It’s a blustery day, but it seems like Fool’s Spring may be over and real spring may be on its way. Let us hope that is the case. Something to brighten the atmosphere? April is half over with this week which means you can enjoy our April eLitPak on Wednesday offering up more submission opportunities, new book announcements, and upcoming literary events.

Don’t forget that Independent Bookstore Day is next Saturday, April 26. If you’ll be travelling and want to find an indie near you to celebrate if you have time, don’t forget to check out our Guide to Independent Bookstores to help you. We are constantly updating it to add new stores and sadly remove stores that close. If we are missing a store you love, please let us know!

If you have a bit of a spring break or maybe get a longer weekend this week, NewPages is here to help you with great lit recommendations, starting with literary magazines. New on the Magazine Stand, dive into the latest issue of South Dakota Review which features work by Stella Wong, Mackenzie Carignan, Anthony D’Aries, Michael Leal Garcia, Michael Meyerhofer, Vivek Sharma, and more. You can also enjoy 15 new stories in the latest issue of online journal Jewish Fiction (formerly Jewish Fiction .net) including translations from Italian, Polish, and Hebrew into English. Contributors include Shulim Vogelmann, Sagit Emet, Yuval Yavneh, Mikołaj Łoziński, Anna Rosner, and more.

The April 2025 issue of The Lake features poetry and poetics by Gareth Adams, Jean Atkin, Deborah H. Doolittle, Neil Elder, and Sharif Gemi, to name just a few. Perfect for National Poetry Month, enjoy the Spring 2025 issue of Broadsided. Poets in this issue include Livia Meneghin, Amanda Quaid, and Lex Runciman. Meanwhile, you can enjoy artwork by Michele L’Heureux, Bailey Bob Bailey, Sandra Vega, and more. The Spring 2025 issue of Apple Valley Review features work by Madison Ellingsworth, Peter Newall, Miriam Van hee (translated from the Dutch by Judith Wilkinson), and more.

Come back to the Magazine Stand during the week to discover Issue 48 of Bellevue Literary Review and the Winter 2024-35 issue of Blue Collar Review.

Looking for a new book to read? Love memoirs? Check out Maureen Stanton’s The Murmur of Everything Moving: A Memoir. The book follows Stanton as her boyfriend Steve is diagnosed with Cancer at the age of 29. She, Steve, and his childhood friend, Joey, embark on an all-out effort to save Steve’s life. Enjoy exploring the difficult and exquisite terrain of love in the face of mortality.

Our reviewers are also here to help you decide on your next read. Eleanor J. Bader reviews Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future by Emile Suotonye DeWeaver. DeWeaver dropped out of school at just 13 and began selling drugs. By 18, he had committed murder. Sentenced to 67 years to life, he was determined to not let his story end there and worked to write his way out of prison, which he did after 21 years of incarceration.

Bader also reviews Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood by Angela Denker. The book explores why many mass shootings in the United States have been carried out by white men whose fury has been bolstered by Christian nationalist organizations and websites.

Inspiration

As a fellow literary lover, can you recall the first book that drew you in? Whether you started your relationship with the written word at a young age or you discovered the joy of reading at a later age, can you recall that magic moment, that book that hooked you? Can you write an ode to Shel Silverstein or Eric Carle’s caterpillar? Or can you compose a lyric essay on how Harry Potter created magic in your everyday life?

How about a short story of woman who is obsessed with Jane Austen’s England? Or a man who may exemplify a modern-day vision of Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre? It doesn’t have to be classics that draw you in and keep you reading. Explore how some may look down on the books that you love, but how you keep reading them in spite of what others say.

Calls, Contests, & More

Below is a small preview of this week’s 65 writing contests, calls for submissions, and literary and writing events.

Tremont Writers Conference in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Application Deadline: May 15, 2025
"Pairing a writing workshop with the mountains: I couldn’t have imagined anything more perfect." - Sarah, previous participant. "I was reminded to use ALL of my senses, to be observant, and then articulate the experience." - Kim, previous participant. “The thing that stands out to me about the Tremont conference is that the Great Smoky Mountains is not simply a setting for the program - it is an integrated feature." - Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and conference leader Maurice Manning. Applications are now open for the third annual Tremont Writers Conference, taking place this October inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Join renowned authors Crystal Wilkinson, David Joy, Karen Spears Zacharias, and Maurice Manning for an intensive five-day retreat for writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Financial aid is available. Learn more and apply.

