Happy Monday!
Since next Monday is Memorial Day, our newsletter will not be hitting your inboxes on May 26, but on May 27 instead. We hope you have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend and get a chance to refresh and reset.

📰 In Literary News

Our May eLitPak went out to subscribers last Wednesday. If you’re a new subscriber or missed that email, you can enjoy it online here. This month’s edition featured flyers from:

• Colorado Authors League - discover new titles from members

• Main Street Rag - calling for submissions for an upcoming anthology

• The Tusculum Review - announcing its 2025 Fiction Chapbook Prize

• Tremont Writers Conference - announcing its application deadline for 2025

• Hidden Timber Books - announcing new titles

• Taos Writers Conference - announcing keynote speaker and events taking place during the 2025 conference

• Boudin - announcing its 2025 Flash Fiction Chapbook Contest

• Catamaran - announcing the opening of its 2025 Poetry Prize for West Coast Poets

• Birds & Muses - promoting its literary mentorship for women and nonbinary writers

• Clarity Press - announcing new titles

  

Looking for something literary to kick off the long weekend?
Tint Journal, the literary magazine for non-native English writing, is hosting another edition of its hybrid reading series:

Tinted Tales: Reading Across Cultures
📅 Friday, May 23 | 🕖 7PM CEST
📍 Livestream on YouTube (from Austria)

Tune in if you can!

📚 At the Magazine Stand

Swing by the Magazine Stand to discover new issues:

• Baltimore Review (Spring 2025)
  Featuring creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry by Hannah Keziah Agustin, Stephanie J. Andersen, Nicholas Barnes, Merrill Oliver Douglas, and more.

• AGNI 101
  A powerful issue filled with gravity and grace, featuring art by Palestinian painter Malak Mattar and a rich mix of essays, poems, and stories.

Check back throughout the week for new issues from: The Malahat Review, The Greensboro Review, The Main Street Rag, and The Midwest Quarterly.

✍️ Tools for Writers

Struggling to develop a sustainable writing practice? Proliffic is here to help by offering a simple, sustainable way to write often, write more, and writer better. Designed for writers of all levels, it offers:

• Daily writing prompts

• A minimalist interface

• Tools to build consistency

📖 Book Picks of the Week

• Crunchwrap Truth by Kevin J.B. O’Connor
  A chapbook of absurdist political-food poems inspired by the titular iconic fast-food item.

• The Murmur of Everything Moving by Maureen Stanton
  A heartbreakingly beautiful true romance about love, illness, and resilience.

• It All Felt Impossible by Tom McAllister
  A meditative collection of 42 essays—one for each year of the author’s life.

• Where Do You Live? by Dr. Hanaa Ahmad Jabr & Jennifer Jean
  A powerful epistolary poetry collection exploring identity, power, and connection.

🔍 In Review

Kevin Brown dives into the fascinating history of the Oxford English Dictionary in his review of:

• The Dictionary People by Sarah Ogilvie
  Ogilvie, a former OED editor, spent eight years uncovering the stories of the unsung heroes behind the world’s greatest dictionary.

Reviews coming soon to the blog:

• Self Geofferential by Geoffrey Gatza

• Upstage by Bruce Andrews & Sally Silvers

• Black in Blues by Imani Perry

• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Inspiration Prompt: Down the Literary Rabbit Hole

Did you tumble like Alice into a world of wonder—or become a Mad Hatter, obsessing over fictional lives as if they were your own?

Did you discover your love of rhyme with cabbages and kings? Or find a poetic turn of phrase that struck a chord and became a symphony of wonder?

And then—did the magic falter?

Did you learn something about the author that dulled the joy of the story? Did admiration turn to discomfort? Did you wrestle with loving the work while questioning the creator?

What book, line, or moment pulled you in so deeply you forgot where you were?
What did you discover there—and what did you leave behind?

Write it. Honor it. Let the words lead you further down the rabbit hole.

