Happy Monday! A brief warmup followed by a brief cooldown, but it feels like now we may have actual spring on our hands soon…probably just in time for summer to nestle in as well. If you are an avid book lover and enjoy browsing the nearest indie bookstores and would like to show them some love and enjoy some festivities, don’t forget that Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 26. Head on over to our Guide to Indie Bookstores to find one near you celebrating with special events.

If you missed it last Wednesday or are new subscriber, our April eLitPak can be viewed online! In it, find submission opportunities, upcoming events, mentorships, and new releases from Livingston Press, The Tusculum Review, 2025 Tremont Writers Conference, Stalking Horse Press, Birds & Muses, Last Syllable, the 9th annual Taos Writers Conference, Stone Circle Review, Pictura Journal, and the 2025 Aspen Summer Words Writers Conference.

Looking for a new journal issue to devour? Stop by the NewPages Magazine Stand to find out which journals have new issues to read. Plus, stay tuned as next week we will have our full list of journals with new issues. Assistant Fiction Editor Lauralee Leonard opens Bellevue Literary Review Issue 48 with reflective inquiry for readers and writers alike. The work featured likewise offers readers the opportunity to further contemplation, enjoy Fiona Ennis, Pia Jee-Hae Baur, Sandra Dolores Gómez Amador, and more.

The Journal of Progressive Working Class Literature, Blue Collar Review Winter 2024-25 opens with an editorial documenting the political state of our country in the context of a global history of dictatorships. Joining the paper protest in this issue are poets Dave Roskos, Dan Grote, Robert Cooperman, G.C. Compton, Darrell Petska, Cathy Porter, and many more. Meanwhile, The April 2025 issue of Plume (164) features works by Tiana Nobile, Marilyn A. Johnson, Olga Maslova, Jen Karetnick, Dai Weina, Phillis Levin, to name just a few.

Come back to the Magazine Stand later this week to enjoy more information on the latest issue of THEMA as well as discover new journal Silly Goose Press.

Looking for a new book to read? Hop on over to the blog to get recommendations from our reviewers! First, Jami Macarty tackles Jill Khoury’s second poetry collection, earthwork. In the collection, a sight-impaired daughter navigates her complex relationship with her chronically ill mother. Macarty also reviews Yael S. Hacohen’s debut poetry collection, The Dove that Didn’t Return. Enjoy a poignant exploration of Hacohen’s lived experiences as a female commander in the Israeli Defense Forces from the front lines of the Middle East Conflict.

Next, Aiden Hunt reviews Laynie Browne’s latest poetry collection, Apprentice to a Breathing Hand. In this collection, Browne pays homage to veteran poet Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge. While the poems eschew Berssenbrugge’s fascination with light and quantum physics, many feature the long lines and the phenomenological focus on which the elder poet relies.

Last, but definitely not least, Kevin Brown voices his thoughts on Pico Iyer’s latest book, Aflame: Learning from Silence. The book refers to the wildfires in California that have taken at least one of his family’s homes and threatens the Hermitage, a monastery he visits quite often for solitude. Come back to the blog later this week for reviews of Liz Theoharis & Noam Sandweiss-Back’s You Only Get What You’re Organized to Take, Darius Atefat-Peckham’s Book of Kin, and Carolyn Hembree’s For Today.

Inspiration

Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. . . so what is a scent worth? Scents, like images are ways of recalling memories. What does the smell of paint remind you of? A painting project you hated doing in your house? Finally finishing that project for your art class you will never finish? Does the smell of pine drift you back to the days you lived in the country before becoming a city dweller?

Can you craft a poem on a scent that unleashes a memory pleasant or otherwise? Or perhaps write a story where the main character has no olfactory sensors and is on a quest to unlock a useable nose? Or perhaps you would like to write an essay about the reason why you don’t mind the smell of skunk spray even though the general consensus is that no one likes it? Or how about a fun recipe about recreating freshly cut grass as a perfume to bottle a special moment in time?

Calls, Contests, & More

Below is a small preview of this week’s 66 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.

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.

$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.

Please note: only paying subscribers get access to all 66 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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