Welcome to our new newsletter design by Tunnel 7! We found over two dozen excellent free poetry and prose contests with deadlines between July 15-August 31. This issue features "Sonnet 18" by William Shakespeare, from Julian Peters' Nature Poems to See By. Annie Mydla has a cure for healing-themed fiction that lacks vitality.

Editor Jendi Reiter observes that authors today are being pounded with solicitations from "book clubs", "literary podcasts", and "small presses". Find out how to safely tell which might be legit. If you have a tip, recommendation, or warning, please email it to info@winningwriters.com.

Next Deadline
TOM HOWARD/MARGARET REID POETRY CONTEST
24th year. We will award $3,500 for a poem in any style or genre and $3,500 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $500 each (any style). The top 12 entries will be published online. The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value). Length limit: 250 lines per poem. Entry fee: $25 for a submission of 1-3 poems. Multiple submissions welcome. Final judge: Michal 'MJ' Jones, assisted by Dare Williams and Ezra Fox. Deadline: October 1.

Coming next month: We'll announce the winners of our 25th annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest.

View past newsletters in our archives. Need assistance? Let us help. Join our 65,000 followers on Facebook and Bluesky. Advertise with us, starting at $20.

Featured Sponsor

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Recent Honors and Publication Credits for Our Subscribers

Congratulations to Susan Rosenbluth, Terri Kirby Erickson, Timothy W. Joseph, Daniel Meltz, J Brooke, Don Mitchell, Jackie Domenus, Stephen Billias, Samantha Terrell, and Leatrice.

Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's poem "Help! I've Been Invited to a Cuddle Party", from their new collection Introvert Pervert (The Word Works, 2026), was featured on Queer Poem-A-Day on July 2. Their poem "Why Do You Wear So Many Gay Shirts? Are You Angry?" was published at The Queer Love Project on July 5.

Have news? Please email it to jendi@winningwriters.com.

Do you use TikTok or Instagram? Send your news to the @winningwriters account so we can share it!

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Last Call! Rattle Poetry Prize - Deadline 11:59pm EDT Tonight!

The annual Rattle Poetry Prize celebrates its 21st year with a 1st prize of $15,000 for a single poem. Ten finalists will also receive $500 each and publication, and be eligible for the $5,000 Readers' Choice Award, to be selected by subscriber and entrant vote. All of these poems will be published in the winter issue of the magazine.

With the winners judged in an anonymized review by the editors to ensure a fair and consistent selection, an entry fee that is simply a one-year subscription to the magazine—and a large Readers' Choice Award to be chosen by the writers themselves—we've designed the Rattle Poetry Prize to be one of the most inspiring contests around.

Past winners have included a retired teacher, a lawyer, and several students. It's fair, it's friendly, and you receive a print subscription to Rattle even if you don't win.

We accept entries online via Submittable. See Rattle's website for the complete guidelines and to read all of the past winners.

Please enjoy this poem by 2014 winner Craig Van Rooyen, published in Rattle #46, Winter 2014:

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Last Call! Helen S. Schaible International Sonnet Contest. No fee. Deadline 11:59pm CDT tonight!

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This book changes the Shakespeare landscape

Enter this Goodreads Giveaway by July 20. 10 print copies of Shakespeare on Sex are available for US residents!

In Shakespeare on Sex, readers will discover William Shakespeare as they have never seen him before: a rebellious playwright determined to challenge Elizabethan England's sexual mores and champion the freedom of love. Drawing on the scandal of Shakespeare's own shotgun wedding after he impregnated twenty-six-year-old Anne Hathaway when he was still a teenage minor in a time and place that prohibited premarital sex, this groundbreaking book reveals how sex was at the heart of his life and art.

Shakespeare filled his works with filthy jokes, lusty wordplay, and frank portrayals of sex and desire. But audiences today miss his peerless and purposeful smut, which flies by in iambic pentameter and Elizabethan slang. Shakespeare defied the restrictive laws of his day, giving voice to women, young lovers, and rebel hearts yearning for sexual liberation.

Shakespeare offered revolutionary counsel in play after play, advice that can still help us all. This bold book uncovers the untold story about Shakespeare's mission to bring sexual liberation to the world's stage; it also shows how his constant focus on sex formed the narrative arc of his career, linking his plays to documented facts about his life. The big reveal that ends the so-called authorship controversy is monumental.

