call for submissions: Issue I
Xenolithic Edges Literary
DEADLINE: None (Submissions cap at 150 per reading period)
INFO: Xenolithic Edges Literary is a journal by and for queer diaspora writers of color/the global majority who are living and writing on margins, against limits, over borders, in limbo, between lines, and with hybridity.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Queer diaspora writers of color/the global majority only.
Genre and form are irrelevant. (Genre of piece requested for purpose of award nominations only. We will nominate for Best of the Net, Genrepunk Editors' Choice Award, and Monarch Queer Literary Awards.)
Submit 1 piece at a time. Max. 2500 words.
No bigotry tolerated.
No use of AI permitted.
Submitted work must be previously unpublished. By publishing with XE Literary, you grant us First Serial Rights and agree to acknowledge us as the publication in which your piece first appeared. All rights revert back to you immediately following publication.
Simultaneous submissions allowed. If your piece is accepted elsewhere, please email us at xenolithicedges@gmail.com to withdraw your submission.
After submitting, please wait for a response before submitting again. If rejected, you may submit again during an open reading period as soon as you would like. If accepted, you must wait two more issues to submit again (i.e. if accepted into Issue I, you must wait until the open reading period for Issue III before submitting again).
We aim to respond to all submissions within 4 months.
xenolithicedgesliterary.com/submit
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2027 OPEN CALL
Creative Capital
DEADLINE: April 2, 2026 at 3:00pm ET
INFO: In celebration of 25 years of national artist support, the 2027 Open Call invites project proposals from individual artists for the Creative Capital Award and the new State of the Art Prize. All grants will be awarded via a national, open call, external review process.
The Creative Capital Award provides individual artists with unrestricted project grants for the creation of innovative, original, and imaginative new artistic works. The Award provides unrestricted project grants from $15,000 up to $50,000, plus professional development support, industry connections, and community-building opportunities.
The State of the Art Prize aims to recognize and support one artist from every U.S. state and inhabited territory, with an unrestricted artist grant of $10,000. Through the 2027 Open Call for the Creative Capital Award, Creative Capital will also select recipients for the new State of the Art Prize.
OVERVIEW:
Celebrating 25 years of national artist support, Creative Capital invites individual artists to apply for grants to create new works in the visual arts, performing arts (dance, theater, music/jazz), film, literature, technology, multidisciplinary, and socially engaged forms across all 50 states and territories. The 2027 Creative Capital Open Call will be the second year Creative Capital continues its goal to grant artists residing in all 50 states. See the complete list of 2026 Creative Capital Awards and 2026 Inaugural State of the Art Prize Artists in all 50 states, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. in the press release.
Founded in 1999, our mission as a national nonprofit organization is to champion artistic freedom by providing grants and services to individual artists creating new work. The new State of the Art Prize is designed to help support more regional and rural artists, to invest in grassroots creative economies, and to foster a vibrant cultural landscape across the U.S. Both the Creative Capital Award and the State of the Art Prize support artists of all backgrounds at all career stages working across a range of disciplines, themes, and ideas.
Creative Capital Award
For the 2027 grant cycle, Creative Capital invites professional artists to propose experimental, original, bold new works in Visual Arts, Performing Arts (Dance, Theater, Music/Jazz), Film, and Literature. Multidisciplinary, technology, and/or socially engaged projects are welcome in all disciplinary categories. Creative Capital seeks new project proposals for formally and/or conceptually innovative works in all disciplines.
Creative Capital welcomes a full range of artistic approaches and thematic inquiries, including boundary-pushing formal explorations, as well as projects that engage urgent social issues of our time. Creative Capital also seeks new projects or works addressing subjects that Creative Capital has not previously funded.
The Creative Capital Award aims to support approximately 50 new artistic works in the following areas:
Visual Arts: architecture & design, craft, drawing, ecological art, illustration, installation, painting, printmaking, performance art, photography, public art, sculpture, social practice, sound art, video art, technology, and socially-engaged visual art
Performing Arts: dance, jazz, multimedia performance, music, music theater, opera, theater, playwriting, technology, and socially-engaged performing arts
Film: animation, documentary film, experimental film, and narrative film
Literature: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays (playwrights please submit under Performing Arts/Theater)
Creative Capital’s transformative giving approach is built on the principle that artists need funding as well as networks and advisory services in order to realize ambitious projects and build thriving careers. Recipients of the Creative Capital Award will receive grant funding, professional development services, and community-building opportunities. Awardees will also have access to the Creative Capital Artist Lab—suite of online professional development courses.
The State of the Art Prize – NEW!
Through the 2027 Open Call process for the Creative Capital Award, Creative Capital will also select recipients of the State of the Art Prize. Now in its second year, this new national initiative aims to recognize one artist residing in each U.S. state and inhabited territory with a $10,000 unrestricted grant per artist. All applicants to the 2027 Open Call will be automatically considered for the Creative Capital Award and the State of the Art Prize. Both grants follow the same application, external review process, and evaluation criteria; there is no separate application process. State of the Art Prize recipients will also have access to the Creative Capital Artist Lab—a suite of online professional development courses.
State of the Art Prize recipients may apply again to future open calls for the Creative Capital Award. However, artists who have already received the Creative Capital Award may not apply for the State of the Art Prize. Both the State of the Art Prize and the Creative Capital Award are one-time awards.
