Sunspot Lit accepts all types of prose including essays, memoir, travel, teleplays, film and stage scripts. Submissions under the Flash category can be one or two pieces of flash fiction or nonfiction, with the length of the entire submission not to exceed 1,000 words.

Up to three poems are also accepted under this call, with the total submission not to exceed three pages.

Flash graphic novels of 1 to 4 pages are welcome.

Artwork can be one or two images

Note that mix submission formats(for example, provide one poem and one flash piece as a single entry) are not accepted for this open call. 

Send in your work before the quarterly deadline using Submittable or Duotrope.

Authors & Artists Eligible
The Goldilocks Zone appears wherever conditions make a planet habitable. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel or novella excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that combines excellence in craft with reader or audience appeal, and thus falls into the Goldilocks Zone. Literary and genre works accepted.
Fiction and nonfiction submissions are eligible to receive feedback for an additional fee. This is entirely optional, and selecting feedback or entering the contest without feedback will have no bearing on the judging rounds. Each submission will receive a brief writeup a few paragraphs in length (about half a single-spaced page) commenting on critical strengths and weaknesses. This option is not available for art or poetry. Feedback option available only through the Submittable form.
First prize is $500 plus publication. Runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Maximum of 2,500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 24 lines for poetry, and 8 pages for graphic novels. No size requirements for painting, photography, video stills or sculpture, although each entry is limited to one image.
Open: August 1, 2023
Close: September 30, 2023
Contest entry fee: $12.50
Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists.
Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual print edition.
Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.
Enter as many times as you like, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

Enter here on Submittable, or here on Duotrope.

The Goldilocks Zone appears wherever conditions make a planet habitable. Sunspot Lit seeks a short story, flash piece, book-length excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that combines excellence in craft with reader or audience appeal, and thus falls into the Goldilocks Zone. Literary or genre works accepted.

First prize is $500 plus publication. Runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Maximum of 2,500 words for fiction or nonfiction, 24 lines for poetry, and 8 pages for graphic novels. No size requirements for painting, photography, video stills or sculpture, although each entry is limited to one image.

Fiction and nonfiction submissions are eligible to receive feedback for an additional fee. This is entirely optional, and selecting feedback or entering the contest without feedback will have no bearing on the judging rounds. Each submission will receive a brief writeup (about one single-spaced page) commenting on critical strengths and weaknesses. This option is not available for art or poetry. The commentary will be provided 4-6 weeks after the contest closes. Please note that feedback is only available through the Submittable form. Feedback is not available for poetry or art, and will not be provided even if the feedback fee is paid.

Open: August 1, 2023

Close: September 30, 2023

Entry fee: $12.50

Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists.

All fees are final and nonrefundable. Revised entries can be made by withdrawing the original entry and resubmitting, paying a new fee for the new submission.

Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition as well as in the annual print edition.

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period. 

Enter as many times as you like, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is announced.

Enter through Sunspot’s Submittable form or through Duotrope. 

Sunspot Lit seeks works of fiction or nonfiction, including scripts and screenplays, from 7,501 words up to 17,500 words in their Supernova category. 

Graphic novels should be 26 to 40 pages. 

A single poembetween 11 and 15 pages is also accepted. 

Please note that collections are not accepted in this category.

This call is open for only a limited time. Send in your work before the deadline using Submittable or Duotrope.

Inception, the contest for best opening, has been judged. Submissions received for this year’s program were a true joy to review, and made for some tough decisions when shaping the finalist list.

Finalists

The Devil in the Details / TJ Morley / Fiction

Deus in Machina / Karen Davis / Novel

Kentucky Blood (Book I) / Ashley Sheikh / Novel

Woodcutter / Danielle Stonehirsch / Fiction

BUZZKILL / Leila Springer / Fiction

A Dream of Tibet / Bill Schulz / Painting

Runners-up

Two Winters Long / Nathaniel Eddy / Novel / Best of Novels

Genesis / Rex Wilder / Best of Art

Grinders and Cream / Robert Hickson / Fiction / Best of Short Stories

Winner

Nightwalk / Bill Schultz / Painting

The winner received $500 and will be published in the next digital edition as well as the annual print edition. The runners-up and finalists will also be offered publication. Congratulations to everyone called out as a best in category, finalist, semifinalist, and quarterfinalist.

Everyone is welcome to submit to Sunspot. Remember that our calls for longer poetry, fiction, and nonfiction close earlier than the calls for shorter works. Click here to find out what we’re accepting now.

To support great literature and art, consider preordering a print copy of the 2023 edition. Shipping to US locations is included in the price.