Calls, Contests, & More

Below is a small preview of this week’s 57 writing contests, calls for submissions, and literary and writing events.

Submissions Open for Housatonic Book Awards

Deadline: July 18, 2025
The Housatonic Book Awards are now accepting submissions of all books published in 2024. Authors or agents are welcome to submit poetry, fiction, and nonfiction manuscripts for consideration in the HBAs. All manuscripts will be reviewed by a committee and the winners will be notified in October 2025. Each award carries a $1,000 honorarium and $500 travel stipend in exchange for the author appearing at either WCSU's fall or summer writing residency. Entering a title implies the author’s willingness to attend the WCSU MFA residency to host a 2-hour workshop. We look forward to considering your work! Learn more here.

Darrel Alejandro Holnes judges Poet Hunt 30!

Deadline: June 15, 2025
The MacGuffin’s Poet Hunt 30 awards a $500 grand prize and publication! Up to two Honorable Mentions also published. Guest Judge Darrel Alejandro Holnes will make the final selections. Entrants receive one copy of the issue containing the selected poems. Send five poems per $15 entry fee. Include your contact info and poem titles in a cover letter or via the Submittable form. Personally identifiable information should not be included on the poems themselves to preserve the anonymous review process. Enter via Submittable; or to enter by post, see full rules at our website.

$7,500 in Awards + Publication in New Letters

Deadline: May 19, 2025
New Letters invites you to submit fiction, essays, or poetry to the New Letters Literary Awards. Winners receive $2,500 for best essay, $2,500 for best poetry, and $2,500 for best fiction, and publication in New Letters. All entries are considered for publication and must be unpublished. Winners will be announced mid-September 2025. Essay and fiction entries may not exceed 8,000 words; poetry entries may contain one to six poems. For complete guidelines, visit our website.

Swan Scythe Press Announces its 2025 Poetry Chapbook Contest!

Deadline: June 15, 2025
Swan Scythe Press announces its 2025 poetry chapbook contest. Entry fee: $18. We are accepting submissions from March 1 to June 15 (postmark deadline). Winner receives $200 and 25 perfect-bound chapbooks. The 2024 winner is Aida Zilelian for Dissonance. For full guidelines, visit our website and submissions manager.

Made from Midnight: Poetry and Short Fiction Wanted for Anthology

Deadline: June 6, 2025
Poets in the Pines welcomes you to our debut anthology, Made from Midnight. We are a small collective of writers, poets, and editors seeking short prose and poetry for this upcoming collection. Themes like death, rebirth, aging, grief, transitional spaces, the supernatural, or whatever else death evokes for you are all welcome. Exceptional writing, vivid imagery, and bone-chilling emotions wanted; magic desired. Please see our detailed submission guidelines, FAQ, and more information on our submission form located through the link below. Fate is unfurling a timid, open hand out to you... will you take it? Submit here.

The Branches Spring Issue Release Party

Deadline: May 18, 2025
Join us on Sunday May 18th to celebrate the release of the Spring 2025 issue of The Branches with readings from authors, print copies, and a potluck lunch in Central Park in New York City. The Branches is a journal of literature, cultural criticism, and visual art. Instead of making silos for creative expression, theological meditation, popular media, and intellectual thought, The Branches is interested in the overlap of all of these. Please see our website for our fall issue, our socials (Substack etc.). If you plan to come, please bring a dish to share if able. We'll be in the Heckscher picnic area. You can RSVP via here.

Salamander 2025 Fiction Contest, Judged by Helen Phillips

Deadline: June 1, 2025
Salamander's annual fiction contest will accept submissions of short stories up to 30 pages or 7500 words from May 1 - June 1. First prize will win $1000 and publication; second prize is $500 and publication. Helen Phillips will judge. Entry fee of $20 includes a one-year subscription. Find more information and enter at our website. Questions: email us.

Please note: only paying subscribers get access to all 57 submission opportunities! You can become a paying subscriber for only $5 a month and get early access to submission opportunities and events before they go live on our site.

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