Terrain.org welcomes submissions on place, climate, and justice from new and experienced authors and artists alike.
General submissions of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction open on January 1, 2025 and close on March 31, 2025. (No entry fee, $50 paid per contribution.)
Submissions to the 16th Annual Contests in Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction are open May 1 to September 1, 2025. ($20/entry for $1,000 grand prize in each genre.)
Submissions for the 3rd Annual Sowell Emerging Writers Prize (a full manuscript in fiction whether novel or short stories or other, published by Texas Tech University Press, with a prize of $1,000) are open September 15 to November 15, 2024. ($25/entry.)
ARTerrain and Letter to America submissions are open and are accepted year-round. (No entry fee, $50 paid per contribution.)
Our online, place-based journal accepts only the finest poetry, essays, fiction, articles, artwork, videos, and other contributions—material that reaches deep into the earth’s fiery core, or humanity’s incalculable core, and brings forth new insights and wisdom. We are seeking work in English (or translation) from around the world, and particularly Indigenous, Native, Black, Brown, and other historically marginalized and underrepresented voices as we expand contributions relating to social, environmental, and climate justice. All accepted submissions by writers of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, and/or other marginalized communities whose contributions explore place particularly in the context of social, environmental, or climate justice are considered for our annual Editor's Prize of $500 per genre.
Terrain.org pays all regular contributors $50 for each submission published.
We do our best to respond to general submissions within six months and Letter to America and ARTerrain submissions within six weeks. Please do not submit regular submissions more than once every six months unless invited to do so.
If you are a former Terrain.org contributor, or we have spoken with you at an event such as AWP, please remind us in your cover letter.
View our full submission guidelines at www.terrain.org/submit.
The Sowell Collection at Texas Tech University, in partnership with Terrain.org and Texas Tech University Press, invites book-length manuscript submissions of short stories or a novel in English on themes about and related to the natural world by writers who have published no more than one book in any genre.
We are especially interested in submissions that explore the relationship between human communities and nature and may be informed by scientific inquiry and/or personal experience.
The Sowell Emerging Writers Prize will accept submissions in nonfiction, poetry, and fiction on a rotational basis and in that order: fiction in 2024, nonfiction in 2025, poetry in 2026, and so on.
The Sowell Family Collection in Literature, Community, and the Natural World at Texas Tech University holds the personal and professional papers of prominent American writers on the natural world. The Sowell Collection was established in 2001 when it acquired the papers of National Book Award–winning writer Barry Lopez. Since then, the Collection has acquired the papers of some 30 American writers including Rick Bass, David James Duncan, Gretel Ehrlich, William Kittredge, J. Drew Lanham, Bill McKibben, Susan Brind Morrow, Gary Nabhan, Robert Michael Pyle, David Quammen, Pattiann Rogers, and others.
Submission Guidelines
- Submissions open September 15
- Submission deadline: November 15
- Manuscripts should be at least 192 pages (i.e., book length and not a chapbook)
- Please include an Acknowledgements page if short stories or portions of the novel have been previously published elsewhere
- The winner will receive book publication by Texas Tech University Press and a $1,000 honorarium.
- The reading fee is $25.
- Five finalists will be announced in February 2025, and the winner will be announced by the end of February
Submissions must be previously unpublished (publication of excerpts or individual stories in literary journals and magazines is acceptable, as are portions that contain previously published chapbooks up to 28 pages). All forms of fiction are eligible (short stories, novel, flash fiction, etc.), as are hybrid forms and work with images.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Please withdraw your manuscript promptly if it is accepted elsewhere for publication.
Include a bio of fewer than 100 words in your cover letter. The Sowell Emerging Writers Prize encourages underrepresented voices to submit their work for consideration.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.
Thank you for your interest in submitting a Letter to America to Terrain.org, open once again for submissions.
Please submit your prose, poetry, visual art-based, video, or other Letter to America (generally up to 1,500 words) in a single document. Photos or other graphics may be inserted into the document, but if accepted will be requested as separate files.
View our recent Letters to America at www.terrain.org/category/letter-to-america. And learn more about our Dear America project, plus find an amazing array of Letter to America teaching resources, at www.terrain.org/dear-america.
Thank you for your interest in submitting to Terrain.org's ARTerrain gallery and artist feature.
Please submit your ARTerrain narrative or query in a single document, which may included embedded images or links to images (as well as links to video/audio). Up to 20 images may also be uploaded with your document. The images should be no less than 1600 pixels wide, when possible.
View our recent ARTerrain features at www.terrain.org/category/arterrain.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.