January 2026 Deadlines: 9 Contests and Magazines
New year, new opportunities to share your work with the world! This month in particular, there are options for visual media and poetry pairings, a chance to publish your chapbook, and one residency. Crafting your authentic art is the goal, and acceptances and rejections are by-products of your publishing journey. We can’t wait to see where this month’s publishing opportunities and contests take you. As always, submit poetry for free to our New Voices. This list is powered by the deadline service Literistic.
Radar Poetry
Radar Poetry is an electronic journal of poetry and artwork. They publish poems from established and emerging writers, welcome international submissions, and are interested in the interplay between poetry and visual media. Each issue features pairings of poetry and artwork, selected by the editors. Before submitting, read their previous issues to get a sense of their aesthetic. Submit up to 3 unpublished poems in a single document.
Deadline: January 1 // Fee
Mississippi Review Poetry Prize
This magazine is currently accepting Poetry for the 2026 Mississippi Review Contest Issue, with a publication date of Summer 2026. Mississippi Review is housed in the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers. Poetry submissions should be 3-5 poems, totaling 10 pages or less, submitted as one single document. One poem will be selected as the winner and will receive $1,000 and publication in the contest issue. All finalists will also be published in the contest issue. The winner and finalists will receive two copies of the contest issue.
Deadline: January 1 // Fee
Apricity Magazine
As a champion for expression and voice, Apricity Magazine is willing to take almost all subject matters. There is no word limit for online submissions, but if you would like to be considered for print publication, the word limit is 3000 words for poetry. There is no submissions fee, nor is there any payment for publishing your work (currently). However, should you be published in the print publication, you will receive a free contributor’s copy. They are the official literary and arts magazine of the University of Texas at Austin, and publish online throughout the year and in print annually.
Deadline: January 3 // No Fee
Button Poetry Chapbook Contest
Button Poetry values energy and voice and force, work that crosses borders or effaces them completely, work that enters into larger social conversations, work that lives in the world, and work with calloused hands and a half-empty stomach. They think poetry is and ought to be part of our everyday lives and culture. Submit a previously unpublished, chapbook-length (20-30 pages of poetry, 8.5×11 page-size) manuscript of poetry using the online submission manager. The manuscript, in one PDF file, should include: a title page with the title of the book only (no contact or identifying information about the author), a table of contents page, and the text itself.
Deadline: January 5 // Fee
The James Merrill Writer-in-Residence
This residency is open to writers or scholars with a specific project of literary or academic merit, committed to a full-time 2 or 4 or 6 week residence in Stonington. Applicants should be willing to engage with the community, which may include a reading or a workshop. They also film each writer for their archive in the Studio 107 series. They welcome suggestions from applicants on how to reinforce the community’s ties to writing, poetry, and James Merrill’s legacy. The Writer-in-Residence program includes a stipend of $1,100 per month, prorated according to the length of stay. Six residencies are offered for 2 or 4 or 6 weeks each. Apply with a resume, writing sample, reference letters and more (see application page for more details).
Deadline: January 12 // Fee
The Meadow
The Meadow publishes work each summer from beginning and experienced writers and artists out of Truckee Meadows Community College. They are also proud to be a 100% free journal. Issues are free on campus and distributed freely around the Reno area. If they accept your work for publication, payment is two free copies. Send five poems accompanied by contact information (name, address, telephone and email) and a brief (less than 50 words) biography.
Deadline: January 15 // No Fee
Split Lip Magazine
Split Lip is open for free submissions during the month of January until their submissions cap is reached. They are a voice-driven literary journal with a pop culture twist, publishing online monthly and in print periodically. Contributors to web issues will receive $75 and print issue contributor payment is $5 per printed page, minimum of $20, plus 2 contributor copies. Send them your best poem; only 1 poem per submission is allowed. They want new, innovative works by fresh voices.
Deadline: January 31 // No Fee
Salt Hill
Salt Hill is a literary journal interested in a wide range of poetry, from traditional to experimental. They publish new and emerging writers alongside those with long, illustrious careers in the literary arts. Please send no more than five poems at a time. They print previously unpublished work and ask that all poems be submitted in one document. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify them if a poem is no longer available by adding a note to your submission through Submittable.
Deadline: January 31 // No Fee
Bending Genres
This magazine seeks poetry that is unusual, experimental, terrifying, delightful, stunning, rare, deep — from poems that whoosh out magnanimously to those that are secretive. They enjoy blending genres (of course), hybrid writing, blurred lines, and creative bursts of stylistic fusion. Please send up to three poems in a single document, and simultaneous submissions are not accepted.
Deadline: January 31 // No Fee