ELIGIBILITY:
US citizen, permanent resident, Tribal ID holder, or O-1 visa holder at time of application
At least 25 years old at time of application
Working artist(s) with at least 5 years of professional artistic practice within their chosen discipline
Applicant may not be enrolled in a degree-granting program at time of application
May not apply to the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant program in the same year
May not have previously received a Creative Capital Award
May not be an applicant or collaborator on more than one proposed project per year
State of the Art Prize recipients must be a resident of the state they are awarded in through February 1, 2027. Prize recipients must verify their state or territory of residence in order to receive the grant.
Projects that are not eligible
Projects whose main purpose is promotional
Project is to fund ongoing operations of existing business or nonprofit organization
Curation or documentation of existing work
Journalism projects and podcasts
Educational projects intended for a student audience
Children’s and young adult literature, and graphic novels
Projects that will premiere or be completed before July 1, 2027
creative-capital.org/creative-capital-award/award-application
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2026 Home Double Issue: Call for pitches + Submissions
Oxford American
DEADLINE: April 3, 2026
SUBMISSION FEE: $3
INFO: What makes a place feel like home? Is it an inbuilt connection to the land? Fond memories of a childhood bedroom or family table? A sense of pride and shared community?
The Oxford American is now accepting pitches for our special Summer/Fall 2026 double issue dedicated to Home. It’s an idea as gloriously complicated as the South itself, and we’re interested in works across genres that tackle it from all angles. We think of home as our region, but also as our physical houses and apartments. Home can be our sanctuary, but also our cage. It can represent our connection to a community, and can be troubled by violence, displacement, and loss within that community. It’s deeply personal, but always political.
We want stories about how an idea of a home can change when you leave it, whether by choice or by force. We wonder how our domestic lives—our messy rooms, our packed closets, our dustless collections—reflect or inform the social life of the South. We welcome meditations on homesickness, personal histories of home-making, and polemics against a “home sweet home.” We would love to read critiques of domestic architecture, investigations of threatened ecological homelands, and reports from neighborhoods affected by ICE raids. Where are your second homes, your spiritual homes, and how do they thrive? No subject is too great or small, no setting too famous or too obscure, so long as the story is fresh. We learned long ago to follow our writers’ passions.
We’re seeking reported features, personal essays, short stories, short dispatches and meditations, poems, cultural criticism, and work that does not fit neatly into a specific genre or form. For fiction and poetry, full drafts may be submitted; for nonfiction work, please send us a pitch.
The ideal Oxford American pitch will be well-crafted and thoughtful, with a strong sense of the story’s setting, characters, and narrative possibilities. Enthusiasm, surprise, and originality are essential to an Oxford American essay; please pitch a story rather than a subject. In all pitches, we like to see high quality writing; passion for the subject and command of the idea; an explanation of the scope in the proposed piece; and familiarity with the Oxford American.
We will be accepting pitches through Submittable only for this project. Please submit by April 3rd. We will accept pitches on a rolling basis. Drafts will be due beginning in late April.
The Oxford American will not consider any work produced by generative AI. By submitting, you certify that no generative AI was used in the creation of the pitch and that none will be used in the drafting process.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
The editorial mission of the Oxford American is to explore the complexity and vitality of the American South. If your work does not somehow engage with the American South—however you choose to define it—it is probably not a good fit for the OA.
We will respond to all pitches and submissions by May 1st, 2026.
The Home Issue will be on newsstands nationwide August 11th, 2026.
Compensation will depend on the length and complexity of the story; all writers will be paid. Generally, fees will range from $300 for short dispatches to $1,500 for reported features.
oxfordamerican.submittable.com/submit/350327/2026-home-double-issue-call-for-submissions
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Call for submissions: 'Migrant Futures' Issue
Plantin Mag
DEADLINE: April 7, 2026
INFO: Now more than ever, as Black Immigrants are being targeted globally, we’re interested in how we imagine new possibilities. So we’re pleased to present the theme for our newest issue: Migrant Futures! Send us your best speculative poetry and short stories on your visions of the Black Migrants of tomorrow.
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Futurepoem Open Reading Period 2026
Futurepoem
DEADLINE: April 10, 2026 at 11:59pm ET (or until 350 submissions have been received)
SUBMISSION FEE: $10
INFO: Each year, we invite a rotating panel of distinguished guest editors to read and select two new books for publication. Our 2026 Guest Editors are Cole Swensen, Brandon Brown, and Cristina Pérez Diaz. Futurepoem welcomes unpublished, full-length manuscripts of poetry, prose, and multi-genre work that challenge and expand on the potential for poetic form, language, and process. Work by underrepresented and emerging writers is especially welcome.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Our reading period is an open process. Our group of initial readers and guest editors will have access to your cover letter and know your name when reading your work. All submissions are read by initial readers who then recommend a limited group of manuscripts to the guest editors. The guest editors also have input into the group of final manuscripts that are considered. Manuscripts must be unpublished book-length works of poetry, prose, or multi-genre work.
We welcome international submissions originally written in English. However, we cannot currently accept work translated into English from other languages. We are open to unpublished work that incorporates other languages, or self-translated work. We welcome unpublished book-length collaborative writing but we do not currently accept anthology submissions. Work previously published in chapbook form is fine, as long as the manuscript in its entirety has not been published in its current form. And though we are open to books with visuals, books that are heavily image-based may be better served by a different publisher. Authors of books Futurepoem has published and previous winners of Futurepoem's Other Futures Award are ineligible. If your work engages with AI, please disclose its use in your submission cover letter or notes, just as you would cite any other source. If your work or process does involve AI, we are particularly interested in work that engages with it critically. Any undisclosed use of AI to generate or substantially alter your work will result in disqualification.
