The Masters of Professional Writing program at Kennesaw State University

Our staff aims to showcase engaging work that illuminates the corridors of the human experience.

The Headlight Review is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity amongst the staff and its contributors. We value varying editorial experience levels and consider aspects of identity, including race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, veteran status, or disability status, a pivotal part of artistic work. 

Not just words. These magazines publish paintings, comics, illustrations, and other visual art alongside or instead of traditional text-based work.

Magazines That Publish Comics, Art, or Other Visual Works

Online publications putting forward exceptional short stories for Best of the Net.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

A targeted resource for short story placements with potential for Pushcart recognition.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Specialized publications that recognize exceptional brief fiction through Pushcart nominations.

Digital publications advancing very short fiction for Best of the Net consideration.

Flash Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Journals that forward outstanding nonfiction to this respected anthology series founded in 1986. These publications identify exceptional essays that might reach the broader readership BAE provides.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best American Essays

Best Microfiction, edited by Meg Pokrass and Gary Fincke, celebrates the art of the extremely brief narrative. These publications have editorial teams with particular sensitivity to the craft.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Microfiction

A curated selection of publications that regularly submit work to this prestigious annual anthology showcasing 50 poems from emerging writers.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best New Poets

Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Publications that nominate work for this respected anthology series founded in 2015 by Tara Masih to celebrate fiction under 1,000 words.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Small Fictions

A comprehensive guide to journals that regularly nominate work for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

BASS represents the most mainstream recognition for short fiction in America. These journals serve as the initial screening layer for potential inclusion in this widely-read collection.

Literary Mags That Nominate for Best American Short Stories

Check out the all-time most popular speculative fiction literary magazines. These publications have a long-standing reputation for quality speculative fiction.

Most Popular Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

Digital publications nominating outstanding essays and creative nonfiction for Best of the Net.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Highlights publications that regularly put forward essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction for Pushcart consideration.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Online journals that specifically champion poetry for Best of the Net consideration.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Focuses specifically on poetry journals with established histories of Pushcart nominations.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

The Headlight Review

General call

About the Prize
The winner of The Headlight Review’s 2026 Poetry Chapbook Prize Contest will receive publication (a perfectly bound book with a full color or black/white cover), an award of $500, and 25 copies of the book. 
Submission Period
January 1 - March 31, 2026
A list of finalists will be announced in May. All manuscripts will be judged anonymously. The finalists who make it through the first round will be judged by Alafia Nichole Sessions.
The winning manuscript will be published within six months after the results of the competition are announced in June of 2026. Finalist will have poems featured in an upcoming issue of The Headlight Review. 
Guidelines
Eligibility: Employees and students at Kennesaw State University, both former and current, are not eligible to enter. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age or older. 
Electronic submissions: The $18 entry fee is payable by debit/credit card via Submittable, which you may find at the “Submit Your Manuscript” button at the bottom of this page. 
For $25 you can submit your manuscript and receive copies of the 3 previous winners. 
Manuscript Submission Details
Size: Manuscripts must be between 24-36 pages, including cover page, table of contents and any acknowledgements. 

  Format: 12 pt. standard typeface, PDF only. 
  Title page should include the title of the manuscript and nothing else. No identifying name or address is permitted in the manuscript. 
  Poems that have been published elsewhere must be acknowledged. Overall, the manuscript should be original and previously unpublished. 
  Multiple submissions are acceptable. Each submission requires a separate entry fee. 
  Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Please inform us immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Entry fees are nonrefundable. 
  Language: Entries must be written in the English language. 
  Illustrations are welcome.
  Translations are ineligible. 
  Comments will not be provided to non-winning entrants. 
  Editing will not be permitted once submitted. 

