our editorial sensibilities. We offer no restrictions on approach to material or format, but we do require that you kindly adhere to the following guidelines:

• nonfiction prose submissions only
• 500 – 7500 words; our typical piece runs an average of 2500 words (please contact the editor in advance should you have material that exceeds our length restriction and exceptions may be made)
• submit by email to editor.biostories@gmail.com and paste your submission within the body of the email. Please make certain the words “biostories submission” and your last name appear in the subject line; we do not open attachments
• we accept submissions year-round
• simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please notify us immediately if your piece is accepted elsewhere
• work submitted must be previously unpublished (in print and online)
• submissions that fail to follow these guidelines will be not be read.

A.I. Policy: please note that bioStories is not open to works that include AI processes of any sort, including the generation of prompts, titles, names, outlines, dialogue, descriptive passages, etc. By submitting to bioStories you indicate acceptance of this policy.

Editorial Suggestions, Processes, and Policies:

While we frequently publish writers with previous credits, we are equally interested in less experienced or unpublished writers with exceptional promise. All accepted pieces are subject to editing and galleys will be shared with authors for approval prior to publication. Essays first appear on our “featured essay” page. After about a week, the essay will be moved among other featured content where it will remain prominently accessible for a month. All published pieces are archived and linked on our contributors/archives page for a period of four years. We acquire first rights for published material; copyright then reverts to the author. In the future, we may contact you requesting permission to include the material in a print anthology.

We strive to make timely editorial decisions, typically within six to eight weeks. Because bioStories is produced largely as a labor of love by a limited staff, please do not contact us to inquire about the status of a submission until eight weeks have passed.

Art Submissions: We are always on the look-out for art that is representative of our mission and that fits well with essays we feature. We also seek out cover art for digital issues and digital/print anthologies. Please contact us by email with some sample images if you think you have work that might be a fit.

Payment: At present, we are unable to pay authors for their material, however, when funding allows, we are committed to compensating writers.

Call for Submissions: Bicoastal Review

Bicoastal Review is a journal of poetry, nonfiction, photography, and art. We aim to foster cross-genre conversations between readers and contributors, often on (but not limited to) topics related to the East Coast and West Coast. We publish writing that offers a lens into varied schools of thought and showcases epiphany and mastery of language. Our collective of voices circumscribes a study of American writing, highlighting the movements, ruptures, and allegiances happening simultaneously on opposite ends of the nation. Writers and artists from anywhere in the world are welcome to submit, though we prefer the American English spelling of words. If there is a fee posted that presents an economic burden to you, email your submission to us at:

theeditors@bicoastalreview.com.

We offer a Fast Response option if you would like to hear back from us as quickly as 2 to 14 days. There is also an option to receive in-depth edits, feedback, and suggestions on your submission from our readers and editor-in-chief.

Thank you for your support!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

POETRY

5 poems max, in .Doc or .Docx -- no PDFs. Please separate poems by page. Titles are preferred. No need to put your contact info in the document. If your poems are haikus or otherwise very short, feel free to submit more than 5.

Please read our past issues (free online) to get a sense of our vibe. We particularly appreciate political poetry, ecopoetry and nature poems, love poems, poems about the body, feminist poetry, queer poetry, and poems that engage with history, literature, art, and/or modern culture. Hybrid, experimental, and cross-genre work is welcome. No covid/quarantine poems, please. We are wary of alternating rhyme schemes. We also don't usually accept light verse.

We accept translations into English with the permission of both author and translator.

NONFICTION

We accept creative nonfiction, critical essays, reviews, interviews, think pieces, and similar works.

1,000-3,000 words preferred, though this is not a hard rule.

FICTION

Occasional short fiction (or hybrid works) may be considered if you think it matches the tone and themes of our journal.

PHOTOGRAPHY & ART

Submit up to 10 photos or works of art using the highest image quality possible. Include a "museum label" style paragraph explaining materials, process, theory, and/or anything else you would like to share about the art. Please don't select Fast Response if you're submitting photography or art.

*** We do not accept anything created with AI tools, prompts, or edits. We do not accept writing that espouses bigotry, hate speech, discrimination, or harmful stereotypes targeting any group or individual based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. We value accessibility and social progress, and seek to represent a diversity of voices across the American literary landscape.

​Bios should be 100 words or less, formatted as: "Firstname Lastname is...."

Simultaneous submissions are fine. Please notify us and/or withdraw your submission if your work is accepted elsewhere. We generally do not publish reprints, but we may consider doing so with permission from the prior publication. Upon acceptance with us, kindly withdraw your work from consideration elsewhere.

Submit your work here.