You may submit work previously submitted to Futurepoem, as our guest editors shift every year. Our 2026 guest editors are Cole Swensen, Brandon Brown, and Cristina Pérez Diaz. You may only submit one manuscript to this call. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but we do ask that you notify us or withdraw your manuscript via our online submissions system if your book is accepted elsewhere. This year, we are instituting a submission cap of 350 submissions — we're a small team, and we want to make sure that each submission gets careful attention. Submission length: 50 – 200 pages. There is a sliding scale administrative/processing fee for each submission.*
* Our $10 fee supports a higher honorarium for our guest editors, the rising administrative costs of our review process, and our continued use of Submittable. Our goal is to maintain our open submissions period as an accessible opportunity for writers. In case this fee represents a hardship to you, we've instituted an option for a reduced fee of $7. Additionally, there is an option to submit and sponsor someone else's submission for $15.
HOW TO SUBMIT + DEADLINE: We will accept manuscripts via our online submissions system from March 10 to April 10, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. E.S.T. We are only able to accept online submissions, so please do not send hard copy submissions via regular mail. We may request hard copies of your manuscript for further consideration, so please include your email, phone number and address so that we can contact you. In order to keep this opportunity open to the maximum number of writers, we are only accepting one submission per writer.
SELECTED MANUSCRIPTS: We will select two books for publication as part of the Futurepoem book series. The intended publication year for these books is 2028. Our goal is to try to announce selections for publication by the end of July 2026. Because we are a small organization with limited resources we are not able to provide feedback on submissions.
futurepoem.submittable.com/submit
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2026 Merrill Family Charitable Foundation Fellowships
Tupelo Press
DEADLINE: April 12, 2026
APPLICATION FEE: $0
INFO: BIPOC writers are invited to apply for a fellowship on the stunning Olympic Peninsula!
This is an opportunity for a BIPOC writer to focus entirely on their work. The accepted BIPOC writing fellow may choose a two-week residency in (your preference of) July or September 2026. The fellowship includes the cost of round-trip transportation, daily breakfast and dinner, as well as a small weekly stipend.
Applications will be evaluated by readers proficient in evaluating poetry, literary fiction and nonfiction, including hybrid work.
Tupelo Press strives to give the writing fellow the creative space and time to work without the distractions of daily life. We offer a private room in “Gentle House,” a 130 year-old farmhouse with peekaboo views over the Salish Sea and full views of Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge, and the Pacific Ocean. The writing fellow’s room will also serve as a studio with desk, chair, lighting, bookcase and other writing-related amenities. A downstairs living room offers a common area with additional writing spaces with a view of the stunning Olympic National Park. Please note that Gentle House is not yet fully accessible. (We hope to have Gentle House fully accessible in the future.)
Port Angeles features a pier with a variety of shops, restaurants, galleries and coffee shops. The Black Ball Ferry takes you from Port Angeles to Victoria. Cycling trails are available by bike from Gentle House. Salt Creek features tide pools and local deer. The house is an 8-minute drive from the entrance to Olympic National Park, and about a two-and-a-half hour drive to Cape Flattery, Neah Bay and the justly famous Hoh Rainforest.
tupelopress.subfolios.com/submit/493/merrill-family-charitable-foundation-fellowship-at-gentle-house
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ‘QUEER MYTHOLOGIES’
Foglifter
DEADLINE: April 15, 2026
INFO: As Foglifter revitalizes our website and digital production, we are interested in creating and holding space for works that may not fit within the constraints of our print edition. We are now accepting submissions for our new Online Exclusive Issue dedicated to showcasing queer voices across a wide spectrum of creative forms.
As always, we are seeking art that aligns with our mission of promoting queer, transgressive, and original work. The themes will change from issue to issue. For 1.2, our theme is Queer Mythologies: a celebration of spirituality, folklore, and queer cosmologies. This open call seeks dreamlike, symbolic, and otherworldly explorations that reimagine mythology through a queer lens—queering gods and monsters, rewriting origin stories, and uncovering hidden lineages of desire, transformation, and devotion.
We welcome interpretations of tarot, astrology, ritual, and divination that challenge binaries and expand spiritual narratives beyond the normative, embracing fluidity, mysticism, and personal myth-making. Submissions may be visual, textual, or hybrid, and should evoke a sense of the uncanny, the sacred, and the speculative—worlds where queerness is ancestral, cosmic, and divine.
Pieces must be original, unpublished work in genres including, but not limited to: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, comics, visual art, scripts, and multimedia (video, audio, music, interactive pieces, experimental work, etc.) that align with the current issue’s theme.
This online exclusive issue will be published as a summer issue on our website. We’re especially interested in pieces that experiment with form, push boundaries, and reflect the complexity, joy, rage, beauty, and multiplicity of the queer experience.
WHY ONLINE EXCLUSIVE?
Our print publication has limits—page counts, dimensions, ink. This digital issue is a space without borders. We want to uplift work that can’t—or won’t—fit in print: multimedia projects, audio pieces, visual art, and performance pieces that demand to be seen and heard in digital space.
General Submission Guidelines:
We accept only first rights to publication.
We do accept simultaneous submissions, however please withdraw pieces that have been accepted elsewhere.
Please include a short bio, description of your work, any past publications, and applicable trigger warnings in your cover letter.
Visual and [multi]media work must be web-viewable—please include links or uploads through Submittable and include content warnings if applicable
Genre Specific Guidelines
Please submit up to 5 pieces
For video and audio submissions, please limit to 5 minutes
We accept art created via all mediums (except AI — if a submission is suspected or found to be AI generated, it will be declined and we will not consider your work in the future). This includes, but is not limited to, photography, painting, digital, ink, pencil, collage, etc.
