a new International Literary Magazine which aims at being a storehouse of best contemporary literature

At Fresh Words, we believe in the transformative power of literature to bridge cultures, inspire creativity, and ignite meaningful conversations. Our mission is to provide a vibrant platform for emerging and established writers from around the globe to share their unique voices, perspectives, and stories. We are committed to celebrating diversity, fostering literary excellence, and nurturing a global community of readers and writers who are passionate about the written word.

 

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Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: RAIN AND ROOTS<div>A Nature &amp; Earth Haiku Anthology</div><div>Fresh Words – An International Literary Magazine</div><div><br></div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Key Dates</div><div>Submission Deadline: August 15, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Acceptance Notifications: August 25, 2026</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Where to Send</div><div>Email: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words invites poets, wanderers, gardeners, storm-watchers, and quiet listeners of the living world to submit original nature-themed haiku for our summer anthology: RAIN AND ROOTS</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Whether your haiku holds the hush before a downpour, the patient unfurling of a fern, the weight of a fallen tree, or the shock of a single wildflower in concrete—if it breathes with the earth, we want to read it.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div> Submission Guidelines</div><div>Format</div><div><br></div><div>Structure: Traditional 3-line haiku.</div><div><br></div><div>Flexibility: Slight creative flexibility is allowed if the natural essence and emotional resonance are strong.</div><div><br></div><div>Style: Plain text only. No illustrations, graphics, or formatting beyond standard text in the document.</div><div><br></div><div>Theme</div><div><br></div><div>Nature and the Earth, broadly interpreted: Rain, rivers, soil, roots, seeds, storms, seasons, forests, creatures, tides, decay, bloom, drought, mud, mist, sky—if it lives, grows, breathes, or returns to the ground, it belongs here.</div><div><br></div><div>Urban nature counts too: The weed in a parking lot, the pigeon on a ledge, or the tree that bends a sidewalk. So does the inner landscape that mirrors the outer.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Submission Limit</div><div><br></div><div>Maximum of seven (7) haiku per poet.</div><div><br></div><div>All submissions must be included in one email as a single PDF or MS Word attachment.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Rights Note</div><div><br></div><div>Authors retain full copyright.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words requests one-time non-exclusive publication rights for inclusion in the digital and/or print anthology. Rights revert to the author upon publication.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>How to Submit</div><div>Send to: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Attachment: One file (.docx or .pdf) containing all haiku plus your required information.</div><div><br></div><div>Subject Line: [Your Full Name] – SUBMISSION FOR RAIN AND ROOTS ANTHOLOGY</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Required Information (Include inside your submission file):</div><div><br></div><div>Cover Note (brief, 1–2 sentences welcome)</div><div><br></div><div>Legal Name</div><div><br></div><div>Pen Name (if applicable)</div><div><br></div><div>Postal (Snail Mail) Address</div><div><br></div><div>Short Literary Biography (approx. 60 words, written in third person)</div><div><br></div><div>High-Resolution Photograph of yourself (JPEG, attached as a separate file) (Note: We only accept genuine, real-life author photographs; no AI-generated portraits or avatars).</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Example Bio:</div><div><br></div><div>Amara Osei writes from the outskirts of Accra, where the harmattan turns the sky the color of old paper. Her work has appeared in Earthline Journal and Root &amp; Rain Quarterly. She believes that every puddle is a small mirror held up to the sky.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Content Policy</div><div>We do not accept submissions that promote or glorify:</div><div><br></div><div>Violence, abuse, or hate speech</div><div><br></div><div>Racism, sexism, or discrimination</div><div><br></div><div>Political propaganda or extremist ideologies</div><div><br></div><div>All work must be respectful, original, and artistically focused.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Additional Notes</div><div>Simultaneous submissions are permitted — please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.</div><div><br></div><div>No fees — there are no submission or participation fees, ever.</div><div><br></div><div>Global voices welcome — we celebrate diversity in culture, language (English only for this anthology), and interpretation of the natural world.</div><div><br></div><div>Selected contributors will be notified by August 25, 2026.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Connect With Us</div><div>Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Fresh-Words-An-International-Literary-Magazine-106332345070389/</div><div><br></div><div>YouTube:https://www.facebook.com/Fresh-Words-An-International-Literary-Magazine-106332345070389/</div><div><br></div><div>Support Our Work:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/freshwordsmag</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Let your deepest observations of the living world find their form in our pages.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Submit by August 15, 2026.</div><div><br></div><div>Let the roots grow deep.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words</div><div><br></div><div>Where small poems hold big magic.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: RAIN AND ROOTS A Nature & Earth Haiku Anthology