The journal’s annual Goldilocks Zone contest, for works that combine excellence with audience appeal, is also open.

Angel Leya, a staff member of Sunspot Literary Journal, offers feedback on genre fiction, which includes short stories and novel excerpts. She specializes in fantasy and paranormal, with experience in light sci-fi, contemporary romance, and YA.

Leya is the coauthor of the USA Today bestselling book, Shifted (Siren Prophecy series), with over 12 additional novels, novellas, and short stories to her name. She’s been published in  several anthologies, including Fiddlehead Press and The Alliance of YA Authors. She specializes in giving practical advice, with a bent toward characterization and dialog, as well as word flow, breaks in logic, and hooks.

Submissions are capped each month, and the form will shut off once the cap is reached. Visit Sunspot Lit’s Submittable page for options and guidelines.

Sunspot Lit seeks all types of fiction and nonfiction including essays, memoir, travel, teleplays, film and stage scripts. Single works of fiction or nonfiction should run between 1,001 and 3,500 words.

Graphic novels should run 5 to 10 pages.

Please note that collections are not accepted in this category.

Send in your work before the quarterly deadline using Submittable or Duotrope.

Authors & Artists Eligible
The Goldilocks Zone appears wherever conditions make a planet habitable. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel or novella excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that combines excellence in craft with reader or audience appeal, and thus falls into the Goldilocks Zone. Literary and genre works accepted.
Fiction and nonfiction submissions are eligible to receive feedback for an additional fee. This is entirely optional, and selecting feedback or entering the contest without feedback will have no bearing on the judging rounds. Each submission will receive a brief writeup a few paragraphs in length (about half a single-spaced page) commenting on critical strengths and weaknesses. This option is not available for art or poetry. Feedback option available only through the Submittable form.
First prize is $500 plus publication. Runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Maximum of 2,500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 24 lines for poetry, and 8 pages for graphic novels. No size requirements for painting, photography, video stills or sculpture, although each entry is limited to one image.
Open: August 1, 2023
Close: September 30, 2023
Contest entry fee: $12.50
Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists.
Enter as many times as you like, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

Enter here on Submittable, or here on Duotrope.

This is from the San Diego Writers:

Submissions for San Diego Writers, Ink’s A Year in Ink,Volume 17 anthology are open now until September 10 at 11:59 PM! The annual publication represents a sampling of the tangible results of SDWI’s diligent scribbles. Co-editors for this year’s publication are Kimberly Lee (Prose) and Katie Manning (Poetry). Submissions can include short stories, novel and memoir excerpts, creative nonfiction, satire, flash fiction/nonfiction, and poetry. Open to San Diego residents, SDWI members, and SDWI instructors. SDWI members and instructors submit for free; non-members/instructors can submit for $5 per piece. Visit here to learn more!Link to Submit: 

https://writeyourstorynow.org/all-programs/a-year-in-ink/

Sunspot Lit seeks fiction and nonfiction, including scripts and screenplays, from 17,501 to 29,000 words in their current open call for novelette length works. 

Graphic novels should run 41 to 85 pages. 

Please note that collections are not accepted in this category.

This call is open for only a limited time. Send in your work before the deadline using Submittable or Duotrope.

Sunspot Lit seeks fiction and nonfiction, including scripts and screenplays, between 3,501 and 7,500 words. 

Graphic novels should run 11 to 25 pages. 

A single poemof 4 to 10 pages is also accepted.

Please note that collections are not accepted in this category.

This call is open for only a limited time. Send in your work before the deadline using Submittable or Duotrope.

Authors & Artists Eligible
The Goldilocks Zone appears wherever conditions make a planet habitable. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel or novella excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that combines excellence in craft with reader or audience appeal, and thus falls into the Goldilocks Zone. Literary and genre works accepted.
Fiction and nonfiction submissions are eligible to receive feedback for an additional fee. This is entirely optional, and selecting feedback or entering the contest without feedback will have no bearing on the judging rounds. Each submission will receive a brief writeup a few paragraphs in length (about half a single-spaced page) commenting on critical strengths and weaknesses. This option is not available for art or poetry. Feedback option available only through the Submittable form.
First prize is $500 plus publication. Runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Maximum of 2,500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 24 lines for poetry, and 8 pages for graphic novels. No size requirements for painting, photography, video stills or sculpture, although each entry is limited to one image.
Open: August 1, 2023
Close: September 30, 2023
Contest entry fee: $10.00
Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists.
Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual print edition.
Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.
Enter as many times as you like, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

Enter here on Submittable, or here on Duotrope.