Acceptable file types: .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .tif, .tiff, .png, .svg, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .txt, .rtf, .odt, .mp3, .m4a, .wav, .mp4, .mov, .avi, .mpg, .3gp, .wmv
All applicable artworks submitted will be considered for cover art for the online exclusive issue
We love experimental work, feel free to submit hybrid forms that blend genres
For grant purposes, we cannot consider submissions that do not include a completed demographic survey with their submission
Foglifter aims to reflect the vibrant diversity of the LGBTQ+ literary community in our award-winning journal. Fill out our anonymized Demographics Survey to be considered for publication—then take a screenshot of the thank-you screen at the end and attach it along with your submission.
foglifter.submittable.com/submit
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2026 POETRY CONTEST
BOMB Magazine
DEADLINE: April 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET)
READING FEE:
Members: $5 (visit your My Benefits page to find a link to enter the contest at a discounted rate exclusively for members)
Non-members: $25 (includes an online-only subscription to BOMB from April 16, 2026 until April 15, 2027)
INFO: BOMB Magazine’s 2026 Poetry Contest is open for submissions, and we’re honored to have 2025 National Book Award Finalist Richard Siken joining us as this year’s guest judge.
PRIZE: Siken will select one winner to receive a $1,000 prize and publication in BOMB’s fall 2026 issue. The winner and ten finalists will be announced in July.
HOW TO SUBMIT TO THE CONTEST:
All entries will be considered anonymously. Do not include your name on manuscript pages. Non-anonymous manuscripts will be disqualified.
Work must be previously unpublished.
Entries must be sent via Submittable.
Simultaneous submissions are permitted as long as you notify us if your piece is accepted elsewhere, but the fee is nonrefundable.
The winner and finalists will be announced in July 2026. Email firstproof@bombsite.com with any questions.
ABOUT THE GUEST JUDGE:
Richard Siken is a poet and painter. His book Crush won the 2004 Yale Series of Younger Poets prize, selected by Louise Glück, a Lambda Literary Award, a Thom Gunn Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His other books are War of the Foxes (Copper Canyon Press, 2015) and I Do Know Some Things (Copper Canyon Press, 2025), which was a finalist for the National Book Award. Siken is a recipient of fellowships from Lannan Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
bombmagazine.org/articles/2026/03/01/poetry-contest-richard-siken
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The Breakout Prize
Epiphany
DEADLINE: April 15, 2026 (or when they reach 300 submissions per genre)
INFO: Formerly a student writing contest, the Breakout Prize now brings visibility and support to outstanding early-career writers who have not yet published a full-length book.
Previous winners have gone on to sign with literary agents, publish at esteemed presses, win prizes, receive fellowships, and develop rich and rewarding literary careers. Previous judges include Victoria Chang, Hilary Leichter, Manuel Munoz, Shane McCrae, Marcus Wicker, Safiya Sinclair, Alexander Chee, Tracy O'Neill, and Nadia Owusu.
This year’s judges are Cynthia Cruz in poetry and Alexandra Kleeman in prose.
PRIZE:
Two writers — one in prose and one in poetry — each receive:
$1000 cash prize
Publication in a print issue of Epiphany
One-year print subscription to Epiphany
epiphanymagazine.org/opportunities
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Open Reading period: Call for Submissions
Changes
DEADLINE: April 15, 2025
INFO: Changes, a new independent publisher based in New York City, is thrilled to announce their first general open reading period!
They are seeking full-length manuscripts of original poetry, poetry in translation, and proposals for archival projects.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
All original poetry manuscripts must be paginated, and must be a minimum of 48 pages.
Translations must also be paginated but may be under the minimum page count, especially if they are still in progress.
Proposals for archival projects must be at least one page in length, and must include the following: (a) a description of your subject (b) your bio (c) your research plan (where will the research take place, for how long) (d) whether or not you have been in touch with rights holders, estates, archives, etc, (e) why your proposal is significant, timely, or necessary. Projects must be related to the work of poets, poetry communities, or the history, circulation, and study of poetry. They may, for example, collect an individual poet’s work produced during a certain period or compile poems produced by a collective, though we are open to a variety of scopes and focal points that remain related to poetry.
Upload your submission as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. For manuscripts, include a title page with the title of the manuscript and a table of contents.
You may simultaneously submit your manuscript elsewhere, but please notify us immediately if it is accepted for publication.
changes.submittable.com/submit
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OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: POETRY, FICTION + CRITICISM
Lampblack Lit
DEADLINE: April 15, 2026
INFO: For the past 6 years we have been publishing work from established and up-and-coming black authors in our magazine. We usually have a theme for folks to follow, but last year we decided to start accepting any and all works of prose and poetry from writers who are Black, African, members of the African Diaspora, or any other term respectfully used to describe black people. This year we are continuing on in that tradition. Please send us your favorite unpublished works before the deadline and we will try to make space for you in our magazine.
GUIDELINES: From March 1st until April 15th, Lampblack is accepting submissions of previously unpublished poetry, prose and criticism for Volume VI.
Please submit no more than 5 pages of poetry or 15 pages of prose via email to magazine@lampblacklit.com. Please include your name, the title of your submission, and the genre you are submitting to in the subject line of your submission.
COMPENSATION: We will pay $300 for accepted submissions in any genre. If your work is accepted, please be aware that Lampblack will likely ask you to take part in promotional readings and events.
*We encourage you to read our past issues to gain a sense of our aesthetic. They are available on our website and in local independent bookstores. If you cannot afford to purchase one of our magazines and would like to read it before submitting, please reach out to us at magazine@lampblacklit.com and we will ensure you are provided with a digital copy of the magazine free of charge.
