Welcome new and returning graduate students! I hope you’re having a great start to the fall quarter.
Before I jump into some exciting events and submission announcements, I wanted to extend an open call for submissions to Ex Libris. Want to write a book review, an author, alumni or faculty interview, a short reflection on an internship you’ve done in the program, or an issue in contemporary publishing? Please reach out to me, Kendall Polidori, at kpolidor@depaul.edu. I’m open to other ideas you might have, as well! Excited to collaborate with you.
Now, for some announcements:
FREE EVENT: Women & Children First Presents Melissa Fraterrigo in Conversation with Michele Morano
Next week, on Wednesday, September 24, Women & Children First will host Melissa Fraterrigo to celebrate her new book, The Perils of Girlhood: A Memoir in Essays.
Michele Morano, Professor of English and Director of MFA/MAWP in Writing & Publishing will lead the discussion with Fraterrigo about her book, which provides personal narratives developed from Fraterrigo’s desire to guide her daughters into the future.
The event begins at 7 p.m. on September 24, and is free but requires registration here.
Hope to see you there!
Upcoming Submission Deadlines
The Rumpus – Rolling submissions
The Rumpus publishes original fiction, poetry, literary humor writing, comics, essays, book reviews, and interviews with authors and artists of all kinds.
Currently open for: Comics, Poetry Book Reviews, Criticism, Interviews, Essays
Submissions for Poetry and Fiction will re-open on October 15, 2025.
Stirring Literary Magazine – Rolling submissions
Founded in 1999, Stirring is one of the oldest continuously publishing journals on the internet. Stirring is an electronic quarterly journal.
Stirring is currently accepting submissions on a rolling basis in: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Visual Art
TriQuarterly is the literary magazine of Northwestern University. It is operated by the Litowitz MFA+MA Graduate Creative Writing Program, the School of Professional Studies, alumnus of these programs, and beyond.
Fiction + Nonfiction submissions opened in September and close once they reach a cap of 500 submissions.
Poetry submissions open in November.
Video Essays, Craft Essays and Interviews submissions are accepted year-round.
Writer’s Digest hosts a handful of writing competitions annually. Here are some upcoming deadlines:
- Personal Essay Awards – October 1, 2025
- Poetry – Early-bird deadline, November 3, 2025
- Short Short Story – Early-bird deadline, November 17, 2025
Tahoma Literary Review is published twice a year and aims to produce an independent literary magazine that sustains writers, poets, editors and everyone involved in the creative process.
Accepting submissions until October 31, 2025, in:
- Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Poetry
- Graphic Narratives
- Poetry in Translation
Residency
VSC welcomes writers and artists for residencies in Johnson, Vermont, and host programs and events. Our buildings, many of them historic Vermont landmarks, overlook the Gihon River in the northern Green Mountains.
Apply by September 30, 2025, for 2026 residencies!
MISSION
To support artists and writers by providing studio residencies in an inclusive international community, honoring creative work as the communication of spirit through form.
VISION
The Vermont Studio Center, an international creative community for artists and writers, exists to support intensive, disciplined studio work. VSC provides an optimal creative atmosphere for 2, 3, and 4-week residencies, including:
• Distraction-free, quiet space and time
• Private studios
• Private bedrooms
• Excellent locally sourced meals – daily
• The companionship of professional peers
• A dedicated staff, a majority of whom are artists and writers
• Interactions with renowned Visiting Artists & Writers