Buy now at Amazon or Bookshop.org

Praise for Shakespeare on Sex

"If Norman Mailer…were with us still, he would relish and cherish Marc Berley's speedy, elating, jubilating, dramatic excavations of Shakespeare's daring ideas of chastity and fulfillment. Here is the living Bard far, far from the classroom and set on an intimate, vivid, and fearless stage."
—Cynthia Ozick, award-winning author

"A fascinating read that shows a feminist Bard hiding in plain sight."
—Charlie Lovett, New York Times bestselling author

Annie in the Middle

Does Your Healing-Themed Fiction Lack Energy? Here’s the Jolt It Needs

By Annie Mydla, managing editor

In my critiques for "past-looking, working-through-issues" books, I try to communicate the following to authors:

• Don't be afraid to stress the reader. If you follow up with release, they'll thank you for the experience! Literary tension (aka page-turning energy) is a form of stress, but authors who want to heal readers and support them through hard times might be reluctant to cause them stress. However, stress is what creates an enjoyable reading experience. Without tension, there can't be release. And if there's no tension and release, there's no book.

• Give your characters challenges to face in the here-and-now, and ratchet up those stakes! Authors of these books are often reluctant to cause their characters harm. But if a book is going to have tension, readers need characters to be threatened and go through difficult problems right there on the page, and not only talk about the problems after the fact. Readers expect in their gut that they'll be going through a rising action and a climax, and that means characters being in trouble in the present-day layer of the story.

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Revise one short piece before sending it out

Sessions begin on July 23—open to writers worldwide

Across three live Zoom sessions, writers bring one short story, essay, flash, or hybrid prose piece up to 4,000 words and work towards a cleaner, more focused draft and clearer submission next steps.

The sprint is designed for writers who have a piece in progress and want structured editorial pressure before sending it out. It is not a publication promise or a vague encouragement session. The focus is revision, clarity, submission readiness, and practical next steps.

Sessions run on July 23, July 30, and August 6.

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The Sealey Challenge: Go-to Verses with Nicole Sealey

Sessions begin on Monday, August 10

In celebration of the Sealey Challenge, poet Nicole Sealey leads a four-part virtual seminar for the Academy of American Poets on some of her go-to poems by Yusef Komunyakaa, Layli Long Soldier, Brenda Shaughnessy, Tracy K. Smith, Lucille Clifton, Eavan Boland, and others. 
Registration: General - $200 | Academy Members - $160

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Grayson Books Poetry Prize

Michael Garrigan won the 2025 Grayson Books Poetry Prize for Ghost Hunting Glaciers, on sale now. Grayson Books also published the runner-up, Field Notes for Extinction by Mark Caskie.

Deadline: August 15

The 2026 Grayson Books Poetry Prize is now open to submissions. All poets writing in English may enter.

Electronic Submissions Only. Use our online submission manager to submit your 50-90 page manuscript.

The winner will be awarded a $1,000 prize, publication, and 10 copies. Reading fee: $26.

Please omit your name and contact information from your manuscript. Acknowledgments may be included with your submission but are not required. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if we are notified immediately about an acceptance elsewhere. Multiple submissions are fine; each must be accompanied by an entry fee. We do not accept work that was created—entirely or partially—with AI software.

This year's judge is Bruce Cohen, who has published six volumes of poetry, most recently Botrytis (Cornerstone Press). His poems and essays have appeared in many literary journals, such as The Harvard Review, The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Plume, and Poetry. He was recently awarded the James Olney Award from The Southern Review.

Learn more at Grayson Books. Please enjoy this poem from Ghost Hunting Glaciers:

Dead Elk Smells Fire

in his sleep and snorts into his blanket

                        of moss

creating a cowlick of fur and needle

                        sap;

he walks to the ledge

            and stands behind a rock,

stilled,

            hoping for thunder,

looking for his father whose scent

            always settles on every green

thing when it rains; it's getting harder

            to remember, to notice,

to wait for fire to turn hardness to soft ash,

            wondering if anyone still smells him

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Charleston Writing Contest

Deadline: August 31

Charleston, South Carolina, is unforgettable. Being the home of Chatoyant's Bound by Words Magazine, we want to read people's experiences, memories, visions, wishfulness, and imagination regarding this memorable area.

(We support the idea that writing holds artistic value. Our vision is to help writers get more exposure by publishing them alongside other categories that strongly influence our culture.)

