August 2026 Deadlines: 10 Contests and Magazines with Deadlines This Month
There’s plenty of opportunities to submit your work this month, and there’s a wide variety of options—particularly contests for select poems or groups of poems. 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 ultimate 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!
The regular submission period for the Robert Watson Literary Prizes is June 1 to August 1. Winners of the Fiction and Poetry Prizes will each receive a $1000 award and publication in The Greensboro Review. The Greensboro Review seeks new writing from authors representing a wide range of identities. They love featuring the work of previously unpublished writers and showcasing those whose work may be risk-taking or overlooked. The journal remains faculty- and student-run, with new graduate student editors on staff each year, so writing you submit will always be read by fresh eyes from a variety of editorial aesthetics. Poetry entries can include any number of poems up to 10 pages, but 5 to 7 poems per submission is recommended.
Deadline: August 1 // Fee
This year’s judge is acclaimed poet Carolyn Forche. The winner of the Coniston Prize will receive $1,000 and publication. Up to 10 finalists will also be awarded $175 and publication. The winner and finalists’ work will be featured in the Coniston Prize Issue, published annually in October. Submit 3-5 previously unpublished poems in a single document through our submissions manager, totaling no more than 10 pages. This award recognizes an exceptional group of poems. It is therefore suggested that you submit poems that are intentionally cohesive in some way, whether connected by subject matter, theme, voice, style, or imagery.
Deadline: August 1 // Fee
Nine Syllables Press is delighted to announce the first annual Tammis Day Prize. The Tammis Day Poetry Prize is awarded annually for a debut full-length collection by a woman poet aged 40 or over. Diane Seuss will be the final judge for 2026. The winner will be awarded $1000, author’s copies, a reading at Smith College, and a two week artist’s residency at Vermont Studio Center. The book will be published within a year. Winners will be announced by February, 2027. This is the only prize of its kind, and the press is so delighted for this opportunity to champion the work of older women poets.
Deadline: August 1 // Fee
For the Rod Carlos Rodriguez Prize, submit your best poems on the theme of “pockets.” Yes, pockets like those sewn into pants or bags or suitcases, but also pockets in any sense of the word. Pockets as a hollow in the earth or the cavities of a billiard table. Pockets of ore or gold. Pockets of time. Pockets as myth or memory. Wax poetic on pockets of people or earth as a pocket of space. Consider pockets as containers. Envelopes or seed pods. The warm pouch of a mama kangaroo. Pockets as keepers of lint and frogs and hidden treasures. Interpret the theme broadly. Submit up to three poems of any length and in any form, including hybrid forms, all in one document.
South 85 Literary Journal
South 85 Journal seeks submissions of no more than 3 poems, up to 6 total pages, one poem per page. This issue’s theme is “city | country.” Poems may respond to the following questions, among others: Cars careening, horns blaring, the blur of conversations caught snippet by tantalizing snippet on the sidewalk? Crickets, cicadas, butterflies, birds, a cheerful creek? Silver skyscrapers or silvery moon? Walking fast, walking slow, sitting at the bus stop, sitting on the front porch? Dirty or dirt? Space measured in square feet or acres or sky or stories? Where are you most alive? Where were you born to be? Where is your heart? Where is your family? But where are you right now? The possibilities are endless, and this theme that’s unthemed should feel open to countless interpretations, introspections, and examinations. All work will be considered for our Editor’s Choice Award of $100, which be given to ONE piece in the issue.
Deadline: August 1 // Fee
After ten years of publishing really great stories, and in light of the new age that appears to be dawning around these parts, TulipTree Publishing thought it was time for a new prompt: What if the only way to save yourself from this reality is to write yourself a new one? The story you choose to tell is everything. There is still only one category: the Story. That means fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—as long as it tells a story, it fits. Submit one poem, up to 5 pages long. The Grand Prize is $1,000 and a 2-year ($100) gift certificate to Duotrope. Six additional prizes of $200 will be given. Winners and Honorable Mentions will be published in and receive a free copy of the annual Stories That Need to Be Told anthology.
Deadline: August 9 // Fee
Enter up to three poems of up to 30 lines each for this prize. All entries should be in English, although words and phrases from other languages can be included. Poems may be in any form the author chooses. Entries for the Bournemouth Writing Prize will also be considered for publication in the Bournemouth Journal. The overall winners will each have 2 free tickets and an Open Mic slot of up to 5 minutes for a showcase at the Bournemouth Writing Festival. Each of the overall winners will receive 2 free tickets to any talk or workshop taking place at the Pavillion Dance over the course of the three-day festival. Winners will be published in the Bournemouth Writing Prize anthology.
Deadline: August 15 // Fee
Cream City Review is devoted to publishing memorable and energetic fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid texts, and artwork that represent a broad range of creators with diverse, unique backgrounds. This year’s Poetry Prize is judged by Heid Erdrich. The winner will receive $500, publication in the Spring 2027 issue of Cream City Review, and an online feature on their website. One runner up will receive publication in an upcoming issue of Cream City Review. You may send up to four poems in a single document.
Deadline: August 15 // Fee
The Blue Earth Review annual poetry contest is now taking submissions. Submit up to three poems per submission in a single file. They look for ambitious and exuberant works of poetry that offer insights, complicates existing conversations, and enriches our understanding of what it means to be human in this increasingly diverse world. They gravitate towards small, focused works in which every word matters. The winner will receive $500 plus publication in an upcoming issue of Blue Earth Review. Publication may be offered to additional finalists.
Deadline: August 21 // Fee
An international poetry contest open to English language writers of all ages living anywhere in any country, although international mail costs of money transfers will be borne by any international winners. All styles and subject matter are welcome although one could acquaint oneself with past winners to get some idea of what kind of entries have been selected previously. The final judge will be Virginia poet Lesley Wheeler. Prizes include $1000 first place award and five $250 finalist awards.
Deadline: August 31 // Fee