Kennesaw State’s MA in Professional Writing Program (MAPW) endorses and abides by the Ethical Guidelines of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). Our system for judging is transparent and blind. The first-round judges will receive and rate their choices in order, and this will create a list of finalists. The manuscript finalists will go to the finalist judge, who will then select the best among the finalists. 
Guest Judge
Alafia Nicole Sessions is a black poet, writer, and mother living in Atlanta. She currently works as an educator, actress, herbalist and birthworker. Her poetry has been published or is forthcoming in POETRY, Obsidian, Ploughshares, Poem-a-Day, Beloit Poetry Journal, Cincinnati Review, Ecopoetry Anthology, Southern Humanities Review, Indiana Review, Los Angeles Review, Poetry Daily, and elsewhere. 
Alafia is the recipient of awards and fellowships from Cave Canem, Yaddo, The Watering Hole, Sustainable Arts Foundation, Georgia Writers Association, Barbara Deming Memorial Fund and Oak Spring Garden Foundation. She was selected by Evie Shockley as the winner of the 2023 Furious Flower Prize. Alafia was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and thrice nominated for Best New Poets. She also received the Howard Moss Residency in Poetry. Her debut manuscript, Nine Drops of Turpentine, was selected as a finalist for the 2025 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize and a semi-finalist for Persea Books’ Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Prize.

Headlight Review Chapbook Contest

As new forms of Southern writing continue to emerge, The Headlight Review seeks to shine a spotlight on the literary South and what it means to be a Southern writer today in a special double issue of the review to be published in 2026. 

This double issue invites work that attempts to answer or even challenge that question and explore the shape that Southern writing takes. We seek pieces that are nuanced, complex, and rich in tradition, showing meaningful relationships to the South not just as a static backdrop but as an important theme or subject holding weight, memory, and meaning. 

From the Gothic South to stories of the Southern person, we welcome the full spectrum of Southern writers who explore the South through the eyes of those who call it home, those who have left, and those who are remaking it. Through this issue, we aim to reflect, challenge, and expand the definitions of Southern writing and identity with work that captures the evolving landscapes, voices, and experiences of the South. 

In fiction, the South might find expression in a place, an identity, a character, or a conflict. Stories might be set in the region or feature characters from the South who find themselves elsewhere. Writers might also consider a particularly Southern aesthetic or engagement with Southern traditions, history, and/or renaissance. We are open to short fiction, flash-fiction, and experimental fiction in all styles.

The Headlight Review: New Southern Writing Fiction

As new forms of Southern writing continue to emerge, The Headlight Review seeks to shine a spotlight on the literary South and what it means to be a Southern writer today in a special double issue of the review to be published in 2026. 

This double issue invites work that attempts to answer or even challenge that question and explore the shape that Southern writing takes. We seek pieces that are nuanced, complex, and rich in tradition, showing meaningful relationships to the South not just as a static backdrop but as an important theme or subject holding weight, memory, and meaning. 

From the Gothic South to stories of the Southern person, we welcome the full spectrum of Southern writers who explore the South through the eyes of those who call it home, those who have left, and those who are remaking it. Through this issue, we aim to reflect, challenge, and expand the definitions of Southern writing and identity with work that captures the evolving landscapes, voices, and experiences of the South. 

We welcome literary nonfiction stories, memoirs, and essays reflecting on the South that have a distinctive personal voice, attentiveness to language, rich details, and lyrical phrasing. We want to read a story that introduces us to a fresh perspective. We do not publish political rhetoric or academic essays.

Writers might consider some of the following themes:

The South: Then & Now
The New South
Southern Aesthetics
Who is a Southerner?
The Urban South
The Gothic South
The Southern Exile
The Postmodern South
Migration
Inclusivity
Nature and Environment
Southern Tradition
Religion & the South

Please send one story or essay per submission. Manuscripts should be no longer than 5,000 words, double-spaced, and in standard MLA manuscript format. All sub-genres are welcome.

The Headlight Review: New Southern Writing Creative Nonfiction

As new forms of Southern writing continue to emerge, The Headlight Review seeks to shine a spotlight on the literary South and what it means to be a Southern writer today in a special double issue of the review to be published in 2026. 

This double issue invites work that attempts to answer or even challenge that question and explore the shape that Southern writing takes. We seek pieces that are nuanced, complex, and rich in tradition, showing meaningful relationships to the South not just as a static backdrop but as an important theme or subject holding weight, memory, and meaning. 

