The October 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

GBH Outspoken Saturdays at the BPL

Fee: $0; Award: Live Reading; Deadline: rolling

Open call for the The GBH Studio at the BPL Outspoken Saturdays, a curated spoken word poetry event for emerging artists. Every first Saturday of the month, in collaboration with two-time Boston Music Award-winning Spoken Word Artist Amanda Shea. Seeking poets to perform their original work. GBH is a syndicated national network governed by FCC regulations and guidelines. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Massachusetts Review

Fee: $3.00; Award: $100 and publication: Deadline: Open October 1 - May 1

Massachusetts Review 2026 – 2027 Submissions Period is open until May 2027 for all genres. They seek a balance between established writers and promising new ones. They are interested in material of variety and vitality relevant to the intellectual and aesthetic questions of our time. They aspire to have a broad appeal; our commitment, in part regional, is not provincial. Visit the website for more guidelines.

Post Road

Fee: $3; Award: publication: Deadline: 11/30

Post Road was founded in New York City in 1999. They will accept submissions in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and theater from October 1 to November 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Contests & Prizes

Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize | North American Review

Fee: $20; Award: $1,000 and publication; Deadline: 11/12

The Kurt Vonnegut Prize is an annual fiction competition intended to recognize the finest speculative fiction. They welcome all forms of previously unpublished fiction—one story per submission. They are enthusiastic about all work painted with speculative fiction’s broad brush: fairy tale, magical realism, fabulism, the fantastic, horror, Afro-futurism, science fiction hard and soft, and everything in between. The winner, runners-up, and any honorable mentions may be offered publication in the North American Review’s summer issue. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Georgia Poetry Prize

Fee: $30; Award: $1,000 and publication: Deadline: 11/30

In partnership with Poetry@Tech at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia, the University of Georgia Press has established the Georgia Poetry Prize, a national competition that celebrates excellence in poetry. Each year, one manuscript is selected for publication with UGA Press and a prize of $1000. Visit the website for complete guidelines.