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS<div><br></div><div>Things Left Unsaid: A Flash Fiction Anthology</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Silence. Regret. The conversation that never happened.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Submission Deadline: August 20, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Acceptance Notifications: August 25, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Submissions: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>There are things we meant to say. Words swallowed before they could land. Letters never sent, calls never returned, confessions rehearsed in the dark and abandoned by morning.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words invites writers from around the world to submit original flash fiction for Things Left Unsaid, an anthology exploring the vast, aching territory of silence: what we withhold, what we lose to it, and what, sometimes, it protects.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>We want stories where the unspoken is the heart of the matter. Stories that live in the pause, the turned back, the unsent message. Stories that make readers feel the full weight of what was never said, and why.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>SUBTHEMES WE LOVE</div><div><br></div><div>Your story does not need to fit these exactly, but they are sparks to inspire:</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>1. The Apology That Never Came: Estrangement, pride, the moment that passed and never returned.</div><div><br></div><div>2. Last Words: Deathbeds, farewells, the final conversation that was not, or the one that was and should not have been.</div><div><br></div><div>3. Draft Saved, Never Sent: The email, the letter, the text, written, revised, and deleted. Digital silence in the modern age.</div><div><br></div><div>4. The Eloquence of Objects: A gift that said everything. A returned ring. The book left on the doorstep without a note.</div><div><br></div><div>5. What Children Know: The things adults whisper around them, and what the child understood perfectly.</div><div><br></div><div>6. The Translator's Silence: Language barriers, cultural codes, the word that has no equivalent, and the chasm it creates.</div><div><br></div><div>7. I Should Have Said: Retrospect, replay, the moment reimagined at 3 a.m.</div><div><br></div><div>8. The Witness Who Said Nothing: Injustice, complicity, bystanders, the silence that becomes its own act.</div><div><br></div><div>9. Love, Unannounced: Feelings carried for years without declaration. The risk never taken.</div><div><br></div><div>10. Silence as Survival: When not speaking was the only way to stay safe, or sane.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Note: These are invitations, not requirements. Surprise us.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION GUIDELINES</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>1. THEME AND CONTENT</div><div><br></div><div>- Must engage meaningfully with the theme of silence, the unspoken, regret, or the unsaid, interpreted as broadly or literally as you wish.</div><div><br></div><div>- Stories may be contemporary, historical, speculative, or surreal. Genre is no barrier, theme is.</div><div><br></div><div>- No explicit content, graphic violence, or hate speech.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>2. LENGTH</div><div><br></div><div>- Strict maximum of 300 words (title not included).</div><div><br></div><div>- Must be a complete narrative with emotional weight, a revelation, or a twist, not merely a mood piece.</div><div><br></div><div>- Minimum 100 words.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>3. ORIGINALITY AND RIGHTS</div><div><br></div><div>- Must be unpublished in any form (print or digital).</div><div><br></div><div>- Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please withdraw immediately if accepted elsewhere.</div><div><br></div><div>- Authors retain full copyright. Fresh Words requests one-time non-exclusive publication rights, reverting to the author upon publication.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>4. FORMATTING</div><div><br></div><div>- Submit as .doc, .docx, or .pdf.</div><div><br></div><div>- Use 12 pt standard font (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, Georgia).</div><div><br></div><div>- Include your legal or pen name, email address, story title, and word count in the document.</div><div><br></div><div>- Paste your full story in the body of your email as a backup.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>5. HOW TO SUBMIT</div><div><br></div><div>Email: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Subject line: Things Left Unsaid Submission - [Your Story Title]</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>6. DEADLINE</div><div><br></div><div>August 20, 2026  </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>7. COMPENSATION</div><div><br></div><div>- A short author bio and social media promotion included with publication.</div><div><br></div><div>- Note: This is a non-paying market at this time.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>8. ELIGIBILITY</div><div><br></div><div>- Open globally to writers of all backgrounds, experience levels, and literary traditions.</div><div><br></div><div>- Writing in English only for this anthology.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>9. QUESTIONS</div><div><br></div><div>Contact specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com with Query in the subject line.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>CONTENT POLICY</div><div><br></div><div>We do not accept submissions that promote or glorify:</div><div><br></div><div>- Violence, abuse, or hate speech</div><div><br></div><div>- Racism, sexism, or discrimination of any kind</div><div><br></div><div>- Political propaganda or extremist ideologies</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>All work must be original, and artistically focused.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>CONNECT WITH US</div><div><br></div><div>Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fresh-Words-An-International-Literary-Magazine-106332345070389/</div><div><br></div><div>YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmmN1p8jcbIa6rUxzCzL2Q</div><div><br></div><div>Support Our Work: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/freshwordsmag</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The things we never say outlive us.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Let your 300 words hold what someone, somewhere, spent a lifetime unable to say.</div><div><br></div><div>Submit by August 20, 2026.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Say the thing that needed saying.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words</div><div><br></div><div>Where small stories hold enormous truths.</div>

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS  Things Left Unsaid: A Flash Fiction Anthology

CALL FOR GUEST EDITORS<div>International Poetry &amp; Flash Fiction Anthologies</div><div>Fresh Words – An International Literary Magazine</div><div><br></div><div>Website: Fresh Words Announcements</div><div><br></div><div>Contact &amp; Applications: freshwordsmagazine@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words is expanding its international horizons. To celebrate diverse literary traditions and amplify global voices, we are launching a series of language-specific seasonal anthologies in late 2026.</div><div><br></div><div>We are seeking experienced, detail-oriented, and dedicated Guest Editors to curate and manage these upcoming volumes. Editors are required for both our Poetry (Haiku and Tanka) and Flash Fiction anthologies in the following languages:</div><div><br></div><div>🇩🇪 German (Poetry &amp; Flash Fiction)</div><div><br></div><div>🇵🇱 Polish (Poetry &amp; Flash Fiction)</div><div><br></div><div>🇪🇸 Spanish (Poetry &amp; Flash Fiction)</div><div><br></div><div>🇯🇵 Japanese (Poetry &amp; Flash Fiction)</div><div><br></div><div>If you possess a keen editorial eye for contemporary literature, a deep appreciation for short-form storytelling and micropoetry, and strong connections within your target language's literary community, we invite you to collaborate with us. Applicants may choose to edit the poetry anthology, the flash fiction anthology, or both for their respective language.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Role &amp; Responsibilities</div><div>As a Guest Editor, you will help shape the creative identity and vision of your language’s anthology. Your core responsibilities will include:</div><div><br></div><div>Theme Development: Collaborating with the Fresh Words team to adapt our seasonal themes to suit specific linguistic and cultural nuances.</div><div><br></div><div>Curation &amp; Selection: Reviewing and selecting original poetry or flash fiction (up to 300 words) submitted in your target language.</div><div><br></div><div>Editing &amp; Proofreading: Providing light structural edits and proofreading to ensure high literary standards while preserving the author's unique voice.</div><div><br></div><div>Community Outreach: Actively promoting the call for submissions within regional writing networks, literary organizations, and localized social media channels.</div><div><br></div><div>Editorial Preface: Authoring a brief, engaging introduction to anchor the final published volume.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Requirements</div><div>Language Proficiency: Native or bilingual fluency in the target language, coupled with a strong working command of English for administrative and structural communication with our core executive team.</div><div><br></div><div>Editorial Experience: Prior experience in editing, publishing, translating, or working within a literary magazine or creative writing environment is highly preferred.</div><div><br></div><div>Project Management: A proven ability to strictly adhere to formatting guidelines, editorial deadlines, and content policies.</div><div><br></div><div>Literary Passion: A demonstrated commitment to mentoring emerging writers and expanding global literary landscapes.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Timeline</div><div>Application Deadline for Guest Editors: July 25, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Guest Editor Selection Announcement: August 05, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Public Submission Window Opens: Late August 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Anthology Publication: Late Autumn / Winter 2026</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div> Compensation &amp; Benefits</div><div>Prominent Billing: Your name and biography will be featured prominently on the cover, title page, and within the editorial preface of both the print and digital editions.</div><div><br></div><div>Global Promotion: Extensive feature and promotion across all Fresh Words social media platforms, website channels, and newsletter distributions.</div><div><br></div><div>Professional Networking: An exceptional opportunity to helm an international project and build meaningful, lasting connections with contemporary global writers.</div><div><br></div><div>Please Note: Fresh Words is an independent, non-paying market. This is a volunteer, project-based collaborative role.</div><div><br></div><div> How to Apply</div><div>Please submit your application to freshwordsmagazine@gmail.com with your subject line formatted exactly as follows:</div><div><br></div><div>Guest Editor Application – [Language] – [Poetry/Flash Fiction/Both] – [Your Name]</div><div><br></div><div>In the body of your email, please include:</div><div><br></div><div>Genre Preference: Clearly state whether you are applying for the Poetry anthology, the Flash Fiction anthology, or both.</div><div><br></div><div>Cover Letter: A brief statement (1–2 paragraphs) outlining your interest in the role and your editorial vision for the anthology.</div><div><br></div><div>Literary Biography: A short bio (approx. 200 words) written in the third person, highlighting relevant publication, translation, or editorial experience.</div><div><br></div><div>Portfolio/Links: Links to your personal website, past editorial projects, or professional social media profiles (if applicable).</div><div><br></div><div>Join us in building bridges across languages, where small poems and short stories continue to hold enormous truths.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Application Deadline: July 25, 2026</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words</div><div><br></div><div>Where small words hold big magic.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

