November 2025 Deadlines: 10 Contests and Magazines

With plenty of opportunities to submit your work this month, some of which feature interdisciplinary practice or guided support for your writing efforts, it’s prime time to share your work with the world. Don’t forget that acceptances and rejections are by-products of your publishing journey—crafting your authentic art is the goal. We want to see your poems in the world, wherever they emerge; and as always, submit poetry for free to our New Voices. This list is powered by the deadline service Literistic!


At Azahares, they’re looking for fresh work of the Latin@ experience: poetry that transports us into new perspectives; prose that makes a reader laugh or cry or sigh with satisfaction; art that lifts audiences toward the sublime or soothes like un chocolatito caliente on a cold evening. They particularly enjoy publishing works that illustrate the best of what it means to be human. Azahares is University of Arkansas-Fort Smith’s award-winning bilingual creative literary magazine. The primary purpose of this magazine is to provide community members and students with an arena for creative expression in English or Spanish, as well as a literary space for writing that presents the themes of the Latin@ experience.

Deadline: November 1 // No Fee


The James Hearst Poetry Prize is a competition intended to recognize the finest poetry. They welcome all forms of previously unpublished poetry and up to five poems per submission. James Hearst wrote like he farmed, with an eye for clean fields and straight fences. A writing professor at the University of Northern Iowa for four decades, he also served as a contributing editor and guiding light for the North American ReviewThe Complete Poetry of James Hearst was published in 2001 by the University of Iowa Press. The winning entry, runners-up, honorable mentions, and finalists will be offered publication in the North American Review’s spring issue. This year’s judge is Danez Smith. Submit up to five poems for consideration.

Deadline: November 1 // Fee


If you’re an emerging writer at the beginning of your publishing journey, The Writer’s Center Compass Fellowship is a great opportunity for you! Their fellowship program will introduce a new writer each year to their writing family, to help guide them along the next steps on their path, with $1000 in credits toward any TWC workshops within a two-year period, a $300 cash stipend, and opportunities to be published in The Writer’s Center Magazine and featured in TWC events. No previous publication experience is necessary. Applicants must live in the DMV area and be able to travel to Bethesda, MD. Submit 8 pages of poetry, no more than one poem per page and a 500-word statement of purpose.

Deadline: November 1 // No Fee


Jack Straw Cultural Center is now accepting applications for the 30th year of the Jack Straw Writers Program, with Curator Claudia Castro Luna. The purpose of the Jack Straw Writers Program is to introduce writers to the medium of recorded audio; to develop their presentation skills for both live and recorded readings; to encourage the creation of new literary work; to present the writers and their work to the public; and to build community among writers. Participating writers are presented in live readings, in the printed Jack Straw Writers Anthology; and on the web and radio. The Writers Program requires participants to be on-site at Jack Straw Cultural Center in Seattle for a number of small-group activities.

Deadline: November 2 // No Fee


Calling all emerging poets! The Foster Poetry Prize awards $1000 and publication in Contemporary Verse 2 to the author of the winning poem. Cash prizes and publication in CV2 are awarded to second and third place, as well as an honorable mention. Your submission may consist of 1-2 poems, and is not to exceed 80 lines total. The mandate and primary aim of Contemporary Verse 2 is to educate, engage, and expand public appreciation of the poetic art form by sharing and promoting high-caliber, original verse and critical writing by local, national, and international poets.

Deadline: November 2 // No Fee


Oroboro is an online literary journal, published bi-annually by Death Rattle, aimed at publishing and promoting poets, authors, and artists. Oroboro publishes new work from both established and emerging writers. Before you submit, poets are encouraged to take a look at previous issues to get a feel for what they are looking for. Submit 5-6 poems and/or 10 pages in one document. They consider excerpts from long poems, too. Their small editing staff at Oroboro also offers reading services. If you’re wishing to send some of your work to a dedicated team of readers and writers for specific one-on-one feedback and editing, they’ll help you out for a small fee.

Deadline: November 10 // Fee


Fugue is managed and edited entirely by University of Idaho graduate students, with help from graduate and undergraduate readers. Fugue is especially interested in work that is curious about the world, the boundaries of form, and the limits of language. Send your deep fascinations and distinct point-of-view. The journal aims to uplift and honor the work of poets from underrepresented socioeconomic backgrounds, abilities, gender identities, sexualities, races, and ethnicities. Please send 3-5 poems with a maximum submission length of 10 pages. Send all poems in one document.

Deadline: November 15 //  Fee


CLOCKHOUSE is a national literary journal published by Clockhouse Writers’ Conference, whose editors are MFA alumni of Goddard College. They encourage submissions from both established and emerging writers. CLOCKHOUSE is looking for work that beckons readers to listen, share, and engage. All poetry in traditional and experimental styles including prose poetry is invited. Submit up to three poems of any length per reading period. ​Each poem must be uploaded as a separate submission. Send your best!

Deadline: November 15 //  No Fee


Nightboat Poetry Prize

Nightboat Books, a nonprofit organization, seeks to develop audiences for writers whose work resists convention and transcends boundaries, by publishing books rich with poignancy, intelligence and risk. They seek work from any poet writing in English for their annual prize, including international Anglophone writers. Previous book publication is not a consideration for eligibility. Poems published in print or on-line periodicals, anthologies, or chapbooks may be included, but the manuscript itself must be unpublished. Original work only; translations are not eligible for the prize. Manuscripts should be a minimum of 48 pages, paginated, with no more than one poem per page. The winning poet(s) receives a $1,200 advance, a standard royalty contract, and 25 free copies of the published book.

Deadline: November 15 // Fee


Mantis is housed in the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages at Stanford University and is run by passionate graduate students. Each year they publish an annual issue that collects new poetry and poetry newly translated into English, alongside special features and thematic sections. Send them your work that flaunts convention or is deeply rooted in it. They seek pieces that confound, make a reader think. Send work that doesn’t quite fit anywhere else, that you can’t quite put a finger on, with lines that will get stuck in the back of a reader’s mind for an hour (or an eternity). Please take a look at the individual calls for submission for detailed submission guidelines and further information.

Deadline: November 22 // No fee

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