My Roundup of FREE Places to Submit Your Writing This July 2024

At first, I was going to compile a list of the free places I was going to submit to this month. However, after I started pulling together this list, I noticed how long it got. I ended up deciding that it would be a better resource if I just compiled and shared what I found for my fellow writers.

I'm not going to say that this is a full and comprehensive list of places to send writing this month. After all, there are many fantastic places that are taking work that I haven't included on this list. These are just a few that I found and pulled together as a writer who is interested in getting my work out there while not having to pay a reading fee.

For the most part, I have a section of writing contests, and then I have a list of magazines with deadlines this coming month (or on August 1). Full disclosure: I will be pulling the submission details from each website instead of writing it up myself because I would hate to disseminate inaccurate information.

If you're here reading this, I am going to wish you good luck. With rejections existing at 99%, we are all going to need it.

How good I would feel after submitting some work (before getting rejected, of course).

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Submit Your Writing to Contests and Competitions

Submitting directly to a writing contest is different than submitting to a magazine because the awards could be different (from a money prize to a publication opportunity). The turnaround time could also be different, since the organizations that have put out these contests have set aside time to judge them. When you submit to a magazine, you could be waiting anywhere between a month and beyond a year, depending on how big their submission pool is.

Richard J. Margolis Award

Deadline: July 1

Website for Further Information: https://www.margolisaward.org/apply-for-the-rjm-award

Description: "The Richard J. Margolis Award is given annually to a promising new journalist or essayist whose nonfiction work combines warmth, humor and wisdom and sheds light on issues of social justice.

The award honors the life of Richard J. Margolis (1929-1991), a renowned journalist, essayist and poet who gave eloquent voice to the rural poor, migrant farmworkers, Native Americans, aging adults and others whose voices are seldom heard. He also wrote several  books for children.

The award combines a one-month residency at Blue Mountain Center, an acclaimed writers' and artists' colony in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, with a $5,000 prize (finalists receive $1,000 but no residency)."

Writing can be hard work.

Press 53: Monthly 53-Word Story Contest

Deadline: July 15

Website for Further Information: https://www.press53.com/53word-story-contest

Description: "Each month, when we offer a new prompt, we introduce it with a short 53-word description that suggests several ways you might consider the prompt. Even the photo can offer a different way to look at it. What are we looking for? A story that surprises us in its approach to the prompt, something unusual and creative. The first idea that pops into your head probably popped into the heads of others too, so you might want to take another look at how your story can be different. Challenge yourself to find an unusual way to write a 53-word story about the prompt, and don’t think you have to use the prompt in your story, literally; implying the word works too. Surprise us! That’s what we are looking for.

Here’s how to enter (please read our guidelines carefully before sending us your story):

• –Your story must be 53 words—no more, no less—titles are not included in the word count. Stories with fewer than or more than 53 words will be disqualified. Send only stories; poetry with line breaks will not be considered.

• –There is no age limit. This is a FREE contest, so there is no age restriction.

• –Be careful of word count. Hyphenated words count as one word. 

• –Titles are not included in the word count. If your story is not titled, we will create a title for publication.

• –One submission per person. Since this is a free contest, there are no age restrictions.

• –NO ATTACHMENTS! Paste your story into the body of your email. Stories sent as attachments, or images embedded in the email, will not be considered.

• –By entering this contest the author grants Press 53 First Serial Rights to publish the story in Prime Number Magazine and to archive it permanently on our website. All other rights remain with the author.

• –Email your story directly to 53wordstory@gmail.com by the 15th day of the month, midnight Eastern Time."

We all make mistakes.

Briefly Write Poetry Prize 2024

Deadline: July 31

Website for More Information: https://brieflywrite.com/poetry-prize/

Description: "The Briefly Write Poetry Prize celebrates and rewards bold, succinct writing.

We want well-crafted poems up to 10 lines. We want innovative language, strong imagery and a subtle, focused composition. Send us your best brief writing."

I get more excited to buy a book than this girl is to find them.

Surging Tide: The Summer Writing Contest

Deadline: July 31

Website for Further Information: https://www.surgingtidemag.com/contest.html

Description: "Surging Tide is pleased to launch our Second Annual Writing Contest this summer. 

​Please find below a more detailed prompt as well as guidelines on how to submit.

Surging Tide editors will shortlist 3-5 writers in each category (poetry and prose). We will forward this list onto the judges, who will select a winner and a runner-up. All shortlisted writers and artists will be guaranteed publication in Surging Tide Issue 10, though all pieces submitted will be considered. In addition, the winner and runner-up will receive written commentary from their respective contest judges. "

Summers should be spent reading by the pool.

2025 PEN/Bare Life Review Grants

Deadline: August 1

Website for Further Information: https://pen.org/pen-bare-life-review-grant/

Description: "The PEN/Bare Life Review Grants support literary works in progress by immigrant and refugee writers, recognizing that the literature of migration is of inherent and manifest value. Beginning with the 2024 grant conferral, PEN America will confer two PEN/Bare Life Review Grants of $5,000 each.