CALL FOR GUEST EDITORS International Poetry & Flash Fiction Anthologies

We are open for submissions. We invite  poems, short stories, essays, plays, diaries, excerpts from books (published or upcoming submitted by author only), book reviews, interviews and travelogues. Please send all submissions to  freshwordsmagazine@gmail.com  as per the following guidelines:

Call for short Poems

We are open for submissions. We invite  poems, short stories, essays, plays, diaries, excerpts from books (published or upcoming submitted by author only), book reviews, interviews and travelogues. Please send all submissions to  freshwordsmagazine@gmail.com  as per the following guidelines:<div><br><div>Short Stories: </div><div>Maximum 2 stories </div><div><br></div><div> Word limit for each story (maximum 500 words)</div></div>

Call for Flash Fiction

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE CITY IN THREE LINES<div>An Urban Haiku Anthology</div><div>Fresh Words – An International Literary Magazine</div><div><br></div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements</div><div><br></div><div>Key Dates</div><div>Submission Deadline: September 30, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Acceptance Notifications: October 05, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Expected Publication: October 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Where to Send</div><div>Email: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words invites poets, city-dwellers, commuters, wanderers, observers, night owls, and quiet witnesses to submit original haiku for our forthcoming anthology:</div><div><br></div><div>THE CITY IN THREE LINES</div><div>An Urban Haiku Anthology</div><div>The city is never silent.</div><div><br></div><div>It wakes with the first bus, glows beneath streetlights, rushes through railway stations, disappears behind apartment windows, and continues long after midnight. It is crowded and lonely, beautiful and harsh, familiar and constantly changing.</div><div><br></div><div>We are looking for haiku that capture the fleeting moments of urban life.</div><div><br></div><div>A traffic light reflected in rain.</div><div><br></div><div>A stranger asleep on the last train.</div><div><br></div><div>Pigeons on a rooftop.</div><div><br></div><div>A tea seller before sunrise.</div><div><br></div><div>An empty bench beneath a billboard.</div><div><br></div><div>A child's face pressed against a bus window.</div><div><br></div><div>A streetlight illuminating nobody.</div><div><br></div><div>A city can be a landscape too.</div><div><br></div><div>Show us your city in three lines.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Submission Guidelines</div><div>Format</div><div>Structure: Traditional 3-line haiku.</div><div><br></div><div>Flexibility: Slight creative flexibility is permitted where the poem retains the brevity, immediacy, observation, and spirit of haiku.</div><div><br></div><div>Style: Plain text only. No illustrations, graphics, decorative formatting, or unusual typography within the submission document.</div><div><br></div><div>Theme</div><div>Urban life, broadly interpreted.</div><div><br></div><div>We welcome haiku exploring any aspect of the city, including:</div><div><br></div><div>Streets and sidewalks</div><div><br></div><div>Public transport, buses, trains and stations</div><div><br></div><div>Traffic and traffic lights</div><div><br></div><div>Markets, shops and street vendors</div><div><br></div><div>Cafés and restaurants</div><div><br></div><div>Rooftops and balconies</div><div><br></div><div>Apartment buildings</div><div><br></div><div>Parks and urban gardens</div><div><br></div><div>Pigeons, stray animals and urban wildlife</div><div><br></div><div>Rain on concrete and reflections in windows</div><div><br></div><div>Neon signs and advertisements</div><div><br></div><div>Construction sites</div><div><br></div><div>Crowds and commuters</div><div><br></div><div>Strangers and fleeting encounters</div><div><br></div><div>Loneliness in crowded places</div><div><br></div><div>Nightlife and midnight streets</div><div><br></div><div>Children growing up in cities</div><div><br></div><div>Old neighbourhoods and changing skylines</div><div><br></div><div>Migration and displacement</div><div><br></div><div>Technology and the modern city</div><div><br></div><div>Poverty, inequality and invisible lives</div><div><br></div><div>Memories attached to particular streets or buildings</div><div><br></div><div>Silence within the noise</div><div><br></div><div>Moments of beauty in ordinary urban life</div><div><br></div><div>The city may be real, imagined, remembered, or transformed through the poet's perspective.</div><div><br></div><div>We welcome submissions from cities of every size—from megacities and capitals to small towns and quiet neighbourhoods.</div><div><br></div><div>You do not need to name the city.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes a city reveals itself through a single window, a passing stranger, or a puddle beneath a streetlight.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Submission Limit</div><div>Maximum of seven (7) haiku per poet.</div><div><br></div><div>All haiku must be included in one email as a single PDF or MS Word attachment.</div><div><br></div><div>Please do not send each haiku as a separate attachment.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Rights Note</div><div>Authors retain full copyright of their work.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words requests one-time, non-exclusive publication rights for inclusion in the digital and/or print anthology. All rights revert to the author upon publication.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>How to Submit</div><div>Send to: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Attachment: One file (.docx or .pdf) containing all haiku and the required contributor information.</div><div><br></div><div>Subject Line:</div><div><br></div><div>[Your Full Name] – SUBMISSION FOR THE CITY IN THREE LINES ANTHOLOGY</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Required Information</div><div>Please include the following inside your submission file:</div><div><br></div><div>Cover Note – A brief 1–2 sentence introduction is welcome.</div><div><br></div><div>Legal Name</div><div><br></div><div>Pen Name – if applicable</div><div><br></div><div>Postal (Snail Mail) Address</div><div><br></div><div>Short Literary Biography – approximately 60 words, written in third person</div><div><br></div><div>High-Resolution Photograph – JPEG, attached as a separate file</div><div><br></div><div>Important: We accept only genuine, real-life author photographs. AI-generated portraits, avatars, or digitally fabricated author photographs will not be accepted.</div><div><br></div><div>Example Bio</div><div>Daniel Okoro lives and writes in Lagos, where he finds poetry between traffic lights, crowded buses, and quiet mornings. His work has appeared in several international literary journals. He is fascinated by the unnoticed gestures of strangers and the brief moments of stillness hidden inside busy places.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Content Policy</div><div>We do not accept submissions that promote or glorify:</div><div><br></div><div>Violence or abuse</div><div><br></div><div>Hate speech</div><div><br></div><div>Racism, sexism, or discrimination</div><div><br></div><div>Political propaganda</div><div><br></div><div>Extremist ideologies</div><div><br></div><div>References to difficult realities of urban life are welcome when handled with literary purpose, sensitivity, and artistic integrity.</div><div><br></div><div>All work must be respectful, original, and artistically focused.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Additional Notes</div><div>Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.</div><div><br></div><div>No fees. There are no submission, reading, or participation fees, ever.</div><div><br></div><div>Global voices welcome. We welcome poets from every country and cultural background.</div><div><br></div><div>English only for this anthology.</div><div><br></div><div>Selected contributors will be notified by October 5, 2026.</div><div><br></div><div>Previously unpublished work is preferred.</div><div><br></div><div>Please submit only work for which you hold the necessary rights.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Connect With Us</div><div>Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fresh-Words-An-International-Literary-Magazine-106332345070389/</div><div><br></div><div>YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmmN1p8jcbIa6rUxzCzL2Q</div><div><br></div><div>Support Our Work: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/freshwordsmag</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>THREE LINES. ONE CITY. A THOUSAND STORIES.</div><div>The city is waiting.</div><div><br></div><div>Between the traffic and the silence, between strangers and familiar faces, between concrete and sky, there are countless moments that disappear before anyone notices them.</div><div><br></div><div>Catch one.</div><div><br></div><div>Write it in three lines.</div><div><br></div><div>Submit to THE CITY IN THREE LINES</div><div>Fresh Words</div><div><br></div><div>Where small poems hold big magic.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE CITY IN THREE LINES An Urban Haiku Anthology