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Sun and Zhang Family Distinguished Fellowship for AAPI Social Practice Artists of the American South
Hambidge Center
DEADLINE: April 15, 2026
APPLICATION FEE: $30 (If this represents a barrier to submitting an application, please contact our Office Manager at office@hambidge.org to discuss a waiver. The DEADLINE to request a fee waiver is four days before the application deadline.)
INFO: The Hambidge Center is pleased to announce the new Sun and Zhang Family Distinguished Fellowship for AAPI Social Practice Artists of the American South.
This merit-based award supports an Asian American Pacific Islander social practice artist working in the South or deeply rooted in the region, recognizing work that blends creative practice with meaningful community engagement. The selected Fellow will receive a two-week residency and a $700 stipend during the fall 2026 session.
RESIDENCY DATES: Fall (September - December)
ABOUT THE HAMBIDGE CENTER:
The Hambidge Center is situated on 600 forested acres in the mountains of north Georgia and offers miles of nature trails, meadows, waterfalls, a swimming hole and an abundance of wildflowers.
The oldest residency program in the Southeast, Hambidge provides a self-directed program that honors the creative process and trusts individuals to know what they need to cultivate their talent, whether it’s to work and produce, to think, to experiment or to rejuvenate. Residents’ time is their own; there are no workshops, critiques, nor required activities.
Each resident is given their own private studio which provides work and living space with a bathroom and full kitchen. The studios are designed to protect residents’ time, space and solitude.
Resident groups are intentionally kept small enough (8-10 people) to gather around the dinner table each evening, Tuesday through Friday, for delicious vegetarian meals prepared by our chef. These communal meals are an essential part of the Hambidge residency experience. Serious topics are discussed (and light-hearted ones, too), experiences are shared, and encouragement is given. Many a collaboration and life-long friendship have begun at the Hambidge dinner table.
Members of each resident group come from different walks of life and work in different creative disciplines; from musicians, culinary artisans and scientists, to visual artists, writers, dancers and arts & culture administrators. Each year, residents of all ages come to Hambidge from over 30 states across the U.S., as well as internationally.
Specialized equipment and facilities include the Antinori Pottery Studio, and a beautifully rebuilt turn-of-the-century Steinway grand piano housed in Garden Studio.
ACCESSIBILITY: Hambidge offers two ADA-compliant studios: Brena Studio and Cove Studio. Our dining and common areas can be navigated, but are not yet fully compliant. There are no sidewalks or paved areas; the connecting driveways are gravel and uneven. If you come to Hambidge without a car, the on-campus studios will require a walk to get to Lucinda’s Rock House. On average, the studios are 0.3 miles from the Rock House with a 157-elevation gain, walking on a gravel road with uneven terrain. For more information, please contact our Office Manager at 706-746-7324.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU APPLY:
The studios are comfortable, but rustic and secluded. They are purposely simple, and most are out of sight of each other and somewhat isolated.
We are located in a forested environment. Residents should expect to occasionally encounter wildlife and insects – and sometimes the insects are inside the studios.
It is very dark at night. There are no street lights or ambient light, other than the moon and stars.
Due to our remote location, there is no cell service at Hambidge. Each studio has a phone for emergency, local and incoming calls.
To encourage focused creativity, there is no internet in the studios. WiFi is available 24 hours a day in the communal space of Lucinda's Rock House.
Please thoroughly read the Guidelines, Application Instructions, and our FAQs before submitting your application.
ELIGIBILITY: Qualified applicants must feel they have achieved a level of excellence within their discipline. We are looking for applicants whose creative practice is a professional practice and not a hobby. It is not required that your creative career is your only career, or that you make your livelihood doing it. We seek applications from emerging and mid-career creatives, as well as from those who are established with national and/or international reputations.
Applications for residency are judged primarily on the quality of submitted work samples and professional promise. Hambidge accepts approximately 170 artists each year. There are no publication, exhibition, or performance requirements contingent on a Hambidge residency.
The Hambidge Center encourages creative professionals of all backgrounds to apply for admission. We celebrate varied ideas, world views, and personal characteristics, and are committed to being an organization that welcomes and respects everyone regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, race, religion, philosophical or political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, nationality, geographic origin, and socioeconomic status.
RETURNING FELLOWS: Returning Fellows must submit a new application with recent work samples in the appropriate category of their discipline. After attending a Hambidge residency, Fellows must wait 2 years before returning. For instance, if you were in residence during the 2022 Summer Session, you may apply to return for the 2024 Summer Session.
RESIDENCY FEE:
The residency fee is $300 per week.
Note: the actual cost of a residency is $2250/wk. Every year, the Hambidge Center raises funds to supplement $1950 for every residency week, leaving each resident with only the $300/wk fee.
Funding
Hambidge offers several merit-based Distinguished Fellowships which remove the fees for a two-week residency and provide a $700 stipend. Available Distinguished Fellowships vary from session to session and are listed in each session's application. Unless otherwise noted, they are reserved for first-time residents. The list of previously awarded Distinguished Fellowships can be seen here.
Financial Aid
Hambidge offers limited financial aid scholarships to accepted residents. The average award amount is $250, with a maximum award of $500. In an average year, aid is awarded to 35% of those who requst it; resulting in 8% of all residents receiving some financial aid.
Upon acceptance to the program, applicants requesting financial aid will have five days to complete the required forms and may be asked to submit last year's tax return or other confirmation. International applicants will be asked to complete a questionnaire instead of providing a tax return.