Inspiring information about Charleston:

1. It is considered one of the most haunted cities in America
2. It was a place for pirate trials during the 1700s
3. It is the location of the tragedy of Julia Legare
4. It was the location of the Mermaid Riot in the late 1800s

Stories: up to 2,500 words; creative nonfiction/fiction

Poems: up to 30 lines; 1-3 poems

Top prize: $500 and publication. 10 honorable mentions may also be published.

Submit unpublished work. All genres accepted. Include a short author bio. Entry fee: $15.

For questions, email: chatoyantmagazineeditor@yahoo.com

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70th Annual Poetry Contest Sponsored by Poets & Patrons

July Tip

This Summer's Crop of Scams, and How to Respond

Editor Jendi Reiter writes,

This summer I'm seeing a proliferation of solicitations that pretend to come from book clubs, literary podcasts, and small presses. Some of these scammers have done enough research to include the names of real radio hosts or editors from real presses. How can you ignore the fakes without missing a sincere inquiry?

• Don't reply directly to the email. If you think the inquiry might be legit, search for the website of that press or media outlet, find the contact information there, and tell them what you received and the email address that sent it. You might not get a reply, but that confirms they never reached out to you in the first place.

• Emails that begin with a generic "Hello" instead of addressing you by name are scams. So are the ones that don't include a website for their supposed book club or media channel.

• Most books have a regrettably short window for marketing purposes, and most real book review outlets don't bother with books that are more than a year old. Emails targeting a book from your backlist are probably phishing.

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CREATURE: A Submission Call (FREE to enter)

Deadline: September 1

What is a creature?

A folkloric fairy. A bird at the window. A monster beneath the bed. An alien intelligence. The wild entity within.

humanimaginings invites submissions for CREATURE, our current themed challenge. We welcome speculative fiction, poetry, and essays that explore creatures real, mythical, microscopic, uncanny, and entirely your own invention.

We publish human-written work only and invite you to share a window into your creative process alongside your piece! 

Most importantly, every submission receives personalised feedback and a response. Your work will be read thoughtfully and engaged with as writing, not filtered through an automated system.

If you're drawn to the strange, the beautiful, or the feral, we'd love to read your work.

Winning Writers Contest

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

Deadline: October 1

TOM HOWARD PRIZE: $3,500 for a poem in any style or genre

MARGARET REID PRIZE: $3,500 for a poem that rhymes
or has a traditional style

The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value)

Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $500 each (any style)

Submit published or unpublished work. Top 12 entries published online.

Judged by Michal 'MJ' Jones, assisted by Dare Williams and Ezra Fox.

Recommended by Reedsy as one of The Best Writing Contests of 2026.

Submit 1-3 poems for one $25 entry fee.

Spotlight Contests (no fee)

Some contests are best suited to writers at the early stages of their careers. Others are better for writers with numerous prizes and publications to their credit. Here is this month's selection of Spotlight Contests for your consideration:

Emerging Writers
Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. The Poetry Society, one of Britain's top poetry organizations, will award anthology publication and tuition to a week-long Arvon writing class for 15 winners. 85 additional commended poets will be published in an online anthology. This is an international contest for poets aged 11-17. Submit unpublished poems up to 40 lines long. Must be postmarked by July 31.

Intermediate Writers
Granum Foundation Prizes. The Granum Foundation will award $5,000 to a US resident age 18+ for a writing sample of a work-in-progress. Authors must not have published more than five books or chapbooks. The prizes are meant to assist writers in "completing substantive literary works (poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs) or to help launch these works." A special Translation Prize of at least $1,500 is also awarded to a US-based writer age 18+ to support the completion of a translation into English. Submit early. Applications are capped at 1,000. Must be received by August 1.

Advanced Writers
American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Prizes. The American-Scandinavian Foundation will award the $5,000 Nadia Christensen Prize for unpublished English translations of modern poetry, fiction, drama, or literary prose originally written in Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, or Swedish by a Nordic author born after 1900. The $2,000 Leif & Inger Sjoberg Prize will be awarded to an individual whose Nordic translations have not previously been published. The $2,000 Wigeland Prize will be awarded to a Norwegian translator. The $2,000 Inger and Jens Bruun Prize will be awarded for the best Danish translation. The $2,000 Turid Sigurdardottir Prize will be awarded for a Faroese or Icelandic translation. Must be received by September 15.

See more Spotlight Contests for emerging, intermediate, and advanced writers within The Best Free Literary Contests database.