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS<div>Tiny Revolutions: A Flash Fiction Anthology</div><div>Small acts. Quiet rebellions. Lives changed one choice at a time.</div><div><br></div><div>Submission Deadline: September 30, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Acceptance Notifications: October 05, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Submissions: specialanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements</div><div><br></div><div>The world rarely changes all at once.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes, change begins with a person saying no.</div><div><br></div><div>A daughter refuses to follow the life chosen for her. A worker deletes one email. A child asks the question everyone else is afraid to ask. Someone leaves a locked door open. Someone keeps an old language alive. Someone simply decides, for the first time, that enough is enough.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words invites writers from around the world to submit original flash fiction for Tiny Revolutions, an anthology celebrating small acts of defiance, courage, resistance, transformation, and unexpected change.</div><div><br></div><div>We want stories about ordinary people making extraordinary choices—or seemingly insignificant choices that turn out to matter enormously.</div><div><br></div><div>Your revolution does not need crowds, banners, or explosions.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes, all it takes is one person refusing to remain the same.</div><div><br></div><div>SUBTHEMES WE LOVE</div><div>Your story does not need to fit these exactly. Use them as sparks:</div><div><br></div><div>The Quiet No</div><div>Refusing expectations, traditions, demands, or roles imposed by others.</div><div><br></div><div>One Small Act</div><div>A seemingly insignificant action that changes everything.</div><div><br></div><div>Breaking the Pattern</div><div>Someone finally ends a cycle that has lasted generations.</div><div><br></div><div>The Rule Nobody Questioned</div><div>A character discovers an absurd, unjust, or unnecessary rule—and decides not to obey.</div><div><br></div><div>Rebellion at Home</div><div>Family expectations, inherited beliefs, domestic resistance, and choosing one's own path.</div><div><br></div><div>The Child Who Asked Why</div><div>Innocence exposing hypocrisy, injustice, or an uncomfortable truth.</div><div><br></div><div>Against the Machine</div><div>Technology, bureaucracy, corporations, algorithms, institutions, and the individual who refuses to cooperate.</div><div><br></div><div>A Different Life</div><div>The moment someone chooses a path nobody expected.</div><div><br></div><div>The Last Traditionalist</div><div>A character who preserves something meaningful—or destroys a tradition that should have ended.</div><div><br></div><div>The Unexpected Rebel</div><div>The least likely person becomes the one who changes everything.</div><div><br></div><div>Revolutions of the Body</div><div>Stories about reclaiming identity, movement, appearance, age, or physical autonomy without relying on explicit content.</div><div><br></div><div>The Absurd Revolution</div><div>Strange, comic, surreal, or speculative rebellions against bizarre systems and impossible circumstances.</div><div><br></div><div>History's Smallest Hero</div><div>A forgotten person whose tiny decision has consequences far beyond their own life.</div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow Begins Today</div><div>Climate, community, technology, or speculative futures transformed by one person's choice.</div><div><br></div><div>The Revolution That Failed</div><div>A rebellion that goes wrong, changes direction, or succeeds in an unexpected way.</div><div><br></div><div>Note: These are invitations, not requirements. Surprise us.</div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION GUIDELINES</div><div>1. THEME AND CONTENT</div><div>Stories must engage meaningfully with the idea of small-scale rebellion, resistance, choice, transformation, courage, or change.</div><div><br></div><div>Stories may be contemporary, historical, speculative, dystopian, comic, surreal, literary, or experimental.</div><div><br></div><div>Genre is no barrier, but the theme should matter to the story.</div><div><br></div><div>We especially welcome unexpected interpretations of the theme.</div><div><br></div><div>No explicit sexual content, graphic violence, or hate speech.</div><div><br></div><div>2. LENGTH</div><div>Strict maximum: 300 words (title not included).</div><div><br></div><div>Minimum: 100 words.</div><div><br></div><div>Stories must be complete narratives with emotional impact, a revelation, meaningful transformation, or a compelling ending.</div><div><br></div><div>We are not seeking fragments or purely atmospheric pieces.</div><div><br></div><div>3. ORIGINALITY AND RIGHTS</div><div>Work must be unpublished in any form, print or digital.</div><div><br></div><div>Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please withdraw immediately if accepted elsewhere.</div><div><br></div><div>Authors retain full copyright.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words requests one-time, non-exclusive publication rights, reverting to the author upon publication.</div><div><br></div><div>4. FORMATTING</div><div>Submit as .doc, .docx, or .pdf.</div><div><br></div><div>Use 12 pt standard font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia.</div><div><br></div><div>Include your legal or pen name, email address, story title, and word count in the document.</div><div><br></div><div>Please paste the complete story into the body of your email as a backup.</div><div><br></div><div>5. HOW TO SUBMIT</div><div>Email: specialanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Subject line: Tiny Revolutions Submission - [Your Story Title]</div><div><br></div><div>6. DEADLINE</div><div>September 20, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>7. COMPENSATION</div><div>A short author bio and social media promotion will be included with publication.</div><div><br></div><div>This is a non-paying market at this time.</div><div><br></div><div>8. ELIGIBILITY</div><div>Open globally to writers of all backgrounds, experience levels, and literary traditions.</div><div><br></div><div>Writing in English only for this anthology.</div><div><br></div><div>9. QUESTIONS</div><div>Contact specialanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com with Query in the subject line.</div><div><br></div><div>CONTENT POLICY</div><div>We do not accept submissions that promote or glorify:</div><div><br></div><div>Violence, abuse, or hate speech</div><div><br></div><div>Racism, sexism, or discrimination of any kind</div><div><br></div><div>Political propaganda or extremist ideologies</div><div><br></div><div>All work must be original and artistically focused.</div><div><br></div><div>CONNECT WITH US</div><div>Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fresh-Words-An-International-Literary-Magazine-106332345070389/</div><div><br></div><div>YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmmN1p8jcbIa6rUxzCzL2Q</div><div><br></div><div>Support Our Work: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/freshwordsmag</div><div><br></div><div>The biggest revolutions do not always make the news.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes, they happen in kitchens, classrooms, offices, bedrooms, buses, villages, and quiet corners of ordinary lives.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes, revolution is simply choosing differently.</div><div><br></div><div>Give us 300 words that refuse to stay quiet.</div><div><br></div><div>Submit by September 30, 2026.</div><div><br></div><div>Start something small. Change everything.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words</div><div><br></div><div>Where small stories hold enormous truths.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