ADMISSION PANELS: Applications in each discipline are reviewed by panels of three esteemed peers within that discipline. Panel membership is rotated frequently.
LENGTH OF STAY: Applicants may request stays between two weeks and eight weeks. Residents arrive on Tuesday and depart on Sunday. Residencies of one week are available to Arts & Culture Administrator applicants and Culinary applicants ONLY. Eight-week residencies will only be scheduled in the Fall and Spring Sessions. The maximum length of residencies awarded in Summer Session is four weeks. Because of differing lengths of individual stays, residents will arrive and depart on varying schedules.
CREATIVE DISCILPLINES:
Hambidge accepts applications in the following disciplines:
ARTS & CULTURE ADMINISTRATION - including proposals for professional projects and/or personal creative projects by administrators working for arts, culture or environmental organizations, or independently (a freelance curator, for example). It is not a requirement that the organization be a non-profit, however it must be an organization that works with or assists other people or produces public projects.
CERAMICS - including functional and sculptural
CULINARY ARTS - including recipe development, cookbook writing, food writing, food styling, food photography, and food preservation
DANCE - including choreography, performance, and theory
MUSIC - including composition, performance, vocal, and theory, in all genres of music
SCIENCE - this residency offers scientists in any branch of science a place to write and/or organize research
VISUAL ARTS - including book arts, conceptual art, design, drawing, environmental art, fiber arts, film & video, installation arts, metalworking, mixed media, multimedia art, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and woodworking
Note: We do not have darkroom, sculpture/woodworking, or printmaking facilities, but provide exploration space for artists working in those disciplines. Those working in wood or metal must bring their own tools and machinery.
WRITING - including academic scholarship, criticism, fiction, history, poetry, journalism, nonfiction, philosophy, playwriting, screenwriting, storytelling
Multidisciplinary
If your proposal combines PROFESSIONAL expertise in more than one discipline, you will be asked to indicate the other discipline(s) that should be considered in the JUDGING of your proposal. Make sure your proficiency in each discipline is demonstrated in your submitted work samples. Expert jurors from all the indicated disciplines will be asked to judge your submission at an expert level.
Examples: a journalist creating both written and photographic content; a graphic novelist; a ceramicist writing a guide to glazes. NOT, for example, a visual artist exploring scientific themes in their work.
NOTE: Don't weaken your application by including secondary, less expert work samples. If, for example, you are a dancer who intends to dance during your residency, but also enjoys painting, you may dance and paint if you're accepted at Hambidge without saying you are Multidisciplinary and without including paintings in your work samples.
References
Hambidge no longer requires letters of recommendation as part of the application materials.
Collaborations
Collaborative couples and groups must submit the Slideroom application specific to Collaborations. EACH MEMBER of the collaboration must ALSO complete this form before the deadline in order for your application to be complete.
Couples
Non-collaborating couples who wish to be in residence together must submit individual applications. They may request concurrent residency dates and choose whether or not to share studio/living space. The acceptance of one partner does NOT guarantee the acceptance of the other. No other provisions are made for partners.
Children
Hambidge has hosted several residents accompanied by their children. We are still developing our parental program, but we are quite willing to work with applicants to find the best timing and to recommend part-time childcare for their stay. Before you submit an application, read more about our Parental Residencies.
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2027 Writers-in-residence program
Hedgebrook
DEADLINE: April 17, 2026
APPLICATION FEE: $45
INFO: Hedgebrook’s Writer-in-Residence Program supports women-identified writers,18 and older, from all over the world for residencies of two or three weeks. The cottage, all meals, and the entire residency experience at Hedgebrook are free to selected writers. Travel is not included and is the responsibility of the writer to arrange and pay for. Up to 6 writers can be in residence at a time, each housed in their own handcrafted cottage. Days are spent in solitude – writing, reading, taking walks in the woods on the property or on nearby Double Bluff beach. In the evenings, “The Gathering” is a social time for residents to connect and share over their freshly prepared meals.
GENRES:
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Playwriting
Poetry
Screenwriting/TV
hedgebrook.org/writers-in-residence
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2026-2027 Baldwin Fellowship Program
Baldwin for the Arts
DEADLINE: April 18, 2026
APPLICATION FEE: $15
INFO: The mission of Baldwin For The Arts is to support the creation of art reflecting the lived experiences of African, Asian, Caribbean, Indigenous, Hispanic/ Latino/a/x, and dual-heritage backgrounds at no cost to the artists.
Exclusively devoted to people of the Global Majority, Baldwin For The Arts is committed to cultivating creative liberation for literary, visual, performing, and interdisciplinary artists. Baldwin Fellowships cover all residency costs for accepted artists including transportation, living accommodations, a private workspace, and daily meals prepared by a local chef.
The term “Global Majority” is a positive (re)framing of diverse and historically marginalized communities. Rather than view people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latino/a/x, and dual-heritage backgrounds as minorities, the term recognizes that ‘Globally’ these populations are the Majority.
At this time, we are not accepting international applications. We encourage you to frequent our Instagram account and subscribe to our website to receive newsletters and stay informed about future updates and opportunities.
Emerging and established artists of the Global Majority who specialize in the following disciplines are encouraged to apply:
Literature: All genres.
Performance: All disciplines which are performed in front of a live audience, including theater, music composition, and dance.
Visual: All art forms that use paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, and filmmaking (includes documentary, narrative, and experimental projects).
Interdisciplinary: All projects that use multiple disciplines, such as science, technology, literature, philosophy, to create new and unique artistic experiences.