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The Author-First Difference from Atmosphere Press

Calls for Submissions

Winning Writers finds open submission calls and free contests in a variety of sources, including Erika Dreifus' Practicing Writer newsletter, FundsforWriters, Erica Verrillo's blog, Authors Publish, Lit Mag News Roundup, Poets & Writers, The Writer, Duotrope, and literary journals' own newsletters and announcements.

• Flash Fiction Online: "Aftermath" (literary or speculative short-shorts on this theme - July 31

• Sarabande Books: July Open Reading Period (full-length collections of poetry, short prose, or translations - July 31)

• Image: "Trash" Issue (journal of art and faith seeks creative writing and critical essays on this theme - August 1)

• Thyme Travellers 2: Palestinian Speculative Fiction Anthology (fantasy, sci-fi, or horror by Palestinians anywhere in the world - August 31)

• University of Wisconsin Press: Fiction Reading Period (literary novels, story collections, translations - September 1)

• Rebel Satori Press: Queer Space Imprint (book-length speculative fiction with queer characters and authors - October 14)

• Rattle: "Tribute to Travel" Issue (poems about travel - January 15)

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Favorite New Resources

Here are some of our favorite newly added resources at Winning Writers.

• Black Heroics Book Co. (small press launched by author Chris Stuck for innovative books by Black authors)

• Claudine: A Literary Magazine (monthly online journal of flash prose)

• Erasure: It's For Nonfiction Writers Too! (Kristine Langley Mayer discusses the genesis and rules of the erasure essay)

• Final Draft (screenwriting software plus archive of craft articles)

• Fortuna Major Press (arts collective publishes the work of marginalized creatives, healers, and community organizers)

• How to Make AI Write a Bestseller—And Why You Shouldn't (satirical essay by AI researcher and author describes the qualities of good writing by negative example)

• LittlePuss Press (feminist press run by trans women publishes genre and literary fiction, memoirs, cultural commentary, and hybrid work)

• Microcosm Publishing (small press publishes queer erotica and nonfiction with leftist, DIY, and/or graphic elements)

• On Difficulty in Poetry (poet and critic Reginald Shepherd breaks down the ways that poetry can pleasurably challenge our understanding)

• Predatory AI Is Coming for Writers (poet and editor D M Gordon summarizes the latest phishing scams)

• Public School Poetry (twice-yearly online lit mag pairs poems with other contributors' essays about them)

• Querencia Press (small press publishes poetry collections, literary prose, and anthologies)

• Riot in Your Throat Press (feminist poetry press with open reading periods)

• Small Press Insights (daily updates on the best-selling books from small presses)

• Teleprompter Pro (Apple-compatible app lets you look at the camera while reading text)

• The Metaworker (lively modern online lit mag)

• The Poetry Shop (independent online bookstore specializing in poetry)

• Vietnam War Poetry (online journal and archive of poetry about the Vietnam War)

• Weird Lit Magazine (quarterly online journal of quirky short fiction and artwork)

• What If a Literary Agent Cold-Called You? (Author and podcaster Tamara Kaye Sellman breaks down a fake agent solicitation and lists more resources for spotting scams)

• Yetzirah: A Hearth for Jewish Poetry (national literary organization supports Jewish poets and their readers)

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Video: Queer Poetry with Jendi Reiter and Subhaga Crystal Bacon

Winning Writers editor Jendi Reiter (Introvert Pervert) and Subhaga Crystal Bacon (A Brief History of My Sex Life) read from their new collections and discussed their creative process in the Saddle Road Press First Sundays series on July 5. Watch the video (71 min) on the Saddle Road Press YouTube channel. Jendi's novels from Saddle Road Press are Two Natures, winner of the Rainbow Award for Best Contemporary Gay Fiction, and Origin Story, a finalist for the Black Lawrence Press Big Moose Prize.

Comics

"Sonnet 18" by William Shakespeare

Illustrated by Julian Peters

"Sonnet 18" appears in Nature Poems to See By, a new volume from Julian Peters available in ebook and hardcover formats. Order from the publisher or Amazon.

The Last Word by Jendi Reiter

We Know Too Much About the Artist

What I think we lose from the “stay in your lane” mindset is a certain breadth of imagination to write non-self-insert characters, under the combined pressures of author brand creation and fear of social media cancellation. Reportedly, a Big Five editor loved a manuscript by a talented friend of mine, but said no major publisher would take it on because of the optics of a white man writing some chapters in the voice of a woman from another racial background, despite his having grown up in that community and basing the character on a friend from his youth.

Jendi Reiter is the editor of Winning Writers. Visit their website and subscribe to their Substack.