New month, new shot at getting your work out there. If you’re writing poetry, short stories, essays, or something weird that doesn’t quite fit into a box, there’s something here for you. These free-entry writing opportunities are split into categories — open calls, region-specific submissions, grants, and fellowships — so you can easily find what works for you.
Bookmark this page and check back through the month; I’ll keep updating it as more calls roll in.
Shoot your shot, and have fun while at it.:)
Call for Submissions By Categories
OPEN TO ALL WRITERS (WORLDWIDE)
These are poetry, prose, and playwriting opportunities for writers without restrictions based on location, demographics, or other criteria.
Parcham is accepting poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, book reviews, film articles, and photo stories on the theme ROADS for their March 2025 issue (deadline: March 5, 2025).
Bennington Review is accepting poetry and fiction submissions (pay: $25 per poem, $120–$250 for prose) from January 6 to March 9, 2025.
Crowdpen is accepting submissions for their “Love Letter to My Toxic Trait” challenge, inviting writers to pen a love letter to their most chaotic habit — with prizes up to $85 (deadline: March 14, 2025).
The Dawn Review is accepting literary submissions (written and visual work) from all writers (deadline: March 15, 2025).
phoebe Journal is accepting poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art submissions for their Contest Issue, paying $30 per accepted piece (deadline: March 15, 2025).
ECO24: The Year’s Best Speculative Ecofiction is looking for previously published speculative ecofiction stories between 1,000–6,000 words, paying $0.01 per word (deadline: March 17, 2025).
Gramarye is accepting articles, book reviews, short fiction, poetry, and artwork relating to fairy tales, fantasy, Gothic, magic realism, science fiction, and speculative fiction (deadline: March 21, 2025).
The Penn Review is accepting poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and art submissions during their Spring Reading Period (deadline: March 21, 2025), with a $500 prize for their Prose, Poetry, and Art Competition.
On the Premises is accepting short stories (1,000–5,000 words) on the theme “Somewhere Else” for their Short Story Contest #45, with cash prizes up to $250 (deadline: March 28, 2025).
Terrain.org is accepting poetry submissions from writers worldwide, with a focus on underrepresented voices, paying $50 per published piece. (deadline: March 31, 2025).
About Place Journal is accepting submissions for its Spring 2025 issue on the theme “Careful/Care-full Collaboration”, exploring collaborative art practices rooted in care and community. They accept poetry, prose, hybrid forms, visual art, audio, and collaborative dialogue. Joint submissions from artistic collaborators will be prioritized. (deadline: March 31, 2025).
Elegant Literature is accepting short story submissions from new or unpublished writers on the theme Sinister Sanctuaries” (prize: $3,000 + publication, deadline: March 31, 2025).
Chestnut Review is accepting submissions of poetry, flash fiction (up to 1,000 words), prose (fiction or nonfiction between 1,000–5,000 words), and visual art/photography. They pay $120 per piece, with the current window open until March 31, 2025.
GRANT WRITING OPPORTUNITIES, AWARDS, AND CREATIVE WRITING FELLOWSHIPS
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is offering Creative Writing Fellowships in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) with grants of up to $50,000 to U.S. writers (deadline: March 12, 2025).
The Fitzcarraldo Editions/Mahler & LeWitt Studios Essay Prize is open to unpublished writers in the UK & Ireland for book-length essay proposals (minimum 25,000 words) on any theme or subject. Prize: £4,000 + two-month residency in Italy + publication. (Deadline: March 17, 2025.)
The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is offering $2,000 to an emerging writer of color for unpublished crime fiction (deadline: March 31, 2025).
The Robert B. Silvers Foundation is offering grants of up to $10,000 for long-form writing in literary criticism, arts writing, political analysis, and social reportage (deadline: March 31, 2025).
Deborah Rogers Foundation is accepting applications for the 2025 DRF Writers Award, offering £10,000 to an unpublished writer demonstrating literary talent and needing financial support (deadline: March 31, 2025).
WITH RESTRICTIONS
Opportunities for writers from specific regions, demographics, or calls with themes.
ÀTẸ́LẸWỌ́ Prize for Yorùbá Literature is seeking unpublished manuscripts in Yorùbá across poetry, prose, drama, and translation categories, with a ₦1,000,000 cash prize (deadline: March 7, 2025).
Isele Magazine is accepting fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, visual art, and hybrid works for its quarterly issue themed “Ephemeral – The Beauty in Impermanence” (deadline: March 7, 2025).