Call for Submissions: “Tiny Revolutions: A Flash Fiction Anthology”

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS<div>FRESH WORDS — AN INTERNATIONAL LITERARY MAGAZINE</div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/home</div><div>Submissions: dramaanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>HELLO GODOT! (VOLUME 12)</div><div>An Anthology of Existential &amp; Absurd Plays</div><div>Submission Deadline: September 30, 2026</div><div>Acceptance Notifications: October 05, 2026</div><div>Publication: October 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words — An International Literary Magazine — invites playwrights, theatre-makers, and dramatic writers from around the world to submit original plays for HELLO GODOT! (Volume 12), an anthology devoted to the strange, comic, unsettling, and profoundly human territory of existential and absurd theatre.</div><div><br></div><div>Inspired by the questions that haunt Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot—without seeking adaptations or imitations—we are interested in plays about characters who wait, wander, repeat, question, forget, hope, fail to communicate, and continue living despite having no convincing explanation for why they should.</div><div><br></div><div>What happens when nothing happens?</div><div><br></div><div>What if tomorrow never comes?</div><div><br></div><div>What if the person we are waiting for does not exist?</div><div><br></div><div>What if leaving is impossible?</div><div><br></div><div>What if the routine is the only thing keeping us alive?</div><div><br></div><div>HELLO GODOT! invites writers to explore these questions through original dramatic worlds of their own.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>THE SUBTHEMES</div><div>Playwrights may respond to one or more of the following subthemes:</div><div><br></div><div>1. THE WAIT</div><div>Someone is waiting for someone—or something—that may never arrive.</div><div><br></div><div>2. NOTHING TO BE DONE</div><div>Characters trapped in futile tasks, impossible situations, existential paralysis, or pointless routines.</div><div><br></div><div>3. NOT TODAY</div><div>Promises postponed, decisions deferred, departures delayed, and lives permanently suspended.</div><div><br></div><div>4. LET'S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE</div><div>Failed communication, meaningless conversations, verbal games, awkward silences, and the desperate human need to keep talking.</div><div><br></div><div>5. THE SAME DAY AGAIN</div><div>Repetition, circular time, recurring encounters, déjà vu, and characters condemned to begin again.</div><div><br></div><div>6. WHO IS GODOT?</div><div>The absent, the unknowable, the expected, the imagined, or the person who may never have existed.</div><div><br></div><div>7. SHALL WE LEAVE?</div><div>Characters who want to escape—but cannot, will not, or do not know where to go.</div><div><br></div><div>8. MAYBE TOMORROW</div><div>Hope in the face of repeated disappointment; the strange human ability to continue waiting even after hope has become unreasonable.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR</div><div>We are seeking plays that explore the absurdity and uncertainty of existence through theatre.</div><div><br></div><div>Your play might be:</div><div><br></div><div>darkly comic</div><div><br></div><div>existential</div><div><br></div><div>surreal</div><div><br></div><div>minimalist</div><div><br></div><div>philosophical</div><div><br></div><div>tragicomic</div><div><br></div><div>experimental</div><div><br></div><div>disturbing</div><div><br></div><div>playful</div><div><br></div><div>dreamlike</div><div><br></div><div>deeply ordinary and quietly absurd</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>We welcome plays involving:</div><div><br></div><div>waiting</div><div><br></div><div>repetition</div><div><br></div><div>loneliness</div><div><br></div><div>purposelessness</div><div><br></div><div>identity</div><div><br></div><div>memory</div><div><br></div><div>death</div><div><br></div><div>time</div><div><br></div><div>silence</div><div><br></div><div>isolation</div><div><br></div><div>failed communication</div><div><br></div><div>meaningless work</div><div><br></div><div>routine</div><div><br></div><div>uncertainty</div><div><br></div><div>disappearance</div><div><br></div><div>hope</div><div><br></div><div>despair</div><div><br></div><div>the search for meaning</div><div><br></div><div>But these are starting points, not restrictions.</div><div><br></div><div>We want writers to discover their own version of the absurd.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION GUIDELINES</div><div>1. Originality</div><div>All submissions must be original and unpublished.</div><div><br></div><div>We are not looking for adaptations, rewritings, sequels, fan fiction, or direct retellings of Waiting for Godot.</div><div><br></div><div>Your play may be inspired by existential or absurdist traditions, but it must possess its own characters, dramatic situation, language, structure, and theatrical identity.</div><div><br></div><div>A play about two people waiting beside a tree is not automatically an absurd play.</div><div><br></div><div>We are interested in what you do with the idea.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>2. Length and Format</div><div>Each play should be approximately 2 pages in standard theatrical script format.</div><div><br></div><div>Shorter works are welcome if they achieve a complete dramatic effect.</div><div><br></div><div>There is no strict performance-duration requirement.</div><div><br></div><div>A maximum of four characters is recommended.</div><div><br></div><div>Minimal casts and simple staging are encouraged.</div><div><br></div><div>Stage directions should be concise and purposeful.</div><div><br></div><div>Experimental theatrical forms are welcome, including:</div><div><br></div><div>fragmented dialogue</div><div><br></div><div>repetition</div><div><br></div><div>non-linear structure</div><div><br></div><div>silence</div><div><br></div><div>pauses</div><div><br></div><div>direct address</div><div><br></div><div>off-stage voices</div><div><br></div><div>symbolic objects</div><div><br></div><div>circular narratives</div><div><br></div><div>theatrical games</div><div><br></div><div>unconventional characterisation</div><div><br></div><div>However, the work should remain recognisably dramatic/theatrical.</div><div><br></div><div>Please do not submit prose fiction, poetry, essays, screenplays, or academic criticism.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>3. Submission Details</div><div>File format: PDF or Word document (.doc / .docx)</div><div><br></div><div>File name:</div><div><br></div><div>HelloGodot_YourName_PlayTitle</div><div><br></div><div>Each submission should include a cover page containing:</div><div><br></div><div>Play title</div><div><br></div><div>Playwright's full name</div><div><br></div><div>Email address</div><div><br></div><div>Phone number</div><div><br></div><div>Country</div><div><br></div><div>Selected subtheme</div><div><br></div><div>Brief biography of 50–70 words, written in the third person</div><div><br></div><div>Email your submission to:</div><div><br></div><div>dramaanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Use the subject line:</div><div><br></div><div>Submission: Hello Godot! (Volume 12) — [Your Name]</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>4. Multiple Submissions</div><div>Playwrights may submit up to four plays.