The May 2026 edition of "Get Submitting" is a monthly hand-curated list of the top five contests, grants, scholarships, submission calls, and awards. We try to prioritize opportunities that are at least one of the following: open to all genres, local, free to apply, and/or committed to celebrating and supporting writers from historically marginalized communities. We do the research, so you have more time for what matters: the writing.

Submissions

Split the Lip Magazine

Fee: $0; Payment: $100; Deadline: June 1st

All submissions are currently being considered for Split the Lip monthly online issues. May is a a free submission month and they recommend submitting early. Sometimes they have to shut off free subs in some genres early due to an overwhelming response Visit the website for complete guidelines.

West Branch

Fee: $0; Award:  $0.10/word of prose with a maximum payment of $200, Deadline: June 30th

West Branch is accepting submissions for an inaugural themed nonfiction folio edited by Feature Editor Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn to be published in its Spring/Summer 2027 issue. The theme of this issue is "sugar" and they are interested in reading about sugar in all its difficult forms: literal, metaphorical, fake. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Contests & Prizes

2026 Poetry Prize | Autumn House Press

Early Bird Fee: $30; Award: $2,500 and Publication; Deadline: June 30th

Autumn House Poetry Prize is judge by staff, as well as select outsider readers, and the final judge is Felicia Zamora. The winner receives publication of their full-length manuscript and $2,500. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Kellman Prize for Immigrant Literature | Restless Books

Fee: $20; Award: $10,000 and publication; Deadline: May 31st

Restless Books is offering this prize for a debut book of fiction or nonfiction by a first-generation immigrant. In 2015, the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing was created to honor outstanding debut literary works by first-generation immigrants whose work examines how immigration shapes our lives, our communities, and our world. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize | American Short Fiction

Fee: $20; Award: $3,000, publication, and a writing retreat, Deadline: June 1st

The judge for this year’s Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize is Rachel Khong. The winning writer, in addition to publication and $3,000, will receive an all-expenses-paid writing retreat at a beautiful, remote cabin on idyllic land that neighbors the Halifax Ranch, just outside of Austin in Kyle, Texas. Visit the website for complete guidelines.