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is looking for heroic fantasy fiction (up to 10,000 words) and poetry ($100 for stories, $25 for poems) (deadline: March 15, 2025).
The Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award by Broadside Lotus Press is accepting poetry manuscript submissions from African American poets, offering $500 and publication (deadline: March 15, 2025).
The Angela Jackson Prize is accepting submissions of second poetry collections from Black poets of the African diaspora, with the winner receiving $1,000 and publication by Northwestern University Press (deadline: March 16, 2025).
The BBC Young Writers’ Award 2025 is accepting original fiction (up to 1,000 words) from UK residents aged 14–18, with the winner receiving (in addition to the prize) a one-on-one mentoring session with an author (deadline: March 24, 2025).
My Galvanized Friend is accepting fiction, nonfiction, essays (500–3,500 words), poetry (2 pages max), and art from LGBTQIA+ creators on the theme “Pushing Back,” with payments of $25 per prose piece and $10 per page of poetry (deadline: March 31, 2025).
Doek! is accepting submissions from Namibian citizens and residents, as well as African writers for nonfiction, poetry, and fiction (deadline: March 31, 2025).
Palimpsest Press is seeking literary fiction from BIPOC, Deaf, and Disabled Canadian authors, as well as poetry and nonfiction from Canadian authors (submission window: March 1 – March 31, 2025; year-round for BIPOC, Deaf, and Disabled authors).
A Public Space is accepting applications for their 2025 Writing Fellowships, which support early-career writers who haven’t yet published a book. They accept fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submissions. Fellows receive a $1,000 honorarium, editorial support, access to master classes, and a public reading opportunity. (deadline: March 31, 2025.)
The Ann Petry Award by Red Hen Press is accepting submissions of unpublished prose (novels, short story collections, or novellas) from Black writers, offering $3,000 and book publication (deadline: March 31, 2025).
Parsec Short Story Contest is accepting speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror) stories on the theme “ROOTS” (prize: $200 for first place, $100 for second, $50 for third, and $50 for the Youth Story Prize, deadline: March 31, 2025).
The COAS Literary Competition 2025 is accepting essays, poetry, and art submissions from Nigerian primary school pupils, secondary school students, and undergraduates, with cash prizes ranging from ₦50,000 to ₦1,000,000 (deadline: March 31, 2025).
The Jack L. Chalker Young Writers’ Contest by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society is open to Maryland-based writers aged 14–18, seeking science fiction or fantasy stories (prizes: $150, $100, $50; deadline: March 31, 2025).
WRITING OPPORTUNITIES WITH APRIL 2025 DEADLINES
The Loveliest Review is accepting applications for The Loveliest Fellowship 2025 for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, photography, art, and reviews, offering $1,000 and digital publication (deadline: April 1, 2025).
The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers is holding a three-month residency for writers at the Smith-McCullers House in Columbus, Georgia, offering uninterrupted time to work, a private apartment, and a $5,000 stipend. (deadline: April 1, 2025).
The Alpine Fellowship is accepting submissions in fiction, non-fiction, and non-academic essays on the theme of Fear, open to all nationalities, with prizes of £3,000 (first place) and £1,000 (second and third place) (deadline: April 1, 2025).
The Alpine Fellowship is accepting poetry submissions on the theme of Fear, offering a first prize of £3,000 (deadline: April 1, 2025).
The Alpine Fellowship is accepting play submissions on the theme of Fear, awarding £3,000 to the winner (deadline: April 1, 2025).
ROLLING SUBMISSIONS (NO DEADLINE SPECIFIED)
Incensepunk Magazine is accepting sci-fi fiction (4,000–6,000 words) exploring the intersection of human religion and future settings ($100 + lifetime subscription + anthology profit share).
Unbroken is seeking prose poems in block format with unusual imagery and language (no payment, rolling deadlines based on reading periods: Nov 1–Dec 15, Feb 1–Mar 15, May 1–Jun 15, Aug 1–Sep 15).
PEN America is offering emergency grants ($500–$1,000) for writers and publishing professionals affected by the January 2025 Los Angeles fires (rolling deadline).
Bonus: Check out our full list of writing opportunities with rolling submissions here.
What are the best free writing contests for beginners?
Several contests in this list have no entry fees, and they are run by prestigious organizations.
P.S.: If you’ve ever won a writing contest/gotten published/any other opportunity via an opportunity shared on D’LitReview, please let me know!
P.P.S.: If you liked this list, kindly share it with others who would love to see it too. Thanks for reading!
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