</div><div><br></div><div>Each play must be submitted as a separate document.</div><div><br></div><div>If submitting four plays, please identify the subtheme for each.</div><div><br></div><div>Please submit all plays in a single email.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>5. Rights</div><div>Playwrights retain full copyright and ownership of their work.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words requests one-time, non-exclusive publication rights for inclusion in HELLO GODOT! (Volume 12) and for reasonable promotional purposes connected with the anthology.</div><div><br></div><div>All other rights remain with the playwright.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>6. Eligibility</div><div>The call is open internationally.</div><div><br></div><div>We welcome:</div><div><br></div><div>emerging playwrights</div><div><br></div><div>established playwrights</div><div><br></div><div>first-time dramatists</div><div><br></div><div>theatre students</div><div><br></div><div>academics</div><div><br></div><div>independent theatre-makers</div><div><br></div><div>experimental writers</div><div><br></div><div>playwrights working outside conventional theatrical traditions</div><div><br></div><div>There is no nationality, age, or professional-experience restriction.</div><div><br></div><div>English-language submissions only for this volume.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>7. Selection Process</div><div>All submissions will be evaluated by the editorial team.</div><div><br></div><div>The editors will consider:</div><div><br></div><div>originality</div><div><br></div><div>dramatic conception</div><div><br></div><div>theatricality</div><div><br></div><div>quality of dialogue</div><div><br></div><div>characterisation</div><div><br></div><div>structural control</div><div><br></div><div>imaginative use of absurdity</div><div><br></div><div>existential depth</div><div><br></div><div>emotional or intellectual resonance</div><div><br></div><div>effective engagement with the anthology's theme</div><div><br></div><div>We are especially interested in works that use absurdity as a dramatic method rather than merely as a style.</div><div><br></div><div>Selected playwrights will be notified by email by:</div><div><br></div><div>October 05, 2026</div><div><br></div><div>The editors' decision is final. Individual feedback will not be provided.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>8. COMPENSATION</div><div>This is currently a non-paying market.</div><div><br></div><div>Selected playwrights will receive:</div><div><br></div><div>Publication in the anthology</div><div><br></div><div>Author/playwright biography</div><div><br></div><div>Publication credit</div><div><br></div><div>Digital publication</div><div><br></div><div>Social-media promotion where appropriate</div><div><br></div><div>International exposure through Fresh Words</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>CONTENT POLICY</div><div>Fresh Words welcomes challenging, uncomfortable, unconventional, and intellectually provocative theatre.</div><div><br></div><div>However, submissions must not promote or glorify:</div><div><br></div><div>hate speech</div><div><br></div><div>racism</div><div><br></div><div>sexism</div><div><br></div><div>discrimination</div><div><br></div><div>extremist ideologies</div><div><br></div><div>terrorism</div><div><br></div><div>abuse or exploitation</div><div><br></div><div>political propaganda presented primarily for promotional purposes</div><div><br></div><div>Dark themes, death, despair, violence, psychological disturbance, and difficult existential questions are acceptable when they serve a genuine artistic and dramatic purpose.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>A NOTE TO PLAYWRIGHTS</div><div>You do not have to write like Beckett.</div><div><br></div><div>You do not have to imitate Waiting for Godot.</div><div><br></div><div>You do not need a tree.</div><div><br></div><div>You do not need two characters.</div><div><br></div><div>You do not even need someone to wait.</div><div><br></div><div>We are interested in the spirit of the questions, not the reproduction of the original play.</div><div><br></div><div>Give us characters who do not understand why they are here.</div><div><br></div><div>Give us people who keep talking because silence is worse.</div><div><br></div><div>Give us someone who has been waiting for twenty years for an answer.</div><div><br></div><div>Give us someone who discovers that the answer does not matter.</div><div><br></div><div>Give us a door that nobody opens.</div><div><br></div><div>A telephone that never rings.</div><div><br></div><div>A train that stopped coming.</div><div><br></div><div>A job that has no purpose.</div><div><br></div><div>A conversation that has happened before.</div><div><br></div><div>A tomorrow that never arrives.</div><div><br></div><div>Or give us something we have never seen before.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>THE CENTRAL QUESTION</div><div>What are we doing while we are waiting for life to begin?</div><div>Perhaps we are waiting for Godot.</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps Godot is waiting for us.</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps there is no Godot.</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps there never was.</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps that is the joke.</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps that is the tragedy.</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps that is the whole play.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>IMPORTANT DATES</div><div>Submission Deadline: September 30, 2026</div><div>Acceptance Notifications: October 05, 2026</div><div>Expected Publication: October 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Questions and Queries</div><div>For submission-related questions, contact:</div><div><br></div><div>dramaanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Please use QUERY — HELLO GODOT! in the subject line.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Nothing happens. Nobody comes. Nobody goes. And yet, somehow, everything happens.”</div><div>HELLO GODOT! (VOLUME 12)</div><div>An Anthology of Existential &amp; Absurd Plays</div><div>Fresh Words — An International Literary Magazine</div><div><br></div><div>Where every word commands the stage.</div><div><br></div><div>#HelloGodot #WaitingForGodot #AbsurdTheatre #ExistentialDrama #CallForSubmissions #Playwriting #ShortPlays #DramaAnthology #Playwrights #Theatre #ExperimentalTheatre #Absurdism #Existentialism #NewWriting #TheatreWriters #FreshWordsMagazine #WritingCommunity #AmWritingDrama #GetPublished #ShortDrama</div>