Creative Entrepreneurs Change the World > Learn more > Pepperdine MFA Screenwriting

Application Deadline: 30 April 2025
Creative entrepreneurs change the world. Learn more in Pepperdine's two-year MFA Screenwriting Program. We prepare students to pursue vocations as screenwriters as well as to become cultural leaders in the entertainment industry. Hollywood professionals nurture, train, and support students in writing workshops. Here at Pepperdine we take a values-centered approach to education and work to strengthen student lives in purpose, service, and leadership. Yes, you can be a cultural leader through your storytelling! Apply now!

Heron Tree Call for Submissions

Deadline: May 15, 2025
Until 15 May 2025, Heron Tree is accepting found poems composed from sources published in or before 1929. We are interested in any and all approaches to found poetry construction and erased or remixed texts. Accepted poems will be published weekly on the Heron Tree website starting later in 2025 and will be collected in a free, downloadable PDF volume. For detailed submission guidelines, visit us at our website. No fee, no payment.

Kerouac Project Writers Residency Open for Submissions

Deadline: April 28, 2025
The Kerouac Project of Orlando is looking for six writers to each spend two months living and working in the same house where Beat writer Jack Kerouac lived in 1957–58 when he wrote The Dharma Bums. The Project is accepting applications for its residency program between February 7 and April 28, 2025. The selected writers will be announced in May. Selection is based on the quality of their submitted work. Each writer stays free with their utilities covered and a $600 food and supplies stipend to use during their residency. Visit our website for more information.

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

Deadline: May 1, 2025
33rd year, sponsored by Winning Writers, co-sponsored by Duotrope, and recommended by Reedsy. Submit published or unpublished work online to win $3,500 for the best story and $3,500 for the best essay. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $500 each. Length limit: 6,000 words. Entry fee: $25. Top 12 entries published online. Final judge: Mina Manchester. Deadline: May 1. Learn more at our website.

LIGHT Magazine Open Call - Art, Letters, Stories, & Poetry

Deadline: May 1, 2025
Leaders Igniting Generational Healing and Transformation (LIGHT) is calling for submissions for Issue 5 of LIGHT Magazine. Building healthier communities, working for a better tomorrow, and ensuring the well-being for all begins with trust. What builds and restores trust? Is it empathy, love, accountability, and genuine communication? What fosters mistrust in public health? Is it a lack of transparency, failure to communicate well, limited diverse voices? Let creativity lead the way—Using art, letters, stories, and poetry, tell us: how might we build public health systems that are trustworthy? Prize money (1st: $500, 2nd: $375, 3rd: $125) will be given to the top three contestants of each category. Visit our website to learn more and to submit via Submittable.

Perkoff Prize Deadline Extended!

Extended Deadline: April 15, 2025
The deadline for the Missouri Review‘s Perkoff Prize has been extended to April 15, midnight PST. The Perkoff awards $1000 and publication to writers of the best story, set of poems, or essay that engages in evocative ways with health, wellness, and medicine as judged by the editors. Fee: $15. All entrants receive a free 1-year digital subscription, and all entries are considered for publication. For full guidelines, click here.

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.

2025 Cow Creek Chapbook Prize

Deadline: May 15, 2025
Have a small poetry collection that you're ready to get out into the world? We're currently accepting submissions for this year's chapbook contest! The Cow Creek Chapbook Prize is a poetry chapbook contest brought to you by Pittsburg State University. We're open to all styles and subjects. As long as the poems challenge and capture the imagination, we want to see them. The winning poet will receive $1,000 and 25 author copies. This year's judge is Rebecca Gayle Howell. Deadline: May 15, 2025. More guidelines and submission portal can be found at our website.

Please note: only paying subscribers get access to all 65 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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