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The Cave Canem Prize
Cave Canem
DEADLINE: April 30, 2026
INFO: The Cave Canem Prize supports the work of Black poets to overcome the obstacle of publishing their first book of poems. Awarded to one poet annually, the Prize recipient receives a monetary award, as well as having their manuscript published by one of our partner publishers, Graywolf Press; University of Pittsburgh Press; or University of Georgia Press.
AWARD: Winner receives $10,000; publication through one of our partner presses; 15 copies of the book; and a featured reading with the selected judge, presented by Cave Canem.
ELIGIBILITY: All unpublished, original collections of poems written in English by Black poets who have not had a full-length book of poetry published by a professional press. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora. Submissions must be paginated with a font size of 11 or 12, and 60 – 75 pages in length, inclusive of title page and table of contents.
Black authors of chapbooks and self-published books with a maximum print run of 500 copies are also eligible to apply.
Please note that in the event that an applicant has submitted the same manuscript to other competitions and receives an award, they must disclose this information to Cave Canem. By applying, the Cave Canem Prize Winner agrees to be present in the continental United States at her or his own expense shortly after the book is published in order to participate in promotional reading(s).
EXCLUSIONS: Current or former students, colleagues, employees, family members and close friends of the judge; current or former employees and members of the board of Cave Canem Foundation or Graywolf Press; and authors who have published a book or have a book under contract with Graywolf Press are ineligible.
If any of the selected authors fall under the above exclusions, they will be disqualified and a replacement chosen. As the poetry community is small and the contest is judged without knowledge of the submitter’s identity, acquaintance with the judge or participation in a workshop taught by the judge are not disqualifying criteria.
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2026-28 Generations in Dialogue Literary Mentoring Program
Generations in Dialogue Program (GID) / Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC (Los Angeles, CA)
DEADLINE: April 30, 2026
INFO: The Fr. James L. Heft, SM Generations in Dialogue Program (GID), part of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC, is a two-year, funded program, which will bring together emerging writers and well-established writers—together comprising a group of poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and essayists of varying cultural and religious backgrounds.
Program components include semi-annual retreats (honoraria & travel expenses provided), a supportive community offering encouragement and feedback on participant’s work, and consideration of important issues facing writers in the age of A.I.
Led by poet Laura Reece Hogan, the cohort will focus on the role of human thought and creativity and consider questions such as: What is it about literature that demands fresh human thought? Why does the evolving literary tradition need contributions from the lived, diverse experience of writers to move forward? How do we sustain human-based literary traditions, protect literary works from unauthorized A.I. infringement, and intentionally cultivate human-created literature? We are moving forward into a new world of A.I. assistance in every quadrant—how best can we do that as creators of the written word?
A Catholic approach to these topics prioritizes the human being. As we see in the work of authors as varied as Dante and Joyce, the Catholic literary tradition values the human experience, from moments of suffering and loss to moments of transcendence and joy. This tradition fosters an approach that is grounded in the daily reality of our lives and yet reaches for the sublime and otherworldly.
The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies will advance and promote the creative work and public profile of participants, as well as elevate their perspectives and voices in a world where they are increasingly needed.
Questions? Email iacs@usc.edu.
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Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
University of Pittsburgh Press
DEADLINE: April 30, 2025
SUBMISSION FEE: $25
INFO: The University of Pittsburgh Press announces the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize for a first full-length book of poems. Named after the first director of the Press, the prize carries a cash award of $5,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press in the Pitt Poetry Series under its standard royalty contract. The winner will be announced in the fall; no information about the winner will be released before the fall announcement. The Starrett Prize is our only venue for first-book poetry manuscripts. The volume of manuscripts received prevents the Press from offering critiques or entering into correspondence about manuscripts other than the one chosen for publication. Please do not call or e-mail the press.
Manuscripts submitted to the contest will not be returned. Please keep a copy of the manuscript.
ELIBILITY: The award is open to any poet writing in English who has not had a full-length book of poetry published previously. We define "full-length book" as a volume of 48 or more pages published in an edition of 500 or more copies. Books whose publication costs have been borne by their authors are excluded from this definition. University of Pittsburgh employees, former employees, current students and those who have been students within the last three years are not eligible for the award.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Manuscripts should be between 48 and 100 pages. Please also include your curriculum vitae.
Results will be announced in major poetry and writing magazines once a winner has been chosen.
Multiple Submissions - Manuscripts being considered by other publishers are allowed, but if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify the Press in writing.
If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email info@upress.pitt.edu
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Critical Writing Open Call 2026
Recess |📍Brooklyn, NY
DEADLINE: April 30, 2026 at 11:59pm ET
INFO: Recess invites applications for the 2026–2027 Critical Writing cohort.
Critical Writing at Recess initiates meaningful exchange between artists and writers and supports the mutual production of new work. Through a practice-led approach, the program brings together a cohort of writers to engage artists in the Recess community, develop new texts, and collectively produce a digital reader of contemporary art writing.
Throughout the program, each writer commits to publishing two texts while collaborating with the cohort to develop and edit a digital reader that places the Recess archive in conversation with texts from across the field.
DATES: The program runs August 2026 through June 2027, with monthly gatherings that alternate between virtual and in-person sessions.
Each participant receives a $4,000 stipend—distributed in three equal payments across the program year—that includes compensation for the writing, collaborative work, and participation in cohort sessions.
OPEN CALL TIMELINE:
Virtual Info Session: Monday, April 13 at 6:00pm EST
Application Deadline: Thursday, April 30 at 11:59pm EST
Applicant Interviews: Early June
Decisions Announced: July
PROGRAM STRUCTURE:
The Critical Writing program centers dialogue between writers and artists while fostering new forms of critical engagement with contemporary art.
