Creative Submissions, Prizes & Awards

Your monthly guide to paying markets, competitions, and publishing opportunities.

Creative Submissions, Prizes & Awards

Welcome to the first edition of Creative Submissions, Prizes & Awards on the Freelance Writing Network.

This month features 50+ verified writing opportunities with deadlines from late December 2025 onwards. We’ve curated legitimate literary magazines, paying markets, fiction contests, poetry prizes, novel competitions, and journalism awards — all of which have been researched and verified for credibility.

Inside you’ll find opportunities for every genre and career stage: flash fiction under 300 words to full-length novels, free submissions to $10,000+ prizes, emerging writer contests to prestigious international awards and more.

All links lead directly to submission pages, with entry fees and payment rates clearly marked. Happy submitting!

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CREATIVE SUBMISSIONS

Literary magazines, fiction contests, poetry journals, and creative writing opportunities.

Fiction Submissions

Mississippi Review Fiction Prize​
Winner receives $1,000 and publication in the 2026 Contest Issue. All finalists also published. Submit stories of 800-8,000 words. Read anonymously. Entry fee: $16.
Deadline: January 1, 2026

Ropes Literary Journal​
A themed literary journal accepting fiction (max 3,000 words, one piece per submission) and flash fiction (max 500 words, up to three pieces per submission). Check their website for the current theme for this deadline. Also accepts nonfiction, poetry, and visual art submissions (visual deadline extends to January 19, 2026). Deadline: January 5, 2026

Story Unlikely Annual Short Story Contest​
This free-to-enter contest awards $3,000 for first place, $1,000 for second, and $750 for third. Stories up to 7,000 words accepted (10,000 for WRITER level members). No genre restrictions—they want good stories regardless of genre. Winners published with professional illustrations.
Deadline: January 14, 2026

Bourbon Penn​
A highly imaginative magazine specializing in the odd, surreal, and speculative. "We are looking for highly imaginative stories with a healthy dose of the odd. Odd characters, odd experiences, odd realities. We're looking for genre/speculative stories and are quite partial to slipstream, cross-genre, magic realism, absurdist, and the surreal." They will open for original fiction submissions January 1-14, 2026, with an extended window (January 15-21) exclusively for BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled authors. Must identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ to submit. Payment: $100 for fiction.
Deadline: January 14, 2026 (general); January 21, 2026 (BIPOC/trans/disabled authors)