Terrain.org welcomes submissions on place, climate, and justice from new and experienced authors and artists alike.
General submissions of nonfiction and fiction open on January 1 and close on April 30. (No entry fee, $50 paid per contribution.) Due to our lengthy queue, we are not accepting poetry submissions in 2026.
Submissions to the 16th Annual Contests in Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction are open May 1 to September 1, 2026. ($20/entry for $1,000 grand prize in each genre.)
Submissions for the 5th Annual Sowell Emerging Writers Prize (a full manuscript in nonfiction, published by Texas Tech University Press, with a prize of $1,000, plus a residency at the Lopez Cottage on the Mackenzie of up to two weeks and $1,000 to support travel to the residency) are open September 15 to November 15, 2026. ($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.
Thank you for your interest in submitting poetry to the Terrain.org 17th Annual Contest, judged by Todd Boss. You may view our full submission guidelines at www.terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines.
Submission deadline: Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
$20 entry fee per poem set (up to 5 poems). $1,000 grand prize. $200 for finalists. All poems are considered for publication.
Submit 1-5 poems per entry, maximum of 7 pages total. Combine all poems into a single document that does not contain your name or contact information.
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
For poetry, we are seeking a single poem or set of poems to select as the contest winner. Submitted documents must contain only the poem title(s) and poem(s) without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer/summary).
All poems must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are just fine; please notify us by sending a message through Submittable if you are withdrawing a single poem.
View our recent poetry at www.terrain.org/category/poetry.
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 nonfiction to the Terrain.org 17th Annual Contest, judged by Lia Purpura. You may view our full submission guidelines at www.terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines.
Submission deadline: Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
$20 entry fee per essay/article or set of 2 flash essays. $1,000 grand prize. $200 for finalists. All submissions are considered for publication.
Submit one essay or article, up to 5,000 words total, or 2 flash essays, up to 1,000 words each, per entry. Essays must contain only the essay title and essay itself without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer/summary). We will consider all nonfiction, but are most interested in creative nonfiction, including personal essays, lyric essays, memoir, literary journalism, and other literary forms.
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
View our recent nonfiction at www.terrain.org/category/nonfiction.
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 fiction to the Terrain.org 17th Annual Contest, judged by Joe Wilkins. You may view our full submission guidelines at www.terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines.
Submission deadline: Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
$20 entry fee per story or 2 flash fictions. $1,000 grand prize. $200 for finalists. All submissions are considered for publication.
Submit one story, up to 5,000 words total, or 2 flash fictions up to 1,000 words each, per entry. Stories must contain only the story title and story itself without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer/summary).
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
View our recent fiction at www.terrain.org/category/fiction.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.
Words, Woods, and Wellness: Poetry by Washington State Youth
In collaboration with the Washington State Poet Laureate, Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), Humanities Washington, and Olympia Poetry Network in memory of former board member Wesley Jones, Terrain.org seeks poems that engage the natural world by residents or former residents of Washington State ages 21 and younger. Here in the age of the Anthropocene, we must give our attention to the non-human world, and so we will publish ecopoetry with a strong sense of place by Washington youth.
Submissions open April 22, 2026 and close December 31, 2026. Poems will be published between August 2026 and April 2027, with the goal of publishing a new poem or poetry set in the series at least monthly and at most every other week. Contributors will receive an honorarium of $100 following publication.
Submitted poems need not follow any particular form. Poem/image combinations are also considered—please submit photos or other graphics in the document containing the poem(s). If accepted, we will request the images as separate files.
Poems may not be previously published and may not appear online, including social media. We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT.
Submit between 1 and 3 poems in a single document in .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, or .pdf format only.
Please include a brief cover note with:
- Your name
- Your email (For authors under 18: please also provide your guardian's email)
- Current age
- Where you currently live (and if not in Washington, where you have lived in Washington)
- If you are still in school, the name of your school and your grade (or year in college)
If your poetry is accepted for publication, we will give you the option to publish with your full name or your first name only and with or without your photograph in your accompanying bio.
Terrain.org is the world’s first online literary journal of place, with a distinguished history of publishing award-winning ecopoetry. View our poetry at www.terrain.org/category/poetry.
Learn more at www.terrain.org/submit/words-woods-wellness.
Questions? Email Linnea Ingalls at linnea.ingalls@arts.wa.gov.
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.
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
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.
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
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.