Sunspot Lit accepts novelette-length fiction and nonfiction, including scripts and screenplays, from 17,501 to 29,000 words. Graphic novels should run 25 to 50 pages. A single poem between 16 and 20 pages is also accepted. Submit here before April 15.
Authors & Artists Eligible
Rigel is the brightest star in the Orion constellation. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel, novella, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that outshines all the rest.
Rigel offers $250 plus publication to the winner, and offers publication to select finalists. No restrictions on theme or category. The length for prose is restricted to a maximum of 5,000 words for short stories, or ten pages for poetry and graphic novels. Excerpts should always be from the beginning of a longer work, and should include a synopsis. The synopsis counts toward the entry’s total word/page count. Artwork should consist of a single piece.
Any novels, novellas, or graphic novels selected as the winner or as finalists will be offered publication only for the submitted sample.
Open: April 1, 2022
Close: June 30, 2022
Entry fee: $6
Prize: $250 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Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website.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 through Submittable, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.
Enter through Sunspot’s Submittable form or
Sunspot Literary Journal accepts novella-length fiction and nonfiction, including scripts and screenplays, from 29,001 to 49,000 words. Graphic novels should run between 51 and 100 pages. A single poem between 21 and 25 pages is also accepted. Check out the Submittable page and send in your work before April 1.
Authors, poets and artists are eligible for Geminga, a contest that honors the power of the small. Check out the guidelines for your micropoetry, microflash, and tiny fine art here. Deadline is March 31 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
From Dzanc Books and Disquiet:
The staff of Dzanc Books and Disquiet have been watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine with horror. Like many, we’re trying to find small ways to help. We’ve secured a donation of $50,000 USD that we’ll be directing to individual Ukrainian writers and their families to help them get to safety. We can also provide support in relocating to the US or Portugal for writers and their families who wish to explore those options. Ukrainian writers and their families wishing to access these funds may contact us directly at ilp.lisbon@gmail.com. (Donors wishing to further support these initiatives may make contributions at this link.) Additionally, all proceeds from sales of Dzanc books for the month of March will be donated 100% to Ukraine humanitarian efforts. The Disquiet International Literary Program annually brings together writers from around the world in Lisbon, Portugal, for a two-week festival of workshops, lectures, readings, and literary cultural exchange. Dzanc Books was created in 2006 to advance great writing and to impact communities in the US and around the world.
If you haven’t seen C. Hope Clark’s Funds for Writers website, you’re missing out. The site and newsletter has a huge number of opportunities ranging from paying markets to contests. Hope vets everything to make sure writers are heading for a good place when they click a link.
Another great source for contests, grants and awards is Winning Writers. Jendi Reiter pulls together trusted resources, and offered this description:
“Founded in 2001, Winning Writers discovers the best contests, markets, and resources for creative writers. Our free monthly e-newsletter includes upcoming deadlines, literary comics, and links to our subscribers’ recent awards and publications.”
For authors working with Kindle, Kindlepreneur posts articles listing the best contests they’ve vetted for their members.
Don’t forget that Geminga, a contest offering $250 plus publication to a winning author, poet, or artist for a $5 entry fee, closes March 31.
Sunspot Lit accepts fiction and nonfiction, including scripts and screenplays, between 3,501 and 7,500 words until May 15. Graphic novels should run 5 to 17 pages. A single poem of 4 to 10 pages is accepted. Submit here.
Sunspot Lit just opened its new calls for all lengths of poetry, prose, and art.
The journal offers an Editor’s Prize of $15 for each digital edition and an Editor’s Prize of $50 for the annual print edition. Artwork selected for a digital or print cover will be paid $20. Visit SunspotLit.com to download digital editions for free.
They welcome prose from flash fiction and poetry to stories and essays, including scripts and screenplays, up to 49,000 words. Genre categories are accepted along with literary works. Poetry can be up to 1,250 lines. Translations welcome. Please note the word count in your cover letter.
One piece per submission (except flash, poetry, or art). Use the correct form according to the length of your prose and poetry. Works longer than allowed by the form you select will be declined unread.
The Fast Flux options offer a one-week turnaround for short prose and art. Poets and longform prose receive a two-week turnaround, with most responses being sent within one week.
All submissions must be unpublished (except on a personal blog). Simultaneous submissions welcome. Submit as many times as you like.
Note that the longest prose and poetry works are open for shorter periods of time. Be sure to check the deadlines for the type of work you’d like to submit to get your pieces considered for the next edition.
All submissions must be sent through the journal’s Submittable page.
Sunspot Lit’s open call for short fiction, including flash pieces and up to three pages of poetry, closes February 28. Send in your work through Submittable or Duotrope.
Sunspot Lit’s open call for long-form fiction, CNF, and graphic novels is closing February 15. Send in your work through Submittable or Duotrope.
Sunspot Lit’s poetry editor, Morrow Dowdle, is now offering feedback on poems. Using this form, submit one poem of up to three pages in length. Dowdle is the author of the chapbook Nature v. Nurture (Artagem Graphic Library). Her poetry has been featured in River and South Review, Poetry South, Dandelion Review, NonBinary Review, Pink Panther Magazine, Panoply, APIARY, The Schuylkill Valley Journal of the Arts, Edison Literary Review, River Poets Quarterly, The Griffin, Philadelphia Stories, and Prism, among other publications.
She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She is an active member of the Living Poetry collective in the North Carolina Triangle area. She also writes graphic novels, including An Unlikely Refugee, which is now part of a permanent exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
Submit as many times as you like using a new submission form for each poem.
Sunspot Lit’s open call for novella and novelette length works closes January 31. They also accept graphic novels and very long poems under these options. Send in your work through Submittable or Duotrope.
Sunspot Lit started in early 2019. Thanks to all the wonderful creatives who’ve sent in their work, we’ve produced three print editions. A handful of 2019 editions are still available directly through the journal, along with a slightly larger number of 2020 editions.
We’re offering these to our subscribers for a discounted price. The 2020 edition is now available for $20. The 2019 edition is now $15. Both prices include shipping to US locations. A postage add-on button allows individuals who live outside the US to order copies at these reduced prices.
Ordering directly from the journal provides more money than sales through bookstores. These funds help the journal to cover basic operating costs and fund the stipends and awards. Thanks for your continued support as we move forward in 2022!
Sunspot is dedicated to accepting longform prose as well as the tiniest pieces. To that end, we’ve reduced the submission fees associated with longer works. You’ll find new, lower fees for longform prose applied to the Fast Flux option, as well, which provides a one- to two-week response schedule.
While we continue to use Submittable, we’ve also set up an account on Duotrope for those who prefer to use that submission portal.
Finally, we adjusted the deadlines for longer and midrange prose forms to ensure that each submission receives attention both during the review phase and during layout. Beginning in 2022, longer prose forms will have shorter open call times. The calls for the shortest works, artwork, and Fast Flux turnaround times will be open for longer periods.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 