From the Gothic South to stories of the Southern person, we welcome the full spectrum of Southern writers who explore the South through the eyes of those who call it home, those who have left, and those who are remaking it. Through this issue, we aim to reflect, challenge, and expand the definitions of Southern writing and identity with work that captures the evolving landscapes, voices, and experiences of the South. 

Our journal prefers work that pushes the envelope conceptually, technically, or visually, challenges our perspectives, and meets us at the intersections of genres, artistic disciplines, and modes of thought. From subtle to paradoxical, we want to publish work that captures and reimagines the world in moving ways. We are open to traditional and contemporary forms.

Please send only three poems maximum per submission, formatted however the poem needs to be formatted to achieve the effect you desire. We’ll do our best to reproduce it, or we will work with you to readjust the format for our platform. All genres are welcome.

The Headlight Review: New Southern Writing Poetry

As new forms of Southern writing continue to emerge, The Headlight Review seeks to shine a spotlight on the literary South and what it means to be a Southern writer today in a special double issue of the review to be published in 2026. 

This double issue invites work that attempts to answer or even challenge that question and explore the shape that Southern writing takes. We seek pieces that are nuanced, complex, and rich in tradition, showing meaningful relationships to the South not just as a static backdrop but as an important theme or subject holding weight, memory, and meaning. 

From the Gothic South to stories of the Southern person, we welcome the full spectrum of Southern writers who explore the South through the eyes of those who call it home, those who have left, and those who are remaking it. Through this issue, we aim to reflect, challenge, and expand the definitions of Southern writing and identity with work that captures the evolving landscapes, voices, and experiences of the South. 

We’re looking for artwork that tells a story of the South and its people in emotional texture and character. We accept up to 6 images of photography, comics, digital artwork, or scanned images of traditional artwork such as paintings, drawings, or sketches.

Submissions must have a minimum of 300 dpi resolution, regardless of format. Three-dimensional artwork requires a minimum of two photos taken from different angles, taken in front of a neutral background (black, white, or gray preferred). 

Artwork must include the name of the artist, an artist's statement, as well as the title, the medium, the size of the work, and the year created to be considered. Please title your file names with the title of the work or "Untitled 1," "Untitled 2," and so on, if untitled. 

The Headlight Review: New Southern Writing Visual Art

The Headlight Review seeks flash fiction and prose poems of 400 words or fewer for our second volume of “Mighty Micros.” Read the first volume here. We will review submissions until August 31.
We are open as to what a story or poem looks and feels like to each writer.
We love to be surprised.
Submit up to 3 pieces in a single document.
We aim to expedite review in two weeks or less. For this reason, we will not be offering fee waivers for this project.
Pieces will be published on a rolling basis with the issue closed September 1.
Submission fee $5.

THR: Mighty Micros — Fiction

THR: Mighty Micros — Poetry

In tandem with our special double issue New Southern Writing, the High Beams section of The Headlight Review is sending out a call for a series of short meditations on specific southern experiences and how they inform your craft as a southern writer. Why do you have an affection for a particular memento of your southern experience and how has that token affected your craft as a writer and, in particular, your identity as a southern author? Do you have a published piece of writing that this southern token inspired? If so, please include a link to the published piece in your submission. Please keep the meditations under one thousand words. No submission fee!
Types of Southern Mementos
· Postcards
o Meditation on a particular place in the south
o Can be a landscape and/or manmade establishment
o Please include a photograph of the place in your submission
· Recipe Cards
o Meditation on a particular southern food
o Can be an entire meal or a side dish or a dessert
o Please include a photo of the dish(es)
· Color Palettes
o Meditation on a piece of southern art
o Can be a sculpture or painting or drawing or pottery or engraving
o Please include a photo of the art
· Sheet Music
o Meditation on a particular piece of southern music
o Can be one song a certain instrument or singer
o Please include an audio file and/or a photo of the instrument/musician/singer/album cover
· Sewing Patterns
o Meditation on a particular piece of southern clothing
o Can be one article or an entire outfit
o Please include a photo of the clothing
· Portraits
o Meditation on a particular person in the south
o Can be someone you know personally or an icon
o Please include a photo of the person
· Seed Packets
o Meditations on a particular garden plant in the south
o Can be a flower or food crop or herb
o Please include a photo of the plant
· Junk Drawer
o Meditation on a particular southern object
o Can be a family heirloom or an artifact or a mundane object of everyday life
o Please include a photo of the object