The cohort will:
Meet monthly in facilitated sessions with invited artists, editors, and cultural workers
Develop new writing in a 8-10 week editorial timeline through peer exchange and editorial workshops
Publish two original texts in reflection of Session projects during the program year
Collaboratively produce a digital reader connecting the Recess textual archive with art writing from across the field
PROGRAM SCHEDULE:
The Critical Writing program will run from August 2026 through June 2027. The cohort will meet monthly in the evenings, tentatively every third Wednesday between 6-8pm EST. Review the program schedule below with the understanding that dates and timing may flux based on the shared calendars of the participants.
2026
Saturday, Aug 1 Half-Day Orientation: Writing Toward Abolition 11:00am–4:00pm — In person at Recess
Wednesday, Sept 16 Open Desk with an Artist-Writer 6:30–8:00pm — Recess
Wednesday, Oct 21 Reading Room: The Artist Interview 6:00–7:30pm — Zoom
Wednesday, Nov 18 Reading Room: Publishing Textual Art 6:00–7:30pm — Zoom
December Cohort publishes the Digital Reader
2027
Wednesday, Jan 20 Reading Room: The Editor’s Voice 6:00–7:30pm — Zoom
Wednesday, Feb 17 Open Desk with an Artbook Publisher 6:30–8:00pm — Recess
Wednesday, Mar 17 Reading Room: Writing Across Marginality 6:00–7:30pm — Zoom
Wednesday, Apr 21 Open Desk with a Curator-Editor 6:30–8:00pm — Recess
Wednesday, May 19 Reading Room: The Writer as Public Artist 6:00–7:30pm — Zoom
June Cohort curates a public program
WHO SHOULD APPLY?
The Critical Writing program is open to writers at any stage of their practice. We are selecting three writers for this year's Critical Writing cohort and reserving one spot for an alum of the Assembly program
We welcome applicants working across genres and forms, including:
essays
criticism
poetry
fiction
experimental writing
hybrid or interdisciplinary practices
Applicants may be emerging writers, mid-career writers, or those with extensive publication histories.
What matters most is a deep engagement with writing as a form of artistic and cultural inquiry.
Applicants will be asked to provide personal information, short written responses, writing samples, and literary references.
recessart.org/critical-writing-open-call-2026
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Brink Poetry Prize
Brink
DEADLINE: April 30, 2026
SUBMISSION FEE: $25
INFO: The Brink Poetry Prize will be administered to the winner of a poetry contest for one poem.
The contest is judged annually by a different individual who is a noted professional in the literary field. The contest winner will receive $500 and their single poem will be published in Brink’s fall issue.
CONTEST RULES:
The contest is open to all writers and artists who identify their work as poetry.
Submit up to three previously unpublished poems per entrant (no more than ten pages total).
All entries will be read anonymously. Before you submit, please remove your name and any other identifying information from your submission. We will contact you regarding your submission through Submittable, so please ensure your contact information is accurate.
People who are family, colleagues, current students of or intimate friends with the judge or the editors are ineligible. Writers whose work has previously been published in Brink are ineligible.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please notify us immediately if your submission is accepted elsewhere.
GUIDELINES:
Initial screening for the prize will be facilitated by Brink Editors.
The contest winner, selected by the contest judge, will be announced in early July.
CONTEST PRIZE:
$500
4 copies of the journal issue in which the winning submission appears.
Winner will have the opportunity to work alongside the Brink design team to prepare their poem for publication in the print literary journal and translate their published work onto the Brink website.
JUDGE: Donika Kelly (she/her) is the author of The Natural Order of Things, The Renunciations and Bestiary. A recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, she is a Cave Canem graduate fellow and Pushcart Prize winner. She currently lives in Iowa City, where she teaches creative writing at the University of Iowa.
brinkliterary.com/poetry-prize
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2026 Chapbook Competition
New Delta Review
DEADLINE: April 30, 2026
ENTRY FEE: $10
INFO: New Delta Review is thrilled to announce our 15th annual Chapbook Competition. For this contest, we're looking for manuscripts of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work. We’re interested in works that have some cohesion to them. We like things that are compelling and hold our attention. In the past, we've tended towards accepting things that challenge our ideas of tradition, but any aesthetic choices are fair game and will be considered.
ELIGIBILITY:
Manuscripts should be 20-35 pages in length and should include a title page with contact information. The title page and table of contents will not be included in the page count.
All submissions must be made as .pdf, .doc., or .docx, through Submittable.
We are only accepting works written primarily in English. We are not accepting translations.
While individual pieces within the manuscript may be published elsewhere, the manuscript must be unpublished as a whole. If individual pieces have been published, writers can include an acknowledgments page at the end of the manuscript, which will not count toward the 20-35 page limit.
Multiple submissions are allowed but require separate entry fees. Simultaneous submissions are welcome on the condition that writers notify New Delta Review of another acceptance as soon as possible.
Current students and faculty of LSU are ineligible.
GRAND PRIZE:
Publication of chapbook, 25 author copies, and a feature in an upcoming issue of New Delta Review
$250
FINAL JUDGE: Diana Khoi Nguyen
newdeltareview.submittable.com/submit
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Call for submissions: Back of the Envelope
The Offing
DEADLINE: May 1, 2026
INFO: Back of the Envelope seeks writing of any length and genre which relates to, or draws on, science and the natural world. Sharing its wonder or its horrors, relating the untold stories of discovery, or toying with everyday curiosities, we're interested in hearing from those inside and outside the scientific community.