Call for Submissions: "HELLO GODOT! (VOLUME 12)  An Anthology of Existential & Absurd Plays"

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS<div>HAIKU AFTER DARK</div><div>An International Halloween Haiku Anthology</div><div><br></div><div>Email all submissions to: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The moon is awake.</div><div><br></div><div>The house is quiet.</div><div><br></div><div>Something moves behind the curtain.</div><div><br></div><div>Halloween is often associated with ghosts, monsters and the supernatural—but darkness can also reveal something quieter:</div><div><br></div><div>a falling leaf, an empty street, a distant light, a child's fear, an old photograph, the sound of footsteps, the silence after midnight.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words invites poets from around the world to submit haiku and senryu for a special international Halloween anthology.</div><div><br></div><div>We are looking for poems that capture the atmosphere of Halloween through image, silence, mystery, humour, nature and the uncanny.</div><div><br></div><div>THE THEME</div><div>HAIKU AFTER DARK is open to many interpretations.</div><div><br></div><div>Your poem may be:</div><div><br></div><div>Frightening</div><div><br></div><div>Mysterious</div><div><br></div><div>Gothic</div><div><br></div><div>Melancholic</div><div><br></div><div>Funny</div><div><br></div><div>Playful</div><div><br></div><div>Surreal</div><div><br></div><div>Atmospheric</div><div><br></div><div>Philosophical</div><div><br></div><div>Quietly unsettling</div><div><br></div><div>Inspired by nature</div><div><br></div><div>A poem does not need to mention Halloween.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes a moonlit road is enough.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes the empty chair is enough.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes the three words we never expected are enough.</div><div><br></div><div>POSSIBLE IMAGES</div><div>Writers may explore:</div><div><br></div><div>Moonlight</div><div><br></div><div>Autumn leaves</div><div><br></div><div>Pumpkins</div><div><br></div><div>Candles</div><div><br></div><div>Shadows</div><div><br></div><div>Fog</div><div><br></div><div>Empty houses</div><div><br></div><div>Old cemeteries</div><div><br></div><div>Bats</div><div><br></div><div>Owls</div><div><br></div><div>Cats</div><div><br></div><div>Abandoned places</div><div><br></div><div>Masks</div><div><br></div><div>Costumes</div><div><br></div><div>Children's voices</div><div><br></div><div>Midnight</div><div><br></div><div>Wind</div><div><br></div><div>Doors and windows</div><div><br></div><div>Footsteps</div><div><br></div><div>Ghosts</div><div><br></div><div>Memories</div><div><br></div><div>Death and remembrance</div><div><br></div><div>The changing seasons</div><div><br></div><div>The boundary between the living and the dead</div><div><br></div><div>These are suggestions only.</div><div><br></div><div>HAIKU &amp; SENRYU</div><div>We welcome both haiku and senryu.</div><div><br></div><div>Traditional approaches to haiku are welcome, including attention to season, nature, image and moment.</div><div><br></div><div>We also welcome contemporary and experimental approaches.</div><div><br></div><div>For writers submitting senryu, human behaviour, irony and dark humour are especially welcome.</div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION GUIDELINES</div><div>Genres: Haiku and Senryu</div><div>Number of poems: Up to 10 poems per contributor in a single email. Either typed in the body of email or attached with email as MS Word doc/Pdf.</div><div>Language: English</div><div>Deadline: 30 October 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Email all submissions to: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements</div><div><br></div><div>We encourage concise, image-driven poems rather than explanatory or overly abstract pieces.</div><div><br></div><div>WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR</div><div>We are not looking for poems that simply tell us that something is frightening.</div><div><br></div><div>Show us the darkness.</div><div><br></div><div>Show us the empty swing moving in the wind.</div><div><br></div><div>Show us the light beneath a door.</div><div><br></div><div>Show us the footprints that stop suddenly.</div><div><br></div><div>Show us the moon reflected in a puddle beside an old grave.</div><div><br></div><div>Let the reader discover the haunting.</div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION</div><div>Please send your poems as a Word document or in the body of your email.</div><div><br></div><div>Include:</div><div><br></div><div>Author's name</div><div>Country</div><div>Short bio (50–100 words)</div><div>Email address</div><div><br></div><div>Email subject:</div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION — HAIKU AFTER DARK</div><div><br></div><div>There is no submission fee.</div><div><br></div><div>RIGHTS &amp; PUBLICATION</div><div>Fresh Words seeks non-exclusive first publication rights for accepted poems. Copyright remains with the author.</div><div><br></div><div>Selected poems may be published in digital and/or print editions of the anthology.</div><div><br></div><div>Contributors will be notified after the editorial selection process.</div><div><br></div><div>DEADLINE</div><div>30 OCTOBER 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Before the pumpkins disappear.</div><div><br></div><div>Before the candles burn out.</div><div><br></div><div>Before the night becomes morning.</div><div><br></div><div>Send us your haiku.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine</div>