The grants are made possible by a substantial contribution from The Bare Life Review, which celebrates world literature and has been a champion for migrant and diasporic arts."

I remember a girl sophomore year of high school trying to teach the class how to use one of these fancy pens.

Granum Foundation

Deadline: August 1

Website for Further Information: https://www.granumfoundation.org/granum-prize

Description: "The Granum Foundation Prize will be awarded annually to help U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs—or to help launch these works.

Additionally, the Granum Foundation Translation Prize will be awarded to support the completion of a work translated into English by a U.S.-based writer.

Funding from both prizes can be used to provide a writer with the tools, time, and freedom to help ensure their success. For example, resources may be used to cover basic needs, equipment purchases, mentorship, or editing services.

Competitive applicants will be able to present a compelling project with a reasonable timeline for completion. They also should be able to demonstrate a record of commitment to the literary arts."

I told my sister that writers are told to write every day, but I understand that can be a hard thing to do, and very draining.

The Moonlit Getaway Grand Opening Contest

Deadline: August 1

Website for More Information: https://www.moonlitgetaway.com/

Description: "MoonLit Getaway is a new online literary journal that will launch on September 23, 2024. The MoonLit Getaway Grand Opening contest is free to enter and has three categories: flash fiction, poetry, and visual art. All genres are welcome. Winners of each category receive $100 (USD) plus online publication. Two runners-up in each category will receive online publication. The contest intends to collect initial content for the launch of the website, create awareness about MoonLit Getaway, and provide opportunities for writers and artists."

There are many places I like to read, but a badly lit room would not make the list.

Submit Your Writing to Magazines

The main goal for sending out work to a magazine is pretty straightforward: publication. Magazine publications will help you build your professional writing portfolio and demonstrate your skills and experience. You might be waiting for a while (sometimes it feels like forever), but if publication is your main goal, then this is one of the cases where patience is truly a virtue.

Able Muse

Deadline: July 15

Genres: Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction

Website for Further Information: https://www.ablemuse.com/submit

Description: "Able Muse publishes metrical poetry and poetry translation, along with art, fiction, and nonfiction (essays, book reviews, and interviews that focus on metrical and formal poetry)."

I can't wait to learn more languages.

The Virginia Quarterly Review

Deadline: July 27

Genre(s): Poetry, Short Fiction, Nonfiction

Website for More Information: https://www.vqronline.org/about-vqr/submissions

Description: "VQR strives to publish the best writing we can find. While we have a long history of publishing accomplished and award-winning authors, we also seek and support emerging writers. A look at one of our latest issues will show you the diversity of voices we publish."

I wish I looked this beautiful and focused when I wrote. Typically, my writing process involves deeply breathing and crying.

Beloit Poetry Journal

Deadline: July 31

Genres: Poetry

Website for Further Information: https://www.bpj.org/submit/regular-guidelines

Description: "We’re open to a wide range of forms and styles in contemporary poetry. We’re always watching for new poets, quickened language, and work that offers a fresh purchase on the political or social landscape.

The editors read every poem that comes in over the transom. We respond to manuscripts we know aren't for us as soon as we've read them. The rest we circulate among the editorial board members and continue to winnow. At face-to-face, long-weekend-long meetings, we read aloud those poems in which we have strong interest and collaborate to choose an issue from among them."

What a unique little bookshop.

Blue Horse Press & San Pedro River Review

Deadline: July 31

Genres: Poetry

Website for Further Information: https://www.bluehorsepress.com/

Description: "We publish occasional poetry books and chapbooks, as well as San Pedro River Review, a biannual print journal of poetry and art founded in 2008. SPRR is included in the University of Wisconsin Special Collections Little Magazine Unit, the University of Arizona Poetry Center, and the University at Buffalo, New York. We are a member of The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses [CLMP]."

I would need/want more desk space than this.

Litmosphere: Journal of Charlotte Lit

Deadline: July 31

Genre(s): Poetry, Flash Fiction, Nonfiction, Short Fiction, Literary Nonfiction

Website for More Information: https://charlottelit.submittable.com/submit

Description: "Litmosphere is an open submission, paying online literary and art journal, published twice a year. We’re open for submissions of art, flash (fiction and nonfiction), poetry, and short prose (fiction and literary nonfiction) in January for the Spring issue and in July for the Fall issue. The journal is free to read and there is no fee to submit."

This writing space is more ideal for me, especially with the nature element of it.

Rat's Ass Review

Deadline: August 1

Genres: Poetry

Website for More Information: https://ratsassreview.net/?page_id=81

Description: "To submit: send up to five poems as a doc or docx file to ratsassreview@gmail.com. Please include your name in the title of the document, for example Frost, Robert 3 Poems.docx. We only accept electronic submissions. If you really want to make me happy, include in the body of the email your brief (no more than 75 word) third-person bio and the titles of the individual poems, type your poems using Times or Times New Roman, font size 12, left justified, and don’t capitalize the first word of every line as though you were writing with a quill pen."

Blank pages can be fun... or intimidating, depending on who you are.