Southern Scrapbook: Craft Tokens of the New Southern Writer

The Headlight Review presents the fourth annual Anthony Grooms Prize in Short Fiction
First prize of $750 is awarded to the winning writer, along with 20 copies of the winning chapbook, published by The Headlight Review Press. The chapbook will be perfect-bound and feature a four-color cover. Submissions will open on June October 1 and will run through January 31, 2027.
Manuscript Guidelines
Manuscripts are not to exceed 12,500 words. The content may include a single story, multiple stories, multiple flash stories or a stand-alone novel excerpt. Any submission that exceeds this word count will not be considered.
Stories may have been published individually. However, none of these stories are to have been published in a previous collection. A novel excerpt cannot have been part of a previously published novel.
All manuscripts are anonymously submitted. First-round judging will be conducted by staff from The Headlight Review. Finalists will be revealed by March 31 and will be judged by Tina Mozelle Braziel and James Braziel.
About the Judges
Tina Mozelle Braziel co-wrote Glass Cabin (Pulley Press) with her husband, writer James Braziel. A meditation on hope, on frustration, and on people’s places in the wilder parts of the world, Glass Cabin chronicles the thirteen years the Braziels spent building their home by hand on a ridge in rural Alabama. Tina has been awarded the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry for Known by Salt (Anhinga Press), an artist residency at Hot Springs National Park, and a fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. As the first Eco-Poetry Fellow for Magic City Poetry Festival, she collaborated with the Cahaba River Society to create eco-poetry curriculum and videos. In 2023, she was selected to serve as an Alabama Poetry Delegate, a multi-regional service initiative implemented by Alabama’s Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones. For her Alabama Poetry Delegate Project, she partners with the Alabama Rivers Alliance to enable local poets to hold outdoor poetry workshops and to create eco-poetry films for Southern Exposure films. Tina leads poetry writing hikes for The Friends of the Locust Fork and serves on the Board of Directors of The Friends of Big Canoe Creek. Her work has appeared in POETRY, The Cincinnati Review, Southern Humanities Review, and other journals. She directs the Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop for high school students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Tina holds an M.F.A in Poetry from the University of Oregon, an M.A. in Poetry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a B.A. in Intercultural Studies at the University of Montevallo.
James Braziel is the author of four books, most recently Glass Cabin (cowritten with his wife, Tina Mozelle Braziel). A meditation on hope, on frustration, and on people’s places in the wilder parts of the world, Glass Cabin (Pulley Press) chronicles the thirteen years the Braziels spent building their home by hand on a ridge in rural Alabama. Glass Cabin was named Southern Literary Review’s 2024 Poetry Book of the Year, and one of AWF’s Best Books of 2024. His collection of stories, This Ditch-Walking Love, won the Tartt Fiction Award. Ditch-Walking (Livingston Press) was inspired by the people who live on Alabama’s Cumberland Plateau. His novels, Birmingham, 35 Miles (Bantam) and Snakeskin Road (Bantam) follow a family in the aftermath of an environmental disaster in the future South. His shorter works have appeared in the New York Times and other places. He has received fellowships from Hot Springs National Park, Alabama State Council on the Arts, and Georgia Council for the Arts. He has been a writer-in-residence at the Lowrey Guest House at Auburn University, and he currently teaches creative writing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The Grooms prize winner will be announced by May 1 with publication scheduled for fall 2027.
Entry fee: $20.

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Featured Call

Anthony Grooms Short Fiction Prize

Appears in collections