Call for Submissions: "HAIKU AFTER DARK - An International Halloween Haiku Anthology"

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS<div>THE THING IN THE DARK</div><div>An International Anthology of Micro Fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Submissions email: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>There are things we see in the dark.</div><div><br></div><div>And then there are things we are certain we saw.</div><div><br></div><div>A shadow at the end of the hallway. A voice from an empty room. A child who knows the name of someone who died years ago. A door that was never there before. A photograph that seems to change when nobody is looking.</div><div><br></div><div>Or perhaps the thing in the dark is not supernatural at all.</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps it is a memory.</div><div><br></div><div>A secret.</div><div><br></div><div>A regret.</div><div><br></div><div>A stranger.</div><div><br></div><div>A part of ourselves.</div><div><br></div><div>For Halloween 2026, Fresh Words invites writers from around the world to send us their micro-fiction for an anthology of brief, unsettling, mysterious, strange, funny, frightening and unexpected stories.</div><div><br></div><div>THE THEME</div><div>THE THING IN THE DARK is deliberately open to interpretation.</div><div><br></div><div>Your story may involve ghosts, monsters, witches, haunted houses, strange encounters or unexplained events—but it doesn't have to.</div><div><br></div><div>We are equally interested in stories where the "thing" in the dark is psychological, emotional, absurd, symbolic or entirely human.</div><div><br></div><div>A story can frighten us without containing a monster.</div><div><br></div><div>It can disturb us without containing a ghost.</div><div><br></div><div>It can make us laugh and still leave something unsettling behind.</div><div><br></div><div>WE WELCOME</div><div>Horror</div><div><br></div><div>Gothic fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Supernatural fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Ghost stories</div><div><br></div><div>Psychological fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Dark comedy</div><div><br></div><div>Absurd and surreal fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Speculative fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Mystery</div><div><br></div><div>Folklore-inspired fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Magical realism</div><div><br></div><div>Literary micro-fiction</div><div><br></div><div>Stories with an unexpected or ambiguous ending</div><div><br></div><div>POSSIBLE STARTING POINTS</div><div>You may write about:</div><div><br></div><div>Something moving outside the window</div><div><br></div><div>A voice calling your name</div><div><br></div><div>An empty house</div><div><br></div><div>A forgotten grave</div><div><br></div><div>A photograph</div><div><br></div><div>A childhood fear</div><div><br></div><div>A stranger who knows too much</div><div><br></div><div>A room nobody enters</div><div><br></div><div>A message received from the dead</div><div><br></div><div>A creature that only appears after midnight</div><div><br></div><div>Someone who returns home after many years</div><div><br></div><div>A Halloween costume that cannot be removed</div><div><br></div><div>A shadow that does not belong to its owner</div><div><br></div><div>The last person awake in a sleeping city</div><div><br></div><div>These are suggestions, not restrictions.</div><div><br></div><div>Surprise us.</div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION GUIDELINES</div><div>Genre: Micro Fiction</div><div>Maximum length: 500 words per story</div><div>Number of submissions: Up to 5 stories per contributor (submit in a single email)</div><div>Language: English</div><div>Deadline: 30 October 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Please submit only original work.</div><div><br></div><div>Previously unpublished work is preferred, although previously published work may be considered if the contributor retains the necessary rights.</div><div><br></div><div>WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR</div><div>We are looking for stories that do something with their limited space.</div><div><br></div><div>A 500-word story should not feel like the beginning of a much longer story. We are interested in pieces that create a world, situation, character, revelation or disturbance quickly and leave a lasting impression.</div><div><br></div><div>A twist is welcome, but a twist is not required.</div><div><br></div><div>Atmosphere, voice, originality and emotional or intellectual impact matter more than simply making the reader jump.</div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION</div><div>Submissions email: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com</div><div><br></div><div>Please send your submission as a Word document or in the body of your email. Only one email containing all works).</div><div><br></div><div>Please include:</div><div><br></div><div>Title of the story</div><div>Author's name</div><div>Country</div><div>Short bio (50–100 words)</div><div>Email address</div><div><br></div><div>Email subject:</div><div><br></div><div>SUBMISSION — THE THING IN THE DARK</div><div><br></div><div>There is no submission fee.</div><div><br></div><div>RIGHTS &amp; PUBLICATION</div><div>Fresh Words seeks non-exclusive first publication rights for accepted contributions. Copyright remains with the author.</div><div><br></div><div>Accepted contributors will be notified after the editorial selection process.</div><div><br></div><div>The anthology may be published in digital and/or print editions.</div><div><br></div><div>DEADLINE</div><div>30 OCTOBER 2026</div><div><br></div><div>Because some things are best written before the lights go out.</div><div><br></div><div>Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

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Call for Submissions: "HAIKU AFTER DARK - An International Halloween Haiku Anthology"

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